Strangely enough, though I've written five books up to this point (along with a few abandoned novels), I hadn't written a sequel until I launched into The Straits of Galahesh. I'd certainly had ideas for sequels. As a Tolkien disciple, I think in trilogies, so I had always planned on writing more books after the ones I'd finished before The Winds of Khalakovo, but I also knew that my time would be better spent if I tackled new projects. Why? Because if I did write a Book 2, I couldn't sell it. I'd have to sell its prequel, Book 1, first. And that didn't really help when (at the time) I was trying to get my name out there, get that first big sale.
Having more poles in the water, in other words, was the wiser course of action.
So it wasn't until STRAITS that I'd really had the chance to work with pre-existing material and expand on it. In some ways, it was a really gratifying thing. I'd spent so long developing the world, the characters, the magic, the politics, and then writing the story, it was like coming home. Strangely enough, I didn't jump right from WINDS and into STRAITS. When I finished wrapping up WINDS, I started submitting it for publication. That is, it wasn't sold yet. And so, following my mantra of starting a new project, I began working on a science fantasy. I got about 1/3 of the way through the book when the offer for WINDS came through from Night Shade. I was sad to set this other project aside, but I had no time to waste. I was now under contract. So the project went into the drawer and I started where WINDS left off.
Like I said, it was a nice homecoming, but it certainly wasn't easy. No book is easy. You're constantly applying the lessons you've learned (and sometimes breaking them) or learning new ones in the process of writing of the next book. Also, so much has to change in the next book. The characters, the world, the situation (i.e. the plot) based on the conclusion of the last tale. So there are always a lot of new challenges, even in writing a direct sequel.
As a small aside, just to share one of the oddities of publishing, I was 80% into the first draft of STRAITS (and I certainly knew how the book was going to end) by the time WINDS finally hit the shelves. So while it may seem from the outside that the writer has time to take stock and make adjustments, we really don't. By the time enough reviews had come in to actually start forming a consensus, I was fully done with the first draft and well into the second. The wheels of publishing move slowly, my friends.
Still, even though I didn't have a lot of outside influence in the form of reviewers or readers to guide the writing of the second book, I certainly learned some things along the way. The first that comes to mind is just how hungry readers are for explanation. One of the biggest criticisms I had for WINDS was the fact that not much of the underlying magic is explained. I will readily admit that it's something that's haunted me ever since I got serious about writing. In the first complete novel I ever wrote, I went rather heavy on explanation. After reading some books on writing and getting real feedback from writers on the book, I realized how blatant I was being about backstory. Then the pendulum swung the other way; I pulled way back and often explained too little. I've adjusted since then, but I still err on the side of not over-explaining. Note that I say "over-explain" where most readers would simply say "explain." People want to know backstory. They want to know how the world works. They just don't want it front-loaded. They want to become interested in the world and the characters first.
I'm so against simply "telling" readers that I resisted the suggestion to put in a summary of Book 1 at the beginning of STRAITS. It turned out to be a great idea that people have commented on liking, but at first it just felt, I don't know, info-dumpy. But of course the point of such a summary isn't to dump information, but to re-orient the readers of WINDS before they dive into STRAITS, and also to give brand new readers some sense of the story already told in the event that they come to STRAITS first.
While writing STRAITS I started to grow more aware of just how hard it is to write metaphysical stuff. (I don't know if this is a lesson, per se, or more of a lament.) In the books, I have one type of magic that's akin to telepathy. Certain women called Matri submerge themselves in drowning chambers—basins filled with ice-cold water—and project themselves astrally. This stuff is really hard to write in a compelling way. I'm glad that I did it; it's a unique form of magic, and I think it adds a lot of cool mystique to the story. But let me tell you, I'll be surprised if my next set of books have even a whiff of such stuff. It's not that I dislike it. It's that it's exhausting to write in a way that I feel will be engaging to readers.
The last thing I'll mention is actually not a lesson that changed my behavior, but reinforced it. Lessons don't have to be negative. They can be positive reinforcements of rules you haven't really grokked yet. Perhaps you'd been told about them but hadn't put them into practice, or perhaps they were lessons you stumbled across (things self-taught, in other words), but you'll find that some of your initial strengths get better over time as you see how well they're working.
One such positive lesson for me was that finding and occasionally returning to my "center" as a writer is a very useful tool. This is a difficult thing to explain because it encompasses things like confidence and instinct, but what I'm talking about here is to trust in that inner, writer's mind that sometimes knows better than your conscious, waking mind. There were plenty of times in Book 1 where I felt lost. Sometimes I just knew I wasn't prepared for the session, and other times I started to write but came across a major stumbling block. I would often step away from the computer when I came across these sorts of barriers, but I would feel pretty bad when I did so. I'd feel anxious and behind. I'd feel like a failure, even if it was only for a day until I picked up my virtual pen again.
But now, after seeing how wise those breaks were, I no longer worry about these little blips. I know that if I work at the problem, I'll eventually find a resolution, and it'll usually work out pretty well—if not in first draft then in the second or third. I did not, however, simply wait for the muse to return. I would use a set of writing techniques to help jumpstart my stalled progress.
The first technique was to backtrack. If I'm lost, it's often because I took a wrong path in the writing a page ago, or a chapter ago, maybe even hundreds of pages ago. In one book (this was a painful lesson to learn) I found I'd taken a wrong path very early on. I had to re-write a ton of that book, and it was something that plagued the pages until I eventually gave up on the novel. Now I'm pretty good at recognizing not only that I've taken a wrong path, but identifying the place where I have to start over. This is a really good skill for young writers to nurture, because losing your way is one of the most common problems writers face, even the experienced writer.
The second technique was to consider the continuum of the story—to look at what I had already, look at its trajectory, and compare it to the place I wanted to be by the end. Using this technique assumes, of course, that you have a decent idea of what the ending looks like. Not every writer does. I usually do, and this allows me to make informed decisions about the plot and the characters, not so that I can create a linear set of scenes toward some arbitrary endpoint, but so that I can craft character decisions and plot points that will create an interesting landscape over which the reader can travel. I don't always end up in the exact place I thought I would. In fact, I rarely do. But that ending I have in mind from the beginning of the story? It allows me to guide the plot in creative ways without letting things fall off the rails completely.
The last technique I used was to return to that place that got me excited to write about these characters in the first place. It might be some of the original glimpses I had when the story idea first came to me. It might be looking at period artwork that gave me some inspiration. It might be some passage that I'm particularly proud of. The point is to return to a place of pride, creativity, of drive. I find that if I can do that, it will often advise my choices, and often I'll take the proper one to move forward. Sometimes finding your way out of writer's block is merely about confidence in the story, and this usually allows me to remember just how cool the story is in my head. Then it's just a matter of getting it onto the page.
It was a long road to the completion of the second novel, and there were bumps and bruises along the way, but it was all well worth it. I'm very excited to finally share the second installment of The Lays of Anuskaya, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
Bradley P. Beaulieu is the author of The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh, the first two books in The Lays of Anuskaya trilogy and co-author of the novella Strata. In addition to being an L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Award winner, Brad's stories have appeared in various other publications, including Realms of Fantasy Magazine, Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Writers of the Future 20, and several anthologies from DAW Books. His story, "In the Eyes of the Empress's Cat," was voted a Notable Story of 2006 in the Million Writers Award. His website is www.quillings.com.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Writing is such hard work. I think I'll have to stick to reading.


