We're all about trying out the latest and greatest when it comes to beauty, from Sephora's monthly releases to peel pads and wipes, but there's something to be said for tried-and-true traditions as well. Japanese women, for example, have had the beauty game down for several centuries. From daily practices to key products, we took a look at some of the skincare and beauty secrets that have kept the women of Japan feeling beautiful since basically forever. Scroll down to learn some age-old tips.
1. Take baths. In Japan, bathing is a ritual that extends beyond at-home dips. Onsen bathhouses, for example, were a popular form of recreation that involved scrubbing your body with heavy exfoliants and then submerging yourself in a steaming hot bath enriched with oils. A steaming hot bath before bed will get you feeling relaxed and ready for bed, and if you infuse your bath with oils, your skin will feel moisturized and replenished. A pre-bedtime bath also speeds up the body's natural melatonin production process, making it easier for you to fall asleep. If you suffer from muscle aches and pains or arthritis, baths can serve as a temporary pain reliever. A saltwater bath can also help to reduce the inflammation in arthritic joints. Trying to stave off the flu? Jump in the tub and let the steam relax your mind while moisturizing and clearing the nasal passages. Who knew baths could do so much?!
2. Drink green tea. There are so many reasons to drink a hot cup of tea, which is why it's a sacred tradition in Japanese culture. Green tea is high in antioxidants and may help prevent breast cancer. It's also an excellent way to burn fat and speed up your metabolism. To really reap the benefits of the stuff, you should strive to drink two to three cups a day, but if you're not a tea drinker, you can apply it topically and still reap some benefits. Use green tea as a toner by letting two cups cool after brewing, then applying it to your face with a cotton ball. This natural alternative can give you glowing skin and reduce the size of pores. You can store the solution in a bottle and make it a daily part of your beauty routine.
3. Use facial oils. Facial oils like Shu Uemura Ultime 8 Sublime Beauty Cleansing Oil ($118) and Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil ($46) are all the rage in Japan. Oils are rich in vitamins and are lipophilic, which means they keep toxins out and moisture in. The can also help shrink the appearance of pores and get rid of acne. Americans have been catching onto this trend in recent years, but if you want to do it like the Japanese, use rice bran oil. It's high in antioxidants and has even been proven to help relieve those unpleasant menopause hot flashes.
4. Avoid the sun. While fun in the sun always sounds like a great idea, protecting your skin from exposure is a key factor in maintaining beautiful skin. Though stateside we're still hammering this point home, Japanese culture is more accepting of the importance of sun damage prevention. Staying out of the sun can preserve your skin and prevent lines and wrinkles from forming. Wear sunscreen every day, year-round for beautiful skin.
5. Get face massages. Regularly treating yourself to massages — both at the spa and at home — is a must, and the indulgence is especially popular in Japan. Try massaging your face wash thoroughly into your skin when cleansing. This helps prevent premature aging and improves circulation and blood flow to the face. If you don't want to put in the work, try using a face brush in place of your fingers. You can also massage your scalp with coconut oil or castor oil before washing your hair. Products like the SoSu Rose Quartz Massage Plate ($29) are popular buys in Japan — the massage plate trend was borrowed from ancient rituals that have been shown to help firm and tone facial muscles.
6. Invest incamellia oil. Many Japanese women rely on camellia oil to achieve thick, shiny locks. The multi-purpose beauty treatment can be used as a shine serum, daily hair moisturizer or hot oil treatment. Apply it to the tips of your strands to repair split ends and damage. The best part? You can also use it on your skin to provide moisture and even out your complexion. Try this gold-infused Camellia Beauty Oil ($95) from Tatcha.
7. Food can be face wash. Using foods in beauty routines is nothing new. In ancient Japan, women would exfoliate their skin with antioxidant-rich adzuki beans. To use as an exfoliator, just crush the beans and massage into your skin. In Japan, rice is also used to wash and cleanse the skin. Back in the day, women used to wash their faces with rice water to keep their complexions smooth and creamy. Before skin lightening and brightening creams took over the Japanese beauty market, rice water helped to improve elasticity and ward off wrinkling while lightening the skin over time.


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text:
\section{Introduction}
  In the last few decades, fast consumption rate of available natural sources of energy (oils and gases) due to large need of mankind demands an alternate source of energy without affecting the environmental conditions \cite{DiSalvo99}. The various devices such as solar, hydro-power, bio-mass and thermoelectrc (TE) generators are being used to generate the required electricity. Among all these, TE generators have attracted much attention due to their potential capabilities of direct conversion of waste heat into useful electricity.$^{2,3}$ Using TE generators one can also utilize the waste heat generated from the other power generating sources and convert it into the electricity.$^{4,5}$ TE devices have various applications in electricity generation, TE cooler, temperature sensors etc.$^{6}$ There are various TE materials such as, lead and bismuth chalcogenides, silicon-germanium based materials, Clathrates, Half-Heusler alloys and organic TE materials have been explored for making the TE devices.$^{7}$ These materials have the limitations of use in high temperature region due to the chemical and thermal stabilities, high cost factor in the device fabrication, environmentally unfavourable and hazardous issues. To overcome these issues and have wide temperature TE applications in the high temperature region, the metal oxides give a new hope for the researchers.$^{8-10}$ In 1997, the discovery of \textit{p}-type Na$_{\textit{x}}$CoO$_{2}$ with a \textit{ZT} value $\sim$1 gave a breakthrough to explore more oxide materials for the TE applications.$^{11}$\\
 In high temperature region, oxide materials are more suitable for the TE applications due to their structural and chemical stabilities, oxidation resistance and low cost.$^{12-16}$ Therefore, it is important to estimate the physical parameters by which one can check the potential capabilities of oxide materials to be used for the TE applications. Any material is suitable for the TE applications is decided by the dimensionless parameter called as \textit{ZT}. The \textit{ZT} is defined as,$^{17,18}$\\
 \begin{equation}
 ZT= \alpha^{2}\sigma T/\kappa
 \end{equation}
  where $\alpha$ is Seebeck coefficient (also known as thermopower), $\sigma$ and $\kappa$ ($\kappa$$_{l}$ +$\kappa$$e$) are the electrical and thermal conductivities, respectively. The term $\alpha$$^{2}$$\sigma$ in the numerator is known as power factor. For large value of \textit{ZT}, the material should have large PF and small $\kappa$.$^{19}$ The materials having large value of \textit{ZT} are more efficient for converting the waste heat into useful electricity.$^{20}$\\
  Transition metal oxides having Perovskite-based structure, have been extensively studied due to their flexible crystal structure and shows interesting physical properties such as colossal magnetoresistance, ferroelectricity, and thermoelectricity.$^{21,22}$ In the search of suitable oxides for TE applications, cobalt oxides having perovskite structure were found more interesting due to its large Seebeck coefficient and semiconducting or metallic electrical conductivity.$^{23-25}$ Lanthanum cobalt oxides, LaCoO$_{3}$ with rhombohedra distorted perovskite structure exhibits a large positive Seebeck coefficient at room temperature, with $\alpha$ = $\sim$640 μV/K.$^{26,27}$ The experimental and theoretical studies of electronic properties for this compound have been studied by many groups.$^{25-34}$ Although the thermopower, electrical and thermal conductivities of LaCoO$_{3}$ have been studied in the wide temperature range. However, a detailed understanding of the large and positive $\alpha$ observed in the compound by using the electronic structure calculation is still missing. This gives us a direction to investigate the high temperature TE properties of the LaCoO$_{3}$ by using experimental and theoretical tools.\\
  In the present work, we have performed the temperature dependent Seebeck coefficient ($\alpha$) measurement on LaCoO$_{3}$ compound in the range 300-600 K. The observed values of $\alpha$ at 300 and 600 K are $\sim$635 and $\sim$46 $\mu$V/K, respectively. The temperature dependent behavior of $\alpha$ is non-linear in the range 300-540 K, whereas it is almost linear in the range 540-600 K. To understand the TE behavior of this material, we have studied the electronic and TE properties by combining the \textit{ab-initio} electronic structures and Boltzmann transport calculations. The value of energy gap is found to be $\sim$0.5 eV, which is close to experimental band gap of $\sim$0.6 eV.$^{34,35}$ To know the contributions of charge carriers in $\alpha$, the total and partial density of states have been plotted for Co \textit{3d} orbitals and O \textit{2p} orbitals. The electronic band structure along high symmetric points is also plotted and effective masses of holes and electrons have been estimated from this. The values of $\alpha$ in the temperature range 300-1100 K are obtained from the BoltzTraP calculations. The calculated values of $\alpha$ show similar temperature dependent behavior as reported in literature. In the temperature range 300-360 K, the calculated values of $\alpha$ have good matching with experimental values. To see the effect of doping on TE behavior of the compound, we have plotted the chemical potential ($\mu$) dependent power factor (PF) at various temperatures. At 1110 K, the PF's value for positive $\mu$ comes out $\sim$1.3 times larger than the value of PF for negative $\mu$. The value of \textit{ZT} are evaluated in the temperature range 300-1100 K by using the peak value of power factor ($\alpha^{2}$$\sigma$) corresponding to positive value of chemical potential and thermal conductivities values reported by Pillai et al.$^{49}$ The value of \textit{ZT} is found to be $\sim$0.35 in the temperature range 600-1100 K.

