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Trace: • national_catalogue
national_catalogue
Single digital presence for UK public libraries
Shared national digital platform for public libraries in England
Essential Digital Infrastructure for Public Libraries in England.
Unified Digital Platform for All Libraries in England
Universal Digital Platform : Concept Development and Test
Sieghart on a national infrastructure for (English) public libraries
Access to research
A national public library portal
Bookmark your Library
National (reference) inquiry service
Registry of librariesThe WorldCat Registry
National public library catalogue
Fab Libraries
National Interlending - UnityUK ™
Welsh National Catalogue
OCLC Announces a first step towards a UK National Public Library Catalogue
Ken Chad's article on a National Catalogue
National (digital) infrastructure and national catalogue
REPORT PUBLISHED 6 June 2019.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR UK PUBLIC LIBRARIES: FIVE APPROACHES TO A 'SINGLE DIGITAL PRESENCE' A report by the British Library for Arts Council England and Carnegie UK Trust. June 2019
New research proposes five options for a digital presence for public libraries Thu 6 Jun 2019. A new report from the British Library, commissioned by Arts Council England and the Carnegie UK Trust, has set out five possible options for digital transformation for UK public libraries.
The recommendations paper, Digital Transformations for UK public libraries: five approaches to a 'Single Digital Presence ' , sets out what a national online platform (or "single digital presence") for public libraries could look like, what it could be used for and how such an offering might fit in with existing digital library systems.The British Library undertook a year-long enquiry to examine a range of options for such a platform and has identified five potential models that could enable public libraries to benefit fully from recent technological developments and to engage new and existing users at local and national level. These are:
Deep Shared Infrastructure – a common, centralised Library Management System, procured at a UK wide level and run as a single piece of technology serving all libraries. Such interventions are rare at national level, though the Republic of Ireland has recently introduced such a system.
UK wide Content Discovery – an aggregator at UK national level of free-to-view digital content from libraries, archives and other public collections. Example include Gallica in France, Trove in Australia, Finna in Finland and the Digital Public Library of America in the USA.
Unified Digital Lending – a single, publicly-run service devoted to the free digital 'lending' of books and other copyright content that would otherwise only be available on a commercial basis. An example is eReolen in Denmark.
Safe Social Space – a user-led digital platform for the people who love libraries, replicating the community spaces they visit and work in as a complementary alternative to commercial social media services. No exact national equivalent currently exists, though emergent services such as Library Planet and Lit Hub offer analogies as digital places where library users and book lovers can gather and interact.
One Library Brand – an intervention to create and promote a single 'library brand' at cross-UK scale: potentially applicable in both the digital and physical realms and consistent with any of the above propositions.
"British Library to investigate possibility of a 'single digital presence' for UK public libraries" BL Press Release Wed 30 Aug 2017The British Library is to lead an 18-month scoping project to establish the demand for and possible shape of a 'single digital presence' for UK public libraries.
Funded by Arts Council England and the Carnegie UK Trust, the project will investigate user expectations and demand for what a national online platform for public libraries might deliver, and will explore the network of stakeholder groups and organisations best placed to make it a reality.
This initiative was taken up by the Public Libraries Task Force and forms an action point in their report "Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021", DCMS December 2016
The Libraries Taskforce's role is to provide leadership and help to reinvigorate the public library sector in England, as well as showcasing and promoting the excellent work already happening in libraries across the country. We were asked by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Local Government Association (LGA) to develop this vision for the future of public libraries in England
"Supporting the development of the digital offer of libraries." is action point 20 in the Task Force action plan
"Explore the feasibility of a shared national digital platform for public libraries in England (Single Library Digital Presence) and then identify ways to develop, operate and fund it"
A plan for moving forward.Prepared by BiblioCommons November 24, 2015
Commissioned by The Society of Chief Librarians in collaboration with The Reading Agency With funding from Arts Council England
Also known as the "Bibliocommons report"
"This report argues that a standards-based digital platform is the only viable technology for realising recent strategic goals articulated by leaders for England's public libraries. The platform would allow libraries and their partners to innovate, collaborate and share in ways they cannot now do. The report further argues that the primary mode of service on this platform must be co-production – among library authorities, and among library staff, national and local partners, and importantly, end users. We show how new digital divides have made the mission of libraries – literacy, learning, and community inclusion – as relevant as it ever was. And that in order to provide an energetic response, libraries must invite their users into their digital spaces: their catalogues, their websites, their ebook readers, their online events calendars. We argue that these two measures, a standards-based digital platform and co-production of services, will reinvigorate libraries and create substantial, tangible outcomes in literacy, digital and social inclusion, health, education, and economic participation."
Press Release 6 February 2015
The Society of Chief Librarians is working to create a unified digital platform for public library resources aimed at increasing use of libraries by existing
and potential customers
"The Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) has begun work to envision a unified digital platform for all public libraries in England. This new digital platform for public libraries will improve how library customers can access, understand, and use the information and resources that libraries provide, including book catalogues, digital resources, IT training, events calendars, and library locations and opening hours. This web platform will help bring new users into public libraries, both virtually and physically, and enrich the library experience for existing customers.As a result of a public tender for the work, SCL appointed BiblioCommons, a Canadian company that works to transform how libraries serve communities online. The initial phase of the project, which is funded by a £30,000 grant from Arts Council England, will research consumer and library sector needs and create a vision and roadmap for the unified digital platform. Work on stage 1 is expected to complete at the end of March 2015."
(see below for details of the Invitation to Tender)
Invitation to Tender ITT by the Society of chief librarian
Aim: To develop a roadmap for a single unified public user interface / web presence, for use by and across Public Libraries in England
From the ITT
Purpose (see tender doc for full list)
"to design a universal digital platform which will fulfil a range of relevant functions and provide compelling user experiences
unify customer access at a national level to both national and local resources, and provide a strong advocacy tool demonstrating the value and purpose of libraries within a digital technology
The new digital presence will encourage use of physical libraries
Incorporation of national catalogue tools and functions (e.g. through WorldCat) and potentially (future potential) for e-lending functionality
In practical terms, the universal platform must be able to incorporate existing national
digital library products and services, such as:
SCL Information offer geo-location tool, Information for Living
Links to externally maintained / delivered information resources such as, but not limited to, Enquire, Access to Research and Reference Online
Open to embedded content developed by third parties but with a collaborative Online reader development tools / resource discovery through member authentication at local level
Ideally, and in partnership with The Reading Agency, development of Library 21, through which publishers are willing to make all their digital reading assets available in physical library spaces, eg by tethering through internal IPs / serve spaces
Again, in partnership with The Reading Agency, any microsites underpinning the Reading Agency's work with public libraries
Links / APIs connecting to online heritage resources
It should be mobile compatible / device and browser agnostic
Must be fully accessible, meeting triple A standards if possible developed through Share the Vision partnership work
Promote regional / national SCL activities and messages
Build in user journeys / case studies / feedback forums
'Government must fund digital resource for libraries, says Sieghart'.By Joshua Farrington. The Bookseller 18 December 2014
The Sieghart review into public libraries, to be published today (18th December), calls on central government to give local authorities the funding to create a national digital resource for libraries, with free Wi-fi as standard, and workforce training for all public libraries in England. Speaking on BBC Radio Four's "Today" programme this morning, Sieghart said: "It is a critical moment now because we are facing a few more years of austerity ahead of us and many of the library services around the country have been whittled down as far as they can go…. Government, big and little government, wants to deliver services digitally in the future and the library is the safe and most obvious place to do that."
