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Taking responsibility for complexity (section 3.2.6): Accountability for learning
Policies need to place explicit value on knowledge and learning as an outcome of activities, with this learning channelled directly back into policy development.
Posted by Harry Jones on 15 September 2020 in Systems and complexity, Taking responsibility for complexity | 41 Views | Leave a response
This article is part of section 3.2 of a series of articles featuring the ODI Working Paper Taking responsibility for complexity: How implementation can achieve results in the face of complex problems.
The shift in approach required is to see intervention as an expression of hypotheses and assumptions. At the same time as attempting to deliver a service or achieve a goal, it is important to do all that is possible to look at the questions a policy poses and to seize opportunities to assess how robust and relevant those hypotheses are. This idea is at the heart of approaches to policy-making that see policy as an experiment. For example, Rondinelli1 proposes that development policies be seen as 'social experiments,' arguing that taking into account the underlying uncertainty in delivering change through policy, development projects should be used to learn as we would from experiments, in order to redefine problems and solutions along the way.
In the short term, there may be a trade-off between learning and achieving objectives, so some 'slack' may be required to enable an intervention to be based on a better understanding of the situation; what is crucial is that policies place explicit value on knowledge and learning as an outcome of activities, and that this learning be channelled directly back into policy development. There are some ethical issues here, which more traditional approaches to policy experimentation have already examined in detail. These are not issues that should be dismissed lightly: there will always be difficult trade-offs between delivery and learning in complex problems, but there are also some ways of mitigating these2.
The incentives around M&E3 are crucial: where recognising that not everything went to plan is seen as a 'failure' that has to be avoided, staff are unlikely to reflect genuinely on issues. An alternative approach is to see that, where a project seems to be starting to 'flag' on performance measures, this is an opportunity for learning and further assistance – for example triggering additional support and expertise. The way M&E is integrated with accountability requirements is also crucial. As we have seen, RBM4 may not be appropriate in the face of complex problems: measuring the effects and impact of implementation is important, but individual, team or organisational performance must not be judged solely on whether outcomes were achieved – outcomes are frequently outside the exclusive control of any one actor and so being held accountable for them is counterproductive5. The evidence is not conclusive, but complex tasks may require learning objectives rather than performance goals6.
Governments and aid agencies must allow greater diversity in practice – RBM may still be appropriate for some areas of work but not for others. Another possibility is to use performance frameworks that are 'multidimensional,' such as the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (DEFRA's) 'stretching the web' tool, which compares projects on a range of measures in a number of dimensions, or the 'balanced scorecard' approach and the 'performance prism,' which involve taking into account aspects such as stakeholder satisfaction; internal processes and strategies; and innovation and learning; as well as achievement of objectives7.
Finally, variation is something that bureaucracies do not deal with well: they may view it as promoting inconsistencies and waste. In complex problems, it is crucial to ensure sufficient redundancy over (static measures of) efficiency; while it may be clear in hindsight which projects are successful and which did not individually provide good 'value for money,' when faced with significant uncertainty it is only sensible to invest in a broad range of options before focusing resources on those that have proven to work8. Promoting and incentivising innovation in service delivery will be vital.
Variation should be seen as the engine of learning; learning gained from a 'failed' project should be valued highly; and ensuring sufficient redundancy should be seen as the only responsible approach to programming in complex domains. Aside from exhortations to 'allow for variation,' another suggestion is that agencies operate with 'parallel project selection,' where there are a number of 'decision centres' in the agency, and acceptance by any one is sufficient for the project to be funded9.
Box 8: Decentralised health care provision in Brazil
