text:
#ifndef OPENTISSUE_COLLISION_BVH_BOTTOM_UP_CONSTRUCTOR_BVH_GRAPH_NODE_H
#define OPENTISSUE_COLLISION_BVH_BOTTOM_UP_CONSTRUCTOR_BVH_GRAPH_NODE_H
//
// OpenTissue Template Library
// - A generic toolbox for physics-based modeling and simulation.
// Copyright (C) 2008 Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen.
//
// OTTL is licensed under zlib: http://opensource.org/licenses/zlib-license.php
//
#include <OpenTissue/configuration.h>

#include <OpenTissue/core/math/math_constants.h>

#include <cmath>       //Needed for fabs()
#include <list>        //Needed for graph data structure: edges, nodes and volumes
#include <iostream>    //Needed for debug output. NOTE: we should consider implementing a logging fascility!

namespace OpenTissue
{
  namespace bvh
  {

    template <typename bvh_type> class BVHGraph;///< Forward declaration.

    /**
    * A BVH Graph Node.
    */
    template <typename bvh_type>
    class BVHGraphNode
    {
    public:

      friend class BVHGraph<bvh_type>;

    public:

      typedef typename bvh_type::volume_type          volume_type;
      typedef typename bvh_type::bv_ptr          bv_ptr;
      typedef typename bvh_type::bv_ptr_container     bv_ptr_container;
      typedef typename bvh_type::geometry_container   geometry_container;
      typedef BVHGraph<bvh_type>                      graph_type;
      typedef typename graph_type::volume_container   volume_container;

    public:

      typedef typename graph_type::edge_ptr_container         edge_ptr_container;
      typedef typename graph_type::edge_ptr_iterator          edge_ptr_iterator;
      typedef typename graph_type::const_edge_ptr_iterator    const_edge_ptr_iterator;
      typedef typename graph_type::edge_iterator              edge_iterator;
      typedef typename graph_type::const_edge_iterator        const_edge_iterator;

      edge_iterator       edge_begin()       { return edge_iterator(m_edges.begin());       }
      edge_iterator       edge_end()         { return edge_iterator(m_edges.end());         }
      const_edge_iterator edge_begin() const { return const_edge_iterator(m_edges.begin()); }
      const_edge_iterator edge_end()   const { return const_edge_iterator(m_edges.end());   }

      edge_ptr_iterator       edge_ptr_begin()       { return m_edges.begin();       }
      edge_ptr_iterator       edge_ptr_end()         { return m_edges.end();         }
      const_edge_ptr_iterator edge_ptr_begin() const { return m_edges.begin();       }
      const_edge_ptr_iterator edge_ptr_end()   const { return m_edges.end();         }

      typedef typename graph_type::node_ptr_container            node_ptr_container;
      typedef typename graph_type::node_ptr_iterator             node_ptr_iterator;
      typedef typename graph_type::const_node_ptr_iterator       const_node_ptr_iterator;
      typedef typename graph_type::node_iterator                 node_iterator;
      typedef typename graph_type::const_node_iterator           const_node_iterator;

      //node_iterator       sub_node_begin()       { return node_iterator(m_sub_nodes.begin());       }
      //node_iterator       sub_node_end()         { return node_iterator(m_sub_nodes.end());         }
      //const_node_iterator sub_node_begin() const { return const_node_iterator(m_sub_nodes.begin()); }
      //const_node_iterator sub_node_end()   const { return const_node_iterator(m_sub_nodes.end());   }

      node_ptr_iterator       sub_node_ptr_begin()       { return m_sub_nodes.begin(); }
      node_ptr_iterator       sub_node_ptr_end()         { return m_sub_nodes.end();   }
      const_node_ptr_iterator sub_node_ptr_begin() const { return m_sub_nodes.begin(); }
      const_node_ptr_iterator sub_node_ptr_end()   const { return m_sub_nodes.end();   }

    protected:

      edge_ptr_container m_edges;           ///< Edges incidient to this node.
      node_ptr_container m_sub_nodes;       ///< Nodes in the region corresponding to this node (before a merge-operation)
      bv_ptr        m_bv;              ///< After a merge this member holds a pointer to the correspoding BV node.
      volume_type        m_volume;          ///< If the graph node has not yet been subject to a merge, this member contains a volume covering all the nodes contained by this node.
      unsigned int       m_height;          ///< Height of corresponding BV in the resulting BVH
      unsigned int       m_subtree_size;    ///< Number of BVs represented by this graph node.
      geometry_container m_coverage;        ///< Geometry covered by the BV graph node.

    public:

      unsigned int m_tag;                   ///< Tag, can be used for traversing graph structure.
      unsigned int m_tag2;                  ///< Tag, can be used for traversing graph structure.

    public:

      BVHGraphNode()
        : m_bv()
        , m_height(0)
        , m_subtree_size(0)
      {}

    public:

      /**
      * Create BV in BVH.
      *
      * @param bvh    A reference to the BVH where the BV should be created in.
      */
      void create_bv(bvh_type & bvh,bool const & annotated = false)
      {
        bv_ptr_container children;
        get_sub_node_BVs(children);
        m_bv = bvh.insert(children,annotated);
        ++m_subtree_size;
        m_bv->volume() = m_volume;
        if(size_sub_nodes())
          m_height = max_sub_node_height() + 1;
        else
          m_height = 0;
      }

      bv_ptr const & bv() const {return m_bv;}
      const unsigned int height()const{return m_height; }

      const unsigned int size_subtree()const{ return m_subtree_size; }
      const unsigned int size_edges()const{ return static_cast<unsigned int>(m_edges.size()); }
      const unsigned int size_sub_nodes()const{ return static_cast<unsigned int>(m_sub_nodes.size()); }

      geometry_container const & coverage() const { return m_coverage; }
      geometry_container & coverage(){ return m_coverage; }

      volume_type & volume()
      {
        if(m_bv)
          return m_bv->volume();
        return m_volume;
      }

      const unsigned int max_sub_node_height() const
      {
        using std::max;
        unsigned int max_height = 0;
        const_node_iterator node = m_sub_nodes.begin();
        const_node_iterator end  = m_sub_nodes.end();
        for(; node!=end; ++node)
          max_height = max(max_height, node->m_height);
        return max_height;
      }

      const unsigned int min_sub_node_height()const
      {
        using std::min;

        if(m_sub_nodes.empty())
          return 0;
        unsigned int min_height = math::detail::highest<unsigned int>();
        const_node_iterator node = m_sub_nodes.begin();
        const_node_iterator end  = m_sub_nodes.end();
        for(; node!=end; ++node)
          min_height = min(min_height, node->m_height);
        return min_height;
      }

      void get_sub_node_BVs(bv_ptr_container & bvs)
      {
        bvs.clear();
        const_node_iterator node( m_sub_nodes.begin() );
        const_node_iterator end( m_sub_nodes.end() );
        for(; node != end; ++node)
          bvs.push_back(node->m_bv);
      }

      void get_volumes(volume_container & volumes)
      {
        volumes.clear();
        const_node_iterator node( m_sub_nodes.begin() );
        const_node_iterator end( m_sub_nodes.end() );
        for(; node != end; ++node)
          if(node->m_bv)
            volumes.push_back((node->volume()));
      }

    };

  } // namespace bvh

} // namespace OpenTissue

// OPENTISSUE_COLLISION_BVH_BOTTOM_UP_CONSTRUCTOR_BVH_GRAPH_NODE_H
#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Севальос () — испанская фамилия. Известные носители:

 Севальос Менендес, Карлос (1909—1981) — эквадорский археолог, педагог.
  (1715—1778) — испанский военачальник.
 Севальос, Хосе Франсиско (род. 1971) — эквадорский футболист.
 Севальос Энрикес, Хосе (род. 1995) — эквадорский футболист.
  (род. 1968) — перуанская телеведущая.