[T]he report also calls for the creation of a new task force, to provide a strategic framework for libraries in England and work with local authorities to improve their services.
Future libraries, William Sieghart LGA website 19 June 2014
"It is possible to strengthen the service nationally without losing the local approach. My strong view is that part of the answer can be found through offering a digital network for libraries, which could include a single management system, one library card valid in all libraries in England,……Once set up, this network could also be a vehicle for improving the leadership of, and vision for, libraries; more joined up procurement; the sharing of best practice and encouraging change – without conflicting with the need for local approaches. It could give users access to a much wider choice of materials…"
A national service for discovery and delivery of academic journal articles
From January 2014, over 1.5 million academic articles are available, free of charge, in participating public libraries across the UK. Students, independent researchers and small businesses can now access many of the world's best academic papers through their local libraries, a result of a unique collaboration between librarians and publishers, who have made their journal content available for free.
This provides information on public libraries across the UK and includes a link to the national catalogue Fab Libraries launched in 2012.
Bookmark Your Library is provided by The Combined Regions, The Arts Council England, WorldCat.org from OCLC, The Society of Chief Librarians, and The Reading Agency. 'Our goal is to help promote the services of libraries around the country – as they provide support to everyone'.
The bookmark your library portal also provides a link to the 'Ask a Librarian' service a collaboration of libraries in the UK and US. User can chat with a librarian in real time or can email questions. The services is powered by Enquire from OCLC.
The WorldCat Registry is a Web-based directory for libraries and library consortia. "It is an authoritative single source for information that defines institutional identity, services, relationships, contacts and other key data often shared with third parties."
FABLibraries is the current instance of the Combined Regions/OCLC initiative described below. It provides access to more than 149 UK public library catalogues in a single search. It will link you to the library's own website, tell you if it is available so you can get your local library to borrow it for you, and will even show you library locations on a map and the distance from where you are.
UnityUK is web-based resource sharing and interlibrary loan (ILL) service for librarians that enables them to meet ILL requests from users from a national network of resources. Provided by OCLC in partnership with The Combined Regions (TCR), UnityUK is a national network for resource sharing. UnityUK brings together the union catalogues previously known as UnityWeb, LinkUK and RevealWeb into one single union catalogue. In addition UnityUK allows staff users to search other data sets/union catalogues such as COPAC and the British Library files.
Since 2008 there has been all-Wales library catalogue. Cat Cymru at https://libraries.wales/find-a-book/ and an all-Wales library portal since 2006 at https://libraries.wales/
"The catalogue is cross-sector and users can also request the item that they find from their local public library service. The portal and the cross-catalogue search is led by the National Library of Wales, funded by the Welsh Government."
UK to get national public library e-catalogue. Plans to launch a web based UK national public library catalogue have been announced by The Combined Regions and the Online Computer Library Center''
Guradian Government Computing. 30 August 2011
The two organisations said the catalogue will contain bibliographic data from 80% of the UK's public libraries and enable web users to search 9m bibliographic records and 50m books and other stock items.
Taking information already indexed in WorldCat, an online resource for finding library materials, the new UK catalogue should provide a view of library materials held by the 149 local authorities with a current full subscription to UnityUK. This is a resource sharing and interlibrary loan service provided by The Combined Regions.
From the press release 6th January 2010
OCLC and The Combined Regions (TCR) have announced plans to launch Britain's first freely accessible national public library union catalogue, the first of its kind in the country.
While the objective is to ultimately include all UK public libraries within the catalogue, initially, the project will provide a view of holdings contributed to WorldCat by the 149 local authorities with a current full package subscription to UnityUK. As the UK's only national network for resource sharing, UnityUK participants already provide regular updates of holdings records to WorldCat, which are intended primarily for inter-library loans purposes. This data, as it stands, will be used to provide an initial 'proof of concept' of the union catalogue for review by those UnityUK libraries with a full package subscription in spring 2011 (see timings below).
This preliminary version of the catalogue will then be extended to include other UK public libraries that do not currently have a full package UnityUK subscription and wish to join.
As a pre-requisite for the project, the holdings data of participating libraries will need to be made visible on the open Web through WorldCat.org. Having your collection discoverable virtually anywhere on the Web through worldcat.org was previously only offered to UnityUK participants as a chargeable service. Now, OCLC will provide this unique benefit as part of a full-package UnityUK subscription and has therefore been factored into the 2011 renewals with these customers.
http://www.oclc.org/uk/en/productworks/ukunioncat.htm
published in CILIP Library+Information Gazette on 2nd September 2010
national_catalogue_cilip_gazette_sep2010.pdf
In the (last Labour) government's (DCMS) policy statement on public libraries a 'national catalogue' was listed as one of the objectives that could be achieved through the mechanism of a 'strategic body 'if money becomes available'
This objective could be said to be on its way to being achieved without the strategic body being set up. A growing number of UK public libraries 'expose' their catalogue holdings to make them discoverable of Google Books. The Google Books service (effectively a sub-set of the standard Google search) provides rich information about books and provides links to a wealth or related material in many (most?) cases. Importantly Google links to a wide variety of 'fulfilment' mechanisms to get the book. This includes a 'find in a library' option. Clicking on that link takes the user to the (OCLC) WorldCat global catalogue to reveal libraries that have the book. If the user enters their postcode they will be linked to holdings from their 'local' library. A link to the local public library catalogue will show if items are on loan or available on the library shelf
national_catalogue.txt · Last modified: 2019/06/26 13:14 by 109.149.81.116


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Violence in Marriage: A Closer Look at Numbers 5
BibleHebrew Bible by Johanna Stiebert on May 20, 2019 add comment Brian Britt intimate partner violence Numbers 5 Rape Culture Religion and Rape Culture conference Sotah 4.52K views
The following post by Shiloh Project co-director Johanna Stiebert follows on from an earlier recent post on marriage, the Bible and violence.
In this post, I want to focus on one specific text of the Hebrew Bible: Numbers 5:11-31, which prescribes what to do if a husband suspects his wife of adultery. I will demonstrate how this text not only describes but also legitimates gender-based violence in marriage. Moreover, while scholars describe the law as 'particularly perplexing' (Friedman 2012, 371), or comment that we may be 'understandably puzzled by this unique episode' (Britt 2007, 05.7), Numbers 5 is also in some ways disturbingly familiar, even today.
Numbers 5:11-31 is unusually detailed. It is emphatically about violence in the context of marriage and it clearly describes religious violence – given that the ritual is performed in front of a priest, at the Tabernacle, and repeatedly alludes to holy water, offerings, and God.
