text:
\section{Introduction}

The $AdS/CFT$ correspondence for superconformal 2+1 dimensional gauge theories is a
fascinating subject that has not been completely explored yet and
might reveal new surprises. It is known that M theory backgrounds
$AdS_4\times H$, with $H$ a seven dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold,
preserves ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetry \cite{Klebanov:1998hh,Acharya:1998db,Morrison:1998cs} \footnote{In 2+1 dimensions we can also have
${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry but we will not consider this case.}
and are dual to superconformal 2+1 dimensional theories. The cone over $H$ is a Calabi-Yau
four-fold and the backgrounds of interest arise as near horizon geometries
of membranes sitting at the Calabi-Yau singularity. We thus have a correspondence between the infinite number of Calabi-Yau four-folds and an infinite set
of superconformal theories. The difficult part of the story is to make
this correspondence precise and find the dual 2+1 dimensional theories.
The analogous problem in 3+1 dimensions has been solved, at least for
the class of toric Calabi-Yau singularities, using the Brane Tilings  \cite{Hanany:2005ve, Franco:2005rj, Franco:2007ii} \footnote{A proposal for 2+1 dimensions is based on crystals \cite{Lee:2006hw,Lee:2007kv}.}.
The 2+1 dimensional case is much less understood. Previous attempts to find dual pairs have focused on Yang-Mills theories flowing in the IR to superconformal fixed  points \cite{Fabbri:1999hw,dallagata,Billo:2000zr,ohtatar}. The recent frenetic activity on M2 branes suggests the
importance of Chern-Simons terms in this context.

The superconformal ${\cal N}=6$ Chern-Simons theory describing $N$ membranes
on $\mathbb{C}^4/\mathbb{Z}_k$ was constructed in \cite{Aharony:2008ug}. The ABJM theory is
based on a $U(N)\times U(N)$ gauge group with no kinetic term and a
Chern-Simons term with levels $k$ and $-k$. For $k=1$ the theory
has a supersymmetry enhancement to ${\cal N}=8$ and describes $N$ membranes on
flat space. The theory constructed in \cite{Aharony:2008ug} is the
conclusion of a long activity that followed the discovery of the BGL ${\cal N}=8$
supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory and the attempts to interpret and
generalize it \cite{BGL,tong,ghost}. Other examples of superconformal Chern-Simons theories
with supersymmetry ${\cal N}=3,4,5$ have been constructed recently \cite{Benna:2008zy,Imamura:2008nn,Hosomichi:2008jd,Hosomichi:2008jb,Terashima:2008ba,Aharony:2008gk, Jafferis:2008qz,Fuji:2008yj}.

One interesting aspect of the ABJM theory is that it is based on a quiver
theory that in 3+1 dimensions is the conifold theory. This suggests a
relation between 3+1 dimensional quiver gauge theories and 2+1 dimensional Chern-Simons models and a possible use of 3+1 dimensional tools, for example Tilings.
A 2+1 dimensional theory dual to an $AdS_4$ M-background should have various distinctive
features. In particular, the abelian moduli space should be a four dimensional
Calabi-Yau cone $X$ and the non abelian moduli space should be
the symmetrized product of $N$ copies of $X$ (or a modification of it). In this
paper we will indeed show how to construct infinitely many Chern-Simons theories
with these properties.

In fact every consistent tiling for a 3+1 dimensional theory can be
considered as a model for a 2+1 dimensional theory with ${\cal N}=2$
supersymmetry and a product of $U(N)$ gauge groups.
When we add ${\cal N}=2$ preserving Chern-Simons terms
and let the theory flow to the IR we generically reach some IR fixed
point. The gauge fields are massive due to the Chern-Simons terms
and are not dynamical in the IR. The moduli space of supersymmetric vacua
can be obtained by analyzing D and F terms in a similar but different fashion as in the 3+1 dimensional theory. In particular, the D terms
needs to be treated in a different way in the 2+1 dimensional Chern-Simons case.
It turns out that, in the abelian case, one particular combinations of
the $U(1)$ gauge groups should not be imposed  and only acts as
a discrete symmetry. The abelian moduli space is then a $\mathbb{C}^*$ fibration
on the Calabi-Yau threefold associated with the Tiling and it turns
out that it is a toric, non-compact, singular Calabi-Yau four-fold. The non-abelian moduli
space is generically an $N$-fold symmetric product of this space.