См. также
 Себальос

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Amazing Events of 2013 | Notes from an often Calm Mother.
Happy Mother's Day to all Mums out there! Hope your day was lovely!
For our Mother's Day high tea, I whipped up a choc tart for the first time. It was delicious and I will re-name it Wicked Chocolate Tart due to the bitter-sweet balance and melt-in-your-mouth filling with oozing centre. And it's super easy! Here is the recipe.
Process flour, icing sugar, cacao powder, almond meal and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and continue processing until just combined. Transfer mixture onto a floured surface and knead with love until smooth. But do not over-knead! Shape pastry into a round flat disk, cover with cling wrap and rest it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll pastry between two baking papers. Grease (with canola spray oil) and line the base and sides of a round fluted tart tin or baking dish. Gently place pastry into tin and trim the edges. Rest in the fridge for another 20 minutes.
Line pastry with baking paper, fill with weights and blind bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove weights and bake for another 5-7 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 150°C.
Combine together custard powder, sugar and yolks in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate, milk and cream and cook over low heat. Whisk for at least 5 minutes until chocolate completely melts, mixture is thicken and is smooth and even.
Transfer mixture into the pastry case and bake for 25 minutes, until filling is just set. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely. Chill in the fridge or quickly in the freezer.
Why buy ready-made custard when you can easily make one!
* For an extra wicked tart, sift cacao powder on top.
* Serve with strawberries and cream and enjoy with loved ones.
Last minute Mummy's Day High Tea!
God bless my darling husband. I adore my hubby.. but perhaps like most men, he has barely a concept for what it takes to host a party for 12.. plus kids.
This afternoon he asked if we could host Mother's Day this year. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking, hosting and we recently moved to a house that allows us to comfortably entertain large groups. That will not be an issue. However, I am a planner and I like doing things from scratch. Perfectly. This combined, I am always making more work for myself than I should. For such event I have to devise a menu, pick a theme, ensure I have enough props, delegate what guests should bring, get the house cleaned, shop, start making/preparing. And I have 3 days to do this.
My side of the family live overseas so this event is mainly for hub's mum, nanna, sisters and sort of kind of me.. I'm more the hostess, which I do not mind at all.
Anyway I decided to do High Tea – fiddly food yes, but easy to eat, hardly any post cleaning up and preparation can be done in advanced. I got the hardest (rolling of eyes) task underway – Shopping for napkins and serving ware at Wheel and Barrow – LOVE that place (it's similar to a mini Pottery Barn). I decided on a navy and blue theme.
On the menu – dark chocolate tart, raspberry custard tartlets, assorted mini sandwiches, assorted mini quiche, fruity mocktail (a dash of vodka in mine work wonders!) plus healthy oatmeal cookies and mini banana muffins for the kids. Please check back in for recipes and photos! Have not made the dark chocolate tart before so wish me luck!


text:
Home » What's a Mall to Do?
What's a Mall to Do?
Bill Zalud
Shopping centers, stores and customers all expect better security but they do not want "airport-like" measures? A re-evaluation comes after a mass murder in Omaha.
Not much, according to shopping center security executives, law enforcement officials and even customers.
Last month, a tragic incident at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb., cost the lives of eight before the shooter killed himself.
Then the copycats started their mall march.
Days after the Westroads tragedy, there was a police shooting at South Mall in Allentown, Pa. In that situation, there was a brief lockdown but shoppers were back at buying within an hour or so. According to South Mall's Colette Weir, mall management assigned more security officers on patrol. The uniqueness of mall security, however, is that usually there are two levels of protection. Mall property owners and managers, such as Simon Property Group, maintain security in parking lots and garages, at entrances and in common public areas while individual leased stores maintain their own security and set their own expectations.
Beefing Up
Just after the Westroads killings, some local police throughout the country added additional patrols at shopping centers and malls. Malachy Kavanagh of the International Council of Shopping Centers, in a media release, pointed out that while members have the ability to screen visitors through metal detectors and hire armed officers, the mall owners, stores and customers do not want such efforts.
Experts interviewed by Security Magazine suggest that shopping centers and malls may opt for emergency notification systems – better communications to customers – and more security video instead of metal detectors and private officers with guns. Don Greene, former FBI agent and mall security book author, agreed in a media release. Shopping center security executives, interviewed by Security Magazine, but not wishing to be identified, suggest that – in the short run – some mall entrances may be closed to better control access and there may be hiring of additional security officers for enhanced visibility.
According to a statement from Simon Property Group, "Law enforcement and security measures, no matter how good, cannot forestall a tragedy (such as Omaha) from happening."
George Washington University, in conjunction with the ICSC, has a DVD-based security officer training program. It is estimated that about 20,000 security officers work shopping centers and malls. Less than one-third of them have taken the training course. There also is a significant turnover in security officers at malls and shopping centers.
It has been reported that security officers at the Westroads facility noticed unusually behavior of the shooter when he first entered, then exited and then entered again into the facility but that the shooting happened quickly and before a necessary response could be made.
Recent Articles by Bill Zalud
In Tough Environments, Security Gets More Resilient
Video Surveillance Analytics is a Deal for Retailers
Day/Night Surveillance Cameras Pull Double Duty
Blue Collar Security and Access Systems for Industrial Manufacturing
Retrofit Fits the Bill for Outdated Security Technology
Bill is the editor emeritus of Security Magazine, and he can be reached at (773) 929-6859.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
On this the eve of the Autumnal Equinox, a.k.a. the last day of summer, I thought I'd share a slide show of summer fun at the beach. I love the beach and I love watching people of all sizes, shapes, colors, and ages enjoying sunny days playing in the water and sand. Everyone is happy at the beach, worries and cares left in the parking lot.
Beach time is a time to relax, bask in the sun soaking up all that vitamin D, and to test your skills at mastering the waves. Divers, swimmers, and jumpers alike are all smiling ear to ear as they return to the beach after a spin in the surf.
Happy last day of summer everyone. Enjoy the slide show.
Photos and Slide Show © 2016 Claudia Ward
Music: "Just Outside Paris" by Mark Adler; Soundtrack of "Bottle Shock"
Open Window's Second Year
It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.
Mexican Train Tiles and Turtles
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward
Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself.
The Outer Banks of North Caroline
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward taken with the iPhone using the Pro HDR App
This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.
Spanish Mustang on the Outer Banks
Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter.
Antique Hood Ornament
More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.
Light Painting for New Year's
Photo © 2011 Peter Tooker
The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.
Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek
Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.
The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.
So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories".
Photos & Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker © 2011
Music: Concerto in E-flat Major for Trumpet & Orchestra: 1. Allegro Con Spirito by Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard
P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of year two and if there is something you'd like to see more of in the coming months.
Hurricane Irene's Aftermath
Whether she was a Hurricane or a Tropical Storm, Irene brought destruction to every place she visited. Rains to the west and winds to the east were all part of her arsenal that weekend, as she slowly crept up the east coast. On the east end of Long Island, we were spared the rains and flooding that have wreaked havoc and destroyed so many villages and towns in New Jersey, central New York and Vermont. Here, howling, constant winds brought down trees and power lines crushing houses and cars, and blocking some roads for days. Many were without electricity and water for 6 days.
Peter and I usually venture out in storms to see what is happening and what the ocean looks like. With sustained winds in excess of 40 mph and gusts to 70, we let prudence prevail and we stayed inside all day that Sunday. When we did venture forth on Monday, we were astounded by much of what we saw and pleased as well. At several beaches it was apparent that the ocean had completely breached the dunes, mangling the beach grass, transporting benches and storm fences in to the parking lots, and filling those lots with sand. But unlike nor'easters we've had, Irene didn't eat away at the beach and dunes taking them with her, but rather she washed over them. Once she'd past, the beaches and dunes revealed the thrashing they'd taken, and yet stood defiantly bruised and beautiful.
The world and its occupants are incredibly resilient, and just one day after the storm had cleared, the beaches were teeming with people and their pets, all eager to shake off their cabin fever. Surfers couldn't wait to hit the waves and puppies couldn't wait to play. The sun was shining, the breezes were once again light, and Irene was fading, albeit slowly, in to memory.
Music: I'm Better at Hello (Karen's Theme), by John Barry from the Soundtrack of "Out of Africa"
Note: If you want to see the slide show in the highest quality possible, first click on the start arrow on the left, then click on HD in the lower right hand corner of the image. This will bring up a large HD and the words "Watch this Video in High Definition". Click on those words and you'll be transported to Vimeo. HD should be highlighted in the lower right hand corner of the opening image. Click on the start arrow once more and then the four arrows to enlarge it. This is a new process apparently, so please bear with us.
Flys Beach Southampton, NY - Surf Resulting from Igor 2010
Photo by Claudia Ward ©2010 All RIGHTS RESERVED
Hurricane season - did you know that it's really a six month season - yup, that's right - June 1st to Nov 30th, each and every year. And each and every year they name the tropical storms that may become hurricanes. If winds are over 39 miles per hour (mph), they get a name; if winds are under 39 mph, then they're just a really big wind! To make it to Category 1, i.e. entry level for hurricane status, a storm's winds must equal or exceed 74 mph.
Calling "HER-icanes" by the names of woman began in 1953, a practice that was liberated in 1978 with the addition of male names for such tempests. These were affectionately dubbed "HIM-icanes" by "libbers" of the time.
Donna (1960), Gloria (1985), and Bob (1991) all created significant memories. From Gloria, I remember my father driving us around "the loop" in Chatham (Cape Cod) during the eye of the storm to see all that had happened and not recognizing the street I lived on for all the flooding. From Gloria, the worries were boats moored in Sag Harbor; and, from Bob ... a cypress tree nearly took out Peter's car, we lived without electricity for five days, and everything had to be cleaned up and operational for my bed-and-breakfast guests by the next weekend.
This year, we're already up to the letter "N" and it's not even October. We all prepared for Earl, but that really didn't happen, at least on the east end of Long Island. Igor did his best to stir up the surf, as you can see above, and brought us extra high tides. And, Tropical Storm Nicole is clawing her way up the east coast battering the coastline and flooding towns as she goes.
Sagg Main as Tropical Storm Nicole Travels North 10/01/10
As devastating as these storms can be, they are rarely un-photogenic and these are just a couple of the images we captured as Igor and Nicole traveled north and east of our shores.