It seems Numbers 5 is not widely known or widely referred to in contemporary Christian contexts. In Judaism, being part of the Torah, the first and most holy and authoritative portion of the sacred scriptures, it is read annually in the Shabbat reading cycle. But there are no intra-biblical references or allusions to performance of the elaborate ritual. With its emphasis on quasi-magical ritual performed in a Tabernacle, or Temple, that no longer exists, it is a passage that could be said to be particularly obscure, even irrelevant. And yet, in the Talmud, the influence of Numbers 5 extends well beyond the time that the ritual was declared void (see Haberman 2000).
Gendered Injustice and Divine Legitimation of the Ritual
The ritual of Numbers 5:11-31 is gender-specific, applying only to a womansuspected of adultery. Elsewhere in the Torah, adultery is depicted as a grievous crime and the death penalty is stipulated as punishment for bothparties involved – the man andthe woman (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22-29). It must be added, though, that here too, indications are that adultery is a lopsided matter, which occurs when a womanis either married or betrothed and has sexual relations with someone other than her husband. A married man, on the other hand, can have sex with other women, without committing adultery, as long as the women are not married or betrothed to another man.Also notable about Numbers 5 is that, from the outset, there is insistent reference to religious authority: the ritual is ascribed to the word of God using the holy name (YHWH), is transmitted to Moses, his preeminent prophet, and is to be administered by the priest.
The priest is particularly active in the execution of the ritual. The woman is brought to the priest and it is he who positions her 'before the Lord' (v.16), who takes sacred water and prepares a potion (v.17), who dishevels the woman's hair and places a 'jealousy offering' in her hand (v.18), who holds the potion (v.18), who adjures and administers a curse (vv.19-22), who puts curses in writing (v.23), who makes the woman drink the potion (v.24), and who burns the offering (vv.25-26). The woman, by contrast, is active only insofar as saying 'amen, amen' to the curse pronounced on her. Otherwise, everything is done toher.For Susanna Towers, '[t]he embedding of her consent to the curse reinforce[s] the passive role she plays in the ritual' (2014, see here). Brian Britt, similarly, concludes that the woman 'is treated like a living mannequin by the men' (2007, 05.3, see here).
For feminist commentator Alice Bach, the emphasis on men's control of the woman in Numbers 5 reflects male anxiety about female erotic desire. Bach interprets the text to assert 'dominance over women's bodies' and to assure a husband 'that his honor could be restored if he had so much as a suspicion that his wife had been fooling around' (1999, 506). Ishay Rosen-Zvi agrees that the ritual constitutes 'the ultimate cure for male fears, presenting the rebellious woman as passive, controlled, publicly exposed and ultimately stripped of all her seductive powers' (2006, 276, see here).
Gender-Based Violence and its Religious Legitimation
Important to emphasize is the violence of this text. There is physical violence, or injury to the body: hence, if the woman is guilty, the potion will ensure 'that her belly will distend and her thigh … sag' (5:27). This is expressed as the consequence of the woman being a curse and an imprecation among her people, and seems to happen directly upon ingesting the potion prepared by the priest (5:21-22). Alongside this, there is also the possibility of psychological and emotional violence, given that the woman is suspected of a crime and subjected to an ordeal in which she is exposed and put on trial in a sacred and possibly public setting. She is also at risk of social exclusion and ostracism if she is found guilty of adultery (5:27).
Richard Friedman discusses several commentators who argue that because a potion 'of "holy" water, dust from the Tabernacle floor, and ink from words on a parchment… cannot be guaranteed to produce prolapsed uteri or any other particular condition in all guilty adulteresses… the law's effect was precisely to find all women not guilty and thus to prevent "lynchings"' (2012: 372, see here). In other words, the law is sometimes considered as having the ultimately benign purpose of both assuaging a jealous husband by having an elaborate ritual that validates and also allays his anxieties and, simultaneously, not harming (allegedly) and even protecting the woman. For a number of reasons, I find this unlikely.
First, there is Mary Douglas's question: 'is it plausible to argue that [lawmakers] tend to codify nonsense – arbitrary enactments?' (1984, 47). I agree with her that it is not. Whoever may have recorded and transmitted the text in Numbers 5:11-31, for them to record and transmit a text so detailed and precise, in the full knowledge that the ritual described is basically a smokescreen to protect women from their husbands' jealousy, is highly improbable.
Second, it is also unlikely that if such a ritual was practiced, it did no harm to the woman – even if the potion was no more than a placebo. Her husband suspects her of adultery and this suspicion is brought to the priest and possibly made known also to other members in the community – this alone is likely to cause the woman great distress. If the societies in the background of Hebrew Bible texts are indeed shame cultures – as proposed by numerous commentators – the woman's distress would have been acute. Additionally, there is the elaborate and formal ritual and the fear of punishment. If the ritual is able to assuage the husband, its curse and punishments are likely to have been believed in – or, at the very least, sufficient gravitas and dignity would need to have been conferred on the ritual for it to have any efficacy in restoring either the woman's public standing or the husband's emotional equilibrium.
I find it disturbing that some interpreters consider the ritual to be protectiveof the woman. If that is the case, not only does protection come with elaborate accommodation to husbands' jealousies but it also comes at considerable cost to the woman. The question arises: is such 'protection' worth having?
Presumption of Guilt
In a number of ways, the ritual is very much stacked against the woman. It is supposed to determine her guilt and yet, while the potion may eithercause her harm orexonerate her should she be innocent, leaving her 'unharmed' and able to retain seed (that is, remain pregnant or become pregnant) (vv.27-28), the opening statement presumesher guilt. The reference is to a woman who hasgone astray (from ś-t-h) and who has broken faith (m-'-l)with her husband (v.12). This is then elaborated upon: the straying refers to another man who has had sex with the woman (male initiative is presumed – š-k-bis a verb that males perform). The sexual activity has involved šikbat-zera'('lying of seed'), presumably penetrative sex and ejaculation (v.13), and this has been hidden from the eyes of the husband. Moreover, the woman, we are told, has kept secret that she was defiled or that she has defiled herself (the verb is from t-m-' and in nifal form, which can indicate either a passive or a reflexive voice),but there was no witness to the event, nor was she forced (v.13). So, a man other than her husband had sex with her but shedefiled herself. She is accused of secrecy and somehow (though it is not clear how) it is supposed that she was not forced. On the one hand, her agency is undermined by her passive role (the man took initiative – but she has becomedefiled or defiled herself). But her passivity does not remove responsibility. She alone is responsible for what was done to her.
In Numbers 5 the woman's collusion is, to begin with, assumed: if she had sex with another man, the only possibility under consideration is that there was no physical force. No physical force is equated with compliance, possibly complicity. There is no other witness. Strikingly, establishing the identity of the other man, an adulterer, is not a preoccupation. Unlike in Deuteronomy 22, hisresponsibility, hiscrime or hispunishment, is of no interest to either the woman's husband or the lawmakers. Attention is on the woman alone – she is the sole focus of her husband's jealousy, she is the sole reason that a 'spirit of jealousy' has come upon him. The possibility that the woman is innocent of this charge is acknowledged, but only after the possibility of her adultery has been fully laid out (v.14).