  \section{Experimental and Computational details }

  The Polycrystalline LaCoO$_{3}$ sample was prepared by using the single step solution combustion method.$^{36}$ The detailed synthesis procedure of LaCoO$_{3}$ compound is given in our earlier work.$^{37}$ The sample used for $\alpha$ measurement was made in the pellet form under the pressure of $\sim$35 Kg/cm$^{2}$. Further, pellet was sintered at 1000 $^{0}$C for 24 hours. The diameter and thickness of the sample were $\sim$5 mm and $\sim$0.5 mm, respectively. The temperature dependent values of $\alpha$ were obtained in the temperature range 300-600 K by using the home-made Seebeck coefficient measurement setup.$^{37}$ \\
  The electronic structures calculations on LaCoO$_{3}$ compound in low spin configurations of Co$^{3+}$ ions (with \textit{$\text{t}^6_{2g}$}$\text{e}^0_{g}$$\Rightarrow$ S=0) were performed by using the full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave (FP-LAPW) method within the density functional theory (DFT) implemented in WIEN2k code.$^{38}$ The TE properties of the compound have been studied by using the BoltzTraP code.$^{39}$ LSDA+U approximation have been used to account the electronic correlations, where U is the on-site Coulomb interaction strength among Co \textit{3d} electrons.$^{40}$ The calculated energy band gap is found to be closer to the experimental value by considering the value of U = 2.75 eV.$^{35}$ The experimental lattice parameters corresponding to 300 K temperature and atomic coordinates of La, Co and O atoms used for the calculations were taken from the literature.$^{41}$ The muffin-tin sphere radii used in the calculations were set to 2.45, 1.94 and 1.67 Bohr for La, Co, and O atoms, respectively. The value of R$_{MT}$K$_{max}$, which determines the matrix size for convergence was set equal to 7, where R$_{MT}$ is the smallest atomic sphere radius and K$_{max}$ is the plane wave cut-off. The self-consistency was achieved by demanding the convergence of the total charge/cell to be less than 10$^{-4}$ electronic charge, which gives rise the energy convergence less than the 10$^{-5}$ Ry. The k-point mesh size was set to be 40$\times$40$\times$40 during the calculations of electronic and transport properties. The value of \textit{lpfac} parameter, which represents the number of k-points per lattice point, was set to be 5 for the calculation of TE properties.
\section{Results and Discussion}
The temperature dependent $\alpha$ for the compound is shown in Fig. 1.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \begin{center}

    \vspace{1.0cm}
   \includegraphics[width=0.40\textwidth]{LaCoO3.eps}
    \label{}
    \captionsetup{justification=raggedright,
singlelinecheck=false
}
    \caption{(Color online) Temperature dependent Seebeck coefficient of LaCoO$_{3}$ compound.}
    \vspace{0.0cm}
  \end{center}
\end{figure}
The values of $\alpha$ are positive in the 300-600 K temperature range. At 300 K, the observed value of $\alpha$ is $\sim$635 $\mu$V/K. As the temperature increases from 300 K to 600 K, the value of $\alpha$ decreases continuously. The observed value of $\alpha$ at 600 K is equal to $\sim$46$\mu$V/K. The temperature dependence variation in $\alpha$ is almost similar to the reported data in the literature.$^{26,27}$ The value $\alpha$ decreases with very fast rate in the temperature range 300-540 K and change of $\sim$576 $\mu$V/K is observed in the same temperature interval. For the temperature range 540-600 K, the change in the value of $\alpha$ is $\sim$13 $\mu$V/K. The variation in the $\alpha$ is non-linear in the temperature range 300-540 K. For temperature above 540 K, the values of $\alpha$ show almost a linear behavior. For the sake of clarity, the linear fit of experimental data is shown in the inset of Fig. 1. The linear temperature behavior above 540 K is associated with the insulator-to-metal transitions.$^{42}$

To understand the large and positive values of $\alpha$ exhibited by the compound, we have carried out the electronic structure calculations. The total density of states (TDOS) for the compound is shown in the Fig. 2a.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \begin{center}

   \includegraphics[width=0.35\textwidth, totalheight=0.45\textheight]{LCO275LSDOS.eps}
    \label{}
    \captionsetup{justification=raggedright,
singlelinecheck=false
}
    \caption{(Color online) Total and partial density of states plots for LaCoO$_{3}$. Shown are (a) the TDOS plot, (b) PDOS of Co atom (\textit{3d} orbitals), (c) PDOS of O atom (\textit{2p} orbitals).}
    \vspace{0.0cm}
  \end{center}
\end{figure}
The electronic properties are calculated in the ground state (T= 0 K). Thus, the chemical potential in DOS plots can be taken at the middle of the energy gap. The dashed line represents the $\mu$, which is at the middle of energy gap. It is evident from the TDOS plot that LaCoO$_{3}$ is an insulating material with energy gap of $\sim$0.5 eV, which is in accordance to the observed energy gap.$^{35}$ In the low spin state, calculated DOS for up and down spins are found equal and opposite. Thus, it is evident from the TDOS plot that system has non-magnetic ground state.\\
In order to see the contributions of electrons to $\alpha$ from different atomic orbitals, we have also shown the partial density of states (PDOS) plots for Co and O atoms. The PDOS plot for Co \textit{3d} orbitals is shown in the Fig. 2b. For the rhombohedral lattice, five degenerate \textit{d} orbitals split into non-degenerate \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} orbital; doubly degenerate \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$} and \textit{d$_{xy}$} orbitals; and doubly degenerate \textit{d$_{xz}$} and \textit{d$_{yz}$} orbitals. Here, doubly degenerate \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$} and \textit{d$_{xy}$} orbitals are represented by \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$+d$_{xy}$}; and doubly degenerate \textit{d$_{xz}$} and \textit{d$_{yz}$} orbitals by \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$} notation. From the PDOS of Co \textit{3d} orbitals, it is clearly observed that in valence band (VB) contributions in DOS are from all three states, \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$}, \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$}, whereas in conduction band (CB) only \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$} states closer to Fermi level (E$_{F}$) contribute in the DOS. For the sake of clarity, the regions around top of the VB and bottom of the CB are shown in the inset of the Fig. 2b. At the top of VB, the contributions in DOS is only from the \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} orbital. Therefore, thermally excited electrons from this \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} orbital will contribute maximum to the value of $\alpha$. The energy of \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$ } states is $\sim$145 meV lower than that of \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} state. Thus, at 300 K thermally excited electrons from VB to the CB will be mainly from the \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} state. As the temperature increases, the number of thermally excited electrons from the \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$ } states will also be increase. The temperature corresponding to the energy gap of 145 meV is $\sim$1740 K. At this temperature, the transitions of thermally excited electrons from VB to CB will be almost equal in number. Thus at 1740 K, the contributions to $\alpha$ by thermally excited electrons will be nearly equal from the \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$}, \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$ } states. At the bottom of the CB, there are two orbitals \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$}, which contribute to the DOS. Hence, these two orbitals will be mainly occupied by the thermally excited electrons from VB. There is no contribution in DOS from the \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} orbital at bottom of the CB. Thus, there will be no contribution to $\alpha$ by CB electrons from \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} orbital. At energy $\sim$80 meV from bottom of the CB, the DOS for \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} orbitals have nearly two times larger value than \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$} orbitals. Therefore, the  \textit{{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$}} orbitals will occupy nearly twice the number of thermally excited electrons and thus have more contributions in the value of $\alpha$ LaCoO$_{3}$.\\
The PDOS of oxygen atom (\textit{2p} orbitals) is shown in the Fig. 2c. For both VB and CB, there are contributions in the DOS from all the three states of \textit{ p} orbital i.e. \textit{p$_{x}$}, \textit{p$_{y}$} and \textit{p$_{z}$}. The VB and CB regions about $\mu$ is shown in the inset of Fig. 2c for the sake of clarity. It is observed that the DOS contribution at top of the VB is from the \textit{p$_{x}$} and \textit{p$_{y}$} states, whereas at the bottom of CB \textit{p}$_{z}$ states contribute in the DOS. The DOS value of \textit{p$_{x}$} orbital near the top of VB are $\sim$10 times smaller than the DOS of \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} orbital. Therefore, the contributions in the value of $\alpha$ is very small from the \textit{p} orbital electrons. From the inset of Fig. 2b and 2c, the shape of DOS for different orbitals in VB clearly depicts the hybridization between \textit{p} and \textit{d} orbitals. In VB region closer to E$_{F}$, the \textit{d$_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$} orbital hybridized with \textit{p$_{x}$} and \textit{p$_{y}$} orbitals, whereas \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$} orbitals hybridized with \textit{p}$_{z}$ orbital. In CB shape of PDOS closer to E$_{F}$ show that \textit{d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$}+\textit{d$_{xy}$} and \textit{d$_{xz}$}+\textit{d$_{yz}$} orbitals are hybridized with \textit{p$_{z}$} orbital.\\
The magnitude of $\alpha$ is decided by the effective mass, types of charge carriers and carriers concentrations, whereas its sign is decided by the effective mass of the charge carrier. To understand the large and positive values of $\alpha$ shown by the LaCoO$_{3}$, it is essential to calculate the effective masses of the holes and electrons. The effective masses of charge carriers can be estimated from the electronic band structure, therefore the dispersion curves for different k-values are calculated along the high symmetric points. The dispersion curves along the high symmetric $\Gamma$, T, L, and FB points are shown in Fig. 3.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \begin{center}
  \vspace{1.0cm}
   \includegraphics[width=0.40\textwidth]{bandup.eps}
    \label{}
    \captionsetup{justification=raggedright,
singlelinecheck=false
}
    \caption{(Color online) Dispersion curves along high symmetric points ($\Gamma$, T, L, and FB) for LaCoO$_{3}$ compound.}
    \vspace{0.1cm}
  \end{center}
\end{figure}
The primitive basis co-ordinates of these high symmetric points corresponds to R$\bar{3}$c space group are taken from the  Bilbao crystallographic server.$^{43}$It is evident from the dispersion curves, the top of the VB and bottom of the CB lies at $\Gamma$ and FB point, respectively. Therefore, LaCoO$_{3}$ compound is an indirect band gap semiconductor. The estimated energy of indirect band gap from the dispersion curve is found to be 0.5 eV. The top of the VB (Band \textit{\textbf{1}}) and bottom of the CB (Band \textit{\textbf{2}}) are non-degenerate. The minimum of second band (i.e. Band \textbf{\textbf{3}}) from the bottom of CB lies at the $\Gamma$ point. The energy gap between top of the VB and bottom of the CB (Band \textit{\textbf{3}}) is $\sim$ 0.6 eV. This energy gap is corresponding to the temperature of $\sim$7200 K. The band \textit{ \textbf{2}} and \textit{ \textbf{3}} in the CB are doubly degenerate at $\Gamma$ point. The magnitude of effective mass at a given k-point is decided by the shape of energy band. At a given k-point, the flat band energy curve has the larger effective mass in comparison to the narrower energy curve. From the dispersion curve, it is observed that at FB point the energy curve (Band \textit{\textbf{2}}) have more flat shape along the $\Gamma$ direction in comparison of the curve along T direction. Therefore, one expect a large effective mass of the electrons at FB point along the $\Gamma$ direction. For the VB energy curve (Band \textit{\textbf{1}}), the shape of the energy band at $\Gamma$ point is almost symmetric along FB and L directions. Thus, the effective mass of the holes will be nearly equal along these directions. The shape of band \textbf{\textit{1}} at $\Gamma$ point and along the FB direction is more flat than the shape of band \textit{\textbf{2}} at FB point along the T direction, whereas the shape of energy curve of band \textit{\textbf{1}} at $\Gamma$ point along L direction is narrower than the shape of band \textit{\textbf{2}} at FB point along $\Gamma$ direction. Thus, the effective mass of electrons at FB point in band \textit{\textbf{2}} and along $\Gamma$ direction is expected very large than that of holes effective mass at $\Gamma$ point along L direction.\\
To understand the effective mass contributions to $\alpha$ from the charge carriers (holes and electrons), we have estimated the effective mass along the high symmetric direction by using the dispersion curve. The effective mass of holes and electrons are calculated at $\Gamma$ point (along L, FB, $\&$ T directions) and FB point (along $\Gamma$, L, $\&$ and T directions), respectively. The calculated effective mass is given in the Table I.
\vspace{0.2cm}
 \begin{table}[htbp]
\caption{The effective mass of holes (at $\Gamma$  point) and electrons (at FB point) along high symmetric directions.}
\begin{tabular}{p{0.cm}p{2cm}p{0.5cm}p{0.2cm}p{0.2cm}p{0.5cm}}
\hline
\hline
&&\multicolumn{2}{c}{Effective mass (m$^{*}$/m$_{e}$)}\\
\cline{3-4}
\\
&High-Symmetry Point&&Valence Band&Conduction Band\\
&&{ {\it } }&&&\\
\hline
$\Gamma$$-$$\Gamma$\textbf{L}&&&1.87&-&\\
$\Gamma$$-$$\Gamma$\textbf{FB}&&&1.82&-&\\
$\Gamma$$-$$\Gamma$\textbf{T}&&&1.76&-&\\
FB$-$FB$\boldsymbol{\Gamma}$&&&-&14.70&\\
FB$-$FB\textbf{L}&&&-&0.84&\\
FB$-$FB\textbf{T}&&&-&1.01&\\