Responding to decades of institutional fragmentation, administrative discontinuity and lack of access to health care, an advocacy effort known as the Sanitary Movement managed to have health enshrined in Brazil's 1988 Constitution as a citizen's right, with the state responsible for providing universal and equal access to health services. The Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) was then established in 1996. The system grew from the grassroots, based on decentralised universal access and public participation. Responsibilities and decision-making were devolved to the municipality level. Community participation is integrated at a variety of levels, such as through health councils, and strong popular support has helped ensure the system's continuity.
Research has shown that local experimentation and innovation have been a major factor in the system's success and adaptability. Innovation has been encouraged in two areas: service provision (e.g. community members' participation as auxiliary workers) and governance (e.g. intergovernmental cooperation). Examples include:
Use of health councils to allow community and stakeholder participation in health care planning and delivery;
Deployment of auxiliary workers, who are members of local communities employed to work as the assistants of health professionals;
Family health modules, which were originally organised in simple formats targeting lower-income populations and poverty-hit regions but now are more sophisticated and have expanded into major metropolitan areas;
Diversification and structuring of the Family Health Strategy into networks to promote the transformation of older primary care centres into 'policlinics';
Adoption of new emergency care structures that emerged in Brazil's southeast in other metropolitan areas.
The SUS is financed by general taxation and coordinated by the Ministry of Health, which is responsible for ensuring some uniformity of procedure and manages compensatory financial mechanisms to help reduce regional disparities.
Source: Bourgon10.
Next part (section 3.3): How? A toolkit for negotiated learning.
See also these related series:
Exploring the science of complexity
Planning and strategy development in the face of complexity
Managing in the face of complexity.
Article source: Jones, H. (2011). Taking responsibility for complexity: How implementation can achieve results in the face of complex problems. Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Working Paper 330. London: ODI. (https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/6485.pdf). Republished under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 in accordance with the Terms and conditions of the ODI website.
References and notes:
Rondinelli, D. (1993). Development Projects as Policy Experiments: an Adaptive Approach to Development Administration. London: Routledge. ↩
For example, RCTs involve randomly assigning an intervention to some beneficiaries while also studying certain indicators in a set of potential beneficiaries who do not receive the intervention. The issue here is that it could be seen as denying the intervention to some people and prioritising something nebulous as 'testing a hypothesis' ahead of delivering crucial services and (in some situations) potentially saving lives. There are two considerations here. First, it is possible to actively design policies so as to learn about their effects without necessarily denying services to those who need them. For example, RCTs sometimes employ a 'pipeline' design, where the intervention is rolled out to one group before another, rather than instead of. Second, in situations where planning cannot be complete, with the best will in the world it may simply not be possible to understand how best to deliver crucial services without some directed learning, and it could be more unethical to pour large amounts of public resources into a course of action that represents only an initial guess at how to tackle the problem (this idea is at the heart of policy pilots, for example, which are carried out before interventions are rolled out at a large scale). ↩
Monitoring & Evaluation. ↩
Results-based Management. ↩
Lerner, J. and Tetlock, P. (1999). 'Accounting for the Effects of Accountability.' Psychological Bulletin 125(2): 255-275. ↩
Ordonez, L., Schweitzer, M., Galinsky, A. and Bazerman, M. (2009). 'Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side-effects of Over-prescribing Goal-setting.' Working Paper 09-083. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School. ↩
Hailey, J. and Sorgenfrei, M. (2004). 'Measuring Success: Issues in Performance Measurement.' Oxford: INTRAC. ↩
Beinhocker, E. (2006). The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press. ↩
Ellerman, D. (2006). 'Rethinking Development Assistance: Networks for Decentralized Social Learning.' ↩
Bourgon, J. (ed.) (2010). 'The New Synthesis Project: Preparing Government to Serve Beyond the Predictable. Brazil Roundtable Report.' Waterloo: University of Waterloo. ↩
Posted in Systems and complexity, Taking responsibility for complexity | Tagged complex, complexity, learning
Harry Jones
Author of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) paper "Taking responsibility for complexity: How implementation can achieve results in the face of complex problems."
Knowledge management: "Each man is my superior in that I may learn from him"→
The need for new leadership in this COVID-era→
Older workers are just as keen on learning as younger workers→