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Photo Source: SIPRI
IPRI Conflict Weekly, 29 April 2020, Vol.1, No. 15
IPRI # 65, 29 April 2020
A Padmashree, Sourina Bej, Harini Sha and Sukanya Bali
Yemen: The Saudi-led coalition extends ceasefire, while the UAE-backed STC announces self-rule
Amid the persisting violence by the Houthi rebels, the Saudi-led coalition on 24 April extended the unilateral ceasefire in Yemen by one month in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The impact of the violence on the fragile health infrastructures in Yemen remains critical.
The Houthis continued with their demand for a complete ceasefire and lift of air and sea blockade.
However, the most important development of the week in Yemen took place outside the Houthis controlled territories. The Southern Transitional Council which is supported by the UAE announced its plan to establish self-rule in the southern province of Yemen.
Issues at large
Saudi Arabia led military coalition declared a unilateral ceasefire in Yemen for two weeks on 9 April. It was further extended last week by the coalition. However, Iran backed Houthi rebels rejected the ceasefire declared and called for the lifting of the blockade imposed by the coalition.
The blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies has choked the people and the Houthi rebels of food and essential medical supplies to fight the pandemic. Around 70 per cent of the population are malnourished and lack medical supplies due to the sealing of the border. The coalition has taken over the oil fields and restricted oil exports by 50 per cent, further choking the oil revenues for the country.
The latest development in Yemen is not the ceasefire extension, but the announcement by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to establish autonomous rule in the southern province against the Internationally Recognised Government (IRG). While the UAE has continued to back the STC separatists despite its withdrawal from Yemen in 2019, the IRG has been supported by Saudi Arabia.
In 2019, the STC agreed to the Riyadh Agreement along with the ICG. Now the self-rule announcement upsets that.
Saudi Arabia has three significant challenges in Yemen now. First, it has to tackle domestic criticisms to stop the costly intervention in Yemen. Second, it has to manage the coalition as the STC is supported by the UAE. Third, support from the international community during the humanitarian crisis is also not in place. This makes it impossible for Saudi Arabia to sustain its control in Yemen.
The domestic conflict in Yemen is more significant than external interferences. A conflict triangle exists now between the Houthis, IRG, and STC that are fighting for power in Yemen. Peace in the region depends on the UAE's capability to convince the separatists, which will, in turn, bring down the internal tensions.
For the first time, the Syrian war criminals stand trial
On 22 April the trial of two Syrian officials began in the south-western German town of Koblenz. The officials, who defected from the Syrian regime in 2014, are charged with war crimes. Since the Syrian civil war started nine years ago, this is the first time that members close to the Bashar al-Assad regime are facing charges of crimes against humanity and are going to face trial in a foreign land.
The accused, Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib had sought political asylum from Germany in 2019 with an aim to escape the civil war in Syria in totality. However, their asylum plea was rejected and will face the trial for being part of oppressive state machinery.
Both the defectors undergoing the current trial were members of the notorious intelligence service of Syria called the Branch 251. When the conflict started as members of the intelligence unit, they arrested, tortured, killed, and raped protesters and opposition figures before defecting to Germany. They have committed 58 murders at Branch 251 and oversaw the torture of at least 4,000 people as a commanding officer between 29 April 2011 and 7 September 2012. In the course of the application of asylum, the defectors did not exhibit remorse or tried to protect their past.
The prosecution of the Syrian defectors by the German prosecutors in a German court against the crimes that were committed in Syria is possible due to Germany's Code of Crimes Against International Law. The code came into force in June 2002 and incorporates the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows German courts to prosecute crimes against international law even if they were not committed in Germany and that neither the perpetrators nor the victims are of German origin.
With the current trial of the Syrian officials, Berlin has once again shown the efficiency of its war crime units and a powerful signal that human rights abusers cannot rest in comfort in another country after committing crimes that shook the consciousness of humanity.
First, the trial puts in perspective the nature of Assad's regime and the culture of impunity, torture, and oppression in Syria. When the accused test guilty it will lay bare the workings of a violent system that suppressed and murdered thousands of civilians. This also throws light on the series of chemical attacks, assassinations that the regime has been charged off committing but until now no one with a direct connection to Assad has been indicted.
Second, the trial brings a poetic justice to the refugee crisis that started after the civil war in 2016. The overcrowded boats carrying Syrians refugees to the European shores continue even today. Greece has grappled with thousands of refugees in its camps and picked up the bodies of other thousands that wash up its shores.
Last, the Syrian diaspora in Berlin played an important role in registering their complaints on the crimes against humanity by the regime. The evidence against Raslan has come from the work of various Syrian exile groups in Europe that have collected 8,00,000 pieces of documentary evidence from the Syrian conflict.
SIPRI Report says global military expenditure in 2019 was the highest in a decade; United States, China, India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are the five largest spenders
On 26 April, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its annual report concluded that the global military expenditure in the last year had been the highest in a decade. The report highlights an increase in military spending by 3.6 per cent from 2018, the largest since 2010.
The five largest military spenders in 2019 are the United States, China, India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia and their cumulative military expenditure accounted for 62 per cent of the total global expenditure.
And for the first time two Asian countries - China and India, figure in the top three military spenders in the world.
SIPRI publishes a comprehensive annual update on military expenditure every year.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, the global military spending of 1.9 trillion dollars in 2019 was the highest and probably represents a peak in global expenditures. While China increased its military expenditure by 5.1 per cent, India's expenditure grew by 6.8 per cent from the year 2018.
The report identifies the growing tensions with both China and Pakistan as the major drivers for India's military spending. Japan and South Korea were the other Asian countries named by SIPRI as the largest military spenders.
The SIPRI report highlights that the annual military expenditure in the region has continuously increased since 1989. In the global share of military expenditures, the United States contributes heavily with 732 billion dollars that accounts for 38 per cent of the global share. The report identifies that perceived threats of great power politics and competition with China might have led to the recent growth in the US military spending.
The significant increase in military spending amongst the democratic countries should cause an alarm to the fundamental liberal ideas of cooperation and co-existence at the international level. In an increasingly globalised world, the possibility of war has reduced, but low-intensity conflicts have continued among many countries. The perceived threats of a possible war have kept alive the countries' military expenditures.
In 2020, the outbreak of coronavirus is likely to drain the economy. In this scenario, an accelerated trend of military spending might be reversed in the upcoming years.
The UN Report on Afghanistan: Civilian casualties in 2020 at the lowest since 2012
On 27 April the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released the first-quarter report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts. According to the report, since 2012, civilian casualties in the country has remained at the lowest with 1,293 fatalities. In 2020, the casualties in the country decreased by 29 per cent as compared to the first quarter in 2019.
After a weeklong 'reduction in violence' from 22 to 28 February this year, Afghanistan witnessed an increase in attacks on civilians in March.
According to the report, there are four main actors responsible for civilian casualties. The anti-government actors account for 55 per cent of civilian casualties, of which 39 per cent were by Taliban and 13 per cent by ISIL-KP (causing 710 civilian casualties with 282 killed and 428 injured). Pro-government actors, including both Afghan national security forces and international military forces, are responsible for 32 per cent (412) of civilian casualties. The report highlighted that the highest number of attacks were conducted through ground engagement, followed by targeted killing and non-suicidal IEDs. It further bifurcates the nature of attacks based on the kind predominantly carried out by the pro and anti-government actors.
International troops are inclined to withdraw from Afghanistan, after the US-Taliban deal. The last civilian casualty by the international military forces was on 17 February in the region that continues to face attacks from the Taliban. The UNAMA documented that the pro-government attacks were more responsible for child casualties in this quarter.
The incidents on healthcare workers have seen a rise in the first quarter. Presently Afghanistan has 1,828 cases, and the number of attacks on health workers had shut down many clinics. The Taliban indicated in a statement, to work with international organisations in combatting the virus, As per the report there have been 18 incidents impacting health care workers, out of which 17 were claimed by the Taliban. Two of these attacks were accounted for after the Taliban's statement.