An important role in the analysis is played by the master space of the 3+1
dimensional model \cite{Forcella:2008bb}. This is just the $G+2$ dimensional toric variety
obtained by solving the abelian F-term conditions, where $G$ is the number of gauge groups. By modding by the
$G-1$ complexified gauge groups we obtain the Calabi-Yau three-fold associated to the Tiling. By modding by only $G-2$ complexified gauge groups
we obtain the four-dimensional moduli space
of the 2+1 dimensional model. In particular, every tiling gives rise to a $G-1$ dimensional family (in fact a lattice) of Calabi-Yau four-folds. In fact the direction of the $\mathbb{C}^*$ action, which
is not modded out, inside the space of all $G-1$ $\mathbb{C}^*$ actions depends
on the $G-1$ Chern-Simons integer parameters. The knowledge of the
master space for the 3+1 dimensional model is extremely important also to compute
the Hilbert series and the properties of the resulting four-dimensional
Calabi-Yau singularity.

The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2 we discuss the general construction and the moduli space of vacua of 2+1 dimensional Chern-Simons  theories based on brane tilings. We then proceed with examples. In Section 3 we discuss the ABJM theory from the perspective of the master space.
In Section 4,5,6 and 7 we discuss the 2+1 Chern-Simons theories associated  with tilings corresponding to the modified $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{C}$, SPP, $\mathbb{C}^3/\mathbb{Z}_3$ and
$\mathbb{F}_0$ models. We end with comments and conclusions.

\section{Tilings for 2+1 Dimensional CS Theories}

Take a periodic, bipartite, two dimensional tiling of the plane, $T$, that gives rise to a consistent 3+1 dimensional theory \cite{Hanany:2005ve,Franco:2007ii}. We want to interpret it as a 2+1 dimensional theory by considering a collection of $N$ D2 branes in Type IIA instead of $N$ D3 branes in Type IIB.
The theory has generically ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetry. The rules for writing down the 2+1 dimensional theory follow the rules set out for the 3+1 dimensional theory.
As in 3+1 dimensions, every face is a $U(N)$  gauge group and
every edge is a chiral superfield transforming in a bi-fundamental representation of the two gauge groups it separates with orientation defined by the bipartite structure of the tiling. By convention one can pick an (incoming) outgoing arrow to correspond to an (anti)-fundamental representation, respectively. For each edge $E_i$ one can add an ${\cal N}=2$ preserving Chern-Simons interaction with the following rule: add an integer CS coefficient $k_i$ and $-k_i$ to the adjacent gauge groups connected by the edge. Call $k_a$ the resulting CS coefficient for the $a$-th gauge group.

The main difference with the 3+1 dimensional case is that all gauge couplings become infinite in the IR and the standard kinetic terms for the
gauge fields can be neglected. We are left with auxiliary vector multiplets
coupled by Chern-Simons interactions. We can write the Lagrangian in ${\cal N}=2$
superspace notations as
\begin{equation}
{\rm Tr}\left ( -\int d^4\theta \sum_{X_{ab}} X_{ab}^\dagger e^{-V_a} X_{ab} e^{V_b}  - i  \sum_a k_a\int_0^1 dt  V_a \bar D^\alpha (e^{t V_a}D_\alpha e^{-t V_a})
 +  \int d^2\theta  W(X_{ab}) + {\rm c.c.}\right )
\end{equation}
where the $V_a$ are the vector supermultiplets and  $X_{ab}$ denote chiral supermultiplets
 transforming in the fundamental representation of the gauge group $a$  and in
the anti-fundamental of the gauge group $b$. The superpotential is obtained with
the same rules of the 3+1 dimensional theory. Every vertex in the tiling contributes a term
in the superpotential given by the products of all the fields that meet at the vertex, with a positive sign for white vertices and a negative sign for black ones.

Recall that in 2+1 dimensions a vector superfield has the expansion
\begin{equation}
V= -2 i \theta\bar \theta \sigma + 2 \theta \gamma^\mu \bar\theta A_\mu + \cdot\cdot\cdot + \theta^2\bar\theta^2 D
\end{equation}
where we omitted the fermionic part. Compared to 3+1 dimension, there is a
new scalar field $\sigma$. We can write the relevant terms in the Lagrangian
\begin{equation}
{\rm Tr} \left (- 4 \sum_a  k_a \sigma_a D_a + \sum_a  D_a \mu_a(X)  -\sum_{X_{ab}} (\sigma _a X_{ab} - X_{ab} \sigma_b)(\sigma _a X_{ab} - X_{ab} \sigma_b)^\dagger  -\sum_{X_{ab}} |\partial_{X_{ab}} W|^2\right )
\end{equation}
where $\mu_a(X)$ is the moment map for the $a$-th gauge group
\begin{equation}
\mu_a(X)= \sum_b X_{ab} X_{ab}^\dagger - \sum_c X_{ca}^\dagger X_{ca} + [X_{aa},X_{aa}^\dagger]
\end{equation}
which in 3+1 dimensions is the D-term.