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Description: SynthX is a mathematically modelled synthesizer. It includes 2 effects chains, one to process sounds internally and the other to process an external signal connected to the iPad's audio input. It is CoreMIDI compatible.


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Goldman Sachs predicts 4 themes that will steer the global economy through 2075
Brian Sozzi
·Anchor, Editor-at-Large
Forget the threat of a global recession in 2023, the team at Goldman Sachs is already thinking about global economic growth potential through the year 2075.
"It is almost twenty years since we first set out long-term growth projections for the BRICs [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa] economies and a little over ten years since we updated and expanded those projections to cover 70 emerging (EM) and developed (DM) economies," Goldman's macroeconomic team explained in a lengthy 45-page research paper. "Eleven years on, we are updating, expanding and extending our long-term projections, incorporating new data and new methods. Our revised projections now cover 104 countries, and we have extended our projection horizon from 2050 to 2075."
Here's a quick look at Goldman's economic thinking for the next 53 years.
City workers walk under the clocks of Nash Court in Reuters Plaza at the heart of Canary Wharf financial district on 14th October 2022 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Theme #1: Weaker population growth = slower global economic growth.
With younger households having fewer children and slowing population growth, Goldman thinks that demographics will put pressure on economic output.
"Our projections imply that global growth will average a little under 3% per year over the next ten years and will be on a gradually declining path, primarily reflecting slower labour force growth," Goldman's chief economist Jan Hatzius said. "Global population growth has halved over the past 50 years, from 2% per year to less than 1%, and is expected to fall to close to zero by 2075."
Theme #2: Some emerging markets become less emerging.
Keep an eye on today's emerging markets as they could potentially become the next economic powerhouses, Goldman points out.
"Although real GDP growth has slowed in both developed and emerging economies, in relative terms EM growth continues to outstrip DM growth," Hatzius said. "Our projections imply that the world's five largest economies in 2050 (measured in real USD) will be China, the U.S., India, Indonesia, and Germany (with Indonesia displacing Brazil and Russia among the largest EMs). By 2075, with the appropriate policies and institutions, Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt could be among the world's largest economies."
Theme #3: The United States takes a step back.
Hatzius thinks U.S. economic output will come down to Earth over the long term.
"The US's relative performance has been stronger than expected over the past decade," the economist added. "However, history suggests it is unlikely to repeat this over the next decade. U.S. potential growth remains significantly lower than that of large EM economies, and we expect some of the US Dollar's exceptional strength of recent years to be unwound over the next 10 years."
Theme #4: Wealth distribution remains in focus.
"Twenty years of EM convergence has resulted in a more equal distribution of global incomes," Hatzius pointed out. "However, while income inequality between countries has fallen, income inequality within countries has risen. This poses a major challenge to the future of globalisation."
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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Q: Distinguishing an underground Hydrogen bomb test from a fission bomb explosion A related question is Hydrogen bomb radiation output, but my question is  based on the seismograph data (or any other data) possibly producing a distinctive pattern.
Is it possible to tell the difference, if the test occurs inside a sealed chamber? (The obvious point here is, can a unverifiable claim be made, so it is in the interest of the "tester" not to allow radioactive byproducts to escape.)
Another obvious reply is that the answer is yes, based on previous tests and/or computer simulated tests. But I don't know if this is true or not, although I suspect a different vibration pattern is involved.
To clarify this, I thought initially (and naïvely) that the time delay as described below might show up in some fashion in seismological data, but
I doubt if even LIGO (with suitable adaption), could detect the trigger explosion:

The basic principle of the Teller–Ulam configuration is the idea that different parts of a thermonuclear weapon can be chained together in "stages", with the detonation of each stage providing the energy to ignite the next stage. At a bare minimum, this implies a primary section that consists of an implosion-type fission bomb (a "trigger"), and a secondary section that consists of fusion fuel. The energy released by the primary compresses the secondary through a process called "radiation implosion", at which point it is heated and undergoes nuclear fusion.