First, as per the report, in the first quarter, there is a decline in casualties as compared to 2019. This has to become a trend in the next quarters to put an end to the long war in the country.
Second, the prisoner release has been one of the priorities for the Taliban. As long as the government and Taliban fail to come to terms and begin the intra-Afghan talks, the dangers to civilian casualties are likely to continue.
A Padmashree and Harini Sha are Research Interns at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) and Sukanya Bali and Sourina Bej are Research Associates at NIAS.
NIAS Conflict Weekly is an academic endeavour of the International Peace Research Initiative (IPRI) at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. It aims to track, interpret and analyse conflicts and peace processes across the world with a special emphasis on South Asia. Conflict Weekly brings to the research community every Wednesday a weekly alert of events, updates, and analyses on potential and ongoing peace processes and conflicts in the world. For earlier alerts in the Conflict Weekly series, click here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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EDUCATIONAL FORUM [Download PDF]
Year : 2016 | Volume : 48 | Issue : 6 | Page : 624--628
Pharmacovigilance Programme of India: Recent developments and future perspectives
Vivekanandan Kalaiselvan1, Prasad Thota1, Gyanendra Nath Singh2,
1 National Coordination Centre, Pharmacovigilance Programme of , n Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
2 Pharmacovigilance Programme of , n Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Vivekanandan Kalaiselvan
National Coordination Centre, Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Promoting safe use of medicines is a priority of Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission that functions as the National Coordination Center (NCC) for Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI). One hundred and seventy-nine adverse drug reactions (ADRs) monitoring centers currently report ADRs to NCC. Current India contribution to global safety database reaches 3% and the completeness score is 0.93 out of 1. NCC is taking several measures to enhance patient safety including capacity building for monitoring, surveillance, collaboration with national health programs and other organizations to increase ADR reporting and to ensure that PvPI is a vital knowledge database for Indian regulators. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization has notified important safety label changes on drugs such as carbamazepine and piperacillin + tazobactam in the year 2015, other drugs are under monitoring for regulatory interventions.
Kalaiselvan V, Thota P, Singh GN. Pharmacovigilance Programme of India: Recent developments and future perspectives.Indian J Pharmacol 2016;48:624-628
Kalaiselvan V, Thota P, Singh GN. Pharmacovigilance Programme of India: Recent developments and future perspectives. Indian J Pharmacol [serial online] 2016 [cited 2023 Jan 27 ];48:624-628
Available from: https://www.ijp-online.com/text.asp?2016/48/6/624/194855
The burden of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the global scenario is high and accounts for considerable morbidity, mortality, and extra-cost to the patients.[1],[2],[3] In England, 0.9% of the total hospital admissions were due to ADRs during the year 1999–2008.[4] ADRs are common in Australian healthcare system also and they contribute to 1% of hospital admissions.[5] In the United States of America, ADRs contribute 3.4%–7% of hospital admissions.[6] The percentage of hospital admissions due to ADRs in certain countries is 10% or more.[7],[8] India, with a current population of 1.27 billion, is the fourth largest producers of pharmaceuticals in the world with more than 6000 licensed manufacturers and over 60,000 branded formulations in the market.[9] Studies revealed that ADRs are leading to hospitalization and constitute a significant economic burden on patients in India.[10],[11],[12] A study showed that hospital admissions due to ADRs accounted for 0.7% of total admissions and deaths due to ADRs accounted for 1.8% of total admissions in a territory referral center in South India.[13]
Therefore, medicines safety monitoring is an essential element of healthcare and for high-quality medical care. Since safety monitoring of medicines as an integral part of clinical practice, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India launched the nationwide Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) in the year 2010 to inspire confidence and trust among patients and healthcare professionals with respect to medicines safety. Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) under the MoHFW has been functioning as the National Coordination Centre (NCC) for PvPI since April 2011.[14] There has been rapid progress in reporting of ADRs by the healthcare professionals in the past 5 years.
Establishing the Culture of Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting
Currently, 179 Medical Council of India approved teaching hospitals and corporate hospitals have been identified as ADRs Monitoring Centers (AMCs) across the country. These centers are covered in four zonal offices of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for administrative and logistic purpose. These AMCs are connected with international networking (reporting through VigiFlow; WHO-Uppsala Monitoring Centre [UMC] software). These AMCs report ADRs to NCC through VigiFlow, the software owned by WHO-UMC, (Sweden). The reluctance in reporting is now changing as the PvPI has launched a complete roadmap for a proactive pharmacovigilance system which increases the awareness about the benefits of ADRs reporting. Over 5 years, the NCC has played a significant role in creating awareness among healthcare professionals about reporting ADRs that saw more than 1,49,000 ADRs reported till December 2015 [Figure 1]. Currently, the contribution of India to the WHO global Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) database is 3%. The healthcare professionals are encouraged to report through feedback and Newsletters.{Figure 1}
Completeness Score for Indian Individual Case Safety Reports
UMC communicates the result of the documentation grading for the ICSRs to the national centers. The report completeness score is a score from 0 to 1 on an ICSR, calculated from the information provided in a structured format. The score depends on the required information of the field in the ADR report such as type of report, primary source, gender, and time to onset, age at onset, outcome, indication, and free text. Average completeness score for Indian ICSRs for the period of 2011–2015 is illustrated in [Figure 2].{Figure 2}
Integration of Pharmacovigilance Programme of India and Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program
The monitoring of safety of medicines used in national health programs has been identified as a matter of concern. The safety issues are apparent in the use of medicines for the treatment of malaria, tuberculosis (TB), HIV, etc., Since inception, the Revised National Tuberculosis Programme (RNTCP), one of the largest public health programs in India, has evaluated over 70 million persons of TB and initiated treatment for over 17 million TB patients. A diagnosed TB patient on treatment under RNTCP takes more than one anti-tubercular drug simultaneously with regimens lasting from 6 months to 2 years or more. This increases the likelihood of ADRs, some of which may be severe. The overall burden of adversity directly attributable to anti-TB medicines, that is, mortality, morbidity, and reduced quality of life, is poorly documented in published literature and by the national program.
The cornerstones of pharmacovigilance apply equally to TB as to any other disease amenable to medication. Events linked to medications, particularly novel medicines or new combinations thereof, need to be recognized in a timely fashion if the events are to provide benefit to the individual patient and the public. Appropriate measures need to be put in place to ensure that harm is reduced and symptoms relieved. Healthcare workers need to be informed and trained about the methodology and routes for reporting ADRs. Keeping this in view and to improve patient care and safety in relation to the use of anti-tubercular drugs, RNTCP formally entered into collaboration with the PvPI on October 11, 2013. As a consequence, RNTCP staffs have attended IPC-WHO national workshops on pharmacovigilance held in the country. These programs are keen to customize trainings for RNTCP and take these activities further.
Integration of Pharmacovigilance Programme of India and National Aids Control Organization
India has the third largest number of people living with HIV in the world, 2.1 million at the end of 2013 and accounts for about 4 out of 10 people living with HIV in the region, in India, the numbers of new HIV infections declined by 19%, yet it still accounted for 38% of all new HIV infections in the region. India recorded a 38% decline in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2013. During this period, there was a major scale-up of access to HIV treatment. At the end of 2013, more than 700,000 people were on antiretroviral therapy (ART), the second largest number of people on treatment in any single country. During last 5 years, there were 11 ART fixed drug combination were approved for manufacturing in India. To ensure the safety of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines used in the program, IPC, NCC-PvPI, and National AIDS Control Organization formally agreed to collaborate on September 15, 2014, for setting up systems and processes for reporting, analysis, and monitoring of ADRs due to ARV medicines used in NACP.