If you have a friend that used to do roofing, and thinks they can repair some damaged shingles for you without concern, you have to find a building supplies contractor. You'll want to take your damaged shingles with you, to make sure you can get other shingles that match.
When you are there, get the shingles and the roofing nails that you need to do the work. You may also want to shop for the following things, to help improve the functionality of your roof, and to protect your home.
Add new insulation under the roof line in the attic, to help improve your energy usage. If your roof is starting to lose shingles, it may be at the age where the insulation isn't working as well as it used to. This means you could be losing heat unnecessarily through the roof, wasting money. The building supplies store should have all of the insulation you need.
If you notice the insulation is severely depleted, you may want to call a spray foam insulation company to come in and apply polyurethane foam all over the attic roof. This will prevent leaks and pests, and stop heat loss.
Do you spend a lot of time cleaning out your gutters each year, because they get filled with twigs, acorns and other debris? You could avoid all of this wasted time, and you can prevent gutter and shingle damage with the covers.
If too many items get clogged in your gutters, this can weigh them down, and then they start to tear away from the house and do damage.
If someone is going to be up on the roof around the plumbing vents and the gable vents, you should have them caulked. This will ensure that water doesn't come into the roof from these areas. This is easy and affordable to do.
Talk with your friend who has experience doing roofing work about what other tools they need to have to get the job completed, and get them while you are at the building supplies store. If you see multiple problems on the roof, you may want to have it looked at by a professional roofing contractor, to make sure there isn't a lot of bad damage that needs immediate professional assistance. A few shingles can be replaced if you know what shingles to buy, and how to apply them. To learn more about home repair, contact American Building & Roofing Inc.


text:
Q: Weirdness with around aspect in ruby I am new to ruby
Trying to write an around aspect. My code is as follows
My code looks as follows
module Utils
  module Aspects

    def self.included(base)
      base.extend(self)
    end

    def around_aspect(method_name, before_proc, after_proc)

      code = %Q[
        def #{method_name} *args, &block
          #{before_proc.call}
          old_#{method_name} *args, &block
          #{after_proc.call}
        end
      ]

      class_eval %Q[
        alias_method :old_#{method_name}, :#{method_name}
      ]

      class_eval code
    end

    # def before_aspect method_name, before_proc
    #   around_aspect method_name, before_proc, ->(){}
    # end
    #
    # def after_aspect method_name, after_proc
    #   around_aspect method_name, ->(){}, after_proc
    # end
  end
end

class Test
  include Utils::Aspects

  def test
    puts 'test'
  end

  before = ->(){puts 'before'}
  after = ->(){puts 'after'}
  around_aspect :test,before,after
end

Test.new.test

The problem is that when i do Test.new.test I expect it to print
before, test and after" in order. But right now it prints "before,after and test"

A:
The problem is that when i do Test.new.test I expect it to print
  before, test and after" in order. But right now it prints "before,after and test"

No, it doesn't. When calling Test.new.test it only prints test. before and after are printed when defining the wrapped method, i.e. when calling around_advice.
Try to put a puts in between the call to around_advice and the call to Test.new.test (and try to call test several times) to observe this:
puts '______________________'

Test.new.test
Test.new.test

# before
# after
# ______________________
# test
# test

You are calling the lambdas only once, when defining the method:
  code = %Q[
    def #{method_name} *args, &block
      #{before_proc.call}
#     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
      old_#{method_name} *args, &block
      #{after_proc.call}
#     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    end
  ]

You need to call them every time when calling the method:
  code = %Q[
    def #{method_name} *args, &block
      before_proc.call
      old_#{method_name} *args, &block
      after_proc.call
    end
  ]

However, it would be much easier to just use Module#prepend, after all, that's what it's there for:
module Aspects
  refine Module do
    def around_aspect(method_name, before_proc, after_proc)
      prepend(Module.new do
        define_method(method_name) do |*args, &block|
          before_proc.()
          super(*args, &block)
          after_proc.()
        end
      end)
    end
  end
end

class Test
  using Aspects

  def test
    puts 'test'
  end

  before = -> {puts 'before'}
  after = -> {puts 'after'}
  around_aspect :test, before, after
end

A: Just putting my code up here. This is how i ended up achieving what i was trying to do, module.prepend as suggested above is another way
module Utils
  module Aspects

    def self.included(base)
      base.extend(self)
    end

    def around_aspect(method_name, before_proc, after_proc)

      new_method_name = Random.new_seed.to_s

      alias_method :"#{new_method_name}", :"#{method_name}"

      define_method "#{method_name}" do |*args, &block|
        before_proc.call
        send(:"#{new_method_name}", *args, &block)
        after_proc.call
      end
    end

    def before_aspect method_name, before_proc
      around_aspect method_name, before_proc, ->(){}
    end

    def after_aspect method_name, after_proc
      around_aspect method_name, ->(){}, after_proc
    end
  end
end

class Test
  include Utils::Aspects

  def test

    puts 'test'
  end

  before = ->(){puts 'before'}
  after = ->(){puts 'after'}

  before_aspect :test, before
  after_aspect :test, after
end

Test.new.test

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
You are here: Home Page > Arts & Humanities > Religion > Christianity > Early Christianity > Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor
Jesus Christ and the Transfiguration of the World
Paul M. Blowers
Christian Theology in Context
Sets Maximus's work not only in the monastic and theological but also cultural and political contexts of the stormy seventh century in Byzantium
Reconsiders classic themes in Maximus's theology, Christology, and spiritual doctrine through some fresh interpretive lenses
Includes an entire chapter on the recontextualizations of Maximus in the later history of Christian theology
This study contextualizes the achievement of a strategically crucial figure in Byzantium's turbulent seventh century, the monk and theologian Maximus the Confessor (580-662). Building on newer biographical research and a growing international body of scholarship, as well as on fresh examination of his diverse literary corpus, Paul Blowers develops a profile integrating the two principal initiatives of Maximus's career: first, his reinterpretation of the christocentric economy of creation and salvation as a framework for expounding the spiritual and ascetical life of monastic and non-monastic Christians; and second, his intensifying public involvement in the last phase of the ancient christological debates, the monothelete controversy, wherein Maximus helped lead an East-West coalition against Byzantine imperial attempts doctrinally to limit Jesus Christ to a single (divine) activity and will devoid of properly human volition. Blowers identifies what he terms Maximus's "cosmo-politeian" worldview, a contemplative and ascetical vision of the participation of all created beings in the novel politeia, or reordered existence, inaugurated by Christ's "new theandric energy". Maximus ultimately insinuated his teaching on the christoformity and cruciformity of the human vocation with his rigorous explication of the precise constitution of Christ's own composite person. In outlining this cosmo-politeian theory, Blowers additionally sets forth a "theo-dramatic" reading of Maximus, inspired by Hans Urs von Balthasar, which depicts the motion of creation and history according to the christocentric "plot" or interplay of divine and creaturely freedoms. Blowers also amplifies how Maximus's cumulative achievement challenged imperial ideology in the seventh century—the repercussions of which cost him his life-and how it generated multiple recontextualizations in the later history of theology.
Part I: Backgrounds
1. Maximus in His Historical Setting: Betwixt and Between
2. Writing Theology in Early Byzantium
Part II: The Cosmic Landscapes of Maximus's Theology
3. Creation as the Drama of Divine Freedom and Resourcefulness
4. Maximus's Cosmic Christology: Flesh Transfiguring the World
5. The Church and Its Liturgy as Threshold of the New Creation
Part III: Maximus's Vision for the Transfigured Creation
6. Protology and Teleology in Maximus's Interpretation of Human Nature, Human Fallenness, and Human Hope
7. Active Passivity: Maximus on the Passion of Jesus Christ
8. Love, Desire, and Virtue: Transfigured Life in Christ and the Spirit
Part IV: Maximus's Afterlife East and West
9. Recontextualizations of Maximus East and West
Paul M. Blowers holds the Ph.D. in patristics and early Christian studies from the University of Notre Dame, and since 1989 has taught church history and historical theology at Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he is currently the Dean E. Walker Professor of Church History. He is principally a scholar of Greek and Byzantine patristics, and particularly of the theology of Maximus the Confessor, but he has also taught broadly in the field of church history and Christian thought. He is a Past President of the North American Patristics Society and is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Early Christian Studies. Author, editor, or translator of six books in early church history, he has published numerous journal articles.
"this book offers not only a splendid overview of Maximus in context and Maximus studies in general, but also offers up a wonderfully fresh re-reading and re-telling of Maximus by a seasoned master." -- Marcus Plested, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
"Blowers' portrait is a corrective to modern accounts that neglect the influence of his monastic theological milieu and their sources. While no stranger to protoscholastic precision and at times clearly possessing the grand vision of an Aquinas, Maximus is first and foremost a monk on a quest to align his will with the ground of his being and all being, namely the Logos. This shift in focus for understanding Maximus' spiritual pedagogy is the primary contribution of the monograph. Its impact is therefore primarily on modern appropriations of historical theology, but it is also an outstanding guide for introducing Maximus in pedagogical settings."--Samuel Pomeroy, Modern Theology
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Henry Chadwick
The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Early Modern England, c. 1530-1700
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Martin Luther: A Very Short Introduction
Scott H. Hendrix
Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt
The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity
Scott Fitzgerald Johnson
The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theology, 1600-1800
Ulrich L. Lehner, Richard A. Muller, and A.G. Roeber
The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies
Stephen W. Angell and Pink Dandelion
David M. Gwynn
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor
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Timothy Pawl
Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio
Markus Rathey
Sylvia Walsh
Augustine: A Very Short Introduction
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Arts & Humanities > Religion > Christianity > Early Christianity
Arts & Humanities > Religion > Theology > Christian Theology
Arts & Humanities > Religion > Christianity > History of Christianity