\hline
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
The notation $\Gamma$$-$$\Gamma$\textbf{L} used in the table represents the effective mass calculated at $\Gamma$ point along the L direction and similarly for others. The calculated effective mass of holes at $\Gamma$ point along L and T direction are nearly two times larger of the electron's effective mass at FB point, whereas effective mass of electrons at FB point along the $\Gamma$ direction is nearly eight times larger of the effective mass of holes at $\Gamma$ point along the FB direction. From the estimated values of effective masses of holes and electrons along different directions, it is expected that electrons will be the dominating charge carriers in the contributions to the thermopower due to their large effective mass (m$^{*}_e$ = $\sim$14.7m$_{e}$) at FB point along the $\Gamma$ direction. Thus, one expect large and negative $\alpha$ for the LaCoO$_{3}$ compound. From the calculations, the large and negative value of $\alpha$ is also obtained at middle of the energy band gap (i.e. $\mu$= 0 eV). But, the experimentally observed value of $\alpha$ for LaCoO$_{3}$ is large and positive. At this point one should keep in mind that $\mu$ for an intrinsic semiconductor materials has temperature dependence through the following expression$^{44}$\\
\begin{equation}
  \mu = \varepsilon_{v} + \frac{1}{2}Eg + \frac{3}{4}\textit{k}_{B}T \textit{ln} ({\textit{m}_{\textit{v}}}/{\textit{m}_{\textit{c}}})
  \end{equation}
 where $\varepsilon$$_{v}$ is the energy of the electron at the top of the VB, ${m_{v}}$ and ${m_{c}}$ are the effective mass of the charge carrier in VB and CB, respectively. Using the effective mass of the electrons, \textit{m$^{*}_e$} = 14.7 \textit{m$_{e}$}, and effective mass of the holes, \textit{m$^{*}_h$} = 1.8 \textit{m$_{e}$}, the value of $\mu$ at 300 K comes out to be $\sim$ -40 meV. The shift of $\mu$ below the middle of the gap represents the hole type behavior. Thus, one should expect a positive value of $\alpha$ for the LaCoO$_{3}$. The variations of $\alpha$ with $\mu$ at various temperatures is shown in the Fig. 4.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \begin{center}
   \vspace{1.5cm}
   \includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{LCOchemical.eps}
    \label{}
    \captionsetup{justification=raggedright,
singlelinecheck=false
}
    \caption{(Color online) Variations of Seebeck coefficient with chemical potential for LaCoO$_{3}$ compound at different temperatures (300, 400, 500, and 600 K).}
    \vspace{0.0cm}
  \end{center}
\end{figure}

  \begin{figure}[htbp]
  \begin{center}

   \includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{LCOexp.eps}
    \label{}
    \captionsetup{justification=raggedright,
singlelinecheck=false
}
    \caption{(Color online) Seebeck coefficient ($\alpha$ vs temperature for LaCoO$_{3}$ compound. Shown Experimental data(O), and calculated data (\textbf{\textemdash}).}
    \vspace{0.0cm}
  \end{center}
\end{figure}
  The vertical solid line drawn at -40 meV represents the chemical potential at 300 K. The calculated value of $\alpha$ for $\mu$ = -40 meV is found to be $\sim$670 $\mu$V/K, which is closer to the experimental value $\sim$635$\mu$V/K. The calculated $\alpha$'s value in the temperature range 300-600 K along with experimental data for a fixed $\mu$ ( i.e. $\mu$ = -40 meV from the middle of the energy gap) are shown in the Fig. 5. The values of $\alpha$ obtained from the calculations have reasonably good match with experimental data in the temperature range 300-360 K. Above 360 K, difference in calculated and experimental data is observed. In our earlier work, we observed a better matching between calculated and experimental data for ZnV$_{2}$O$_{4}$ compound in the temperature range 200-400 K.$^{45}$ From the Fig. 5, we observed the difference of $\sim$120 $\mu$V/K for LaCoO$_{3}$ at temperature $\sim$460 K, whereas in the metallic phase, $\sim$600 K, this difference decreases to the value of $\sim$50 $\mu$V/K. In the present case, differences observed between calculated and experimental values of $\alpha$ above 360 K can be due to the various factor, such as relaxation time, spin state transition and temperature independent $\mu$. In the high temperature region, the relaxation time changes due to the various scattering mechanism.$^{46,47}$ Therefore, corrections in the relaxation time due to the different scattering mechanism is required. In this compound, the spin state transitions from low-spin to high-spin states are also reported in the temperature region 300-600 K.$^{25,48}$ In present case, we have performed the theoretical calculations for low spin configuration only. Hence, electronic structures calculations for different spin states in accordance to the temperature range may improve the data. Here to make the comparison between calculated and experimental data, we have shown $\alpha$ vs T plot for a fixed $\mu$. But, the $\mu$ for an intrinsic semiconductor is temperature dependent.$^{44}$ Therefore, for temperature dependent transport properties one should consider the temperature dependent correction in the $\mu$ also. In high temperature region, consideration of these three factors may lead to the better matching between calculated and experimental data. To established this conjecture careful study in this directions is needed, which is beyond the scope of the present work.\\
  \begin{figure}[htbp]
  \begin{center}