By integrating out the auxiliary fields $D_a$ we see that the bosonic potential is a sum of squares. The vacua can be found
as the vanishing conditions for the scalar potential which are a set of matrix equations
\begin{eqnarray}
\partial_{X_{ab}} W &=& 0\nonumber\\
 \mu_a(X) &=& 4 k_a \sigma_a  \nonumber\\
\sigma _a X_{ab} - X_{ab} \sigma_b &=& 0
\end{eqnarray}
The solutions of these equations automatically satisfy $D_a=0$ and give supersymmetric vacua.
We see that  F-term constraints are exactly as in the 3+1 dimensional case while the D-term constraints are modified.

Let us analyze the abelian case first. The supersymmetric conditions set all $\sigma_a$ equal to a given value $\sigma$.
The remaining equations
\begin{equation}
\mu_a(X) = 4 k_a \sigma
\end{equation}
look like standard D-term equations with a set of effective FI terms $\zeta_a=4k_a \sigma$.
Since $\sum_a k_a=0$ by construction, one of these equations is redundant. Call $G$ the number of
gauge groups. We are left with $G-1$ equations.  By taking linear integer combinations
of the equations, we can set $G-2$ equations in the form
\begin{equation}
\mu_i (X) =0 \, , \qquad\qquad i=1,...G-2
\end{equation}
where the index $i$ identifies $G-2$ linear combinations of the gauge group, orthogonal to the direction
of the FI parameters $\zeta_a$.
We see that we are imposing the vanishing of the D-terms for $G-2$ $U(1)$ gauge groups.
As in 3+1 dimensions, we can dispose simultaneously
of the D-term constraints and the corresponding $U(1)$ gauge transformations
by modding by the complexified gauge group.

The equation for the remaining $U(1)$ gauge field looks like a D-term condition with a FI term. However, it is not adding further constraints:
it simply determines the value of the auxiliary field $\sigma$.
Analogously we do not need to mod out by the remaining $U(1)$ gauge group.
As explained in detail in \cite{tong,Aharony:2008ug}, the $U(1)$ is coupled to the
overall $U(1)$ gauge field by the Chern-Simons coupling and this leaves
a discrete symmetry $\mathbb{Z}_k$, where $k=\gcd (\{k_a\})$.

The moduli space of the 2+1 abelian theory it is then easy to compute.
We first solve the F-terms constraints. This gives a $G+2$ toric variety
called {\bf the master space} \cite{Forcella:2008bb}. This part of the story is  identical to the 3+1 dimensional result. See \cite{Butti:2007jv,Forcella:2008bb} for a detailed study of this concept. It is known that the master space is a $G-1$ dimensional
$\mathbb{C}^*$ fibration over the threefold associated with the tiling.
The CS parameters determine a particular direction inside $(\mathbb{C}^*)^{ G-1}$.
By dividing by $G-2$ $\mathbb{C}^*$ actions orthogonal to the CS direction, we obtain
a 4 dimensional non-compact Calabi-Yau manifold. The moduli space is obtained by modding by the remaining discrete $\mathbb{Z}_k$ symmetry. This moduli space is interpreted as the transverse space to one M2 brane in M theory which probes the four-fold.

The non abelian case is also remarkably simple. By a gauge transformation, we can diagonalize all the
$\sigma_a$. The equations $\sigma_a X_{ab}=X_{ab}\sigma_b$ tell you that generically all the fields $X_{ab}$ are diagonal \footnote{It may happen that there are other solutions of these
equations. For example, when $M$ eigenvalues of the $\sigma_a$'s coincide, a $M$ by $M$ block in the $X_{ab}$ is not necessarily diagonal and it satisfies the equations of motion of the corresponding 3+1 model with $SU(M)$ groups; this leaves a $3M+G-1$ dimensional moduli space of solutions \cite{Butti:2007jv,Forcella:2008bb}  to be compared with the $4M$ dimensional space obtained as diagonal matrices. In simple cases  these are not new solutions, but a subset of the generic ones. It is possible however that for some values of $M$ and $G$ there are new solutions. It would be interesting to check if these correspond to new branches of the moduli space, as suggested by the difference in dimension, or alternatively, to a modification of the symmetric product.}.
This reduces the problem to $N$ copies of the abelian one. The remaining discrete gauge symmetry
corresponding to the Weyl group of $SU(N)$ implies that the moduli space is generically the $N$-fold symmetric product of the abelian one. A similar statement for the mesonic moduli space of the corresponding 3+1 dimensional theory is harder to prove.  We see that the Chern-Simons theory nicely enforces in 2+1 dimensions a structure of the moduli space which is very natural from the point of view of M2 branes. It is possible, as in 3+1 dimensions, that the moduli space for some particular
quiver contains various different branches of the moduli space. Henceforth we avoid these subtle issues and always refer to the branch corresponding to the symmetric product, or a modification of it.