Dave Allen is an internationally published landscape photographer who is based in Asheville, NC. His work has been featured around the world in fine art galleries, books, calendars, and magazines including Outdoor Photographer, National Geographic, Backpacker Magazine, and many more.
Winner of the prestigious Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition and voted "Best Photographer" in 2013 by Blue Ridge Country Magazine's popular reader's poll, Dave's landscape images showcase the natural beauty of the southern Appalachians with a strong visual impact that is instantly recognizable. Much of his acclaimed portfolio of fine art landscape photography is centered around the stunningly beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Western NC, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the east coast of the Carolina's including the Outer Banks of NC and Charleston SC.


text:
3 Top Value Stocks to Buy Right Now
Neha Chamaria, George Budwell, and Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool
Motley Fool March 31, 2019
Value investing is the art of finding hidden gems among stocks that have lost favor with the market. Or, as legendary investor Warren Buffett puts it: "Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." Getting greedy, or simply buying great stocks that others aren't paying attention to while they trade cheap, is where value investors find success.
But with the S&P 500 racing to deliver its best quarter in nearly a decade, finding value in today's market isn't that easy. Fret not, for our Motley Fool contributors have identified three great value stocks you'll want to consider buying now: Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX), WestRock Company (NYSE: WRK), and XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO).
A forgotten star
George Budwell (Viking Therapeutics): The market hasn't been kind to the clinical-stage biotech Viking Therapeutics over the last few months. Even though the company's nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) drug candidate VK2809 hit the ball out of the park in its midstage trial late last year, Viking's shares have somehow lost nearly 60% of their value since this top-line data release.
Adding to the mystery, Gilead Sciences reported a late-stage flop in NASH last year, and Intercept Pharmaceuticals' Ocaliva didn't exactly blow the investing community away with its mixed NASH results, either. Put simply, Viking still has a decent shot at bringing one of the first needle-moving therapies to market for this high-value indication. Yet investors have chosen to overlook this promising biotech stock.
A man looking up with the words "Where to invest?" behind him.
What gives? Viking's shares are being weighed down by the fact that VK2809 remains a few years away from entering a pivotal stage trial for NASH. Later this year, the company plans on advancing VK2809 into a phase 2b trial to evaluate its clinical benefit in patients with biopsy-confirmed NASH. This next trial is expected to take up to a year to complete, which will put Viking well behind the leaders in the field in terms of clinical development.
Even so, the market seems to be severely underestimating this particular NASH candidate. While there is certainly a need for more data, VK2809's emerging clinical profile easily puts it in the running for a best-in-class designation. As such, Viking's latecomer status may not ultimately matter from a commercial standpoint.
The bottom line is that Viking currently offers a level of deep value rarely found in the healthcare sector, thanks to its aspirations in NASH. That said, this is a pre-revenue biotech stock -- meaning that investors should carefully mull over Viking's risk-to-reward ratio before buying shares.
A high-yield e-commerce bet you've been overlooking
Neha Chamaria (WestRock): WestRock shares have dropped nearly 40% in the past one year, but you'd be hard-pressed to find reasons that justify the stock's steep fall.
Fears of a trade war between the United States and China hurting WestRock's business have gripped the market, but the paper packaging manufacturer continues to generate strong sales. In its most recent quarter, WestRock's net sales jumped 11% year over year, thanks to higher selling prices and contribution from the recently acquired KapStone. WestRock reported 9.6% growth in sales and 21% growth in income before taxes (to exclude the impact of significant one-time tax gain for last year) in fiscal 2018. WestRock also increased its dividend by 5.8% last year.
Management remains optimistic about 2019 as it strives to integrate KapStone to achieve targeted synergies worth $200 million by 2022. At the same time, WestRock intends to pump nearly $1 billion into "strategic" investments to ramp up production and cut costs at key mills. Management believes this spending should generate $240 million in annualized EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) by FY 2022.
These two factors -- a larger, more diversified portfolio and reach thanks to KapStone and management's moves to improve cost efficiency -- should help WestRock exploit opportunities, especially in booming industries like e-commerce. In fact, WestRock's recent move to acquire Linkx Packaging Systems, a specialist in automated packaging and custom-sized boxes, is targeted to meet increasing demand for on-demand packaging, especially from e-commerce companies.
In short, the global packaging industry has strong growth catalysts and WestRock's a key player in the industry. The stock's current valuation of only 8.5 times price-to-forward earnings, four times price-to-cash flow, and a solid dividend yield of 4.8% make it a great pick for value investors.
Ready to deliver the goods
Rich Duprey (XPO Logistics): There are some very good reasons why XPO Logistics has lost over half its value in the past six months. Since hitting a record high of $116 a share in September, XPO stock is down 56% after a litany of issues hit the company: an international customer declared bankruptcy, which led to the logistics specialist cutting guidance; a second earnings warning; the loss of $600 million in business from a customer rumored to be Amazon.com; and a short-seller's report that called XPO's debt burden unsustainable.
As of this writing, XPO Logistics now trades at $51 a share, and some analysts worry that the transportation giant won't recover.
The worries seem overblown. Although there's no minimizing the loss of Amazon's business, which caused the greatest collapse in its share price, the revenues only amounted to 5% of the total. That's not an insignificant percentage, but it's not crippling, either, and XPO Logistics has a substantial number of other customers.
The company announced a $1 billion stock buyback, which could cynically be viewed as bluster in the face of a declining share price, but XPO has announced it will also once again be in the market for acquisitions, a speciality of CEO Bradley Jacobs, who has made a career out of successfully rolling up industries under his umbrella.
XPO Logistics trades at just 17 times trailing earnings, 11 times next year's estimates, and less than 11 times the free cash flow it produces, putting it in serious bargain-basement territory. With long-term earnings still expected to grow at a compounded rate of 28% a year, this is an opportunity to buy this logistics leader at an attractive price.
More From The Motley Fool
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10 Reasons Why I'm Selling All of My Apple Stock
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. George Budwell owns shares of Viking Therapeutics. Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Intercept Pharmaceuticals, WestRock, and XPO Logistics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Why Soliton Stock Is Falling Today


text:
Tudor Ciuhodaru é um político romeno que actualmente actua como deputado ao Parlamento Europeu pelo Partido Social Democrata.