Collaboration With Adverse Events Following Immunization
NCC-PvPI is assisting with adverse events following immunization (AEFI) at Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) which has been set up by MoHFW with Public Health Foundation of India to ensure the vaccine safety. AEFI cases which are reported to NCC are shared with ITSU on regular basis for further necessary action. To bridge the gap among PvPI, AEFI, CDSCO, and other stakeholders NCC published an exclusive issue of "PvPI Newsletter (volume 3; issue 5 2013)." The NCC officials/coordinators at AMCs participated in all AEFI workshops.
Collaborations With Central Drugs Standard Control Organization
ADR monitoring and reporting to national regulatory authority are put in place in many countries. In India, PvPI is closely working with CDSCO, drug regulatory authority of India. CDSCO understands that pharmacovigilance plays a specialized and pivotal role in ensuring ongoing safety of medicinal products in India and it seeks inputs from NCC before taking any kind of regulatory decisions. NCC-PvPI is working in close coordination with CDSCO zonal offices also for technical, administrative, and logistics matters related to PvPI. The role of NCC in collaboration with other national and international organizations to promote patients safety is illustrated in [Figure 3].{Figure 3}
Education and Training on Pharmacovigilance at Regional Training Centers
A primary objective of NCC-PvPI is to promote the safest use of medicines through contributing to appropriate education in pharmacovigilance and training activities across the country. The NCC identified nine Regional Training Centers (RTCs) such as JSS Medical College, Mysore; Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai; Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal; B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad; Silchar Medical College and Hospital; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh; and Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad. These centers provide continual training to the personnel at AMC of their respective regions.
NCC is committed to communicate the findings of PvPI to stakeholders and public with respect to importance of ADRs and reporting them, information about benefit-harm and effectiveness-risk, rational use of medicines, etc. A variety of methods for PvPI communication is used by NCC as follows.
The websites of CDSCO (www.cdsco.nic.in) and NCC (www.ipc.gov.in) are important tools for communication to the stakeholders and public seeking specific information. PvPI documents on these websites can be searched by navigating from the home page. Examples of documents on these websites include list of AMCs, how, what, and where to report ADRs, newsletters, training module, guidance document, etc.
Since medicines safety communications with healthcare professionals, patients, and the general public must be focused on joint responsibility for safe and rational therapy, NCC communicates the findings in national newspapers, electronic media, etc., on regular basis.
PvPI Newsletter is unique among healthcare professionals because it focuses on the ADRs-related informations. Three issues per year guides how to take a leading role in monitoring, reporting, and preventing ADRs. It is available in a convenient electronic format and printed version is circulated to AMCs, corporate hospitals, academic institutions, health departments, etc.
NCC publishes original and review articles on PvPI in national and international journals.[14],[15],[16],[17],[18],[19],[20],[21],[22],[23],[24],[25]
Helpline Facility to Provide Assistance in Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting
To enhance the participation of patients, healthcare professionals, and the pharmaceutical industry in enhancing medicines safety by reporting suspected ADRs to the PvPI, NCC recently launched a helpline number (toll free), i.e., 1800 180 3024 facility for reporting adverse events. This facility was dedicated to the nation on October 11, 2013. This may be one of the innovative methods to create awareness and to reach every corner of the country for the pharmacovigilance activity. This facility will be useful for the healthcare professionals those who are working in tertiary healthcare system to report ADRs. Adverse events-related information which received at NCC will be communicated to nearest AMCs for validating the reports. Since sending timely feedback or acknowledgement will build public confidence recently this facility has been upgraded by sending short message service feedback/acknowledgment to the ADRs reporters.
Android Mobile Application for Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting
In developing countries such as India, under-reporting of ADR remains serious concern. In India, IT is becoming a great facilitator for promoting public health. India is cementing its place IT sector through mobile connections to reach every individual in a population of 1.27 billion where approximately 77.58% population is already using mobile phones. Hence, it is more rationale to introduce the concept of PvPI to stakeholders through mobile phones. NCC-PvPI in technical collaboration with NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur, developed a mobile application for the healthcare professionals to promote easy and instant reporting of ADR. This facility was launched by Secretary Health, MoHFW, Government of India, on May 22, 2015.
Utilization of Periodic Safety Update Reports Reporting
Periodic safety update reports (PSURs) are a tool to monitor the safety of ongoing medicines in the market. In India, marketing authorization holders (MAHs) are required to prepare PSURs and to submit them to CDSCO twice in a year for 2 years and annually for another 2 years. Since PSURs are not directly linked with PvPI, NCC has taken the initiatives in collaboration with CDSCO to utilize the data for PvPI. The first interactive session on "Review of Periodic Safety Update Report/Post Marketing Surveillance Data and Pharmacovigilance Planning of Marketed Products" was held on December 18 and 19, 2013 at New Delhi. Representatives from MAHs, CDSCO, and NCC-PvPI were participated and discussed the issues and roadmap for better coordination and participation of MAHs in PvPI.
Availability of Medicine Side Effect Reporting Form for Consumers in Different Vernacular Languages
Patients or consumers are the end users of pharmaceutical products, to ensure the safe use of them is the ultimate goal of pharmacovigilance activities. In an increasing number of countries, patients are now allowed to report ADRs to the spontaneous reporting system.[18],[19],[20],[26],[27] Option of ADRs reporting by patients to PvPI was started at NCC-PvPI on August 1, 2014. Patient or his/her representative (relative) are encouraged to report ADRs either directly to the NCC-PvPI through toll free helpline number: 1800-180-3024 or E-mail id: pvpi.compat@gmail.com or to their nearest AMC under PvPI by submitting "Medicines Side Effect Reporting form for Consumers" (blue form) which can be downloaded from the official website of IPC www.ipc.gov.in [28] and by the end of 2015, this form is available in ten vernacular languages such as Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Assamese, Bengali, Odiya, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, and Marathi.
NCC has mandated the RTCs to organize advance level training for the personnel's of all AMCs under their respective regions and one CME in pharmacovigilance at an AMC under their region to increase the awareness of healthcare professionals about the ADR reporting. In near future, all Medical Council of India approved institutions will be enrolled under the PvPI. As IPC was recognized as the WHO Collaborating Center for medicines and vaccine safety in the South East Asia region during 38th Annual Meeting of National Pharmacovigilance Centers participating in the WHO program for international drug monitoring, plan to initiate, and coordinate with countries in South East Asia region for potential signals from the built safety database. NCC is in a process of developing and promoting an effective channel for ADRs reporting such as online reporting system.
ADRs reporting through PvPI improved with the measures such as education, training, and provision of technical assistance. The PvPI is a vital knowledge databases for Indian drug regulation. The CDSCO has notified important safety label changes for carbamazepine and piperacillin + tazobactam in the year 2015. The PvPI plans to expand its scope of activities to widen its reach to other healthcare professionals and to strengthen measures for capacity building.
We are thankful to MoHFW, Government of India, for the administrative and financial support. We are also thankful to all the stakeholders of PvPI for their contributions.
1 Pirmohamed M, James S, Meakin S, Green C, Scott AK, Walley TJ, et al. Adverse drug reactions as cause of admission to hospital: Prospective analysis of 18 820 patients. BMJ 2004;329:15-9.
2 Davies EC, Green CF, Taylor S, Williamson PR, Mottram DR, Pirmohamed M. Adverse drug reactions in hospital in-patients: A prospective analysis of 3695 patient-episodes. PLoS One 2009;4:e4439.