   \includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{LCOPF.eps}
    \label{}
    \captionsetup{justification=raggedright,
singlelinecheck=false
}
    \caption{(Color online) The variations in power factor ($\alpha$$^{2}$$\sigma$/$\tau$) with chemical potential at different temperatures.}
    \vspace{0.0cm}
  \end{center}
\end{figure}
In order to see the potential capabilities of the LaCoO$_{3}$ compound to be used for TE applications, we have also calculated the power factor (PF). Fig. 6 shows the variations in PF, $\alpha$$^{2}$$\sigma$/$\tau$, with $\mu$ at different temperatures.\\
  For each curve plotted at different temperatures, the value of PF have maximum for both positive and negative value of $\mu$. The positive and negative value of $\mu$ represents the electrons and holes type doping, respectively. The dotted line at $\mu$ equal to zero eV represents the middle of the energy band gap. The value of PF maximum for negative $\mu$ is found to be $\sim$19$\times$10$^{-14}$ $\mu$W cm$^{-1}$ K$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ at $\sim$ -467 meV for 300 K. As the temperature increases from 300 to 1100 K, the values of $\mu$ corresponds to maximum value of PF shifted from $\sim$ -467 meV to $\sim$ -386 meV, and the value of PF maximum at 1100 K is $\sim$47 $\times$10$^{-14}$ $\mu$W cm$^{-1}$ K$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. For the positive $\mu$, the maximum value for 300 K temperature curve is found at $\sim$307 meV, and it shifted towards higher value of $\mu$ as the temperature increases from 300 K to 1100 K. The maximum values of PF for 300 and 1100 K temperature curve are $\sim$16$\times$10$^{-14}$ and $\sim$60$\times$10$^{-14}$ $\mu$W cm$^{-1}$ K$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, obtained at the positive $\mu$ of $\sim$307 and $\sim$328 meV, respectively. The calculated values of PF suggests that an appropriate amount of \textit{n}-type doping can increase the value of PF and hence the TE behavior of this compound can be enhanced.\\
We have also estimated the values of \textit{ZT} for the \textit{n}-type doped LaCoO$_{3}$ compound by using the maximum values of PF corresponds to positive $\mu$ (shown in Fig. 6) and thermal conductivity data of compound reported by Pillai et. al.$^{49}$ Here, the value of relaxation time ($\tau$) is taken equal to 10$^{-14}$ s. The values of \textit{ZT} have been estimated in the temperature range 300-1100 K at the temperature interval of 100 K. The $\kappa$ values used for calculation are obtained from the interpolation of $\kappa$. Temperature dependent \textit{ZT} of LaCoO$_{3}$ is shown in the Fig. 7.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \begin{center}
     \vspace{1.0cm}
   \includegraphics[width=0.40\textwidth]{ZT.eps}
    \label{}
    \captionsetup{justification=raggedright,
singlelinecheck=false
}
    \caption{(Color online) Temperature dependent variation of calculated \textit{figure-of-merit}, \textit{ZT}, for n-type LaCoO$_{3}$. The values of \textit{ZT} are obtained by using peak value of power factor corresponding to positive value of chemical potential(shown in Fig. 6), $\tau$ =10$^{-14}$ seconds, and thermal conductivities values reported by Pillai et al [Ref. \textbf{49}]}
    \vspace{0.0cm}
  \end{center}
\end{figure}
The value of \textit{ZT} at 300 K is $\sim$0.21 and it increases to $\sim$0.35 at 600 K. Further increase in the temperature above 600 K, ZT becomes almost constant upto 1100 K. The value of \textit{ZT} suggests that with suitable \textit{n}-type doping, LaCoO$_{3}$ compound can be used as a better TE material in high temperature region. The value of \textit{ZT} for \textit{n}-type doped LaCoO$_{3}$ in the temperature range 600-1100 K is similar to the other oxides, such as La/Nb doped SrTiO$_{3}$, Ge doped In$_{2}$O$_{3}$, Nb doped CaMnO$_{3}$, Ga doped Ca$_{3}$Co$_{4}$O$_{9}$.$^{12}$ At this point, it is important to notice that the values of \textit{ZT} are calculated by taking $\kappa$ values for the poly-crystalline sample.$^{49}$ By nano-structuring there are possibilities of reducing the $\kappa$ values.$^{50-53}$ Thus, \textit{ZT} of the \textit{n}-type doped LaCoO$_{3}$ can be further enhanced.
\section{Conclusions}
In conclusion, we have studied the temperature dependent thermopower of LaCoO$_{3}$ compound in the temperature range 300-600 K. The values of $\alpha$ for the compound at 300 and 600 K are found to be $\sim$635 and $\sim$46 $\mu$V/K, respectively. For the temperature range 300-540 K, the temperature variations in the $\alpha$ is non-linear and the change of $\sim$576 $\mu$V/K is observed. In the 540-600 K, the change in the $\alpha$ is $\sim$13 $\mu$V/K and the temperature dependent variations is almost linear. The linear variations of $\alpha$ in the 540-600 K temperature range is due to insulator-to-metal transitions at $\sim$540 K. To understand the large and positive values of $\alpha$ shown by the LaCoO$_{3}$, we have also carried out the electronic structure and transport coefficients calculations by using the \textit{ab-initio} density functional theory and BoltZtraP Transport calculations, respectively. The estimated energy gap for U = 2.75 eV is equal to 0.5 eV, which is in accordance to the experimentally reported energy band gap. The flat energy curve observed in the band structure gives $\sim$8 times larger effective mass of electrons in conduction band than the effective mass of holes in valence band. The large effective mass of electron plays an important role in understanding the large and positive Seebeck coefficient exhibited by this compound. Further we have calculated the power factor, which suggests that the \textit{n}-type doping is more appropriate to enhance the TE behavior. We have also estimated the \textit{ZT} values for \textit{n}-type doped LaCoO$_{3}$. The obtained value of \textit{ZT} shows that, the compound can be used as a good TE material in the high temperature region 600-1100 K. Further, by nano-structuring one can reduce the thermal conductivity in high temperature region. Hence, LaCoO$_{3}$ compound can be a potential TE material for high temperature TE applications.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Starting on the 2nd July 2018, the Bar Council launched a week-long social mobility campaign on Twitter. Using the hashtag #IAmTheBar, they sought to highlight the non-traditional journeys to the Bar of their Social Mobility Advocates. The hashtag caught on and for a week my Twitter was flooded with barristers sharing their journeys to the Bar from non-traditional backgrounds. As a first generation African Immigrant aspiring to become a barrister, #IAmTheBar is so much more than a hashtag.
Context: What does 'non-traditional background' mean?
Sometimes words and phrases become used so often that it is assumed that everyone understands their meaning. The Bar has traditionally been dominated by people from a similar socio-economic background, similar education and similar gender. The typical barrister has traditionally been white, male, Oxbridge educated and from a privileged socio-economic background. Thankfully, over many years the Bar has opened itself up and there is more diversity in the Bar today than before.
Where a barrister refers to themselves as coming from a 'non-traditional' background, they mean that they do not come from the historically traditional background of a barrister. Quite often they were the first in their family to attend university, came from the type of socio-economic background that made financing their journey to the Bar difficult, came to the Bar through a non-traditional route or are a single parent who pursued the Bar as a second career.
There is no one set way one can be from a 'non-traditional' background which is the entire point. There is no 'right' way to be non-traditional, your circumstances are unique to yourself. The principle behind the campaign is to show that no matter the obstacles your background throws at you, it is possible to overcome them and reach a career at the Bar.
I grew up in England but was born elsewhere (in Gaborone, Botswana to be exact!). Nearly everyday media outlets constantly run headlines proclaiming that the country is 'overrun' with immigrants and morning breakfast shows host people who stress how we must 'take back control' of the borders otherwise more people like me and my family "might get in".
Almost every facet of what I would call 'hostile environment Britain' – used here to reflect the xenophobia present within contemporary British social/political discourse – is telling black and minority ethnicity immigrants and their children that they are not welcome in this country. It's humiliating and alienating. There are many times where being an immigrant to Britain in 2018 is more than disheartening. The apparent rejection hurts.
Chambers are clearly proud to have such amazing women and men who've overcome the sorts of challenges and hurdles one faces when aspiring to the Bar from a non-traditional background within their ranks. For the aspiring barristers looking in, the campaign has an extremely powerful effect. It allows you to feel the reassurance that you are not alone. Others have come from the same or similar backgrounds as you, faced the same or similar hardships and emerged on the other side. It tells you that the Bar is for you and you don't have to feel alienated or as if you don't belong.
Against the backdrop of what I can only describe as a regressive return to the type of politics that has led people to take to the streets and march, reading all of the stories under the #IAmTheBar hashtag and seeing Chambers proudly retweet them has been extremely powerful. Chambers have also made it whilst explicitly clear that they welcome applications from everyone.
When I saw the #IAmTheBar campaign I felt the kind of comfort and ease that breeds confidence. Confidence that I chose the right profession to pursue and confidence that when my time comes neither my race, nationality or gender is going to stop me from doing the work that I love.


The way Robert Bennett describes it, IT project work is on the upswing in Houston. Bennett, a vice president at Robert Half Technology, has seen a pick up in job orders over the last 45 to 60 days, especially for project managers and business analysts. He says a good 80 percent of the project work coming across his desk is for efforts that had been tabled in 2009.
Still, he's cautious. "It's not a light switch," he says. "(Companies) are being very cautious, now more than ever. From what we're seeing, these projects are slowly getting the hiring going though companies are doing a lot more with less." Bottom line, they want IT workers who can do more, such as software developers who'll do quality assurance work, or PC technicians who can do help desk.
However, recruiters are seeing an uptick in job orders. Sean Ebner, a vice president at staff recruiting Technisource, says his firm started to feel a recovery in November and December, and since then activity has picked up even more. "It's in full swing," says Ebner.
Ebner says skill sets his clients seek are mostly project-centric. They're looking for project managers, programmers, data analysts, business analysts and business intelligence experts. As projects get under way, he expects demand for other skills to pick up, as well. Demand for infrastructure expertise has been fairly steady, Ebner says, driven by verticals involved with oil and gas.
Scott Sage, who has worked as an SAP consultant for about 10 years, says demand for SAP expertise dipped after the economic downturn. Now it's improved compared to 2009, which was "brutal." While demand for staff augmentation (where SAP experts are brought in for project work) still is slow, consultants who focus on helping companies work through a specific SAP-focused problem is still lucrative.
Dice's job postings from Houston showed a 20 percent decline in January, with 929 positions listed in January compared to 1,154 a year earlier. Still, January's numbers were slightly better than they'd been the previous month (804).