Picture and text source: Teller-Ulam Configuration

A: The following is verbatim from What eathquake science can tell us about North Korea's nuclear test, from Phys.org, published Sept.4th 2017:

Seismological data can tell us whether there was an explosion, but not whether that explosion was caused by a nuclear warhead or conventional explosives. For final confirmation that an explosion was nuclear, we have to rely on radionuclide monitoring, or experiments at the test site itself.
Similarly, we cannot explicitly differentiate between a nuclear fission bomb and a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, nor can we tell if a bomb is small enough to be mounted on a missile, as the North Korean government claims.

The article states that explosions produce amplitudes of various seismic waves different from earthquakes, and the depth of earthquakes is greater than that of explosions (the depth is measured by timing the arrival of different wave components) but seismographic data cannot do more than this.
Note that the yield of the RNK's test is estimated to be in the range ~ 100 kilotons, suggesting a boosted atomic device rather than a full fusion device.  For comparison the warhead on a Titan II missile was something like 9 megatons.

A: If you know the exact time difference between the primary explosion (fission) and the secondary fusion (and fission), you can tell if it is a A-bomb or a H-bomb.

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SPONSORED: Vocal Glory - Massenet's Manon in HD from New York Metropolitan Opera, enjoyed by Maria Nockin.
VIDEO PODCAST: Find out about composers from unusual places, including Gerard Schurmann, Giya Kancheli, Nazib Zhiganov and Nodar Gabunia, about singing in cars, and meet Jim Hutton from the RLPO and some of our regular contributors in this eighty-minute February 2021 video.
UPDATES: There's a new feature every day at Classical Music Daily. Read about the various ways we can keep in touch with you about what's happening here.
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Geoff Fallon is a retired attorney in Ohio, USA, who has been an ardent ballet fan since age fifteen. He has been on the board of a regional ballet company, BalletMet, for more than ten years and has often grappled with difficult budgeting issues including whether or not to have live music. Geoff also supports choreographers and dance companies in creating new work and typically attends more than fifty dance performances per year.
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Niemcy:
 Dreetz – gmina w kraju związkowym Brandenburgia, w powiecie Ostprignitz-Ruppin
 Dreetz – gmina kraju związkowym Meklemburgia-Pomorze Przednie, w powiecie Rostock