The Hebrew words for 'jealous' and 'jealousy' are from q-n-', which is also sometimes translated 'ardent/ardour' or 'zealous/zeal'. There is reference elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible to jealous husbands (Proverbs 6:34) and to the emotional intensity of jealousy (Proverbs 27:4; Ecclesiastes 4:4; 9:6). Britt identifies it as 'an exclusively male passion' (2007, 05.6). Interestingly, the word is applied regularly to God, often with reference to divine violence and revenge: 'zeal of YHWH of Hosts' (2 Kgs 19:31; see also Exod. 20:5; Deut. 5:9; 29:19; 32:19-22; Josh. 24:19; Isa. 9:6; 26:11; 37:32; 42:13; 59:17; 63:15; Ezek. 5:13; 35:11; 36:5-6; 38:19; Zeph. 1:18; 3:8; Zech. 1:14; 8:2; Ps. 79:5.
Sometimes jealousy is associated also with others in authority: approvingly, for instance, in a divine pronouncement about the (violent!) zeal of Phinehas the priest (Numbers 25:11). Jealousy may be self-destructive (Gen. 30:1; Prov. 3:31; 23:17; 24:1, 19), or plain destructive and occasionally futile (Job 5:2; Eccl. 4:4; 9:6; Pss 37:1; 73:2-3; Prov. 14:30) and decidedly negative (Gen. 37:11; Isa. 11:13) but it is also associated with, or valorized as, great love (Song 8:6; Isa. 63:15) or ardour forYHWH (2 Kgs 10:16; cf. Pss 69:10; 119:139).
So, while there are some biblical passages that depict human jealousies in pejorative terms, as futile, ill-advised, or destructive, a number of points serve to underpin and legitimate the husband's jealousy and the religious violence that results from it:
first, the positive association of jealousy with love, and with men of God (such as with Phinehas) but above all with God himself
second, the sense of righteous anger, anxiety and outrage leveled at adultery and women's infidelity
third, the prominent depiction of God himself as either angry avenger or – more pointedly – as spurned husband of an unfaithful wife exacting effusive and violent punishment that is depicted as justified.
In the God-as-husband metaphor, familiar from prophetic writing, God's jealous rage is depicted as a legitimate and proportionate response to the people's excessive sinning, which is likened to a depraved woman's adultery. This leads up to violent punishment for the metaphorical woman, with Ezek. 16:38, 42 and 23:25 providing the most sustained examples. God and Phinehas can behave violently, and their violence is depicted as justifiable, even legitimate. Jealousy, moreover, is a mark of ardent love or devotion – even if it can turn nasty when disappointed. In a troubling way, therefore, the jealousy of Numbers 5 masks and downplays the violent damage it causes.
The closing words of the passage confirm that this is what is to be done when a man is jealous. The role of both YHWH and priest are restated once more and the closing verse pronounces that the husband is clear of guilt while the woman shall suffer for her guilt.
Reading Numbers 5 in the Context of Present-Day Rape Culture
One thing that is familiar about this passage is the association between, on the one hand, jealousy and, on the other, violence exerted against an intimate partner. Jealousy – in particular male jealousy – is prevalent in contemporary reports of domestic violence and intimate partner violence (cf. Britt 2007, 05.6).
A second affinity between the ritual of Numbers 5 and contemporary settings pertains to exposure in courts of law. In Numbers 5 the woman is treated as guilty of adultery until proven innocent; similarly, so-called complainants in sexual assault cases that go to court – and most do not –often report feeling as though theywere the ones on trial (which they are not), rather than the defendant. and under scrutiny. In Numbers 5, the woman is brought before YHWH and her head is bared, her hair loosened or disheveled, which appears to be an action designed to serve no purpose other than embarrass, expose, or humiliate her; in the court rooms today, women bringing forward cases of rape are also exposed in ways that are likewise highly distressing. Recent cases have, for instance, included a woman having to hold up her underwear in the court room, the disclosure of a rape victim's sexual history and testimony from former lovers to undermine her capacity for consent, and the possibility of investigating complainants' entire phone text history and social media presence, inclusive of private messaging, with the possible intention of casting aspersions on their character.
How can we account for or make sense of such parallels? Are they coincidental? Has the violence described in the Bible and transmitted in a text of such long-standing religious authority contributed to patterns of violence in our present? Do both signify variants of rape culture? Or, do we simply see what we recognize?
Britt suggests four possible options in going forward with a text like Numbers 5:
to ignore the text, reject it, neutralize it, or subvert it.
I agree with Britt that ignoring or rejecting the text 'offer[s] nothing to those who cannot overlook the influence or authority of the Bible' (2007, 05.2).
Neutralizing readings might be those that dismiss Numbers 5 as an archaic relic, or that excuse it, by arguing that in placing punishment in the hands of God, women are protected from jealous men. Yet, as I stated above, this fails to acknowledge the violence of the text, including the collusion of religious violence. (It is in some ways the equivalent of saying 'it's not really so bad' when it actually is.) As Britt also draws out, neutralizing a text only qualifies or brackets out its meaning.
The way that Britt chooses to address Numbers 5 is subversion: hence, he offers two reading strategies, influenced by Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler: the first reversesthe thrust of the text, throwing suspicion on the accusing husband and the second parodiesthe text by reading it alongside the exchange of sandals ceremony of Ruth 4. I like the cleverness of intertextual play in Britt's argument but I am not seeking, like him, to change the text into something else.
My purpose is above all to call out and rail at the violence of the text, because it is so clearly a text of religious violence and of violence in marriage – and yet all too rarely called out by biblical readers and interpreters for being such.
Numbers 5 is not unequivocally about rape (although it does not rule out that the woman might have been raped – not being physically forced or injured does not mean rape did not occur – see here) but it is suggestive of rape culture – of gender-based violence that ranges from accusations and humiliations to physical harm. This spectral violence, moreover, is legitimated – on the grounds that the accuser (the husband), who is exonerated from all guilt, cannot help himself (given his intense jealousy). High religious authority – God and the priest – further legitimates the violence inherent within this religious ritual.
The effect of this is toxic, including in contemporary contexts, where, for all the professed oddity of the text, aspects of it – namely the directionality of gender-based violence (i.e. most often perpetrated by men against women), the victim-blaming, and the humiliating public exposure – echo with uncomfortable familiarity. I maintain that it is important to call out, to question and to resist such a text. Numbers 5 may not be the best known or the most directly influential of biblical traditions, but it exemplifies well the strata and expressions of violence familiar and resonant up to the present day.
Bach, Alice. 1999. 'Good to the Last Drop: Viewing the Sotah (Numbers 5:11-31) as the Glass Half Empty and Wondering How to View It Half Full'. In Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader.Edited by Alice Bach. New York and London: Routledge, pp.503–22. ISBN 978-0415915618.