3 Bates DW, Spell N, Cullen DJ, Burdick E, Laird N, Petersen LA, et al. The costs of adverse drug events in hospitalized patients. Adverse Drug Events Prevention Study Group. JAMA 1997;277:307-11.
4 Wu TY, Jen MH, Bottle A, Molokhia M, Aylin P, Bell D, et al. Ten-year trends in hospital admissions for adverse drug reactions in England 1999-2009. J R Soc Med 2010;103:239-50.
5 Runciman WB, Roughead EE, Semple SJ, Adams RJ. Adverse drug events and medication errors in Australia. Int J Qual Health Care 2003;15 Suppl 1:i49-59.
6 Hamilton HJ, Gallagher PF, O'Mahony D. Inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug events in older people. BMC Geriatr 2009;9:5.
7 Moore N, Lecointre D, Noblet C, Mabille M. Frequency and cost of serious adverse drug reactions in a department of general medicine. Br J Clin Pharmacol 1998;45:301-8.
8 Griffin JP. The evolution of human medicines control from a national to an international perspective. Adverse Drug React Toxicol Rev 1998;17:19-50.
9 Biswas P, Biswas AK. Setting standards for proactive pharmacovigilance in India: The way forward. Indian J Pharmacol 2007;39:124-8.
10 Patel KJ, Kedia MS, Bajpai D, Mehta SS, Kshirsagar NA, Gogtay NJ. Evaluation of the prevalence and economic burden of adverse drug reactions presenting to the medical emergency department of a tertiary referral centre: A prospective study. BMC Clin Pharmacol 2007;7:8.
11 Raut A, Diwan A, Patel C, Patel P, Pawar A. Incidence, severity and financial burden associated with adverse drug reactions in medicine inpatients. Asian J Pharm Clin Res 2011;4:103-11.
12 Khan FA, Nizamuddin S, Najmul H, Mishra H. A prospective study on prevalence of adverse drug reactions due to antibiotics usage in otolaryngology department of a tertiary care hospital in North India. Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol 2013;2:548-53.
13 Ramesh M, Pandit J, Parthasarathi G. Adverse drug reactions in a south Indian hospital – Their severity and cost involved. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2003;12:687-92.
14 Kalaiselvan V, Prakash J, Singh GN. Pharmacovigilance programme of India. Arch Pharm Pract 2012;3:229-32.
15 Prasad T, Kalaiselvan V, Jai P, Suinder S, Gyanendra Nath S. Weight gain in association with insulin use-an analysis of Individual Case Safety Reports in Indian database. J Pharmacovigil 2014;2:119.
16 Iftekar H, Kalaiselvan V, Gyanendra NS. Efficacy and safety of vildagliptin in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Indian J Pharm Pract 2012;5:8-15.
17 Sainul Abideen P, Chandrasekaran K, Maheshwaran U, Vijayakumar A, Kalaiselvan V, Mishra P, et al. Implementation of self reporting pharmacovigilance in anti tubercular therapy using knowledge based approach. J Pharmacovigil 2013;1:1-5.
18 Kalaiselvan V, Prasad T, Bisht A, Singh S, Singh GN. Adverse drug reactions reporting culture in Pharmacovigilance Programme of India. Indian J Med Res 2014;140:563-4.
19 Kalaiselvan V, Prasad T, Singh A. Current status of adverse drug reactions monitoring centres under pharmacovigilance programme of India. Indian J Pharm Pract 2014;7:19-22.
20 Kalaiselvan V, Sharma S, Singh GN. Adverse reactions to contrast media: An analysis of spontaneous reports in the database of the pharmacovigilance programme of India. Drug Saf 2014;37:703-10.
21 Kalaiselvan V, Gakhar S, Prasad T, Gupta SK, Singh GN. Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions in geriatric patients in India. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 2014;3:225-8.
22 Kalaiselvan V, Mishra P, Singh GN. Helpline facility to assist reporting of adverse drug reactions in India. WHO South East Asia J Public Health 2014;3:194.
23 Kalaiselvan V, Saurabh A, Kumar R, Singh GN. Adverse reactions to herbal products: An analysis of spontaneous reports in the database of the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India. J Herb Med 2015;5:48-54.
24 Kalaiselvan V, Kumar R, Thota P, Tripathi A, Singh GN. Status of documentation grading and completeness score for Indian individual case safety reports. Indian J Pharmacol 2015;47:325-7.
25 Hugman B. The Erice declaration: The critical role of communication in drug safety. Drug Saf 2006;29:91-3.
26 van Grootheest K, de Graaf L, de Jong-van den Berg LT. Consumer adverse drug reaction reporting: A new step in pharmacovigilance? Drug Saf 2003;26:211-7.
27 de Langen J, van Hunsel F, Passier A, de Jong-van den Berg L, van Grootheest K. Adverse drug reaction reporting by patients in the Netherlands: Three years of experience. Drug Saf 2008;31:515-24.
28 Kalaivani M, Kalaiselvan V, Dabhi K, Singh GN. Direct consumer reporting of ADRs to PvPI, a position paper of Indian pharmacopoeia commission. Adv Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2015;4:184.


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Comp.sys.apple2.programmer (Csa2P) is concerned with programming the Apple II series of computers. It is the net's largest forum for Apple II programmers and programming beginners to ask questions, discuss issues, and share ideas.
This FAQ about Apple II Programming was compiled and written by Jeff Hurlburt with numerous contributions by others.
001- What programming languages are available for the Apple II?
apple2 programming FAQ: 001- What programming languages are available for the Apple II?
002- Where can I find out about Apple II programming?
apple2 programming FAQ: 002- Where can I find out about Apple II programming?
003- Where can I get Apple II languages and programming software?
apple2 programming FAQ: 003- Where can I get Apple II languages and programming software?
004- I'd like to do some 'serious' Apple II programming. Where can I find a information about soft switches (i.e. "PEEKs & POKEs"), monitor routines, and standard names used for these?
apple2 programming FAQ: 004- I'd like to do some 'serious' Apple II programming. Where can I find a information about soft switches (i.e.
005- How can I see and edit what's in a Text file?
apple2 programming FAQ: 005- How can I see and edit what's in a Text file?
006- How do I save a BASIC program in ASCII text form?
apple2 programming FAQ: 006- How do I save a BASIC program in ASCII text form?
007- Where and how can I get GS System 6.0.1?
apple2 programming FAQ: 007- Where and how can I get GS System 6.0.1?
008- Where can I get Applesoft shape table info and programs?
apple2 programming FAQ: 008- Where can I get Applesoft shape table info and programs?
009- What Operating System environments does the GS support?
apple2 programming FAQ: 009- What Operating System environments does the GS support?
010- How do I write programs for the Apple Graphics Tablet?
apple2 programming FAQ: 010- How do I write programs for the Apple Graphics Tablet?
011- A while ago someone posted about how to read the joystick on a GS in native mode. They said that it was possible to read both paddles at once and therefore get much more accurate readings?
apple2 programming FAQ: 011- A while ago someone posted about how to read the joystick on a GS in native mode. They said that it was possible to read both paddles at once and therefore get much more accurate readings?
012- How do I write programs which use the mouse?
apple2 programming FAQ: 012- How do I write programs which use the mouse?
013- Where can I find manuals and other resources for the CP/M operating system?
apple2 programming FAQ: 013- Where can I find manuals and other resources for the CP/M operating system?
014- How can I view and enter code using the "monitor"?
015- What parts of Apple II memory should a user be careful about modifying when using the monitor?
apple2 programming FAQ: 015- What parts of Apple II memory should a user be careful about modifying when using the monitor?