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What Does Custody Really Mean?
Custody doesn't impact child support. People sometimes think that legal custody impacts child support. It doesn't. The parenting plan impacts child support but legal custody doesn't.
Custody doesn't automatically allow someone to move out of state. People often think that sole custody automatically allows a parent to move far away with the children. That's not the case. In Oregon, if there is a contested move-away situation the court looks at what is best for the child. The assumption used to be that if a parent was moving away to get a better job or to get more family support, that would be good for the parent which would then be good for the child. That assumption is no longer made. Now the assumption is that if a child has a regular relationship with both parents, it is best to ensure that those relationships continue. Mediation is a great option for addressing move-away cases because it allows parents to focus on creating a workable arrangement for both of them rather than taking a "win-lose" approach to the situation.
In the mediation or Collaborative process we don't usually use the word custody. Instead, we refer to it as "decision making." The phrase "decision making" is more accurate and less inflammatory than the word custody. When we talk about decision making we typically are talking about religious upbringing, school decisions and elective medical decisions. As we see in ORS 107.169, the major decisions "include but are not limited to" these three types of decisions. Realistically, major decisions include any decisions that are coming up where you end a lot of time thinking about the decision, research different possible options, etc.
How is decision-making addressed in mediation and Collaborative Law?
In mediation we begin by asking the question, "How have you made decisions in the past?" We then ask, "How do you envision making decisions in the future?" Often times whatever people have done in the past they will continue to do in the future, although that doesn't always have to be the case. For example, it may the case that a stay-at-home parent historically made most of the decisions but now that there will be separate households the wage-earning parent begins to take a more active role.
Regardless of the approach to decision-making, mediation and Collaborative Law provide a process for identifying and discussing interests. When we are discussing something as important as making major decisions for your children, it is important that each parent have a chance to discuss the issue from their perspective and feel heard.
http://www.mediatingattorney.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Forest-Collins.png 0 0 Forrest Collins http://www.mediatingattorney.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Forest-Collins.png Forrest Collins2014-10-19 01:19:512014-11-19 05:46:32What Does Custody Really Mean?
In the traditional divorce process there is a lot of haggling back and forth about the amount of spousal support that will be paid. We take a different approach in the mediation and Collaborative Law context. In both of these processes we attempt to arrive at a meaningful support arrangement – one that compares need versus ability to pay and seeks to make sure everyone can pay their bills after the divorce. Budgets are instrumental in determining spousal support awards in both mediated and Collaborative divorces.
You have probably heard of budgets before although you may not have ever done one. In short, a budget is simply the total of all the money coming in and all the money going out. Here is a Monthly Budget Form for your convenience. Although this form is fairly comprehensive, you can certainly add to it.
Apples to apples budgets. It is important that both people use the same level of budget. They do not need to use the same amounts in their budget, but they do need to be including (or excluding) the same types of expenditures. For example, if one person includes a travel line item in their budget, then the other person should as well. If someone includes voluntary retirement in their budget, then so should the other person. However, the amounts don't need to be the same. For example, it's not unusual that one person has a much higher grooming budget than the other. The bottom line is that if someone is using a minimalistic budget, the other person should as well. If someone is using their preferred budget, so should the other person.
Exchange budgets before the meeting. You should exchange your budgets with each other before the meeting in which you will be addressing support. Neither person has veto power over the other person's budget, but it is perfectly fair to comment on the other person's budget. Often times people overlook or underestimate certain expenses; having the other person review your budget may help identify these things. Similarly, sometimes people overestimate costs and it fair to point that out as well. The purpose of exchanging budgets before the meeting is so that both people can offer feedback prior to the meeting. You want to go into the meeting with both people satisfied that the other person's budget is reasonable. Two hour appointments aren't cheap – you don't want to spend the meeting arguing about budgets! Instead, you should come into the meeting having already reviewed and commented on the other person's budget so that you can spend your time actually discussing support rather than arguing about whether someone should have included lawn service in their budget.
One-time expenses. Expenses such as your mortgage or cell phone are easy to identify. What are more difficult are one-time expenses. For example, you only need new tires every three or four years, but when you do they may cost $600 to $800. Similarly, Christmas only comes around once per year, but if you don't budget for it you could end up with a huge credit card bill. It's therefore important to think about these one time or irregular expenditures when preparing your budget.
Use post-divorce budgets. Many times people are still living together while they go through the divorce process and don't have any idea how much life will cost after the divorce. Although this is somewhat challenging, it is very important to try to accurately project what your budget will be after the divorce is final. For example, if you will be moving, try to figure out what part of town you are moving to and how large a place you are looking for. This will give you some idea about what your rent will be and it will also help you begin thinking about the total cost of your utilities. Sometimes people decide that it makes sense to create two budgets – one based on current expenses and one based on their expenses after they move out.
Budgets can be challenging – particularly if you are not used to doing one. However, they are very important in determining an appropriate support award. Since budgets usually take some time to figure out, you should probably start working on your budget sooner rather than later…you will be glad you did!