Britt, Brian. 2007. 'Male Jealousy and the Suspected Sotah: Toward a Counter-Reading of Numbers 5:11-31'. The Bible and Critical Theory3/1: 05.1-05.19. DOI: 10.2104/bc070005. Available online: file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/124-480-1-PB.pdf
Douglas, Mary. 1984[1966]. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London, New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-12938-5.
Friedman, Richard Elliott. 2012. 'The Sotah:Why Is This Case Different From All Other Cases?' In Let Us Go Up to Zion: Essays in Honour of H. G. M. Williamson on the Occasion of his Sixty-Fifth Birthday(Vetus Testamentum Supplements 153). Edited by Iain Provan and Mark Boda. Leiden: Brill, pp.371–82. ISBN: 978-90-04-22658-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004226586.
Haberman, Bonna Devora. 2000. 'The Suspected Adulteress: A Study of Textual Embodiment'. Prooftexts20: 12–42.
Rosen-Zvi, Ishay. 2006. 'Measure for Measure as Hermeneutical Tool in Early Rabbinic Literature: The Case of Tosefta Sotah'. Journal of Jewish Studies57/2: 269–86. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/257307/Measure_for_Measure_As_a_Hermeneutical_Tool_In_Early_Rabbinic_Literature_The_Case_of_Tosefta_Sotah
Towers, Susanna Clare. 2014. 'An Analysis of Philo's Exegesis of the Sotah Ritual'. Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary E-Journal11/1. ISSN: 1209-9392. Available online: https://wjudaism.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/wjudaism/article/view/21735
Tags : Brian Brittintimate partner violenceNumbers 5Rape CultureReligion and Rape Culture conferenceSotah
Sticks and Stones: Symbolic Violence and the Conservative Christian "Transgender Debate"
Autoethnography: The Voice of a Sexually Abused Body
Abortion and the Bible
Legitimising Sexual Violence: Contesting Toxic Theologies that Valorise Suffering as Redemptive
Theology in a Divided World: Five Poems
Vocation and Violence: The Church and #MeToo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Minecraft: Pocket Edition 0.7.0 update, release date, multiplayer info NEWS
reznaf | 11:33 PM | Minecraft , Minecraft - Pocket Edition v0.7.0 , Minecraft multiplayer , Minecraft PE 0.7.0 , Minecraft: Pocket Edition , News
Well we finally have a bit more of a solid idea as to when 0.7.0 will arrive as well as a lot more details regarding the official multiplayer functionality that will arrive with this update. It isn't exactly what you may be thinking it will be.
Multiplayer isn't going to run like it does traditionally with the PC version of Minecraft in terms of hosting your own server, at least not at first. Initially players will need to get onto a whitelist to connect to the Mojang online servers that will be available for Minecraft: Pocket Edition. These online servers however will be available for people to set up for a fee should you want to run your own Minecraft: Pocket Edition server. In other words, home-based PC servers (or hosted servers through companies) won't be supported right away but if you want to host a server you will be able to through Mojang for a fee.
All of those servers will be whitelisted, as we just mentioned, so to connect to any of them you will need to apply to get on that whitelist and be accepted. For those of you looking to host a server, there will be no OP commands. Instead everything will be done through a UI through the game which is rather cool, especially if you don't want to memorize all the commands.
You do not need a PC Minecraft account to use the Minecraft: Pocket Edition multiplayer but if you do have one, you will be using the same name as is on that account. Also, there will be nameplates in multiplayer so you will actually know who is who.
When all of this arrives, it will be in the form of an Alpha version for Mojang to test out and make sure everything works. A full release of the multiplayer functionality will then arrive a few weeks later and the amount of servers online will continue to scale up.
So when will all of this arrive for Minecraft: Pocket Edition? Well Johan Bernhardsson also confirmed that the 0.7.0 update should arrive sometime in April 2013. So we really don't have too much longer to wait until we get full multiplayer and you all will be able to connect to our official Minecraft: Pocket Edition server and play with each other and us!
source: droidgamers.com
Sports Car Challenge v1.9.1
reznaf | 5:29 PM | Games , Racing , Sports Car Challenge v1.9.1 , Sports Car Challenge v1.9.1 APK , Sports Car Challenge v1.9.1 Download
Description: [NEW TRACK ADDED: Sports Car Challenge is the only racing simulation on the market featuring the authentic Shanghai Audi International Circuit! Dash over the asphalt of Asia's most popular Formula 1 track with the hottest super sports cars in the world and speed past the impressive main grandstand with up to 250 mph. Do you have the skills to compete with the best F1 drivers of all time and beat the legendary track record from 2004?]
Sports Car Challenge is a fast-paced racing experience for your Android phone with graphics and gameplay never seen before on a smartphone or tablet. Enjoy the sheer beauty and amazing details of the hottest high-end sportscars from Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche and Volkswagen, while you speed along the track with up to 250 miles per hour.
- Audi R8 GT Spyder
- Audi TTS Coupé
- Bentley Continental GT V8
- Bentley Continental Supersports ISR
- Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport
- Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4
- Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera
- Porsche 911 Carrera S
- Porsche Cayman R
- Volkswagen Scirocco R
Shift through the seven gears of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport and indulge in the stunning looks of the Bentley Continental GT V8 or Bentley Continental Convertible ISR. Set new track records with the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 or Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera and manoeuvre the Audi R8 GT Spyder or Audi TTS Coupé through the demanding slalom course. Master the challenging braking contest with the Porsche 911 Carrera S or the Porsche Cayman R and kick the pedal of the Volkswagen Scirocco R to the metal. Show your friends that you can beat their personal high scores at ease and dominate the global leaderboards!
- Time Trial
- Slalom
- Braking
With realistic driving physics, authentic engine sounds and manifold customization options on account of an exclusive selection of original rims and paintworks, Sports Car Challenge offers an unprecedented racing experience on Android devices. And due to a number of free content-updates, which will add more cars and tracks to the title in the upcoming months, the challenge won't be over anytime soon… do you have what it takes to master the hottest sports cars in the word and reach the finish line of four demanding circuits in minimum time?
- Black Forest Germany
- Shanghai Audi International Circuit
- Yunlong Lake China
- Zhuhai International Circuit
Sports Car Challenge has been created and developed by FISHLABS Entertainment and is powered by the ABYSS game engine.
[Sports Car Challenge is an official Volkswagen Group China app. In addition to an action-packed racing experience, the title will also offer you a number of other services, such as locating the closest car dealership in your area via GPS. Therefore the app is going to access several services and permissions, a complete list of which can be found under "Permissions". Please note that none of these accesses is of malicious intent. Enjoy the race!]
http://uploaded.net/file/9tcooi4e
http://rapidgator.net/file/79283668/
http://turbobit.net/g2f0w3pwygyt.html
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.fishlabs.SportsCarChallenge
Dungeon Hunter 2 HD v1.0.3
reznaf | 11:14 AM | Dungeon Hunter 2 HD v1.0.3 , Dungeon Hunter 2 HD v1.0.3 APK , Dungeon Hunter 2 HD v1.0.3 Download , Games , RPG/Quest
Description: The epic tale of Dungeon Hunter continues, opening a wide new world for you to explore and conquer in this thrilling action RPG. Journey back to Gothicus, 25 years after the events of the first game, as the son of the immortal king. Uncover the mystery of the plot against your kingdom as you hack your way through larger dungeons and more ferocious monsters than ever before. But a hero is only as strong as the warriors by his side: team up with up to 3 fellow hunters and rise through the online leaderboards. Together, there's no dungeon you can't clear!