016- Can I do multi-tasking on a IIgs? or What is GNO/ME?
apple2 programming FAQ: 016- Can I do multi-tasking on a IIgs? or What is GNO/ME?
017- Which Zero Page locations are likely to be in-use?
apple2 programming FAQ: 017- Which Zero Page locations are likely to be in-use?


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An automated car wash system used to clean all types of vehicles using stationary cleaning equipment that usually has a rotating or oscillating motion and includes a conveyor system to pull the vehicle through the tunnel and equipment at a fixed pace.
Also see our Top Gear Car Wash video.
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Here's a quick quiz: Which of the following statements is true?
If the only studying you did was a reading of the latest series on gentrification from Governing Magazine, you'd have answered "d." And of course, you'd have a tough time defending your answer.
In attempting to assemble a strong, data-driven definition of this controversial buzzword, a set of feature articles in its February 2015 issue entitled "The 'G' word—a special report on gentrification," Governing succeeds only in making the tortured debate over gentrification even more contentious and unclear.
The most basic flaw of its analysis is coming down squarely on all sides of whether "gentrification" is the same thing as "displacement." While the authors claim that these two terms are different things, all of the harms from gentrification that they point to involve displacement: the problem of previous, generally poor residents being forced out of a neighborhood as it changes.
Governing has impressive maps and data—but maps and data are only as sound as the assumptions they are built on. The assumptions here—that gentrification can be accurately measured solely by looking at changes in house prices and education levels in relatively poor city neighborhoods—are flat out wrong, if we are concerned, as Governing tells us we should be, about the displacement of the poor.
There's precious little evidence that there has been, in the aggregate, any displacement of the poor from the neighborhoods Governing flags as "gentrifying." If there were displacement, you'd expect the number of poor people in these neighborhoods to be declining. In fact, nationally, there are more poor people living in the neighborhoods that they identify as "gentrifying" in 2013 than there were in 2000. Here's the math*. Governing's gentrifying neighborhoods have gained poor AND nonpoor residents according to Census data. And even after "gentrifying," these neighborhoods still have higher poverty rates, on average, than the national average.
Careful academic studies of gentrifying neighborhoods, by Columbia's Lance Freeman and the University of Colorado's Terra McKinnish, show that improving neighborhoods actually do a better job of hanging on to previous poor and minority residents than poor neighborhoods that don't improve. The University of Washington's Jacob Vigdor has estimated that even when rents go up, existing residents generally attach a value to neighborhood improvements that more than compensates for the higher costs.
This confirms our own analysis of 1,100 urban high-poverty neighborhoods over the past four decades. Only about one in twenty of the census tracts we analyzed saw their poverty rate drop below the national average, and three-quarters stayed very high poverty, but didn't improve or stay the same: they continued to deteriorate, losing on average 40 percent of their population over 40 years.
In contrast to gentrification, which is rare and seems to be seldom associated with actual displacement, concentrated poverty is real—a growing and devastating challenge that is damaging the futures of millions of Americans, especially children of color. In the past forty years, the number of high-poverty urban neighborhoods has tripled and their population has doubled, to 4 million. Growing up poor is difficult; growing up in neighborhoods where a large fraction of your neighbors are also poor is worse, exposing kids to higher crime and lower quality schools, results in increased mental health issues, fewer job and educational opportunities, and— according to new research by Patrick Sharkey, Raj Chetty and Jonathan Rothwell & Doug Massey— permanently lowers life prospects relative to otherwise similar kids who grow up in mixed income neighborhoods.
Raising a false alarm about gentrification is the policy equivalent of shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre: it promotes mindless panic and does nothing to help us understand and tackle our real urban problems. A magazine that calls itself "Governing" should know the difference between sensationalism and thoughtful analysis.
Mathematically it's clear that more poor people live in the Governing's "gentrified" tracts today than in 2000: according to Governing between 2000 and 2009-13, the poverty rate in gentrified tracts declined by 0.7%, while the total population of these tracts increased by 6.5%. Assuming the poverty rate in these tracts exceeded 13 percent in 2000, the population living below the poverty line in these tracts had to have actually increased between 2000 and 2013: hardly evidence, on its face, of widespread displacement.


Samson Oil & Gas Limited (ticker: SSN) is an independent oil and gas company with dual listings on the Australian ASX and the NYSE. All of the company's assets and operations are based in the United States, with a current emphasis on the Bakken oil shale play in North Dakota.
Samson Oil & Gas is scheduled to present at EnerCom's London Oil & Gas Conference™ 6 on June 10, 2014.
SSN is unique for a small-cap E&P, having a well-diversified portfolio consisting of seven projects in five basins, ranging from pure exploration to tried-and-true development drilling. The company has employed farm-ins and acreage swaps to both build its portfolio and mitigate risk.
In the near-term, the source of Samson's growth is going to be the Williston Basin, particularly the company's North Stockyard field in North Dakota.
Samson's North Stockyard project covers three sections in Williams County, North Dakota – the heart of the Bakken oil shale play. Samson holds a 25% working interest or approximately 503 net acres in North Stockyard. In 2013, Samson farmed-out its working interest and operatorship to Slawson, a private operator with a regional exploration office in Denver. Slawson is a seasoned Bakken operator with ample resources and access to services, which facilitates more rapid development of the North Stockyard project.
North Stockyard will receive the bulk of Samson's 2014 operational focus, which includes drilling 18 infill wells in calendar 2014 (Samson's fiscal year ends June 30), ten of them targeting the Middle Bakken interval and the other eight targeting the Three Forks formation.
Of the ten Middle Bakken wells, six are complete and producing, two have been fracked and are waiting on completion and two are in various stages of being drilled. This provides Samson a series of wells that will come online through 2014. The wells are being drilled on pads, meaning that we expect the production increases to be lumpy, as more than one well will be turned over to production at once.
Current production from North Stockyard is 331 BOEPD net and accounts for 80% of SSN's producing assets (413 BOEPD net overall).
Besides its focus on the North Stockyard field, Samson has three other projects in the Williston Basin, including Rainbow, South Prairie and Roosevelt.
The Rainbow field (950 net acres, 52% WI) is located in Williams County, north of the North Stockyard field, and Samson has interests in two DSUs. In the eastern DSU, operations are just now kicking off. SSN will participate in a well (23% WI) to be drilled by Continental Resources (ticker: CLR) on 1,280 spacing, and is scheduled to spud in June. Samson is also the operator of the western DSU with a 53% working interest. The Rainbow area holds 16 identified opportunities, eight each in the Bakken and Three Forks formations. A successful first well is likely to lead to additional drilling and production growth in the region.
Nearby Rainbow and North Stockyard, drilling activity in the North Dakota Bakken remains strong. Continental, for example, is running 20 rigs in the play and 870 gross wells (287 net) are expected to be drilled in 2014. CLR's production from the area has increased by 27% since Q1'13. Whiting Petroleum (ticker: WLL) has doubled its downspacing program to match SSN's plan of 160 acre spacing. Four wells drilled off of one pad in a WLL area combined for an overall flow rate of roughly 4,000 BOEPD.
Samson also holds ownership in the South Prairie (6,415 net acres, 25% WI) and Roosevelt (30,000 net acres, 67% WI) projects. A test well is scheduled to be drilled in South Prairie within Q2'14. Testing and surveying will soon commence in the Roosevelt as part of a farm-out agreement. Per the agreement terms, Samson's partner will cover costs for exploration and the drilling of a test well in exchange for half of SSN's existing stake in the field.
In addition to its projects in the Williston Basin, Samson has three others located in Wyoming (DJ Basin) and New Mexico.