Pessoas vivas
Políticos da Roménia


I've put together a little Halloween techno mix y'all!
Do excuse some areas being a little sketchy. It's the first decent recording I've done so I was a bit bit bit bit nervous. BUT it's Halloween themed! (Focus on the THEME. Everyone loves a theme).
Feel free to let me know if you think it's either nice/enjoyable or utterly awful.


text:
We are Active in over 60 Countries: The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom is committed to working with all its strength for a liberal world. Our core concern is the realization of freedom and responsibility. We promote the development of democratic, market-based and constitutional structures so that more and more people can live in a liberal, democratic society.
State Office
Capital Office Division
Berlin-Brandenburg/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Archive of Liberalism
Hessen/Rheinland-Pfalz
IAF - International Exchange and Advanced Training
Liberal Institute
Theodor Heuss Academy
Through the connection of EU experts, civil society, and decision makers we seek to foster open dialogue and discuss liberal policy solutions to European challenges. Together with our liberal partners, we develop formats and campaigns to promote rule of law, free markets and human rights. Moreover, we coordinate EU co-funded projects in the field of democracy support, development cooperation and human rights protection.
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Spain, Italy, Portugal and Mediterranean Dialogue
Central Europe and the Baltic States
Ukraine and Belarus
East and Southeast Europe
Russia and Central Asia
Bulgaria and North Macedonia
Through our seven offices in the MENA Region, we actively promote the political debate to support innovative liberal approaches and solutions. Our projects are liberal platforms on which the Foundation's partners from the Gulf to the Levant and the entire southern side of the Mediterranean can provide creative impulses and discuss geopolitical issues.
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Morocco and Algeria
Lebanon and Syria
From our seven offices in Sub-Saharan Africa, we focus on promoting political networking. We are committed to strengthening liberalism and promoting human rights, the rule of law and the social market economy.
Liberal Workshop South Africa
In North America, our focus is on the transatlantic partnership, which we see as a supporting pillar for the security and stability of Western democracies. We encourage the political debate and develop innovative liberal approaches. In Latin America we work to promote strong democratic institutions, respect for human rights and rule of law as well as promoting liberal dialogue throughout the region.
Argentina and Paraguay
Andean States
With its offices in Asia, the foundation supports programs to strengthen democratic processes, particularly free and fair elections, and transparent and accountable governance. The Foundation in the region also showcases innovation as a tool to encourage civic participation that further promotes freedom.
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New-Delhi
Social Market Economy
East Africa Needs a Liberal Restart to Protect and Promote Civil Liberties
Promoting civil liberties
4.9 Minutes
Inge Herbert
FNF in East Africa launches Promoting Civil Liberties in East Africa, a playbook for FNF and Strategic Partners © Shutterstock
The past year has been hard for East Africans. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the health and economies of our nations. As the threat of further waves persist and international travel, tourism and business remains largely on hold, things will continue to be difficult. We face a long road ahead in navigating a path to economic recovery and a challenging vaccine roll-out. Yet, as we proceed in forging a 'new normal', we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from combating a great threat to our sustainability as a region. During the pandemic, the erosion of both civil liberties and the fundamentals of democracy - already under significant threat pre-pandemic - have intensified. We have witnessed first-hand how authoritarians such as John Magufuli and Yoweri Museveni have been emboldened by the pandemic, strengthening their grip on power and trampling on the rights of citizens. In Kenya, we have faced an increasingly violent and abusive police force, often using COVID-19 regulations to curb citizen freedoms.
Over the past six months, unfree and unfair elections have taken place in Sub- Saharan Africa, the consequences of which may hold our development back significantly. For example in Uganda, the trends away from respect for human rights and freedoms were evident long before the election period started. Yet, no one could have predicted the extent of the violence, gross power abuse and limitations on freedom of assembly, speech and media we saw. Accordingly, it is vital that civil society coalesce behind a strategy to promote and protect civil liberties, and then execute it relentlessly and with focus.
Last year, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) commissioned qualitative and quantitative research in East Africa. The purpose was to assess citizen attitudes to promoting and protecting civil liberties in the region. We did this by understanding citizen engagement in elections, the state of civil liberties and how they are restricted, institutions restricting civil liberties, success stories of community activism and the civil liberties the public are motivated to protect. The results of this research will be used to equip civil society with messaging, strategies and tactics to fight back against authoritarianism and anti-democratic practices. Although the qualitative research was conducted amongst participants in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, the quantitative research was rolled out in Uganda and Kenya only due to government restrictions in Tanzania. The difficulty of rolling out quantitative research on such subject matter in Tanzania was an initial, damning indication of the state of repression present in the country.
Today we are launching a playbook encapsulating these messaging, strategy and tactics recommendations. The survey results offer clear guidance for democrats and civil society on the urgent steps that need to be taken. The first step towards sustainable economic recovery post-pandemic is for East Africa drive a liberal restart – aimed at entrenching fundamental civil freedoms.
DOWNLOAD: Promoting Civil Liberties, Survey and Interviews
Underpinning our recommendations is the main finding that the majority of citizens in Uganda and Kenya view the main issues facing them as economic. When viewed independently, civil liberties and rights do not feature high on citizen's priorities. However, when civil liberties and rights are framed correctly as the essential foundations for development and economic freedom, citizens are far more likely to engage and actively seek to promote core freedoms.
On the campaign trail, John Magufuli and Yoweri Museveni framed civil liberties and democratic practices as obstacles towards development and economic prosperity. They therefore present their actions of banning opposition political activity, internet shutdowns and arresting opposition leaders as reasonable and justifiable limitations on fundamental rights. As a first start, democrats, civil society and media need to expose this as both wrong and false. Worldwide, dictatorships and autocracies where freedoms are restricted and individuals persecuted tend to struggle economically, allow corruption to flourish and plunge citizens into poverty. Evidence abounds that freedom and democracy spur on economic growth. The best way for governments to ensure a solid start to economic recovery post the pandemic will be to guarantee civil liberties and enable freedoms. Economic growth and jobs will result. Our survey suggests that if this conveyed clearly, citizens may be more motivated and prepared to support initiatives aimed to promoting civil liberties.
Our survey did reflect that East Africans believe strongly in democratic principles, especially freedom of speech and freedom of the press. They also believed that one of the key consequences of the right to freedom of expression is the ability to fight against corruption. However, they are reluctant to fight or be seen to support these principles and rights if it means attracting government scrutiny. And there is recognition of the role of the police in being the visible manifestation of this scrutiny from government. How best then to launch civil society action to forge a liberal restart?
It is quite evident that the focus has to be on local initiatives and building coalitions from the ground up. Success stories shared in the in-depth interviews we conducted indicate that working locally and organising in collaboration with local authorities is the best way to build support from the ground up. Furthermore, coalition building from the ground up achieves power in numbers, encouraging more citizens to join and engage as they are less fearful of being targeted individually. A further benefit is the degree of anonymity that is afforded to those taking part. There is less risk of arrest or persecution by the police and government if citizens operate at local level as they will attract far less attention than if they act at national level.
It is also very important for civil society coalitions to use faith leaders, journalists and NGO leaders as advocates for civil liberties. Our research clearly identifies religious institutions, the media and NGOs as being the most trusted potential advocates. A further important finding of the research was for us to recognise that while a digital focus for civil society must be maintained, digital platforms have limited reach in East Africa at the moment. The most effective ways to communicate with citizens is through television and radio. Therefore, in addition to face-to-face initiatives at a local level, community, regional and national earned media tactics should be prioritised.
The full research findings and strategic recommendations of our project can be accessed here. The region faces so many significant challenges and competing priorities as we move beyond Covid-19. What we cannot afford though is to ignore the increasing democratic deficit. There is a strong connection between liberal democracy, development and economic prosperity. We have the insight and direction to forge a liberal restart. We need to use this and work hard to bring enduring freedom to our region.
Inge Herbert is the Regional Director for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Continued development and improvement on quality of entertainment to achieve multiple repeat visitors.