A word of caution regards the fact that we treat the Lagrangian as classical. Here we are assuming that
the theory flows in IR to a fixed point of the renormalization group which is strongly coupled.
Unfortunately, most of the 3+1 dimensional tools for studying superconformal IR fixed points
are not available in 2+1 dimensions and even this statement is difficult to check. Moreover, we are assuming that possible corrections to the K\"ahler potential are not affecting our discussion.  For an analysis of ${\cal N}=2$ and ${\cal N}=3$ superconformal invariance in 2+1 dimensions we refer to \cite{Gaiotto:2007qi}.

Let us now see some examples for this construction. We will encounter some models that have already appeared in the literature as orbifold of the ABJM theory and may have enhanced ${\cal N}=3$ or ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetry \cite{Benna:2008zy,Imamura:2008nn,Hosomichi:2008jb,Terashima:2008ba, Jafferis:2008qz}, as well as many other new models based on 3+1 dimensional quivers. For notational convenience we will call a tiling $T$ for a 3+1 dimensional theory and a tiling $\tilde{T}_{\{k_a\}}$ for a 2+1 dimensional theory with a collection of CS terms, $\{k_a\}$, such that $\sum_a k_a = 0$. For example, a 2+1 dimensional theory resulting from the 3+1 dimensional tiling of $\mathbb{F}_0$ will be called $\tilde{\mathbb{F}}_{0\{k_1, k_2, k_3, k_4\}}$.

\section{One Hexagon, one Diagonal -- Modified Conifold} \setcounter{equation}{0

The simplest tiling contains one hexagon and the construction above is too trivial as each edge contributes zero CS to the gauge group. Therefore the simplest tiling with an interesting effect corresponds to one hexagon and one diagonal across it. There are three such diagonals and all are equivalent and lead to the same gauge theory.
The periodic tiling of one hexagon is well known to give the ${\cal N}=4$ theory in 3+1 dimensions \cite{Hanany:2005ve}.
After adding a diagonal on this hexagon \cite{Franco:2005rj}, the resulting tiling corresponds to ${\cal C}$, the conifold theory, a quiver with two gauge groups, fields $A_i,B_i,\, i=1,2$ transforming in the $(N,\bar N)$ and $(\bar N, N)$ representation of the gauge group, respectively, and interacting with the superpotential
\begin{equation} W= A_1 B_1 A_2 B_2 - A_1 B_2 A_2 B_1 \end{equation}

This is the ${\cal N}=6$ theory analyzed in \cite{Aharony:2008ug}. Let us look at it using the language of Tilings and master space.

The master space for the conifold theory was computed in \cite{Forcella:2007wk} and turns out to be $\mathbb{C}^4$. Such a tiling has $G=2$ gauge groups and therefore by the construction above there are no further D terms to divide by and we recover the result \cite{Aharony:2008ug} that the moduli space for the theory is $\mathbb{C}^4$.
The generators are $A_1, A_2, B_1, B_2$ corresponding to the fundamental fields of the conifold theory.

The moduli space for higher $k$ is then given by the $\mathbb{Z}_k$ action $1, 1, -1, -1$ on the generators, respectively.
Let us compute the Hilbert Series for this model. We will take a different approach to that of \cite{Hanany:2008qc} by picking a specific complex structure on the moduli space, which is consistent with picking a particular ${\cal N}=2$ (4 supercharges) subset out of the ${\cal N}=6$ supersymmetry of this theory in 2+1 dimensions. This approach allows for the generalization that is discussed in this paper.

The Hilbert Series can be computed easily by following the methods outlined in \cite{Hanany:2008qc} and previous papers. We use the discrete Molien invariant and find
\begin{equation} \label{conI}
g \left (t, \tilde{{\cal C}}_{\{k, -k\}} \right ) = \frac{1}{k} \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \frac{1}{(1- \omega^j t)^2 (1-\omega^{-j} t)^2} = \frac{1+t^2+2k t^k -2k t^{k+2} -t^{2k} -t^{2k+2}}{(1-t^2)^3(1-t^k)^2},
\end{equation}
with $\omega^k=1$. This Hilbert Series counts the ${\cal N}=2$ BPS states of the
abelian 2+1 dimensional theory, or, equivalently, the holomorphic functions on the
four-fold Calabi-Yau $\mathbb{C}^4/\mathbb{Z}_k$.

We see here a general property of the Hilbert series we will be computing in the paper.  They will be always
palindromic, $g(1/t)=t^w g(t)$ for some weight $w$, similarly to what happens for the master space in 3+1 dimensions
\cite{Forcella:2008bb}. Due to a theorem by Stanley \cite{stanley}, the palindromic property is equivalent to the Calabi-Yau condition \footnote{We should say better  the Gorenstein condition.} and this will
give a non trivial check for all our computations.