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American University Campus
The master plan for the American University of Beirut was developed to shape and guide the development of the university's century-old campus over the next 20 years. Situated on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean, the existing campus is composed of more than 80 academic, residential and administrative buildings, primarily of neo-Moorish and modern design that represent different eras of architectural development. The master plan provides architectural, landscape and urban design guidelines to serve the existing and future needs of the university. It articulates an integrative landscape plan that demonstrates a subtle use of topographical conditions to enhance the existing landscaping, in particular that of the green and wooded middle campus at the heart of the university with its lush environment and dramatic views towards the sea. The plan addresses improvements to the campus infrastructure, proposing new facilities such as classroom buildings and parking structures. It covers the renovation of existing buildings and preservation of historic structures; the expansion of the medical campus and its integration with the main campus; and the building of a new sports centre and business school. Pedestrians have replaced cars almost everywhere, with roads giving way to promenades, plazas and new green spaces designed to link the upper, middle and lower campuses. The generation of the master plan was a truly participatory process, successfully engaging the large number of beneficiaries including the entire university community.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2011
Design: 2001-2002, Construction: 2007-2012
Sasaki Associates (planner)
Beirut (place) (635 CE/14-15 AH [Conquered by Muslim Armies])
American University of Beirut (client)
Suliman S. Olayan School of Business
Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs
Institutions of Higher Education
American University Campus On-site Review Report
American University Campus On-site Review Report, edited by Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2010.
The On-site Review Report, formerly called the Technical Review, is a document prepared for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture by commissioned independent reviewers who report to the Master Jury about a specific shortlisted project. The reviewers are architectural professionals specialised in various disciplines, including housing, urban planning, landscape design, and restoration. Their task is to examine, on-site, the shortlisted projects to verify project data seek. The reviewers must consider a detailed set of criteria in their written reports, and must also respond to the specific concerns and questions prepared by the Master Jury for each project. This process is intensive and exhaustive making the Aga Khan Award process entirely unique.
Michele Lamprakos (reviewer)
Aga Khan Award for Architecture On-Site Review Reports (1980-2016)
PDF / 2.42 MB
AUB Campus Master Plan
Michele Lamprakos
American University Campus Presentation Panels


Football Anybody notice all of the offers going out to WEST COAST kids recently?
We should sign this kid!
How many "ships" do we have to sail?
Who should I look for in all american game?
Who's visiting Stillwater on 1/28?
Can someone post a thread with player interviews?
Brandon Sheperd - will be at OSU next year?
What 2012 commit are you most excited about and why?