text:
Using the Hidex AMG for GFR testing on blood samples
Mark Richardson (left), Head of Nuclear Medicine and Andrew Bussey (right), Clinical Scientist, with their Hidex AMG
James Cook Hospital acquire the Hidex Automatic Gamma Counter
The Nuclear Medicine Department at the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough are using the Hidex AMG to undertake GFR testing on blood samples. Andrew Bussey is a clinical scientist and a key member of the team working with the new instrument and he explained how the department is using it and the benefits the AMG has brought to their operation:
"It's been a definite improvement over the old system that we had, which was installed in the 1990's. So, to move to a digital system which links to all our equipment, and can automatically export results has been great, as it has cut down the amount of time that used to be required to transcribe from paper, etc."
Simplifying the process
"The AMG's main role is to support our GFR tests. We just put the samples in, click play, and away it goes. Then the results are automatically exported and as they come through, we process them. The old system ran MS DOS with just a keyboard interface to input instructions manually. It was a real effort. We also had to train staff intensively to do it as the old system had many quirks which operators had to recognise and counter. The AMG is incredibly easy to operate, even for new starters. We've already set up the racks we want - labelled accordingly - so staff undertaking the tests just need to drop the samples in the right slot in the rack, press play and the instrument handles everything else for them really."
A real time saver
"The old instrument would have just produced data of the first sample counted and the results, then the second sample and results. Someone would then have to go back and look at what was on the actual tray and match them up to the relevant sample. It was very time consuming."
Built in functions speed up day to day operations
"The automated QC and auto calibration functions are particularly useful. On the old system we'd have to do that manually as well. We'd come to a known source and then manually compare it against all of them as to what it should be. The AMG has the QC feature built in, which is great. We've got a couple of Caesium sources for very long-lived radioactive isotopes, so at the start of every day we just run that, and it measures and checks all the normal performance metrics. It's measuring as much radioactivity as it expects, it takes the energy of the sources it expects and if it's not, it recalibrates itself to match what you're expecting."
You can learn more about the Hidex Automatic Gamma Counter by using the button below to speak with our product specialist and have a one-to-one guided tour.
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Automatic Gamma Counter


text:
Watch Hodor of 'Game of Thrones' Jam on "Holy Wars" with Megadeth
This past weekend—prior to their performance at Hellfest in Clisson, France—Megadeth were joined backstage by actor Kristian Nairn, best known for playing Hodor in Game of Thrones.
As it turns out, Nairn isn't just a great actor, he's—as Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro quickly found out—a killer guitarist as well.
Above, you can watch Nairn jam backstage on "Holy Wars" with Mustaine. Nairn also introduced the band to the Hellfest crowd, an occasion that you can watch below.
Megadeth's Hellfest set was also notable for a very rare performance of Peace Sells...but Who's Buying closer, "My Last Words," which the band dug out as a tribute to former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, who died unexpectedly this past weekend at the age of 54.


text:
La cultura animal explica la teoría actual del aprendizaje cultural en animales no humanos a través de comportamientos transmitidos socialmente (en contraste con las características genéticamente heredadas). La pregunta sobre la existencia de cultura en sociedades no humanas ha sido un tema controvertido durante décadas, quizá incluso más, debido en gran parte a la inexistencia de una definición precisa de cultura. Sin embargo, muchos científicos de élite están de acuerdo con la definición de cultura como un proceso, en lugar de como un producto final. La mayoría está de acuerdo en que este proceso implica la transmisión social de un comportamiento ejemplar tanto entre coetáneos como entre generaciones.  Este comportamiento puede compartirse entre un grupo de animales, pero no necesariamente entre grupos separados de la misma especie.

La noción de la cultura en animales data de los tiempos de  Aristóteles y de Darwin, sin embargo, la Asociación de las Acciones de los Animales no introdujo la palabra "cultura" hasta los años 40, tras los descubrimientos de los primatólogos japoneses sobre los comportamientos de la comida transmitidos socialmente .

¿Qué es la cultura?

Cultura de organización
Una definición de cultura, particularmente relacionada con el aspecto de organización, es la que utiliza "la implicación, la consistencia, la adaptación, y la misión". Los rasgos culturales que son indicadores de una forma exitosa de organización tienen más posibilidades de ser asimilados en nuestra vida cotidiana. Las organizaciones que utilizan los cuatro aspectos ya mencionados de la cultura son las que tienen más éxito. Por lo tanto, las culturas mejor condicionadas a guiar a sus ciudadanos hacia un objetivo común tienen un índice mucho más alto de eficacia que aquellas que no poseen una meta compartida. Otra definición de cultura es "patrones de comportamiento transmitidos socialmente que sirven para relacionar a las comunidades humanas con sus marcos ecológicos". Esta definición relaciona al comportamiento cultural con el entorno. La cultura se refleja en muchos aspectos de nuestra sociedad actual y pasada puesto que esta se ha convertido en una forma de adaptación al propio entorno.

El ejemplo más comúnmente conocido de diferencias culturales en el reino animal tiene sus raíces en el período de domesticación de caninos (desde el 30.000 a.C.) El desarrollo continuo de culturas con razas específicas ha dado lugar, en algunas de ellas, a diferencias únicas fascinantes en actividades innatas tales como las señales de apareamiento. Por ejemplo, los galgos han desarrollado la necesidad de morder sus propias orejas a la vez que se sacuden de izquierda a derecha para mostrar su deseo de aparearse, mientras que, con el paso de miles de años, los pastores alemanes han modificado sus señales de apareamiento hasta el punto de llegar a ver a los machos posar sus patas delanteras en el hocico y ponerse ir bizcos.

Sociología cultural
Otros investigadores están estudiando actualmente la idea de que hay una conexión entre la psicología y la sociología de la cultura. Ciertos investigadores están realmente volcados en el análisis de los estudios que conectan "identidad, memoria colectiva, clasificación social, lógicas de la acción y el marco". Las posturas de qué es exactamente la cultura han ido cambiando debido a la convergencia reciente entre el pensamiento sociológico y el psicológico sobre el tema. "El trabajo reciente representa una cultura fragmentada entre los grupos e incompatible con sus manifestaciones. La visión de la cultura como valores que difunden otros aspectos de creencia,  intención, y vida colectiva ha sucumbido a una visión de cultura como estructuras complejas que constituyen los recursos que se pueden subordinar al uso estratégico". Esta es específica de una región y solo una definición o concepto no puede realmente darnos la esencia de qué es la cultura. También se hace referencia a la importancia de símbolos y de rituales como unidades de creación cognitivas para una cultura compartida como concepto psicológico.

Los memes y la transmisión cultural
Richard Dawkins defiende la existencia de una "unidad de transmisión cultural" llamada meme. El concepto de memes se ha vuelto mucho más aceptado tras haber realizado una investigación más amplia sobre los comportamientos culturales. Dawkins sugiere que, por mucho que los individuos puedan heredar genes de cada uno de los padres, estos adquieren memes a través de la imitación de lo que observan a su alrededor. Las acciones más relevantes (aquellas que aumentan las probabilidades de supervivencia), tales como la arquitectura y la artesanía, son más propensas a ser prevalecientes, permitiendo formar una cultura. La idea de que los memes siguieran una forma de selección natural la presentó por primera vez Daniel Dennett. Dennett también defendió la idea de que los memes son completamente responsables de la conciencia humana y afirma que todo lo que constituye la humanidad, como el lenguaje y la música, es el resultado de los memes y de la inquebrantable influencia que tienen sobre nuestros procesos de pensamiento.

Se llevó a cabo una simulación hipotética en la cual la población seleccionó diferentes memes. La simulación mostró tanto los efectos secundarios positivos como negativos de estas imitaciones hipotéticas. Una de las principales diferencias entre los seres humanos y los animales es que los humanos tienen una capacidad de imitación mucho mayor. Se llegó a la conclusión de que es el uso de los memes el responsable del gran tamaño del cerebro de los humanos, y, mapeando cuánto tiempo llevaría que cada uno de estos memes se convirtiese en un cambio cultural real, que era posible que la cultura humana hubiera evolucionado utilizando este modelo.

Cultura evolutiva
Un concepto estrechamente vinculado a los memes es la idea de la cultura evolutiva. La validez del concepto de cultura evolutiva se ha visto aumentada recientemente debido a la revaluación del término por parte de los antropólogos. El ensanchamiento del ámbito de la evolución desde simples genes a conceptos más abstractos, como diseños y comportamientos hacen de la idea de cultura evolutiva una más plausible. La teoría de la cultura evolutiva se define como "una teoría de la filogenia cultural". La idea de que toda la cultura humana se desarrolló a partir de una cultura principal ha sido presentada citando la interconexión entre lenguajes como uno de sus ejemplos. Sin embargo, también cabe la posibilidad de diversas culturas ancestrales, ya que las culturas que existen hoy podrían haberse desarrollado potencialmente a partir de más de una cultura original.

La cultura en los animales
Según la definición de cultura de "An American Dictionary of the English Language" de Webster, el aprendizaje y la transmisión son los dos componentes principales de la cultura, en especial cuando nos referimos a la creación de herramientas y la habilidad de adquirir comportamientos que mejorarán nuestra calidad de vida. Si se usa esta definición es posible concluir que los animales tienen las mismas posibilidades de adaptarse a los comportamientos culturales que los seres humanos. Una de las primeras muestras de cultura en el ser humano fue la utilización de herramientas. Se ha observado a los chimpancés usando herramientas tales como piedras y palos para acceder a la comida más fácilmente. Hay otras actividades que requieren aprendizaje que también han sido exhibidas por animales. Algunos ejemplos de estas actividades que varios animales han mostrado son abrir ostras, nadar, lavar su comida y abrir tapas de lata. Esta adquisición y distribución de comportamientos se correlaciona directamente con la existencia de memes. Refuerza especialmente el componente de selección natural, al ver cómo estas acciones empleadas por los animales son todas mecanismos para hacer sus vidas más fáciles y, por lo tanto, más largas.