For the case of $k=1$ the Hilbert series takes a simple form,
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \tilde{\cal C}_{\{1,-1\}} \right ) = \frac{1}{(1-t)^4},
\end{equation}
from which we see that we have four free generators with weight one.
We recover the well known result that the moduli space $\mathbb{C}^4$ can be thought of as a fibration of a complex line bundle over $\mathbb{P}^3$, namely 4 complex variables $z_i, i=1,2,3,4$
which are subject to the identification $z_i\eqsim \lambda z_i$, for $\lambda$ some complex parameter.
This procedure will help us identify the  the complex 3 dimensional compact manifold $B$ over which the non-compact CY 4-fold is fibered over.

For large values of $k$ the Hilbert Series behaves like
\begin{equation}
\label{conikinf}
g \left (t, \tilde{\cal C}_{\{k, -k\}} \right )  = \frac{1+t^2}{(1-t^2)^3}\left(1+O(t^k)\right ),
\end{equation}
which is the Hilbert series for the conifold. The large $k$ limit is equivalent
to dividing the four-dimensional moduli space by the $\mathbb{C}^*$ action specified
by the charges under the remaining $U(1)$ gauge group. We see that the four-dimensional Calabi-Yau is a $\mathbb{C}^*$ fibration over the three-dimensional Calabi-Yau that is associated with the tiling.

Notice that we have two different fibrations, one over a non-compact
three-fold Calabi-Yau, the conifold, and the other over a compact K\"ahler manifold, $\mathbb{P}^3$. The conifold is naturally associated with the tiling, while
the compact $\mathbb{P}^3$ is the relevant manifold for the Type IIA description
of the ABJM theory. When restricted to the Sasaki-Einstein seven-manifold
$H=S^7$, $\mathbb{Z}_k$ is acting on the fiber of a principal $U(1)$ bundle with base
$\mathbb{P}^3$. For large $k$, the length of the circle is reduced by a factor
of $k$ and, in the limit $k\rightarrow\infty$,  we can descend to
a compactification of Type IIA on $\mathbb{P}^3$ with fluxes \cite{Aharony:2008ug}.

Let us elucidate briefly on a relation between $\mathbb{P}^3$ and the conifold.
In \cite{Hanany:2008qc} we wrote a partition function for ${\cal N}=6$
chiral multiplet on $AdS_4\times S^7/\mathbb{Z}_k$. The result for $k\rightarrow
\infty$
\begin{equation} \sum_{n=0}^\infty [n,0,n] t^{2 n} \end{equation}
where $[n,0,n]$ denotes an $SU(4)$ representation, can be interpreted
as the partition function for ${\cal N}=6$
chiral multiplets in the KK compactification on $\mathbb{P}^3$.
It is well known indeed that the KK chiral multiplets for $AdS_4\times \mathbb{P}^3$
fall in $[n,0,n]$ representations \cite{pope}.
The Hilbert series (\ref{conI}) and (\ref{conikinf}) can be analogously
interpreted as the partition functions for the ${\cal N}=2$ KK chiral multiplets
on $AdS_4\times S^7/\mathbb{Z}_k$ and $AdS_4\times \mathbb{P}^3$, respectively.
They differ from equations (3.15) and (3.16) of \cite{Hanany:2008qc} since here we are counting only an ${\cal N}=2$ subset of the protected operators in ${\cal N}=6$ supersymmetry. For example, out of $\dim[n,0,n] = (n+1)^2 (n+2)^2 (2n+3) / 12$ protected operators in ${\cal N}=6$ there are precisely $(n+1)^2$ operators which are holomorphic under the ${\cal N}=2$ subgroup.
We therefore sum
\begin{equation}
\sum_{n=0}^\infty (n+1)^2 t^{2n} = \frac{1+t^2}{(1-t^2)^3} ,
\end{equation}
and get the result computed in \eref{conikinf}.

Near $t=1$ the Hilbert series (\ref{conI}) looks like
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \tilde{\cal C}_{\{k, -k\}} \right ) \sim \frac{1}{ k (1-t)^4},
\end{equation}
typical to a moduli space $\mathbb{C}^4/\mathbb{Z}_k$ that has a volume reduced by a factor $k$.