Opening a wide new world for you to explore and conquer in this thrilling action RPG. Journey back to Gothicus, 25 years after the events of the first game, as the son of the immortal king. Uncover the mystery of the plot against your kingdom as you hack your way through larger dungeons and more ferocious monsters than ever before. But a hero is only as strong as the warriors by his side: team up with up to 3 fellow hunters and rise through the online leaderboards. Together, there's no dungeon you can't clear!
Enter Gothicus' dark fantasy atmosphere with high-definition graphics, optimized for your HD screen.
Addictive hack 'n slash gameplay from the original but with more finely tuned controls & save system.
An open world 5 times bigger than before with more enemies, more quests and more hours of enjoyment.
Exclusive co-op multiplayer mode: Play the campaign solo or with up to 3 other adventurers.
Deep customization system: Choose from 3 classes with 2 specializations each and dozens of skills.
http://uploaded.net/file/xeupph19
http://turbobit.net/xnp50jr9at6d.html
Minecraft: Pocket Edition 0.7.0 update, release da...


text:
EleA Home
Area Ingegneria civile, elettronica, industriale
Ingegneria chimica
Analysis and modeling of the behavior of hydrogels-based systems for biomedical and agro-food applications
tesi di dottorato (53.35Mb)
abstract in inglese a cura dell'autore (411.4Kb)
abstract in italiano a cura dell'autore (412.2Kb)
Caccavo, Diego
Hydrogels are three-dimensional, hydrophilic, polymeric networks capable of imbibing large amounts of water or biological fluids. Depending on the type of polymer, number of cross-links, presence of ionic species the swelling/shrinking behavior can be greatly modified. This peculiar behavior, which has led to define this soft matter as "smart materials", makes hydrogels and hydrogel-based systems very attractive by several frontier fields, such as biomedical applications, as well as for sectors that are less demanding technology, i.e. agro-food applications. The general aim of this Ph.D. thesis is to analyze, with ad hoc experiments, and to describe/simulate, through mathematical modeling, the behavior of hydrogels and hydrogel-based systems. A first question to answer when approaching hydrogels is: "are they multiphasic or monophasic systems"? The answer cannot be taken for granted. Despite in most experimental cases the response is simply avoided, it become fundamental when the aim is to develop a mechanistic mathematical model of the system. The most natural approach is to consider hydrogels as single-phase matter, in which several components can coexist, like it would be indisputably done for polymeric solutions (hydrosols). Another vision is to consider hydrogels as made of different phases, i.e. the water phase is separated from the polymeric phase, and these can exchange momentum. During this work a general modeling framework has been proposed to which several models from literature, multiphasic or monophasic, can be traced back or, vice versa, depending on the chosen approach the framework can be particularized to give the multiphasic or the monophasic balance equations. In this thesis, in light of its thermodynamic and numerical robustness, the monophasic approach, which is more consistent, has been chosen. Another important question is related to the need of modeling/analyze the full behavior, mass transport plus mechanics, or just one aspect, mass transport only. The difficulties related to the solution/analysis of the full hydrogels behavior have led many researchers to describe hydrogel-based systems with a "mass transport only" approach. This is, in example, common in drug delivery applications. During this PhD a mechanistic model based on a "mass transport only" approach for drug release from hydrogel-based system has been developed and validated against experimental data. HPMC-based tablets, loaded with Theophylline have been studied. Differently to what is normally done in dissolution tests, in this work besides the evaluation of the drug release via spectrophotometric analysis, the water and polymer residue have been determined by gravimetric analysis. This has been done on the entire tablets, as well as on portion of them, obtaining internal profiles of the components. The partially swollen tablets have been also subjected to indentation tests, which after an opportune calibration have allowed obtaining information on the water distribution inside the system. A 2Daxisymmetric model has been built on the water and drug mass transport equations; the polymer has been obtained from the mass fraction constraint. The deformations have been described with an ALE moving mesh method, whose boundaries move in relation to the amount of water and drug entering or leaving the system. The comparison between the detailed experimental results and the modeling results has shown a good agreement, in terms of masses, shape and components distribution, demonstrating that the main features had been correctly described. Such a formulated model has been applied to describe commercial-like tablets (in which excipients were present), with two type of HPMC with different substitution pattern (i.e. different degree of cross-links) and tested in non-standard apparatus (NMR cell). Despite after a proper tuning the model has been able to describe the drug and polymer release, the shape and the water distribution inside the system (experimentally taken from MRI technique) have not been correctly described. This application demonstrated the limits of a "mass transport only" approach. In the analyzed case the forces acting on the swelling tablet (shear, centrifugal, gravitational) could have a relevant impact, but most of all the different degree of cross-links of the HPMC played the major role. In order to consider the hydrogel mechanics, the pure hydrogel behavior has been studied. Hydrogels normally couple solvent mass transport to system deformation and vice versa. This phenomenon is generally called poroelasticity and it is characteristic also of other materials (i.e. biological tissues, soils etc.). Another peculiarity of hydrogels is that the constituent polymeric network can have viscoelastic characteristics (i.e. like polymeric melts), which eventually translate in an overall hydrogel viscoelastic behavior. Depending on the time interval of interest and on the characteristic times of relaxation and diffusion, hydrogels can behave viscoelastically, poroelastically or poroviscoelastically (when the diffusion time is comparable with the relaxation time). A 3D model describing the poroviscoelastic behavior of hydrogels, still scarcely implemented in literature, has been developed within the field of non-equilibrium thermodynamics and non-linear solid mechanics (large deformations) and implemented in a commercial FEM-based software. The results of such kind of model permit to discriminate between and to study the poroelastic and viscoelastic regime as well as Abstract Diego Caccavo it permits to study the poroviscoelastic behavior. Experimental unconfined stress-relaxation tests have been performed on agarose-gels at different concentrations with radius and height of 1 cm, and imposing a deformation of 10%. In the time range analyzed (1200 s) the agarose-gel has shown a predominant viscoelastic behavior, releasing only little amount of water. The model, after an initial tuning of the parameters, has been able to fairly predict the experimental data. Characteristic of the developed approach is that, once the model parameters are derived, it is possible to describe the hydrogel subjected to different stimuli (mechanicals or chemicals). The proposed poroviscoelastic model is extendable to multicomponent diffusion systems, which could be, in example, controlled release systems based on hydrogels. For the first time, to the author's knowledge, in the hydrogel-based systems modeling literature, in this thesis it has been shown how to extend the poroviscoelastic model to consider the presence of another diffusing species. The transport and constitutive model equations, opportunely modified, have been implemented in a commercial FEM-based software and, as an example, the drug release from a swelling system has been reported. [edited by author]
http://dx.doi.org/10.14273/unisa-1035
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Atyrau International Airport to be named after legendary Kazakh female war pilot Dospanova 14 мая 2015, 13:46
The Atyrau International Airport will be named after the legendary Kazakh pilot Khiuaz Dospanova who participated in the Great Patriotic War (WWII).