text:
Home » Sports » Baseball » Ohio State baseball continues to struggle on road, drops 2 of 3 vs. Illinois
Ohio State baseball continues to struggle on road, drops 2 of 3 vs. Illinois
By Edward Sutelan: sutelan.1@osu.edu	April 24, 2016	0
Junior left-hander Tanner Tully fires a pitch during a game against Rutgers on April 15 at Bill Davis Stadium. Credit: Samantha Hollingshead | Photo Editor
The road woes persisted for the Ohio State baseball (25-14-1, 5-7-0) this weekend, with the Buckeyes dropping two of their three games versus Big Ten counterpart Illinois (20-17, 6-6).
If fans came out to the game Friday night expecting a quick, high-scoring affair, most of them left disappointed. The game ended up being a pitchers' duel that lasted 3 hours and 57 minutes, eventually culminating in a 1-0 Illini victory in the 15th inning.
The Fighting Illini received an outstanding effort from their right-handed starter, junior Cody Sedlock, who pitched 10.2 scoreless innings, surrendering five hits and one walk with 14 punchouts. Fortunately for OSU, it had just the guy to match up with the ace.
After a rough outing against Rutgers in which he surrendered six earned runs over six innings against Rutgers, OSU junior left-hander Tanner Tully delivered exactly what the Buckeyes needed.
Tully provided the Scarlet and Gray with nine scoreless innings, striking out six batters and surrendering just seven hits and a walk. To OSU coach Greg Beals, this was exactly the kind of pitching matchup one would expect to see in a battle of aces.
"(Tully) had a better start, he bounced back and pitched great this week," Beals said. "(Sedlock) was very strong, as well, and typical Friday night heavyweight fight with two very good starting pitchers, and nobody gave anything up."
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, things would not end their way. With both teams throwing out their aces, runs were hard to come by. The game was held scoreless until the bottom of the 15th inning when OSU redshirt sophomore reliever Kyle Michalik threw a wild pitch past the catcher that allowed the runner from third base to score. As Beals explained, the team needs to start hitting a lot earlier in these types of road games with such high importance.
"Another walk-off loss on the road in-conference, and that's the third one now," Beals said. "We've got to do more early in the game and create some breaks for ourselves and not put ourselves in that situation where it's always going to be so close down the road. Our bats have got to be able to produce more, especially early in the ball game."
After failing to tally a run in the 15-inning series opener, OSU came out the next day with the bats ready to go.
Following his leadoff single in the second inning, senior shortstop Craig Nennig scored the first run of the game off an RBI single to left field off the bat of junior catcher Jalen Washington.
Two innings later, Washington came up to bat once again with a runner on third. And like he did already in the game, Washington drove him in with an RBI single.
The Buckeyes scored again in the fifth inning when senior third baseman Nick Sergakis came up to bat with runners on second and third. Sergakis hit into a fielder's choice that scored redshirt junior first baseman Jacob Bosiokovic from third base.
Illinois got on board when its designated hitter, freshman Luke Shilling, lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 3-1. However, that ended up being the last time the Fighting Illini put a number on the scoreboard.
In the seventh inning, Sergakis again came up to bat with a runner in scoring position, and he drove the runner in with an RBI double to right field.
From this point on, it was all OSU. In the top of the eighth inning, junior center fielder Troy Montgomery hit a sacrifice fly into left field to score sophomore right fielder Tre' Gantt from third.
After a walk to Bosiokovic, junior left fielder Ronnie Dawson came up to the box and sent a home run over the right-field fence to make the score 7-1. The Buckeyes scored twice more in the top of the ninth, grabbing the 9-1 win.
Having Dawson swinging the bat so well is critical to OSU's success, Beals said.
"Ronnie's a key part in our lineup, sitting in our three hole," Beals said. "(He) went through a little bit of a slow part there in the middle but is swinging the bat really well and up to his potential."
After missing some time with a hamstring injury, OSU redshirt sophomore Adam Niemeyer took the hill for his second start. It didn't go quite to plan, though, as he was was touched up a bit early by the Fighting Illini.
Following a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning, Illinois put itself on the scoreboard after a triple by freshman center fielder Doran Turchin, who would score on a ground ball by the next batter.
Dawson brought the Buckeyes back within one in the sixth inning, however, with a home run to left field that made the score 2-1.
It was not until the bottom of the seventh inning that Illinois put itself back up on the scoreboard. With the bases loaded, Illinois freshman rightfielder Jack Yalowitz doubled to right field to clear the bases and put the Fighting Illini up 5-1.
OSU cut into the deficit in the eighth inning on an RBI double by Dawson. In the top of the ninth inning, Nennig led off and drilled a home run to left field. That would be the final run the Buckeyes would score, however, as they lost the series finale 5-3. After the game, Beals talked about how disappointing this series was for his squad.
"I'm feeling like we missed an opportunity," Beals said. "You don't feel good when you don't win. … We had an opportunity to do some damage this weekend, and we weren't able to take advantage of it."
Without a midweek series on the docket, the Buckeyes are not scheduled to play again until Friday when they begin a three-game series against Purdue (7-30, 2-13). With OSU now in 11th place in the Big Ten, Beals acknowledged that the upcoming series is a crucial one.
"We've been reluctant to say 'must-win' to this point," Beals said. "But next weekend will be a must-win series."
baseball Buckeyes craig nenning Fighting Illini Illinois Jalen Washington Nick Sergakis ohio state osu	2016-04-24
Edward Sutelan
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


For decades, we have been battling a condition known to medical practitioners as the "silent killer"; a condition that contributes to the burden of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure and premature mortality and disability. This is the condition of hypertension.
Hypertension rarely causes symptoms in the early stages and many people go undiagnosed. Those who are diagnosed may not have access to treatment and may not be able to successfully control their illness over the long term. There are significant health and economic gains attached to early detection, adequate treatment and good control of hypertension.
Addressing behavioural risk factors, e.g. unhealthy diet, harmful use of alcohol and physical inactivity, can prevent hypertension.
The major problem in achieving better control of hypertension in a community is based on the fact that hypertension is a silent asymptomatic disease. Ignorance of the general population as to the nature of elevated blood pressure, its morbid effects and the methods of maintaining its control is widespread and contributes to the large percentage of undetected and untreated hypertensive subjects in a community.
The series of blood pressure taking by the group during the community exposure has scaled out that majority of the people have high blood pressure (no available data as of the moment). It was also noted that the people are unaware of the health consequences of hypertension if not controlled. There is a deficit in knowledge regarding the risk factors, diseases process and progression of hypertension. In addition, the lack of sports and exercises in the lifestyle of the community people seems to be the top contributing factor to the problem.
The community health plan is divided into three phases. For an introductory intervention or the pre operational phase, it consists of assessing and obtaining of primary data to properly plan out the CHP. It would also include planning of activities that will help the community be aware of the problem. Involving the community people in our plans and identifying their own responsibilities is paramount in gaining their outmost participation. We can make this possible by creating a core group to be called as "Bantay BP officers" formed by members who are residents of Manguiles. In addition, initiating and improving the case finding scheme is essential as well to be able to identify the target population for this health problem.
The second phase is the operational phase. Increasing the community's knowledge regarding the risks, early detection, and prevention of hypertension is one of the primary concerns in this phase. Conducting lectures may be overrated but is still considered as one of the effective methods on educating the people about hypertension as a whole. This method is enhanced by distributing pamphlets for them to keep as a guide on addressing the health concerns.
To be able to sustain our case finding scheme even in our absence, hands-on skills training of the BHW and Team HALTapresyon will be conducted. Developing healthy habits that will stick in their lifestyle is what we opt to instill in each individual. Introducing of alternatives to already existing bad habits like smoking, excessive intake of salty foods and alcohol consumption and emphasizing the importance of health-seeking behaviours will have a long term impact on the lives of individuals.