\section{Two Hexagons -- Modified $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{C}$}

The theory has two gauge groups, two adjoint fields $\Phi_i$ and four chiral fields $A_i,B_i,\, i=1,2$ transforming in the $(N,\bar N)$ and $(\bar N, N)$ representation of the gauge group, respectively, and interacting with the superpotential
\begin{equation} W=  \Phi_1(A_1 B_2 - A_2 B_1) +\Phi_2 ( B_2 A_1 - B_1 A_2)  \end{equation}

This theory has $G=2$ gauge groups and we can modify it by adding a CS term $k$ to one of the gauge groups and $-k$ to the other.
Since the number of gauge groups is 2 the moduli space of this theory for $k=1$ is the master space of the 3+1 dimensional theory.
The largest irreducible component of the master space is computed to be ${\cal C}\times\mathbb{C}$ \cite{Forcella:2007wk, Forcella:2008bb} and has a Hilbert Series
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \widetilde{\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{C}}_{\{1,-1\}} \right ) = \frac{1+t}{(1-t)^4} .
\end{equation}
It is a complete intersection moduli space which is generated by 5 generators of weight 1 that are subject to 1 relation of weight 2. The generators and relations can be written in an explicit form as 4 of the bi-fundamental fields of this theory, $A_1, A_2, B_1, B_2$, subject to the quadratic relation
\begin{equation}
\label{con}
A_1 B_2 = A_2 B_1
\end{equation}
generating the conifold, together with the adjoint field, $\Phi=\Phi_1= \Phi_2$, parametrizing $\mathbb{C}$.
This description helps to identify the moduli space as a fibration of a line bundle over a compact manifold that is given by the relation \eref{con} of weight 2 in $\mathbb{P}^4$.
Alternatively one can think of this compact manifold as a $T^2$ fibration over $\mathbb{P}^1\times \mathbb{P}^1$.
For higher values of $k$ we need to divide by a $\mathbb{Z}_k$ discrete group that acts on the generators as one of the gauge groups: $1,1,-1,-1,0$.
The resulting Hilbert series takes the form
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \widetilde{\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{C}}_{\{k,-k\}} \right ) = \frac{1}{k} \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \frac{1+t}{(1- \omega^j t)^2 (1-\omega^{-j} t)^2} = \frac{1+t^2+2k t^k -2k t^{k+2} -t^{2k} -t^{2k+2}}{(1-t)(1-t^2)^2(1-t^k)^2} .
\end{equation}

We see that the partition function is palindromic and this indicates that the moduli space is indeed
a Calabi-Yau. For $k\rightarrow\infty$ we obtain
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \widetilde{\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{C}}_{\{k,-k\}} \right ) = \frac{1+t^2}{(1-t)(1-t^2)^2} \left(1+O(t^k)\right ),
\end{equation}
which is indeed, as in the previous section, the Hilbert series of the three-fold associated with the tiling, in this case
$\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{C}$, over which the moduli space is fibered.

\section{Two Hexagons and one Diagonal -- Modified SPP} \setcounter{equation}{0

This theory has three gauge groups, one adjoint field $\Phi$ and chiral fields, $C_1, A_1,B_1$ transforming in the $(N,\bar N,0), (0,N,\bar N)$ and $(\bar N,0, N)$ representation of the gauge group,
respectively, and $C_2, A_2, B_2$  transforming in the complex conjugate representation,
and interacting with the superpotential
\begin{equation} W=  \Phi ( A_1 A_2  - C_2 C_1) - A_2 A_1 B_1 B_2 + C_1 C_2 B_2 B_1 \end{equation}

This theory has $G=3$ gauge groups and the most general CS terms given by the construction above can be denoted as $k_1, k_2-k_1, -k_2$. One of the gauge groups contains an adjoint field and by definition we can set its CS term to be the middle one, $k_2-k_1$.
Let us take a simplified model in which $k_1=k_2$.
The moduli space is computed as follows. The master space for the SPP theory is ${\cal C}\times \mathbb{C}^2$, where ${\cal C}$ is the conifold \cite{Forcella:2008bb}.
It is a five dimensional complete intersection moduli space and is generated by 6 fields $A_i, B_i, C_i, i=1,2$, each of weight $t$, subject to one constraint of weight $t^2$,

\begin{equation}
A_1 A_2 = C_1 C_2.
\end{equation}

The number of gauge groups for the SPP theory is $G=3$ and therefore we need to divide the master space by a D term. Since we deal with the case of $k_1=k_2$ we see that the gauge group corresponding to the hexagon in the SPP tiling is a good choice.
The generators of the master space carry the following charges under the corresponding gauge group,
$1,-1, 0, 0, -1,1$. To divide by this gauge group let us construct invariants,
\begin{equation}
M_{11} = A_1 A_2, M_{21} = C_1 A_1, M_{12}=A_2 C_2, M
_{22}=C_1 C_2,
\end{equation}
with the constraint
\begin{equation}
M_{12} M_{21} = M_{11} M_{22} = M_{11}^2
\end{equation}

The other generators of the moduli space are not affected.
The resulting moduli space is identified as $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{C}^2$, as already computed in \cite{Imamura:2008nn}.