In the Wyoming DJ Basin, Samson holds nearly 24,000 net acres with the bulk in its Hawk Springs prospect (20,733 net acres) located in Goshen County. A test well was drilled in the quarter and the company is evaluating future operations in the area through its acquired data sets and hydraulic fracturing results. The conventional targets are Permian age structures and the project is intended to be farmed out. Negotiations for a rig are underway and SSN anticipates drilling operations to commence in June.
The New Mexico project (130 net acres) also targets Permian age structures and may hold an additional 20 identified drilling locations if a test well, scheduled to be drilled in June, is successful.
Samson reported that Q1'14 oil production jumped 130% higher from the same quarter in the previous year. Contributing to the rise were volumes from the North Stockyard field, where production increased by 160% as wells were placed back online following scheduled downtime. Production from the region is expected to climb as SSN further executes its infill well project in the field.
With drilling success, comes growth. In May 2014, Samson reported proved reserves at March 31, 2014 were 1.805 MMBOE with a PV-10 value of $47.7 million, per the company's independent reserves engineers, which was double the value from 11 months prior. The PV-10 values of the company's estimated Probable and Possible reserves were $12.8 million and $7.1 million, respectively.
To fund its growth plan, Samson bolstered its cash with approximately $5.0 million in net proceeds from an equity offering to U.S. and Australian investors in April 2014. The company sold approximately 65 million ordinary shares at $0.02 per share to Australian investors and another 11.3 million ADSs (SSN's ADSs trade on the NYSE MKT at a conversion rate of one ADS to 20 Australian shares) to U.S. investors at $0.375 per ADS. Combined, the new shares represent approximately 11% of shares outstanding.
Samson has a $25 debt facility with a current borrowing base of $8 million. As of March 31, 2014, $6 million was drawn on the facility.
Observable liquidity of $16.4 million includes $5.7 million of cash on hand as of March 31, 2014, $2.0 million of available borrowing capacity, $5.0 million from the April equity offering and $3.7 million of estimated cash receipts from oil and gas sales to be collected. Samson estimates that its borrowing capacity on the debt facility will be increased by $5.0 million, given the recent rise in Proved reserves, bringing total liquidity up to a potential $21.4 million.
In summary, Samson has 30 potential infill drilling locations in the Williston Basin; 18 at North Stockyard and 12 at Rainbow. Near-term growth in oil production this year will come from the company's relatively low-risk infill drilling program in the North Stockyard field.
Based on Samson's North Stockyard development plan, we estimate that production in Q4'14 could average approximately 1,100 BOEPD net, which is more than double the Q1'14 rate of 413 BOEPD. A peer group of four other Bakken operators, including Triangle Petroleum, (ticker: TPLM), Kodiak Oil & Gas (ticker: KOG), Continental Resources (ticker: CLR) and Northern Oil & Gas (ticker: NOG) were trading at an average EV to BOEPD of $179,456. If we applied this metric to the estimated Q4'14 average production rate for SSN, Samson's implied Enterprise Value is $197.4 million, or 354% higher than the approximate EV of $43.5 million at May 30, 2014.
We note that SSN's EV is currently less than the PV-10 value of its Proved reserves of $47.7 million. Given the company's line-up of Bakken infill wells poised to be turned over to production, Samson today appears to be at the front end of the growth curve.
Upside exists from exploration drilling targeting conventional Permian targets at Hawk Springs (partnered with CNOOC) and a farmed-out Montana Bakken prospect in the Roosevelt project.


I have been there and I am pretty sure we have all been there… What you may ask? Unnecessary spending that turn into costly habits.
Kenya: Tax bill adjustments amid government spending constraints – Is this the right call?


text:
Institutions 1-1 of 1 Whose Category is Hispanic-Serving Institution, Carnegie Classification is Associate's Colleges: High Transfer-High Traditional and Accreditation Organization is Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Sorted By Name in Ascending Order
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Associate's Colleges: High Transfer-High Nontraditional
Associate's Colleges: High Transfer-Mixed Traditional/Nontraditional
Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Vocational & Technical-Mixed Traditional/Nontraditional
Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges: Associate's Dominant
Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges: Mixed Baccalaureate/Associate's
Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity
Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Accreditation Organization
National Association of Schools of Dance, Commission on Accreditation
New York State Board of Regents, and the Commissioner of Education
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Agricultural Production Operations
Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies
Moses Lake, WA
Web Address http://www.bigbend.edu/(Opens in New Window; Non-NASA Link)


The Trump administration signaled its concerns even before the killing of Khashoggi.
In apparent recognition that the Saudi military, reliant on US and European arms acquisitions, would find it difficult to quickly shift to Russian or Chinese systems, Saudi Arabia appears for now to be focusing on alternative Western suppliers.
So would King Salman's inauguration this week of 259 development projects worth $6.13 billion ranging from tourism, electricity, environment, water, agriculture, housing, and transport to energy. King Salman launched the projects during a curtailed visit to Saudi provinces designed to bolster support for his regime as well as his son, Prince Mohammed.
King Salman's moves appear designed to lessen Saudi dependence on US arms sales and project a united front against any attempt to implicate Prince Mohammed in the death of Khashoggi.
Well it seems the silver lining from the Khashoggi affair was that finally development projects are happening in regions other than Eastern, Makkah, Madinah, and Riyadh governates. Hopefully steps are taken to improve and protect the buildings of Unaizah in the Qassim region and also projects in the governates of Al Baha, Jizan, Najran, and Asir. The other silver lining is the Khashoggi family has gotten a face lift after the wheeling dealing Adnan Khashoggi was the face of the family.


text:
"A loop is a section of recorded music that can repeat indefinitely, the end joining seamlessly to the beginning so the music becomes a never ending sonic cycle. Originally a tape loop."
Greg Wilson Chats to The Pool About His Brand New Mixtape and Record Label
What was your creative process for compiling this mix?
Kermit and his writing partner Luke (EVM128) had already recorded 7 Blind Arcade demos, and it was those tracks that sold me on the project. I then listened through a number of works in progress, stuff without vocals, or with only part of them recorded, and picked out another 5 tracks. With the mixtape idea in place I'd already planned to contribute additional material, via a number of edits I'd put together that complimented the Blind Arcade vibe, creating sections for Kermit to lend his vocal to – also Katherine and Carmel Reynolds, who I'd just recorded with for the first time (they appear on the about to be released Schooled In The Classics 12″) , for I was sure they could make a telling contribution, which they most certainly have, plus Tracey Carmen, who I've worked with for many many years (and also happens to be my wife). Some of these edits I brought to the table, others were Kermit's suggestions – eventually half-a–dozen of these would make it onto the finished mixtape.
It was then a case of 3 pretty intensive days recording in Derek Kaye's studio. Intensive in a good way though, working, for the most part, quickly and decisively, the ideas really fluid. We even found time to record a new track Kermit had just written, the 19th and final one to make the cut, and very much the joker in the pack – 'Red Stripe And A Spliff'. We then systematically mixed the stuff off, again without dwelling too long on things – the nature of a mixtape being that there'll be those rough edges. It needed to retain some of its knockabout feel, for this is part of its charm, whilst at the same time we wanted to add further depth, so we paid particular attention, where possible, to the bottom end. It needed that fuller flavour.
Eventually I had all the individual tracks and began the jigsaw of piecing them together into a whole, connected via the transitions I created. Again, I was able to work fairly quickly, and, fortunately, didn't really get bogged down at any point along the way.
The mixtape was completed on May 28th, the day Maya Angelou died, with some of her wise words the final addition. It was a fitting conclusion – I knew it was complete then.