text:
Is there an in-universe explanation for the convergence of the Infinity Stones in time and space?
It is well-known that the MCU is tied together by the infinity-stones, most of which have already appeared; and they will play a central role in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.
They have all shown up in a space of ten years (a trivial span of time compared to their history) and all mostly on Earth, or in interactions with characters with close connections to Earth (i.e. Star-Lord and Thor).
marvel-cinematic-universe marvel infinity-stones
Rand al'Thor♦
ThePopMachineThePopMachine
Err... I guess we'll find out in the Infinity Wars? – Gallifreyan Feb 6 '17 at 17:53
@Gallifreyan, possible, but there could still be some mention already given they have appeared in -- what? -- six films? – ThePopMachine Feb 6 '17 at 17:54
Not sure if this falls under future works or not, since all they've done so far is show up and be portentious. Or if it just falls under Humans Wrote The Damn Plot. – Radhil Feb 6 '17 at 17:54
I would also accept any plotlines from the comics that apply. – ThePopMachine Feb 6 '17 at 17:55
@Terriblefan - Earth isn't really replete with superpowerful people, or at least not as much as it might seem. For example, the Kree have regeneration and enough strength to go head-to-head with many Inhumans. And that's all the Kree (not even their more formidable individuals such as Ronan the Accuser), and it doesn't even count their advanced technology. – Adamant Feb 7 '17 at 16:45
The short answer is: Thanos.
For whatever reason, Thanos has begun looking for the Infinity Stones. This has caused at least two that had previously been dormant to resurface.
The Mind Stone was given to Loki by Thanos to help him conquer Earth.
The Power Stone was found by Star Lord because someone paid him (well, the Ravagers) to find it. We aren't given confirmation, but I think we can presume Thanos was the ultimate buyer.
Two others were on Earth already, long before the current series of movies began:
The Space Stone was hidden by the Asgardians on Earth a long time ago, and rediscovered by the Nazis in the 1940s. The arrival of Thor finally prompted SHIELD to begin studying it.
The Time Stone has been in the possession of the Masters of the Mystic Arts for a long time. It was never "hidden" -- the people who had it even seem to know what it was. They just kept it secret.
The only one that seems particularly suspicious is the Reality Stone. Of all the appearances of the stones, the fact that Jane Foster just so happened to walk through a portal that led to the Aether at the exact moment she did, is very convenient. In-universe, of course, it was time for the Convergence to happen, but Jane being in exactly the right place, and the portal going to exactly the right place, is the least-explainable part of the whole Infinity Stone saga.
Thor, for his part, seems to realize that "someone" is behind the sudden appearance of the stones. He makes the same comment you did at the end of Age of Ultron:
The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us.
Of course that someone is Thanos, and he's doing exactly what Thor thinks, but it's not clear that all of these appearances are his doing. I can't see how he could have influenced the Convergence, for example, or Odin's choice to exile Thor. However, Thanos seems to know a lot about these stones; he may have known that the Convergence was his only chance at the Reality Stone, and detected SHIELD messing with the Space Stone; that may explain why he picked this particular time to start his quest.
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
"but I think we can presume Thanos was the ultimate buyer." - I don't think we can. The Ravagers interrogated the Broker (who was their buyer) and found his buyer to be the Collector. While it isn't confirmed yet in the MCU, the Collector has a precedent for opposing Thanos. – DariM Feb 6 '17 at 22:10
Except Gamora tried to steal the stone at the Broker's to keep it from Thanos... she was the one who suggested they sell it to The Collector. – KutuluMike Feb 7 '17 at 2:43
Gamora suggested the Collector to >Peter Quill<, who had no idea who the Broker planned to sell to. >Yondu< later interrogates the Broker separately, makes him break the confidentiality of his buyers, and gets sent to Knowhere based on the information he gets from the Broker (youtube.com/watch?v=J5tIYBr2g4s). Both trails coincidentally lead to the Collector, not Thanos. The reason Gamora was sent out is because Ronan's >troops< failed to recover the Orb, and it's in the hands of parties Thanos does not control. She merely chooses not to return to Ronan after retrieving it. – DariM Feb 7 '17 at 3:00
We already know that the Mind stone influences people, their ambitions and priorities. Thanos already has this prior to The Avengers, when he gives it to Loki as a tool to conquer Earth and retrieve the Space stone (the Tesseract). We saw it directly influence Bruce Banner, Strucker, Tony Stark, Ultron, and the Twins during their development.
This is pure speculation and opinion, but my theory is that the Mind stone, which governs and links into all consciousness in the Universe, is the true mastermind. It gave Thanos the knowledge, and idea of, bringing all the stones together to use as a weapon. It gave him subconscious knowledge of where to start looking for the other stones. This ties into the Order/Chaos aspect of the Marvel universe. It's never been fully established in the MCU that these entities truly exist or are accessible, but we've seen hints of it:
Thanos grinning at 'courting death' in the Avengers post-credits scene
Mordo using the Staff of the Living Tribunal during Doctor Strange; Dormammu and the alternate realities
Odin's explanation of the Aether's origins and first major use during Thor: The Dark World
The Collector's explanation of the source of the Infinity Stones during Guardians of the Galaxy with the artifact of the cosmic entities
The first half of season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with Ghost Rider
I think the Mind stone (the Consciousness of the Universe) is playing Thanos like a fiddle, partially driving (or multiplying) his desire to court/please Death, to eventually bring balance to the universe (since that ends up being the theme of all these grandiose deus-ex machina macguffin movies) because it knows Thanos will fail.
DerekDerek
i just want to point out that Thanos grinning at 'courting death' quote is i think a shot back at the comics where Death is a actual entity and a woman who Thanos is in love with. the quote "To challenge [the humans] is to court death." can be interpreted as "To challenge [the humans] is to be involved with Death romantically". if i recall the comics talk about how Thanos created the Infinity Gauntlet to destroy the universe to win Death's favor in regards to being with her – Memor-X Feb 7 '17 at 3:04
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged marvel-cinematic-universe marvel infinity-stones or ask your own question.
Which Infinity Stones have we seen so far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Why didn't Thanos make an attempt to steal the Aether?
Is "Infinity Stones making the name of Thanos" true?
In the MCU, who created the technology surrounding the Infinity Stones?
How did Thor in Infinity War know that the Time Stone was with the Avengers?
Can Someone Explain the Continuity and Death Infinity Stones Recently Introduced?
Is there a less fragmented order for watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Avengers: Endgame?
Would Ragnarök/Surtur even be capable of destroying the Tesseract?
What is the status of the Infinity Stones post Avengers: Endgame?
Does MCU Infinity Gauntlet with Stones/Gems operate differently than the comic book version?


I practice PR by day but obsessively plan trips by night. When I'm not doing either of those things, I'm either baking and eating delicious homemade cookies, downing an ICEE or chasing the cat or dog around the house. Hmm, perhaps this is why I am the "rover" in this relationship … ? Married to budding jeweler Caitlyn since Sept. 2012 and a proud co-owner of a crazy modern house in Indianapolis' Fountain Square cultural district.


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What is it about listening that is so amazingly difficult?
Listening to my heart – that place where many feelings reside – can be amazingly difficult, especially if it's sound is not to my liking. Exploring what I feel today I notice that often time it feels like there is a restriction around my heart, something that tightens it up and makes my breathing a bit more shallow as if not to feel it.
It reminded me of the thorns around the heart that you see so often in Christian icons. You wouldn't want that heart to expand into the thorns, would you?
But exactly that is needed. As sordid as I find a religion who's main character is depicted as dying on a cross in its temples of worship (especially since the message is that "He is risen"and not "He has suffered and is dead"), the truth I find when giving in to the pain and difficulties – feeling whatever it is that comes up in this situation now – can lead into a greater flow of life; a feeling of being saved and held by some greater Grace that I cannot understand.
Actually when I'm not in this incredible flow that was so prominent yesterday, and still somewhat touches this day, especially during sharing what's truly on my heart and mind… when I'm not in that expansive flow then very often there is this more or less subtle constriction in my heart area, or the more or less tight knot in the stomach and all the other phenomena that I've dived into these last two weeks.
Clearly, as I stated yesterday, I find that there is no unconditional this, that or the other. So what about the basic premise of this experiment that I want to be with my feelings unconditionally? Am I willing to admit that I failed? Have I failed?
I can't say, certainly, because the experiment isn't over yet – I promised myself to keep it up at least 3 weeks (creating new habits, it is said, takes 3 weeks to take a hold). But I found something that is a bit closer to what feels true: Unrestricted feeling (not in the expression but in the feeling of) is a necessary basis of all truly human connection.
To know about my connectedness with you I need to feel you in the field, and I also need to feel my e-motions, those motions inside of me – I need to be with the feeling-field as much as with the knowing-field, and probably even more so.
Wilhelm Reich, the 'father of bioenergetics', and one of the deemed infamous students of Freud, coined the term "Charakterpanzer", character-armor, which, according to him was bodyparts hardening and storing the traumas that we experience in life. I'm not a fan of bioenergetics, but I feel now much more what is meant by Charakterpanzer (pronounce kuructarpuntsur – "u" as in understand). And I actually feel it as pain, constriction, suffocation, separation, denial and all its many subtle and complex modifications.
What I want, no, what I absolutely need in relationship is an unrestricted feeling-flow. In relationship with myself, with my partner, with the people that are dear to me, and actually with everybody.
So today I've been with the restrictions or constrictions of the heart when they appeared. And I found what is my basic practise: I would call it "unrestricting myself" so that I can be with the feeings, my own and those of the people I'm with. Not stop or restrict them; not even by going with "O, I know what you mean" because really, I don't – often. If I give myself time instead of restriction, if I give the other time… flow is a natural consequence.


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BOISE, Idaho (KLIX) Authorities have identified the man killed in Monday's police involved shooting. The Ada County Coroner's office has identified the man as Christopher Williams. On Monday, at around 3:30 p.m. an Idaho State Trooper on a motorcycle attempted to pull Williams over after a traffic violation on his motorcycle, according to the Critical Incident Task Force investigating the shooting. As the trooper approached motorcycle, Williams sped away down a dead-end street. When the trooper caught up with Williams a physical altercation began. Investigators say Williams tried to get the trooper's firearm. The ISP trooper fired several shots which hit Williams in the torso. The trooper attempted life-saving measures until paramedics arrived, but the suspect did not survive. The task force is reviewing video footage from the trooper's body camera.


Established in 1935, The Illinois Society for Microbiology (ISM) is a non-profit organization committed to promoting scientific knowledge in the field of microbiology as well as supporting the contributions of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). ISM is one of the oldest chapters of ASM. Our members are microbiologists, supervisors and managers of laboratories, directors of microbiology departments, commercial suppliers and academicians. We are dedicated to the continuous education of Microbiology professionals in Illinois.
The Illinois Society for Microbiology wishes to acknowledge our appreciation for our sustaining members. Sponsorship of ISM allows us to present valuable educational programs to microbiologists in our area and helps to support the operational costs of our programs.
Includes:Complimentary list of current members (at your request), complimentary list of paid attendees at the Meeting (at your request), ISM will provide a sustaining member sign at your booth and recognition on a sustaining member poster at every ISM meeting, ISM will give recognition on our website with a link to your company's Home Page.
Includes:Complimentary list of current members (at your request), Complimentary list of paid attendees at the Meeting (at your request), ISM will provid a sustaining member sign at your booth and recognition on a sustaining member poster at every ISM meeting.
Includes:Complimentary list of current members (at your request), ISM will provide a sustaining member sign at your booth and recognition on a sustaining member poster at every ISM meeting.