Historia de la teoría de la cultura animal
Aunque la idea de la 'cultura' animal apareció tan solo hace unos 50 años, los científicos han estado observando el comportamiento social de los animales durante siglos. Aristóteles fue el primero en probar el aprendizaje social con las canciones de los pájaros. Charles Darwin primero intentó encontrar la existencia de la mímesis en los animales cuando intentaba probar su teoría de que la mente humana se había desarrollado a partir de la de seres inferiores. Darwin también fue el primero que sugirió lo que se llegó a conocer como el aprendizaje social al intentar explicar la transmisión de un modelo de comportamiento adaptativo por medio de las abejas.

La mayoría de las investigaciones culturales antropológicas han girado en torno a los primates no humanos, debido a que son la especie más cercana a los seres humanos en cuanto a la evolución. En animales no primates la investigación tiende a ser limitada y, por tanto, hay escasez de pruebas de que exista cultura. Sin embargo, el tema se ha vuelto más popular recientemente y ha incitado a la iniciación de más investigaciones en el ámbito.

La transmisión cultural en los animales
La cultura, cuando se define como la transmisión de una serie de comportamientos que pasan de una generación a la siguiente, se puede transmitir entre los animales a partir de varios métodos; el más común incluye la imitación, la enseñanza y el lenguaje. La imitación ha resultado ser uno de los modos más frecuentes de transmisión cultural en animales no humanos, mientras que la enseñanza y el lenguaje son mucho menos frecuentes, con la posible excepción de los primates y los cetáceos. Investigaciones recientes sugieren que la enseñanza, en comparación con la imitación, puede ser una característica de ciertos animales que dispongan de unas capacidades culturales más avanzadas, aunque esto es discutible.

Transmisión cultural contra transmisión genética
La cultura, que una vez fue considerada como un rasgo únicamente humano, se ha establecido firmemente como un rasgo común entre animales, y no simplemente un conjunto de comportamientos relacionados que han sido transmitidos genéticamente, como algunos defendían. La transmisión genética, como la transmisión cultural, es un modo de pasar rasgos del comportamiento de un individuo a otro. La principal diferencia es que la transmisión genética es la transferencia de rasgos del comportamiento de un individuo a otro a través de los genes que los progenitores transfieren a un organismo durante la fertilización del huevo. Como podemos ver, la transmisión genética solamente puede ocurrir una vez en la vida de un organismo. Por consiguiente, la transmisión genética es bastante lenta en comparación a la relativa velocidad de la transmisión cultural. En la transmisión cultural, la información del comportamiento se transmite por medio de métodos de enseñanza verbales, visuales, o escritos. Por lo tanto, en la transmisión cultural muchos organismos pueden aprender nuevos comportamientos en cuestión de días y horas en vez de los muchos años de reproducción que tardaría el comportamiento en expandirse entre organismos en la transmisión genética.

La enseñanza
Hasta hace poco, se pensaba que la educación era una habilidad exclusivamente humana.  Actualmente, con los avances en la investigación sobre la transmisión de la cultura en los animales, se ha hecho evidente el papel de la enseñanza entre los grupos de animales. La enseñanza no se limita solo a los mamíferos, también se ha observado que muchos insectos muestran varias formas de enseñanza con el fin de obtener alimentos. Las hormigas, por ejemplo, se guían las unas a las otras a las fuentes de alimentos a través de un proceso llamado 'marcha en tándem', en el que una hormiga guía a otra hormiga compañera hacia una fuente de alimentos. Se ha sugerido que la hormiga 'alumna' es capaz de aprender esta ruta con el fin de obtener alimentos en el futuro o enseñar el camino a otras hormigas. Varios estudios recientes muestran que los cetáceos también son capaces de transmitir la cultura a través de la enseñanza. Se sabe que las orcas 'se varan intencionalmente' a sí mismas con el fin de atrapar y comerse los pinnípedos que se crían en la orilla. La madre orca enseña a sus crías a coger pinnípedos empujándolas hacia la orilla y alentándolas a atacar y comerse la presa. La alteración del comportamiento de la madre orca con el fin de ayudar a su descendencia a aprender a atrapar a sus presas es una evidencia de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje cultural. El varamiento intencional de las orcas, junto con otros comportamientos de los cetáceos, tales como las variaciones de canciones entre las ballenas jorobadas y la técnica de esponja que utilizan los delfines nariz de botella para conseguir alimentos, prestan un importante apoyo a la idea de la transmisión cultural de los cetáceos.

La imitación

La mímesis a menudo se malinterpreta como simplemente la observación y la copia de las acciones de otro. Esto se conoce como mímica, ya que la repetición de la acción observada no se hace con ningún otro propósito que el de copiar al realizador de dicha acción. En la comunidad científica, la imitación es más bien el proceso en el cual un organismo observa y copia deliberadamente los métodos de otro con el fin de lograr un objetivo tangible. Por lo tanto, la identificación y clasificación de la conducta animal como imitación ha sido muy difícil. Una investigación reciente sobre la imitación en animales se ha traducido en el etiquetado provisional de que determinadas especies de aves, monos, simios y cetáceos pueden ser capaces de imitar. Por ejemplo, un loro gris llamado Alex fue sometido a una serie de pruebas y experimentos en la Universidad de Arizona, en los que la científica Irene Pepperberg juzgó su capacidad de imitar el lenguaje humano con el fin de crear las vocalizaciones y etiquetas de objetos. Mediante los esfuerzos de Pepperberg, Alex ha sido capaz de aprender un amplio vocabulario de palabras y frases en inglés. Ahora Alex puede combinar estas palabras y frases para formar palabras completamente nuevas que no tienen sentido, pero utiliza las reglas fonéticas de la lengua inglesa. Las capacidades de Alex de utilizar y comprender más de 80 palabras, junto con su capacidad de poner frases cortas juntas, demuestra cómo las aves, a las que muchas personas acreditan de tener un intelecto poco profundo, en realidad pueden imitar y utilizar habilidades del legunaje rudimentario de una manera eficaz. Los resultados de este experimento culminaron con la conclusión de que el uso de la lengua inglesa para referirse a los objetos no es exclusiva de los humanos, y que es discutible que sea pura imitación, una forma básica del aprendizaje cultural que se encuentra en los niños pequeños.

El lenguaje
El lenguaje es otro indicador clave de los animales que tienen un mayor potencial para poseer cultura. Aunque los animales no utilizan naturalmente palabras como los seres humanos cuando se están comunicando, el conocido loro Alex, demostró que incluso los animales con cerebros pequeños, pero que son expertos en la imitación, pueden tener un conocimiento más profundo de la lengua después de un largo entrenamiento. Un bonobo llamado Kanzi aprendió todavía más sobre el uso de la lengua inglesa; Kanzi aprendió a reconocer las palabras y sus asociaciones mediante el uso de un tablero de lexigrama. A través de la observación de la formación lingüística de su madre, Kanzi fue capaz de aprender a utilizar los lexigramas para obtener alimentos y otras cosas que él deseaba. Además, Kanzi es capaz de utilizar su comprensión de lexigramas para descifrar y comprender frases simples. Por ejemplo, cuando se le dijo "pincha al perrito", Kanzi cogió un perro de juguete y un jeringa y le dio una inyección realista. Los científicos han utilizado este tipo de comportamiento y la comprensión como prueba para demostrar la cultura del lenguaje basado en los animales.