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How Condominium and Homeowner Associations Can Comply With Illinois' Shelter-In-Place Order
Mar 23, 2020 | HOA & Condo Associations, News & Events
Writen By: Scott E. Pointner, Esq. and James P. Arrigo, Esq.
Rathje Woodward LLC
On March 20, 2020, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020 – 10, entitled Executive Order In Response To COVID-19 (the "Order"). In Section 1, all individuals living within the State of Illinois were ordered to "stay at home or at their place of residence" unless specifically exempted by the Order. This leaves many condominium and homeowners associations wondering how to comply with the Order while continuing necessary operations. Unfortunately, reference to the Illinois Condominium Property Act and the Common Interest Community Association ("CICA") Act offer no guidance. This article will briefly identify portions of the Order that exempt many employees and agents of condominium and homeowners associations to allow them to continue doing their jobs, or at least significant portions thereof. Given the legal ramifications of violating the Order (see Section 17 regarding enforcement), everyone is encouraged to read the order prior to leaving their homes or places of residence to ensure their planned activities are exempt.
Although there may be a half dozen or more provisions applicable to any individual association, the breadth of Sections 12 and 13 of the Order likely grant many associations ample authority to continue to allow their staff and agents to work as usual, especially when it comes to public safety/security personnel, maintenance workers, and essential functions such as finance. Specifically, the following are the various sections and provisions from the Order with potential implications on associations:
In Section 2, Nonessential Business And Operations are to cease, except as exempted by the terms of the Order. To the greatest extent feasible, essential businesses that remain open are to enforce Social Distancing Requirements of maintaining a six foot social distance.
In Section 3, all places of Public Amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, are closed to the public, which include outdoor activity locations like children's play centers and playgrounds, unless otherwise exempt. Associations should thus consider closing such locations.
In Section 4, all travel, including by automobile and bicycle, is prohibited, except for essential travel and essential activities as are later defined.
In Section 5, Essential Activities include travel for health and safety for family or household members which includes pets. (Subsection a). Subsection b allows for transportation for necessary supplies such as groceries, household consumer products, supplies needed to work from home, and "products necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences." Subsection c allows for outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, running, and biking, so long as Social Distancing Requirements are honored. Construing Section 3's prohibition from public use of playgrounds with Section 5's allowance of walking, hiking, running, and biking means that while playgrounds and similar gathering places should be closed, hiking and biking trails, and lake activities may remain open. Subsection d allows for transportation "to perform work providing essential products and services at Essential Businesses or Operations… or to otherwise carry out… Minimum Basic Operations."
Section 7 allows individuals to leave their residence to work for Healthcare and Public Health Operations which include "providers of any related and/or ancillary healthcare services." These definitions are to be broadly construed, but will not include things like fitness gyms, salons, and similar facilities. This provision likely exempts association staff and/or agents that patrol and/or maintain private roads to keep the roadways safe and in working order for public health operations.
Section 8 provides an exemption to work for Human Services Operations, which include work in "residential settings and shelters for adults, seniors, children, and/or people with developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, substance use disorders, and/or mental illness." The definition is to be "construed broadly to avoid any impacts to the delivery of human services, broadly defined." To the extent association staff and/or agents may be serving even one person with disabilities within the development, their activities would technically fall under this exemption.
Section 9 exempts work for Essential Infrastructure, which includes "building management and maintenance" which is to be "construed broadly to avoid any impacts to the essential infrastructure, broadly defined.
Section 12 exempts work for Essential Businesses and Operations, which includes in Subsection c services for individuals who need assistance as a result of this emergency. Subsection e exempts businesses needed for transportation, which would include personnel necessary to secure not only private roadways in developments, but also work to secure access to individual units within condominium buildings. Subsection o allows for work to support private and public transportation. Subsection r allows for businesses related to real estate, which is arguably the broadest grant of authority with regard to associations.
Section 13 is a catchall for Minimum Basic Operations, which allows employees, so long as they comply with Social Distancing Requirements, to allow them to carry out "the minimum necessary activities to . . . preserve the condition of the business's physical plant and equipment, ensure security… or for related functions." Because individual circumstances will vary from one association to the next, we recommend that you consult with your association's counsel.
If you have questions about how these new laws may impact your business or association, contact Scott Pointner at 630-668-8500.


PLEASE HELP .....I'm an old man and the Arp2600 was my board. I recently purchased a \an ALESIS VORTEX WIRELESS 2 to control my NORD ELECTRO 5 HD. MY PROBLEM ...I have never used Midi. I have searched and searched and even called Alexis, on instructions to help me. Looked all over UTUBE but could not find out how to go about it. There are not that many controls on the Alexis Vortex but would like to use some of them.
When I hooked it up out of the box some features do work. The three buttons for Keyboard split only has one that functions.
The Octave buttons work as they should.
The Pitch Wheel does not functions but the Nord 5 does not have a pitch bend, so not sure if I can program it or not by midi.
The Pads are notes on the keyboard presently, but would like to change them to One as Leslie speed control button, and One as stop leslie, and the others as Sound patches from the Nord.
The Ribbon controller does not function on any of the 3 settings.
Six of the sliders funtions as drawbars on the organ setting, but would like to change possibly to effects.
If anyone can help this OLD MAN I'd deeply appreciate it. I have never used Midi.
Welcome to the forums Stan.
Sorry i don't have answers for you Q's but others here may. Jus wanted to say hello OLD MAN!
Ps I forgot to mention. The accelerometer on my keytar turns the Leslie speed fast or slow as you tilt the neck. Very cool.