We love the artwork for this mix over here at The Pool could you tell us a bit about who created it?
The original hooded man image is from a San Francisco poster by Bonnie MacLean from the psychedelic summer of love in 1967. Dominic Mandrell, who did the Schooled In The Classics coat of arms, adapted it, adding the appropriate title within the purple globe. For the cassette inlay idea, which includes the tracklisting, we went for a distressed look, inspired by a well worn inlay I'd seen of 'Revolver' by The Beatles online.
The project seems to be harnessing some of the energy of the 60's psychedelic movement. Was that a big influence on the project? How did you go about channelling that into the mixtape?
I'm something of a 60's obsessive – it's been a main area of interest for me since I began to devour everything Beatles, not long after I'd packed it in as a DJ in the mid-80's. I remember the taste of those psychedelic days back in the 60's, which I experienced as a child, and although the full Haight-Ashbury trip never quite reached New Brighton, where I grew up, its influence was clear in the music of the period – this strange otherworldly flavour that even, sometimes, made it into straight up pop records of the time. The title alone, 'Blind Arcade Meets Super Weird Substance In The Morphogenetic Field' evokes those times, although, in reality, this was inspired by the Dub classic 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown', plus a nod to comic writer Alan Moore ('super weird substance' being a term he mentioned in an interview, as a quantum physics expression relating to information), and the man who came up with the theory of morphogenetic fields, Rupert Sheldrake. So yeah, there is certainly a sprinkling of psychedelic fairy dust throughout the mixtape, but there are also definite links to the second summer of love in the late 80's, including that free spirited De La Soul album '3 Feet High And Rising', which was the soundtrack of the summer months exactly 25 years ago. I suppose it's this summer of love connection that relates strongly to the mixtape – we very much see it as something which totally comes into its own with a few rays of sunshine, an addition to the summer soundtrack for sure.
Could you tell us about how Howard Marks came to be involved in the project?
He's a friend of Kermit's. We recorded the part from Genesis at my house, which slotted it in at the intro of 'Universal Prayer', Kermit's ode to the green stuff. Howard was obviously the ideal person for this role, given his history. We also recorded Kermit's poem, 'Lies And Other Fools' that night, which symbolically draws a line under his murky heroin addicted past, which became public knowledge during his Black Grape infamy of the mid-late 90's, the period when he was last in the limelight. We put this out as a limited run single sided 7″ for Record Store Day, and it's in complete contrast to the positive life-affirming qualities of the mixtape. Not a comfortable listen, but a necessary symbolic part of our process. Kermit had, of course, nearly died, having contracted septicaemia from a dirty needle, having to retreat from the music business for the following decade whilst his health deteriorated and he waited to have a heart operation that had resulted from the infection. Thankfully it was a complete success, setting him off on the road to redemption, and culminating in this latest work.
You used to manage Kermit and the Ruthless Rap Assassins. Do you have any anecdotes you can share with us about that incredibly fertile time for British music, especially in Manchester?
The Assassins were as Manchester as they came, but they didn't have that baggy thing going on, and they happened to be black, which sadly worked against them, and meant that lesser bands were getting more airtime because they fit the Madchester stereotype of the time. In context to the mixtape, what was interesting is that, on the day it was completed, by total coincidence I came across an online review of the 'Killer Album', from when it was re-issued a few years back. There's been some great stuff written about the Assassins down the years, but this guy, from Switzerland, had really got what we were up to back then, and articulated it so well. It was a very karmic thing to be reading on that particular day, and sums up the Assassin's role in the Manchester narrative of the late 80's / early 90's:
http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_rra-killeralbum.html
Structurally this mix reminds us of a classic Hip Hop mixtape. Is this what you were trying to capture? Is Hip Hop still a big influence on your work?
My relationship with Kermit is tied in with the evolution of the UK Hip Hop scene back in the early-mid-80's. He was one of the kids that used to come to Legend during my time there, and, even though he'd started out as a Jazz-Fusion dancer, was a big fan of the Electro direction I took during 82/83. He was one of the founder members of Broken Glass, the now legendary breakdance crew, and the first time he recorded was on the Broken Glass track, 'Style Of The Street', which I produced in 1984 for what turned out to be the 'UK Electro' project. We also, of course, worked together when I managed / produced the Ruthless Rap Assassins, so, as you can see, our musical relationship has Hip Hop at its very core. Mixtapes are very much a part of the Hip Hop approach, so this felt like the right way forward for Blind Arcade to be introduced.
It's great to see Kermit making such a triumphant return having been seemingly lost to the demon of addiction. Could you tell us about how it's been working with him again and accessing his creative energy that seems to have lain dormant for too long?
He's an older / wiser version of the guy who I last worked with during the Rap Assassins days, who, was slipping deeper into heroin addiction towards the end of our association. We remained friends after it had all fallen apart, and I was touched when, a few years later, he came to Liverpool, during a particularly difficult time for me, to play me a cassette of the Black Grape album, just ahead of the final mixes, and ask my opinion. I was bowled over with what I heard, and the album would go on to top the chart, catapulting Kermit to pop stardom. With Kermit and Shaun Ryder both junkies, Black Grape was always going to implode at some point, but they had a decent innings, and for that golden period they were the hottest band in the country. After that he launched a short-lived project called Big Dog, before distancing from the business to sort out his health issues and await the op. Once he realised he'd been given another chance in life he threw himself, like a man possessed, into writing new tracks and also poetry. What impresses me so much is that he's been able to approach things with such positivity, accepting his past and embracing his future, whereas lesser people may not have been able to shed the negativity of former ways, or been able to shake off the anger of what they may have regarded as wasted years. Having crawled out of the abyss, Kermit has picked himself up, brushed himself off, and re-entered the fray with a smile on his face, not a scowl, and looking a million dollars, which has got to be a source of inspiration for anyone who's struggling in life, be it with drug problems or otherwise. It's that classic tale of redemption, which has been told throughout time, but given a contemporary context here. I have to say that it's been a pleasure to work with Kermit again – I've been able to feed off his seemingly inexhaustible energy, and we are very much in accord with regards to how to move the project forward.
Could you explain to us how Blind Arcade came together? What was your role in the formation of the new group?
It was the result of Kermit moving to Chester a few years back, for this is where he met Luke / EVM128 (who's subsequently moved to London). They'd also brought in vocalists BB. James and Amy Wilson on some of the demos, BB. taking the lead, to great effect, on 'Give It Away'. I'd initially declined Kermit's invitation to come onboard as producer because I was too busy as it was, with my DJ work and the rest of it, but, once I'd heard what they were doing, that all went out of the window. I had to get involved, for this is what I'm all about – you rarely get the opportunity to contribute to a project of this type of quality, so I wouldn't have been true to myself had passed the offer up.
This mixtape also announces the beginning of a new label for you, Super Weird Substance. Could you tell us a bit about what you would like to achieve with the label?
I just want to put out good music that people enjoy, both tracks that are commercially accessible, and those which have more of a cult aura. At the same time we want to develop the live side of things, either stand alone Blind Arcade gigs, or full Super Weird Happenings, a series of which we're currently planning for a handful of cities in the autumn. Moving onwards, we want to release an official Blind Arcade album, combining tracks from the mixtape that we've worked further into and new recordings – this is looking forward to 2015, when we also want to have a greater presence for both Blind Arcade and Super Weird Substance on the festival circuit, both in the UK and Europe.
Thanks Greg!
Listen and download the new mixtape here: https://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/blind-arcade-meets-super-weird-substance-in-the-morphogenetic-field
Greg Wilson, Press
Posted on Monday, 16th June, 2014 at 2:52 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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