La cultura primate
El principio de la era moderna de las investigaciones sobre cultura animal a mediados del siglo XX implicó que poco a poco se aceptase el término 'cultura' referido a los animales. El primatólogo más importante por entonces, Kinji Imanishi, fue el primero en utilizar la palabra con un prefijo, formando así el término «pre-cultura» en referencia al infame comportamiento de los macacos japoneses de lavar las patatas. En 1948, Imanishi y sus compañeros de trabajo empezaron a estudiar los macacos por todo Japón, y comenzaron a notar diferencias entre los diversos grupos de primates, tanto en el patrón social como en la alimentación. En una zona, los cuidados paternales eran la norma social, mientras este comportamiento no se daba en otra zona. Uno de los grupos normalmente excavaba y se comía los tubérculos y raíces de varias plantas, mientras los monos de otros grupos no. Imanishi concluyó en que «si alguien define cultura como algo que se aprende de los progenitores, entonces las diferencias en cuanto a la manera de vivir de los miembros de una misma especie perteneciente a diferentes grupos sociales se podrían atribuir a la cultura.» Siguiendo esta lógica, las diferencias que observaron Imanishi y sus compañeros de trabajo entre los diferentes grupos de macacos podían sugerir que estas habían surgido como parte de las culturas singulares de estos grupos.
El hábito alimenticio más famoso de los que se observaron tuvo lugar en la isla de Koshima, donde se vio cómo una hembra joven llevaba unos boniatos sucios a un riachuelo, donde los lavaba y les quitaba la tierra y la suciedad antes de comérselos. Este comportamiento se observó tiempo después en uno de sus compañeros, luego en su madre y en unos pocos compañeros más.
Con el tiempo, el lavado de patatas se convirtió en una costumbre que se extendió entre la colonia de los macacos, lo que propició que Imanishi se refiriese a este comportamiento como «pre-cultura,» explicando así que «no debemos sobrestimar la situación y decir que 'los monos tienen cultura' y después confundirlo con la cultura humana». Llegado a este punto, muchos de los comportamientos que se han visto en animales, como el que observó Imanishi, están relacionados de alguna manera con la supervivencia.

Los primeros indicios de costumbres aparentemente arbitrarias se dieron a finales de los 70, también en el comportamiento de los primates. Entonces, los investigadores McGrew y Tutin descubrieron que existía una costumbre de aseo entre miembros de un mismo grupo que predominaba en los chimpancés de Tanzania, pero que no compartían con otros grupos cercanos. Este comportamiento de aseo implicaba que un chimpancé cogía la mano de otro y se la levantaba, permitiendo así asearse las axilas el uno al otro.
A pesar de que parecía que esto facilitaba la limpieza de las axilas, en realidad este comportamiento no tiene ninguna ventaja aparente. Como Frans de Waal explica gracias a sus últimas observaciones del comportamiento de aseo en un grupo diferente de chimpancés, "una característica exclusiva de la postura para asearse es que no es necesaria para limpiar las axilas de otro individuo… De modo que parece que no tiene beneficios o no vale la pena para los que la practican.

Antes de estos hallazgos, los que se oponían a la idea de cultura animal argumentaban que las costumbres llamadas culturales eran simplemente comportamientos que se desarrollaban a causa de la importancia de supervivencia. Después de la identificación de esta evidencia ventajosa de cultura inicial no evolucionaria, los científicos empezaron a encontrar diferencias en los comportamientos de un grupo o costumbres en varios grupos de primates, especialmente en África. Se estudiaron más de 40 grupos de chimpancés salvajes en toda África, muchos tipos de especies, así como de grupos específicos de los que se observaban los comportamientos. Las investigaciones de los científicos encontraron 65 categorías diferentes de comportamientos entre varios grupos de chimpancés, incluyendo el uso de las hojas, palos, ramas y piedras para comunicarse, jugar, recolectar comida o comérsela y acomodarse. Cada uno de estos grupos usaba las herramientas de forma ligeramente diferente, y la manera de uso se pasaba de chimpancé a chimpancé del grupo a través de una imitación compleja y el aprendizaje en grupo.

La cultura de los cetáceos
Durante muchos años se ha estudiado la cultura de las especies dentro del orden de los cetáceos que incluye a ballenas, delfines y marsopas únicamente comparables con los primates no humanos. En estos animales muchos de los indicios de la cultura provienen de vocalizaciones y comportamientos en la alimentación.

Las vocalizaciones de los cetáceos se han estudiado durante muchos años, en especial las del delfín mular, las de la ballena jorobada, las de la orca y las del cachalote. Desde principios de la década de los 70, los científicos han investigado sobre estas cuatro especies en profundidad mediante la búsqueda de posibles atributos culturales dentro de los dialectos de grupo, del forrajeo y de las tradiciones migratorias. Hal Whitehead, un cetólogo importante, y sus compañeros, iniciaron en 1992 un estudio sobre los grupos de cachalotes del sur del Pacífico y encontraron que estos grupos tendían a agruparse basándose en sus dialectos vocales. Las diferencias en los cantos de las ballenas entre los diversos grupos no podían explicarse de manera genética o ecológica y por eso se le atribuyó al aprendizaje social. En los mamíferos como estos cachalotes o como los delfines mulares, la decisión de si un animal tiene la capacidad para la cultura no proviene sólo de la observación de las conductas. Según lo que describió el ecologista Brooke Sergeants, "sobre las bases de las características de la historia de la vida, los patrones sociales y los entornos ecológicos, se ha considerado a los delfines mulares como candidatos para las conductas sociales y los comportamientos culturales" por tener el cerebro grande y por tener capacidad vocal y motora por la imitación. En cuanto a los delfines, los científicos se han centrado principalmente en la búsqueda de alimentos y en los comportamientos vocales aunque muchos se preocupan por el hecho de que no se han encontrado todavía las funciones sociales de los comportamientos. Al igual que pasa con los primates, muchos humanos no están muy dispuestos o mejor dicho, están muy ligeramente dispuestos a aceptar la noción de cultura de los cetáceos, cuando en realidad se ha demostrado la similitud que tienen con los humanos por tener "una vida larga, habilidades cognitivas avanzadas y un cuidado paternal prolongado".

La cultura aviar

Las aves se han estado utilizando como gran objeto de estudio en el tema de la cultura debido a las observaciones de los dialectos vocales que son similares a los que se estudiaron en los cetáceos. Estos dialectos se descubrieron en un principio por el zoólogo Peter Marler, quien se dio cuenta de las variaciones geográficas en los sonidos de varias aves cantoras. Muchos científicos han detectado que, en el intento de estudiar a estos animales, estos se aproximan a un obstáculo, lo que hace difícil entender a estas sociedades ya que su naturaleza es muy diferente a la nuestra. Por eso, es difícil estudiar los comportamientos de estas aves y todavía es más complicado determinar si son culturales o simplemente funcionales.

Sin embargo, a pesar de este inconveniente, se ha descubierto la evidencia de que hay diferentes dialectos entre la población de aves cantoras, especialmente en los gorriones, en los estorninos y en los tordos. Los científicos han encontrado en estas aves pruebas claras de aprendizaje basado en la imitación, uno de los principales tipos de aprendizaje social. Aunque las aves cantoras francamente aprenden sus canciones imitando a otras aves, los científicos se muestran escépticos acerca de la concordancia entre esto y cultura: "la habilidad de imitar un sonido puede ser tan reflexiva y cognitiva como la forma de respirar. Se debe estudiar la manera en que la imitación afecta y se ve afectada por el contexto, por el comportamiento social en desarrollo, antes que asumir su poder explicativo". Los científicos han descubierto que la imitación no sienta las bases de la cultura por sí sola, ya sea en los humanos o en las aves, más bien lo que importa es la forma en la que esta imitación afecta la vida social de un individuo.

La cultura en los peces
Cuando se va más allá de las aves y se investiga a otras criaturas, la exploración cultural resulta entre escasa y lejana. Se han hecho importantes investigaciones con ratas negras, ratas noruegas, lebistes y hormigas.

Dentro de los estudios culturales de las ratas, la investigación más amplia que se ha tratado es la que realizó Joseph Terkel en 1991 sobre las ratas negras, quien las había estado observando originalmente en el estado salvaje de Israel. Terkel llevó a cabo un profundo estudio con el objetivo de determinar si el despojo sistemático de las escamas de la piña antes de comer era una conducta adquirida socialmente por el hecho de que es un comportamiento que no se había observado antes en ningún otro lugar. La experimentación y observación de estas ratas fue uno de los primeros proyectos que integraron las observaciones de campo con experimentos de laboratorio para analizar el aprendizaje social en cuestión. De la combinación de estos dos tipos de investigación, Terkel fue capaz de examinar los mecanismos que estaban involucrados en este aprendizaje social para establecer que esta conducta alimentaria era el resultado de una combinación entre ecología y transmisión cultural, ya que las ratas no podrían descubrir la manera de comerse las piñas sin que las ratas adultas se lo enseñaran antes.

A pesar de que esta investigación es reciente, se utiliza a menudo como un ejemplo excelente para evidenciar la cultura en los no primates y en los seres no cetáceos.

Véase también
Cultura
Teoría de la cultura
Transmisión cultural

Referencias

Enlaces externos
Dolphins teach their children to use sponges (en inglés)
Culture's not only human (en inglés)
Animal Culture (en inglés)
DeWaal serves up idea of animal culture (en inglés)

Comunicación animal
Animales en la cultura