Khiuaz Dospanova. Photo © e-history.kz
The Atyrau International Airport will be named after the legendary Kazakh pilot Khiuaz Dospanova that participated in the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Tengrinews reports citing Ak Zhaiyk.
According to the Vice-Director of the Airport Zhanyl Umbetiyarova, Atyrau Oblast Akimat (Municipal authorities) sent a letter suggesting to name the airport after the only female Kazakh pilot Dospanova who fought against fascism. The Airport administration supported the idea.
In 2012, Air Astana's Embraer 190 airplane was named after Dospanova.
The future pilot was born in on May 16, 1922 in Ganyushkino village in the Western Kazakhstan. In 1940 she graduated from middle school in Uralsk and along with the diploma Khiuaz received a pilot certificate from a local flying club. The young women left for the war in 1942. She served at the 588th Bombardment Wing and completed missions in North Caucasus, Trans Caucasus, Ukraine and Belarus. Dospanova was awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Patriotic War Order of the 2nd degree, the Order of the Red Banner and medals For Defense of Caucasus, For Liberation of Warsaw, Victory over Germany and others.
Khiuaz returned from the war as a disabled person of group II with consolidated fractures of both legs. She began an active public life and graduated from the Higher Party School in Almaty. Dospanova's journey started from a combat pilot, a instructor at the Western Kazakhstan District Party Committee to the secretary of the Central Committee at the Lenin's Young Communist League.
Khiuaz had to retire before she reached the age of 40 due to health issues caused by war and blast injuries. She passed away in 2008. President Nursulatan Nazarbayev awarded Dospanova the title Khalyk Kakharmany (People's Hero).
By Gyuzel Kamalova


Newcomer Family Obituaries - June H. Tallman 1927 - 2018 - Newcomer Cremations, Funerals & Receptions.
June H. Tallman, 90, of Columbus, passed away September 12, 2018.
June was born November 11, 1927 to Edward and Emma (Duff) Hollingshead. She was a member of All Saints Lutheran Church in Worthington.
She was married to Oliver L. Tallman for 48 years.
She will be deeply missed by her; daughters Barbara (Rodney) Duane of Columbus, Joyce Tallman of Cleveland, and Marilyn Miller of Blacklick; grandchildren Meghann (John) Laughlin, Kevin McFarland, Bradley (Emily) Miller, Emma (Seth) Allton; great-grandchildren Miriam, Ian Laughlin, Cadence, Grayson, Ashton Miller, Addi, Audri Allton ; along with step-grandchildren, step-great-grandsons and many others.
Along with her parents, June was preceded in death by her husband and son-in-law Gary.
Visitation will be Monday, September 17, 2018 from 10am to 11am at All Saints Lutheran Church 6770 N. High St., Worthington, OH 43085.
Celebration of Life services will follow at 11am at the church with Pastor Bonnie Gerber officiating.
Burial will be at Northlawn Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimers Association or All Saints Lutheran Church.
Add your memories to the guest book of June Tallman.


Our Locksmiths can offer many services for your house, office or car. In the event the locksmith only accepts cash, that's also an indication that the business isn't an authentic community locksmith. A dependable Locksmith can install the very best possible lock for your house. As soon as you've found a dependable locksmith, keep the business's contact information in a secure place like your wallet, phone, or address book. You ought to, therefore, be certain to plan effectively for this before you begin searching for a locksmith. Turning into a locksmith might be a rewarding career chance, but like any other job, will need a bit of preparation. Should you need an emergency locksmith any place in Manchester then you're able to rely on us to react fast once you need us to.
Now, to get you back in your vehicle, check for spare keys initially, or perhaps you either find a means to unlock your vehicle on your own or call an auto locksmith. If this is the case, it can be hard getting to see them as frequently as you'd like without a vehicle. Not having a car can make dating slightly more difficult, as you might not be in a position to understand each other as frequently as you'd like. It could ease the burden by letting you drop them off with ease. A used car is going to have already suffered wear and tear before you bought it, which is the reason why it's less expensive than a completely new vehicle. Getting your own car could earn a huge difference to you. It might be that you have purchased the incorrect car for your requirements.
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If you are feeling the door is getting harder to lock then produce the call early! Whenever your door has moved around this will often throw all or a number of the locking points out of line with the frame once you close the door, so as you attempt to lift the door handle, which you need to do on 99% of composite and pvc doors it's very difficult to lift and consequently you are expected to use a whole lot more force to lift the handle far enough to permit you to turn the key. If you may unlock the auto door through one of these unconventional ways, you would still have a problem because you cannot drive your automobile if your key is missing or broken.


Stubs are pages on the Love-shy Wiki that haven't really been fully fleshed out yet, or need more content. You can help make them into full-fledged articles by editing them. You need to register for an account to make edits.
This page was last modified on 6 July 2011, at 12:13.


text:
Cisco Continues to Make All the Right Moves
Tim Brugger, The Motley Fool, AOL.com
Aug 29th 2012 1:13PM
If questions remained regarding Cisco's (NAS: CSCO) ability to outperform analyst and shareholder expectations, its earnings announcement from a couple of weeks ago silenced them in a big way. Cisco's year-over-year operating income, net income, revenue, and cash from operations are all through the roof. To top things off, CEO John Chambers and the team finally dug into the $48 billion in reserves and increased the dividend yield to an impressive 2.89%.
Rather than congratulate itself on a stellar quarter, Cisco is continuing its push for significant growth in key business areas. In conjunction with previously announced cost-saving initiatives, the moves will keep investors cheering well into 2013.
The Aug. 27 press release announcing an expansion of the partnership between Cisco and VMware (NYS: VMW) is a great strategic business move. Cloud technology is the future of computing, and $39 billion VMware is one of the leaders in the industry. Cisco's no slouch when it comes to the cloud, either. It offers customers a suite of Cisco-specific solutions, including SecureX, data loss prevention, and secure mobile solutions.
Together, Cisco and VMware will make capital investments for new solutions, develop joint engineering teams to expand services, and provide additional expertise. The more comprehensive the cloud infrastructure, data centers, and networking capabilities -- the better, and Cisco now delivers just these types of solutions.
Though not on the same scale as the Cisco/VMware strategic partnership expansion, Cisco announced the signing of an agreement on Aug. 28 with Alstom Grid. Alstom provides utilities around the country with digital substation automation solutions. To limit downtime and increase safety, Cisco's part of the bargain provides improved digital security, Internet communication improvements, and helps modernize electrical utilities nationwide.