The Hilbert series for this moduli space can be easily computed by introducing a weight $z$ to the charges of the gauge group we divide by and using the Molien Weyl formula,
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \widetilde{SPP}_{\{1,0,-1\}}\right ) = \frac{1}{2\pi i} \oint_{|z|<1} \frac{dz}{z} \frac{1-t^2}{(1-t z)^2 (1-t)^2 (1-t/z)^2} = \frac{1+t^2}{(1-t)^2 (1-t^2)^2}
\end{equation}

The generators of this moduli space are 2 fields $B_i$ of weight 1 that generate $\mathbb{C}^2$ and 3 fields $M_{ij}$ of weight 2 subject to one constraint of weight 4 that generate $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2$. This identifies a compact 3 dimensional manifold $B$ over which the moduli space is fibered to be the complete intersection manifold given by 1 relation of order 4 in weighted projective space, $\mathbb{P}^4_{1,1,2,2,2}$. It would be interesting to see how if this is related to a Type IIA
compactification as in \cite{Aharony:2008ug}.

For higher values of the CS term $k$ we need to divide this moduli space by $\mathbb{Z}_k$ by identifying the orbifold action on the generators.
This action is identified with one of the charges of the rectangles in the SPP tiling and acts on the generators as $1, -1$ for $B_{1,2}$ and $1,0, -1$ on $M_{12} , M_{11},  M_{21}$, respectively.
The corresponding Hilbert Series can be computed using the Molien invariant
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \widetilde{SPP}_{\{k,0,-k\}}\right ) = \frac{1}{k}\sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \frac{1+t^2}{(1- \omega^j t)(1- \omega^{-j} t) (1- \omega^j t^2) (1- \omega^{-j} t^2)} ,
\end{equation}
with $\omega^k=1$.

Next we turn to the more general case in which $k_1\ne k_2$ and take $\gcd(k_1,k_2)=1$. We can form a linear combination of charges that sets the D term equation to zero by taking, for example, $k_2$ copies of the first $U(1)$ and $k_1$ copies of the third. We use Table \ref{globalconifold} to compute the charges.

\begin{table}[htdp]
\caption{Global charges for the basic fields of the quiver gauge theory on the D brane probing the SPP singularity.}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c||c|c|c|c|c||c|}
\hline
 & $U(1)_1$ & $U(1)_2$ & $U(1)_3$ & $k_2 U(1)_1 + k_1U(1)_3$ \\ \hline \hline
$A_1$ & $0$ & $1$ & $-1$ & $-k_1$ \\ \hline
$A_2$ & $0$ & $-1$ & 1 & $k_1$ \\ \hline
$B_1$ & $-1$ & 0 & $1$ & $k_1-k_2$ \\ \hline
$B_2$ & 1 & 0 & $-1$ & $k_2-k_1$  \\ \hline
$C_1$ & 1 & $-1$ & $0$ & $k_2$  \\ \hline
$C_2$ & $-1$ & $1$ & $0$ & $-k_2$ \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\label{globalconifold}
\end{table}
This leads to the Hilbert Series
\begin{eqnarray}
&&g \left (t, \widetilde{SPP}_{\{k_1,k_2-k_1,-k_2\}}\right ) = \\ &=& \frac{1}{2\pi i} \oint_{|z|<1} \frac{dz}{z} \frac{1-t^2}{(1-t z^{-k_1}) (1-t z^{k_1})(1-t z^{k_1-k_2})(1-t z^{k_2-k_1})(1-t z^{k_2}) (1-t z^{-k_2})} \nonumber
\end{eqnarray}
One for example can take the case of $k_1=1, k_2=2$ and get
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \widetilde{SPP}_{\{1,1,-2\}}\right ) = \frac{1+2 t^2 +4 t^3+2 t^4 + t^6}{(1-t ^2)^2(1-t ^3)^2} ,
\end{equation}
giving rise to a non-compact CY manifold of dimension 4 which is generated by 4 operators of weight 2 and 6 of weight 3 that are subject to 1 relation at weight 4, 8 relations at weight 5 and 11 relations at weight 6. We see that the Hilbert
series is palindromic, as expected. In the case $\gcd(k_1,k_2)\ne 1$ we will need to mod by an extra discrete symmetry,
which can be done as in the previous case by using the discrete Molien invariant.

\section{The simplest chiral model -- Modified $\mathbb{C}^3/\mathbb{Z}_3$}

All model studied so far and most of the models studied in the literature are non-chiral where chirality is understood to be in the 3+1 dimensional sense. This means that in the quiver description of the model, the non-chiral theory has equal number of arrows going to and from each pair of nodes, while in the chiral theory it is not.