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Barilla Boosts Women's Representation In Executive Roles, Achieves Pay Equality
January 27, 2021 11:29 AM By Dayeeta Das
Italian food company Barilla last year increased women's representation in executive roles and achieved gender pay equality for all employees, it said, as it stepped up efforts to become a more inclusive workplace.
The family-owned group has been working on diversity and inclusion issues since late 2013, when its chairman made a comment against gay families during a radio interview, triggering a consumer backlash.
Barilla, which is the world's biggest pasta marker, said on Tuesday it increased women's representation in direct reports to the chief executive to 28% last year, compared with 8% in 2013.
The number of women in leadership positions globally increased in the company to 38% last year from 33% in 2014.
The group will receive an award in March from Catalyst, a nonprofit organisation that helps companies increase women's inclusion in the workplace.
Barilla currently employs more than 8,000 people around the world, with women accounting for 35% of its workforce.
In 2018, it became the first Italian company to support the United Nations standards of conduct for business aimed at tackling LGBTI -lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and intersex - discrimination in the workplace.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
5 Flavour Trends To Watch In 2023
Mondelēz International Tops Quarterly Estimates As Snack Demand Holds Up
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Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3 finally begins. After the launch of Avengers: Age Of Ultron teaser trailer last week (another one, containing new scenes, will be released again later today), Marvel Studios announce their full Phase 3 plan, including release dates for said films. Age Of Ultron is confirmed for next year and will close Phase 2, meanwhile Ant-Man has already been announced at San Diego Comic-Con this year, so these two movies don't play a large part in the announcements.
Perhaps the most exciting part is the announcement of The Black Panther movie. Chadwick Boseman is playing T'Challa and he will have a cameo in the next Captain America movie, which was initially announced as 'Serpent Society' (later on, this was proven to be a red herring and Marvel officially announced that it would be a Civil War movie.) Boseman appeared on stage at the Marvel event where the announcement was made, together with Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans.
Without further ado, here they are in all of their glory.


text:
package com.growthbeat.message.view;

import android.annotation.SuppressLint;
import android.content.Context;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.graphics.PorterDuff;
import android.view.MotionEvent;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ImageView;

@SuppressLint("AppCompatCustomView")
public class TouchableImageView extends ImageView {

    public TouchableImageView(Context context) {
        super(context);
        setOnTouchListener(new OnTouchListener() {
            @Override
            public boolean onTouch(View view, MotionEvent event) {
                ImageView imageView = (ImageView) view;
                if (view == null)
                    return false;

                switch (event.getAction()) {
                    case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:
                        imageView.setColorFilter(Color.argb(128, 0, 0, 0), PorterDuff.Mode.SRC_ATOP);
                        imageView.invalidate();
                        break;
                    case MotionEvent.ACTION_UP:
                    case MotionEvent.ACTION_CANCEL:
                        if(imageView.getDrawable() != null){
                            imageView.getDrawable().clearColorFilter();
                            imageView.invalidate();
                        }
                        break;
                }
                return false;
            }
        });
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


It's been decades since tennis sensation Boris Becker made international headlines. In those days, he was a phenom on the court, capturing the attention of tennis fans the world over as he won multiple Wimbledon titles. The recent mention of Becker in the headlines paints a very different picture.
Becker is embroiled in a bankruptcy case, and his attorneys are making what some are calling a highly unconventional argument: their client is immune to prosecution thanks to diplomatic immunity. The explanation for this argument hinges on how the courts view Becker's time as an unpaid attache for the Central African Republic, a position Becker started back in April. Becker's representatives say this role should protect him from having to face the bankruptcy actions.
From a PR perspective, the unique argument, spiced up by the dramatic declarations and accusations coming from Becker, have proven to be an irresistible story for the news media. The more outrageous the nature of Becker's accusations, the bigger and more prominent the headlines. That may not be the direction Becker wants this story to go.
For the most part, tennis fans remember his prowess on the court. This episode is adding a strange asterisk to Becker's legacy. Instead of remembering him as a superstar and sports hero, headlines are redefining him as a man obsessed with finding a way to control legal proceedings he, himself started. If the actions had been managed in relative quiet, they may not have attracted so much attention. Now, though, they have, and it will take more than loud accusations and claims that the rules don't apply to him for Becker to regain the narrative.