With the 10% appreciation in stock price since the Aug. 15 earnings announcement, the question of Cisco's relative value is a legitimate one. Compared to others in the industry, particularly in light of the recent news, Cisco has been good for existing shareholders. For new investors in search of a solid long-term opportunity, you still have time.
At $31.5 billion in market cap, Swedish-based Ericsson (NAS: ERIC) is closest to Cisco in size. But even then, it pales in comparison to Cisco's $103 billion valuation and diversity of product lines. Motorola Solutions (NYS: MSI) and Juniper Networks (NYS: JNPR) are smaller still, and lack key growth opportunities including data centers and cloud computing solutions.
Of the four, only Ericsson's 3.54% dividend yield beats the new-and-improved 2.89% Cisco now offers shareholders. As for financials, Cisco dominates value measures in several areas. Cisco's P/E of 12.94 wins the day. Just as important, key financial components used to compare management's effectiveness, such as return on assets, operating, and net profit margins, are all dominated by Cisco.
Cisco continues to outperform both analyst expectations and its competition, yet remains one of the best values in the industry -- a perfect scenario for investors. Now toss in a dividend yield of nearly 3%, and Cisco becomes a growth and income opportunity.
But the best news for investors goes beyond Cisco's impressive financial results and relative value. Management's aggressive steps to continue focusing on long-term initiatives, like cloud computing, set Cisco apart from the rest.
Cloud computing isn't the only fast-moving technology sector. For a look at another opportunity -- this one in mobile computing -- review our special free report: "The Next Trillion-Dollar Revolution."
The article Cisco Continues to Make All the Right Moves originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributorTim Bruggercurrently holds no securities positions, including any mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.


We have thousands of properties for sale all over France. But we've no property for sale in Gensac at the moment. And that's something we want to change.
If you have a property to sell in Gensac (or nearby) then act now to get a 50% discount.
Just place your advert in the normal way (Click here to place your advert). Then send us an email quoting "Gensac" and telling us that you you saw this offer.
The village of Gensac lies in one of the world's most famous wine regions in south-west France, overlooking the Durèze and Dordogne river valleys. Set in pretty countryside between the great cities of Bordeaux and Bergerac, the little village is a peaceful oasis in a busy world, a place unspoiled yet still able to provide for the everyday needs of a modern lifestyle. The cobbled streets are narrow and tranquil, the mediaeval buildings mellow and weathered by the sun that has shone down on them since the 14th century.
Gensac is small but well equipped with all the basics for a modern life. There are a few small shops, including a boulangerie, so you can be truly French and walk home every morning with a baguette tucked under your arm and some warm croissants ready for breakfast. The village has a Spar supermarket, which supplies a good range of groceries and household requirements, cafés, a pharmacy, a post office and a tourist office which will be able to tell you of all the local cultural and leisure facilities and events. There is also a small weekly market held in Gensac.
Gensac is known for having a couple of very good restaurants, and it goes without saying that in this village you will find a superb wine list! It is also worth visiting the wine caves, co-operatives and domains around the area, as these will usually offer you opportunities to taste and learn about their wines.
There are tennis courts and leisure lakes (three, no less!) close to the village, and plenty of activities taking place. You can go horse-riding, cycling, walking, swimming and fishing and golf addicts will be pleased to find that there are some good courses accessible too. At certain times of year, mainly in the summer months, there are various fêtes and festivals taking place, and there are some wonderful bastide towns to visit. Try taking a look at nearby St Foy le Grande, or spend a day or two discovering the cities of Bordeaux and Bergerac.
Bordeaux and Bergerac are both within easy reach of Gensac. Bordeaux airport is served by British Airways, flybe, bmibaby, Aer Lingus and easyJet, while Bergerac is served by flybe and Ryanair. If you prefer the train, you can take the TGV from Paris and arrive in Libourne in around three hours after a swift and relaxing journey. You can then take a local train to get nearer to Gensac itself. Meanwhile if driving is your thing, the A89 auto route will take you quite close to Gensac, the D936 closer still. Gensac sits at the junction where the D9 meets the D15.
Property around Gensac is sometimes fairly expensive as the location, between Bordeaux and Bergerac, is highly sought after. It is still possible, however, to pick up a bargain or two, especially if you are happy to consider a renovation project or partially renovated house.
Do you know Gensac better than we do? Do you have photos of Gensac?
Gensac is situated in south-west France. It lies in the east of the Gironde department, close to the border with the Dordogne department.
Access: By air: Fly to Bordeaux or Bergerac. By rail: Take the Eurostar to Paris then change to a TGV to reach Libourne in around three hours. By road: The town is accessed from the D15 or the D9, after leaving the A89 auto route or D936.
Economy: Wine dominates the economy.
Interesting fact: Gensac is set amongst some of the most famous vineyards in the world. The internationally renowned St Emilion is only twenty minutes from the village, making Gensac a great base for wine lovers!


text:
Flying-Cars
Transport January 26, 2022 <January 26, 2022
From a road car to a plane in under 3 minutes – This BMW-powered transforming flying car is now certified to fly and will soon go into production.
by Sayan Chakravarty
Six months after completing its first intercity flight, the futuristic Slovakian flying car appropriately named AirCar has finally…
Aptly named 'Jetson One' and sold out for this year – This flying car costs just $92,000 it can reach speeds up to 63 mph and you don't even need a license to fly one.
Why buy a Porsche Cayman sports car when you can buy a flying car for the same kind…
Transport January 6, 2022 <January 6, 2022
French startup showcases a $900,000 hydrogen-powered flying race car at CES 2022 that's capable of hitting speeds up to 155mph
If you're someone like me who got captivated by the podracing from the movie 'Star Wars: Episode I…
Transport December 14, 2021 <December 14, 2021
This unique bird-like flying car from Africa has tracked feet and can take-off and land from any terrain
Over the last few years, we've come across plenty of crazy flying taxi concepts that have been introduced…
Transport June 30, 2021 <June 30, 2021
Futuristic flying car prototype that transforms from a sports car into a flying car in under three minutes has completed its first intercity flight flying at a height of 8250 feet at speeds up to 105 mph.
Aircraft and motorcar are arguably two of the greatest inventions in history that played a crucial role in…
Transport May 24, 2021 <May 24, 2021
Formula One in the skies – the world's first electric flying racing car is ready to race
What you are looking at is the Airspeeder Mk3 – the world's first electric flying racing car. Last…
Transport October 29, 2020 <October 30, 2020
Watch: A Slovakian flying car concept transforms from a regular road car to a fully-functioning aircraft in less than 3-minutes
Twenty years back, if you would have asked people about one thing from sci-fi movies that would turn…
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Will 2021 be the year when flying cars and taxis finally become a reality? If the recent news…
Transport September 30, 2020 <September 30, 2020
An Australian millionaire loves Star Wars so much that he is launching the worlds first flying car race in 2021
If you are to believe Australian millionaire Matt Pearson and everything goes according to his plans, we'll have…
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This all-electric flying taxi will use Formula 1 technology to ferry passengers at 150 mph
As the automobile world continues to transition from internal combustion engines to electric propulsion at a quicker pace…