Edu App is a Windows program. Read more about how to remove it from your PC. The Windows version was created by Edu App. More information about Edu App can be read here. You can read more about about Edu App at http://eduapphome.com/support. Edu App is normally set up in the C:\Program Files\Edu App folder, however this location may vary a lot depending on the user's option when installing the program. C:\Program Files\Edu App\EduAppuninstall.exe is the full command line if you want to remove Edu App. The application's main executable file is called utilEduApp.exe and it has a size of 387.23 KB (396520 bytes).
The following executables are installed beside Edu App. They take about 629.88 KB (644992 bytes) on disk.
1. If you don't have Advanced Uninstaller PRO on your Windows system, add it. This is a good step because Advanced Uninstaller PRO is the best uninstaller and all around tool to maximize the performance of your Windows computer.
2. Start Advanced Uninstaller PRO. Take your time to get familiar with the program's interface and number of features available. Advanced Uninstaller PRO is a very useful Windows optimizer.
Safety rating (in the lower left corner). The star rating tells you the opinion other users have regarding Edu App, from "Highly recommended" to "Very dangerous".
7. Click the Uninstall button. A confirmation page will come up. Confirm the removal by pressing the Uninstall button. Advanced Uninstaller PRO will then uninstall Edu App.
8. After uninstalling Edu App, Advanced Uninstaller PRO will ask you to run an additional cleanup. Press Next to start the cleanup. All the items that belong Edu App which have been left behind will be found and you will be asked if you want to delete them. By uninstalling Edu App using Advanced Uninstaller PRO, you are assured that no Windows registry items, files or directories are left behind on your PC.
The text above is not a piece of advice to uninstall Edu App by Edu App from your PC, we are not saying that Edu App by Edu App is not a good application for your computer. This text only contains detailed instructions on how to uninstall Edu App in case you want to. The information above contains registry and disk entries that other software left behind and Advanced Uninstaller PRO stumbled upon and classified as "leftovers" on other users' computers.


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Nine "genius" moments with the oil and gas industry in Houston
By Laura Langendorf | 8 minute read | May 14, 2018
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"Everything's bigger in Texas." At least that's those of us who live here like to say. Yet when it comes to the oil and gas, and the petrochemical industries, we're pretty spot on. It started with the first oil gusher in 1901. And now, Texas produces more than one-third of the nation's crude oil and 25 percent of U.S.-marketed natural gas. In Houston, the Port of Houston is the second largest petrochemical complex in the world, refining over 35 percent of the U.S. gas supply.
That's why Houston was the perfect location for a recent Genius of Things event. Guests from the area's many energy and chemical businesses joined us at Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston. It was an amazing location for a special day of Watson IoT learning, networking and, of course, Texas BBQ.
Did you know that 83 percent of oil and gas execs believe that cognitive computing will have a critical impact on the future of their business? That's why we tailored the day to meet the unique challenges of those businesses. (Learn how digital transformation is reshaping the oil and gas industry.) Thanks to everyone who joined us. And if you missed it, below are the nine most genius moments from the event.
1. "How do you replace Bob, the guy with 30 years of experience, who knows it just doesn't sound right?"
Heather Preu, IBM Vice President, Watson IoT Connected Operations
"Bob" might be fictional but the "Great Crew Change" is real. In the oil industry, many experienced workers are about to retire, leaving a big age – and experience – gap in the workforce. I recently read that engineers are either over the age of 57 or under the age of 37. So how do you transfer critical information to the next generation? IoT and AI can help. As Heather's "Bob" example highlighted, technology like IBM Watson IoT Acoustic Insights, can take that invaluable knowledge in someone's head and make everyone an experienced "Bob."
2. Industry 4.0 made real for the oil and gas industry
David Meek, IBM GBS Partner, Digital Operations Center of Competency, IoT
Oil and gas companies have been optimizing their businesses for years, often without technology. But as David explained, successful companies do more than just optimize. They even do more than re-engineer. Their secret to avoiding industry disruption is to actually transform. With new technologies like AI, IoT, VR, blockchain, wearables and drones, companies can use insights from data to radically change how they operate. And they can also turn those insights into better processes, winning strategies and even new business models.
Where do you start when you're ready to transform your business? It's a question David gets all the time. His three-part approach is this: start with your assets and apply the right algorithms to get the right insights. Then optimize the processes. Lastly, take those newly gained insights to control and enhance the customer experience.
See how Australia's Woodside Energy reinvents business with Watson and IBM
3. "We think we're 80 percent optimized. But to get that last 20 percent, we need to do something different."
Doug Rauenzahn, Weatherford Global Business Development, Production Software
Weatherford is one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies. Operating in over 100 countries, they provide solutions, technology and services to the oil and gas industry. That translates into 460,000 wells globally, 125,000 miles of pipeline and 30 billion data updates per day.
That's why we were pleased to have Doug join us in Houston as he discussed the transformation of their software products – in partnership with IBM – to be more competitive. First, he explained that their core competency is production; specifically, providing the best well construction and optimizing the performance of those wells. And the typical production challenge came down to reducing the cost per barrel by managing failures and improving production.
When a client asked how to get that last 20 percent from their well, Weatherford knew that Industry 4.0 and new technologies held the answers. "Production 4.0" is the term they coined that married the old with the new:
The left side is the classic view of the digital oil field; the right is a new concept that includes not just sensors and controls but AI, Big Data and cloud. Add in machine learning and analytics, and that's the "something new" to get to the last 20 percent.
4. Managing change in Maximo: How ONEOK handled the challenge
Katherine Collins and Delaine Kurth, ONEOK
Based on Tulsa, OK, ONEOK is a leading midstream service provider and owner of one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems. The company does business in 18 states, primarily in the mid-Continent region, and is a Fortune 500 company. So we were pleased to have Katherine and Delaine present an in-depth view their MOC implementation in Maximo (learn more about Maximo). It was a detailed and real-life example of the processes involved, as illustrated by their list below:
Learning from someone who knows is incredibly helpful.
5. "Even within big Maximo sessions, there are issues of trust that can be addressed by blockchain."
Russell Bee, STSM, Lead Product Architect Maximo Oil & Gas
What is blockchain? In a nutshell, it's is a digital ledger where transactions and contracts can be securely recorded and distributed (for a deeper dive, read our cheat sheet). Thankfully, Russell was on hand to walk through the effects of blockchain in a Maximo world.
As he explained, it's creating extraordinary opportunities for businesses to come together in new ways. When new business models are used (and inefficiencies are eliminated), new value is created. There's also the ability to reduce risk when you replace uncertainty with transparency and a trusted, decentralized ledger.
Taking it one step further for Maximo users, Russell broke it down by specific scenarios (shown below):
Learn more about Maximo and how it can keep critical assets operating at maximum efficiency.
6. "Every 15 seconds, 151 workers have a work-related accident."
Maria Rios, president and CEO, Nation Waste
Even more concerning, 321,000 people die each year from occupational accidents. Work accidents remain a huge challenge for many service industry sectors, including the oil and gas industry, despite safety regulations and procedures. But as Maria explained, Nation Waste is using IoT to change that.
Nation Safety Net, powered by IBM Watson IoT, is bringing a wearable technology solution to market. With it, you can track personal safety conditions, like falls, excessive fatigue and heat stress. This "predictive protection" also prompts workers to take breaks and alerts supervisors to potential problems. It's done by using multiple sensors embedded in hardhats, safety vests and wearables, and the power of IoT. Learn more about Nation Safety Net.
7. "Tell the guy, 'don't go today, go tomorrow.'"
Wlad Doe Santos Frazao, Client Technical Leader
What is Watson? It's the artificial intelligence (AI) platform for business. With Watson, you can discover hidden insights, engage with customers in new ways, and make decisions with greater confidence. Eighty percent of all data is behind the firewall. With AI, companies have the best tool to derive value from all that information.
For the chemicals and petroleum industry, that means digitally reinventing the way Upstream, Midstream, Downstream and Chemicals operate. With use cases specific to the audience, Wlad explained it's all about combining multiple data sources to make smarter decisions. For example, using maintenance history, asset data, work order systems and weather data, you can reschedule your "guy" when you see a lightning storm in the forecast. That makes life safer and easier for everyone.
8. "We're like the International Space Station's corporate office."
Robert McAfoos, President, Barrios Technology
If you joined us last year at the Boston Genius of Things event, you were fortunate enough to hear how the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab is managing the Mars 2020 program IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation (DOORS NG). Another advocate for the technology is Barrios Technology.
An IBM business partner, they're primarily a NASA/Johnson Space Center contractor. And as Robert explained, programs like the International Space Station (ISS) are similar in complexity to putting a deep-water rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Built by 18 different countries, it's rife with contracts, agreements and requirements. And when you're the corporate office, doing something this complex in Excel isn't optimal. That's why they made the decision to migrate to DOORS NG. This requirements management tool brings all those docs into a single system. There's even a Rational publishing system, which delivers documents familiar to more seasoned workers. To learn more about the product, watch the demo.
9. "The only birds we don't like are Orioles, Cardinals and Blue Jays."
Minute Maid Park tour guide
Full disclosure: this has nothing to do with oil and gas or IBM. But it was a great way to end the day…with a tour of Minute Maid Park. You don't have to a Houston Astros fan or even like baseball to appreciate just how fantastic this stadium is. Built as a replacement for the original Houston Astrodome, it opened in March 2000, coming in on time and under the $250 million budget at $248.1M. On game days, it can hold up to 43,000 people (it's standing room only after the first 41,500 show up). The grass is special – custom grown to the Astros specifications.And because Texas summers aren't for the faint of heart, the retractable roof keeps everyone comfortable when the temperature goes above 85°F/29°C, below 65/18 or it rains.
And the bird comment came after a look at the writer's press box. There are no windows, only plastic, which is much easier on any bird that loses its way. Although writers have to duck a foul ball on occasion!
I hope you enjoyed these highlights from our Houston Genius of Things event. And if you'd like to learn more, we have these additional resources:
Learn more about how digital transformation is reshaping the oil and gas industry.
Download the Expertinsights@IBV report on "Adapting to new realities in oil and gas."
Download the report: "Using the Internet of Things for preventive maintenance" and learn about the benefits of asset health management.
Cognitive analytics can help you turn big data into insights. Take the assessmentto make better decisions faster.
Read the report to see how you can access, share and analyze petrotechnical data more efficiently and cost-effectively with IBM Petroleum Solutions for ProSource.
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Engineer and applied mathematician Ioannis Kevrekidis has developed computer models that aided scientists in studies of how clusters of neurons synchronize, the swarming patterns of insects, the development of bubbles in fluidized reactors, and the phenomenon of urban sprawl.
In all, Kevrekidis, an expert in modeling and dynamic behavior of complex systems, has contributed to more than 300 papers and studies published in peer-reviewed journals.
"Dr. Kevrekidis is a ... scientific leader whose innovative work combining large-scale data mining and analytics with mathematical and computer modeling has opened the doors to new opportunities in health care."
After more than 30 years at Princeton, Kevrekidis will join Johns Hopkins University in July as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor with joint appointments in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics in the Whiting School of Engineering, as well as an appointment in the Department of Urology at the School of Medicine.
In discussions with the Whiting School, Kevrekidis described mathematical and computational modeling as a bridge that unites engineering with other scientific disciplines.
"The construction of such models is at the same time a science and an art," he said. "The critical analysis of the mechanisms that play a role in a phenomenon, and the judicious choice of working assumptions and of the expectations we have from a mathematical model, are crucial for what we can learn from using it. Obtaining predictive dynamical equations from observational and experimental data lies at the heart of science and engineering modeling, and is the linchpin of our technology."
Kevrekidis is the 29th Bloomberg Distinguished Professor appointed across Johns Hopkins, joining this interdisciplinary cohort of scholars who are working to address major world problems and teach the next generation. The program is backed by a $350 million gift from Johns Hopkins alumnus, philanthropist, and three-term New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
At Hopkins, Kevrekidis will develop computer models that utilize a novel, "equation-free" approach that incorporate data mining and machine learning techniques to apply motion observed in small space-time scales to events and systems on larger scales. His work will help oncologists in the School of Medicine study how cancer cells move and interact with other cells. He will also help scientists analyze outcomes for patients in the Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine Center of Excellence.
"In addition to being a standout educator, Dr. Kevrekidis is also a prominent scientific leader whose innovative work combining large-scale data mining and analytics with mathematical and computer modeling has opened the doors to new opportunities in health care," says Paul B. Rothman, dean of medical faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "We are proud and excited to welcome him to Johns Hopkins."
Kevrekidis will teach courses on quantitative and data-driven dynamic computer modeling at both the graduate and undergraduate level in the School of Engineering.
"Dr. Kevrekidis' appointment in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering will expand the department's reach in critical fields, including algorithms, big data, and computer-assisted modeling of complex dynamic systems," says Ed Schlesinger, dean of the Whiting School. "His recent election to the Academy of Arts and Sciences speaks to the significance of his pioneering work, which connects disciplines across engineering and sciences, and which I know will enable new and productive collaborations for the Whiting School."
Born in Athens, Greece in 1959, Kevrekidis received his undergraduate degree from the National Technical University in Athens before moving to the United States, where he received his master's degree and doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Kevrekidis says his whole family is looking forward to beginning a new life in Baltimore. He comes to Baltimore with his seven-year-old daughter Domna—who has already found a school she likes in Baltimore—and his wife, Stavroula Sofou, who will also be joining the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering this summer.
"We look forward to welcoming Drs. Kevrekidis and Sofou to the Johns Hopkins community this summer," says Sunil Kumar, the university's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "Ioannis's expertise in modeling has the potential to create and deepen collaborations across a range of fields. It's an exciting moment for these schools and the BDP program."


Creating a Facebook page to go with your new blog or website? Don't bother.
Creating a Facebook page to go with your new blog or website? Don't bother.
It's almost a sure thing that you'll be planning to create a Facebook page to go with your new website or blog, as a promotion tool, hoping to increase traffic to your new site. I say, don't bother.
I've made web sites in the past and, encouraged by "experts", dutifully spent hours creating corresponding pages on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn showcase, Tumblr and Pinterest. But then something changed.
I read some time ago about the high profile case of Copyblogger deleting it's Facebook page with 38,000 fans. While this is not the reason I decided to try life without a FB page, it did start me along a certain train of thought.
In the past, I had a site, with a corresponding Facebook page like everyone else, with 30 or so Likes, which I thought looked kind of bad because it was a low number. I wanted to seem like a busy, pro site. So I paid them for some advertising to drive "Like" traffic. And in fact it sort of worked, getting the Like count over 70.
Hooray! I paid some money, got my "Likes" up to a number that seemed a little more respectable, and started thinking more about how I could increase them further with promotions, and other cross-platform marketing. I found I was making grand plans to improve the FB presence, all involving hours of time, preparation and effort.
Facebook is a jumped up website, run by an American corporation. Facebook convinces us it's a platform, which it is, but by doing so it causes us to think differently. We find ourselves thinking about building a community on it. We find ourselves thinking about building up "my website's Facebook page" when really we are building up "an HTML page on Facebook's web server".
It's only now that it sort of dawned on me what I had done. I had paid a website, to advertise on itself, in order to get people to click on itself, with the advertising target being my FB page/Likes, which of course is just another part of the FB website.
Facebook executives must have been leaping about with joy when they realised some people would pay them, to advertise on one part of their website, to get other people to click on another part of their website. And while doing so, increase content and traffic to themselves.
Well done Facebook, and managing to get a market cap of $265 billion in the process is quite an achievement.
What does having a Facebook page mean?
In a scenario where you do build up a successful Facebook page, people are doing all their socialising on Facebook's web site, and any clickthroughs to your site are as an appendage to the community.
But have you really stopped to think about what it means in terms of your personal time? You can spend unlimited hours on the Facebook web site maintaining, posting, responding to comments, chasing Likes, and it's all on their website. This is all valuable time you could be spending on – you guessed it – developing your own site.
Exceptions: Brand awareness. If you want to get your brand in front of as many eyeballs as possible, Facebook pages are ideal.
Also, if you have no interest in / ability to foster a community on your own site, Facebook has a use.
Otherwise, focus on your own content, not Facebook's content. Everything you do on Facebook, they own it. And it's all on their terms, and subject to their legalities and rules.
A young colleague asked me this week why we don't have a Facebook page for our site, and said that it was in important thing to have. I asked why.
She said, because you can get Likes, and attention for your site.
I told her how we had several other sites, most with Facebook pages, all of which had sucked up valuable development time over the years, and it sent no traffic, and benefited our website in absolutely no measurable way.
I asked, who says it's important?
"Everyone" at university it seems. I wonder where it all begins. One person has a successful Facebook page, tells their story, and somehow everyone assumes it's essential for business success. Unlikely, given that, in spite of all the hype about social media, in this country at least, only 32% of the population even use the internet, let alone Facebook.
Twitter, sure, because it reflects more the traffic profile we have with headlines being issued. Get tweets and RSS happening for your blog.
Yes, make use of Facebook, you'd be crazy not to. Find some existing Facebook Groups that are interested in your blog topics. Post occasionally in them, depending on the group, most members won't mind at all if you post relevant, non-spammy, interesting articles. Make sure your content is good quality. If your group is on-side, you can also discuss with them research for your topics before posting, and when the time comes to share the article, you will have already engaged the audience. You can even mention the names of any contributors in your share which will show community spirit.
You'll probably encounter a lot of trolling, never take the insults to heart, and sometimes you can actually learn as behind the bitter and twisted is sometimes a grain of truth.
It's a great way to build followers without trying to climb the mountain of a corresponding page.
Also – get a Like button on-page, on your blog. Not only a share, specifically a Like. People are more inclined to click Like than any sort of other sharing, as it's the easiest form of feedback possible. This might prove tricky for all sorts of reasons, but is well worth it for engagement. And won't do your SEO any harm. Look, there's one now!
It's just an innocuous, nice button involving no effort, and users can discreetly show support without having to make a "bold statement" declaration to the whole world, by making a full share for everyone to see.
So drive the Likes to your pages, not Facebook's pages.
In the beginning, if you are blogging for traffic, you'll need to start building a sustained, quality legacy of posts, which talks to a community somewhere, and Facebook can be a huge part of it. For now, for this website, we'll continue along without a Facebook page, and if in future we find there is enough audience interested in building a community, we'll probably build it on our own site in the form of forums or social software.
Eventually with your months of consistent publishing and community promotion, and essentially – quality content, you'll generate some naturally occuring backlinks, and some readers, and your site will be picked up in Google searches. When that happens, you've made it.
At the end of the day, in my opinion, the only beneficiary of a Facebook page with lots of Likes, community and traffic going on, is, well, Facebook.