Consider now a chiral model with three hexagons. There are three groups and three sets of chiral fields $U_i,V_i,W_i, \, i=1,2,3$ transforming in the $(N,\bar N,0), (0,N,\bar N)$ and $(\bar N,0, N)$ representation of the gauge group,
respectively, and interacting with the superpotential

\begin{equation} W= \epsilon_{ijk} U_i V_j W_k  \end{equation}

We can put different CS terms
$k_1,k_2,-k_1-k_2$. The master space, computed in \cite{Forcella:2008bb}
is particularly simple, given by the variety $\mathbb{C}^6/\{1,1,1,-1,-1,-1\}$.
This has dimension five and it is a $(\mathbb{C}^*)^2$ fibration over $\mathbb{C}^3/\mathbb{Z}_3$.
The linear combination $k_2 U(1)_1-k_1 U(1)_2$ of gauge groups has a vanishing
D-term. The corresponding action on $\mathbb{C}^6$ is $\{k_2+k_1,-k_2,-k_1,0,0,0\}$.
Let us first take $\gcd(k_1,k_2)=1$. We can write the Hilbert series for $(\widetilde {\mathbb{C}^3/\mathbb{Z}_3})_{k_1,k_2}$ as
\begin{equation}
g \left ( t,\widetilde{\mathbb{C}^3/\mathbb{Z}_3}_{\{k_1,k_2, -k_1-k_2\}} \right ) = \frac{1}{(2\pi i)^2} \oint  \frac{dz}{z}\frac{dw}{w} \frac{1}{(1-  z w^{k_2+k_1})(1- z w^{-k_2})(1- z w^{-k_1})(1-t/z)^3} .
\end{equation}

More generally, for $k_1=k m_1,k_2=k m_2$ with $\gcd(k_1,k_2)=k$, the linear combination $m_2 U(1)_1-m_1 U(1)_2$ of gauge groups has a vanishing D-term and we have
to mod by a $\mathbb{Z}_k$ subgroup of the orthogonal gauge group $-U(1)_3$

\begin{eqnarray}
&&g \left ( t,\widetilde{\mathbb{C}^3/\mathbb{Z}_3}_{\{k_1,k_2, -k_1-k_2\}} \right ) = \\ &=& \frac{1}{k}\sum_{j=0}^{k-1}\frac{1}{(2\pi i)^2} \oint  \frac{dz}{z}\frac{dw}{w} \frac{1}{(1-  z w^{m_2+m_1})(1- z \omega^{-j} w^{-m_2})(1- z \omega^j w^{-m_1})(1-t/z)^3} , \nonumber
\end{eqnarray}
where $\omega^k=1$.

\section{Another chiral model -- Modified $\mathbb{F}_0$}

The gauge theory is the usual quiver theory for $\mathbb{F}_0$ and for simplicity we will study phase $I$ of this theory \cite{Forcella:2008bb}.
We have four groups and four sets of chiral fields $A_i,B_i,C_i,D_i \, i=1,2$ transforming in the $(N,\bar N,0,0), (0,N,\bar N,0),(0,0,N,\bar N) $ and $(\bar N,0,0, N)$ representation of the gauge group,
respectively. The superpotential is
\begin{equation} W =  \epsilon_{ij} \epsilon_{pq} A_i B_p C_j D_q \end{equation}

The master space of $\mathbb{F}_0$ is a product of two conifolds, ${\cal C}\times {\cal C}$ \cite{Forcella:2008bb}, and therefore it is a complete intersection generated by 8 generators $A_i, B_i, C_i, D_i$ of weight $t$ subject to two relations of weight 2,
\begin{equation}
A_1 C_2 = A_2 C_1, \qquad B_1 D_2 = B_2 D_1 .
\end{equation}

The corresponding Hilbert series for the master space is
\begin{equation}
H(t, {\cal C}\times {\cal C} ) = \frac{(1-t^2)^2}{(1-t)^8} .
\end{equation}

Let us first consider the model where we add CS terms $k$ and $-k$ for two gauge groups only, say the first and fourth. To get the moduli space of the 2+1 dimensional theory we need to divide the master space by two D term conditions, coming from the gauge groups with CS terms equal to 0.
The charges under these two gauge groups are for $A, B, C, D$ $-1, 1, 0, 0$ and $0, -1, 1, 0$, respectively.
To compute the generators of the resulting moduli space it is possible to follow the procedure outlined above for the case of the SPP theory but it is more systematic to use the Hilbert Series. So let us first compute the Hilbert Series for this theory. Using the Molien-Weyl integral we have
\begin{eqnarray}
g \left (t, \tilde{\mathbb{F}}_{0 \{1,0,0,-1\}} \right ) &=& \frac{1}{(2\pi i)^2} \oint_{|z_1|<1} \frac{dz_1}{z_1} \oint_{|z_2|<1} \frac{dz_2}{z_2} \frac{(1-t^2 z_2/z_1)(1-t^2 z_1/z_2)}{(1-t/z_1)^2 (1-t z_1 / z_2)^2 (1-t z_2)^2 (1-t)^2 } \nonumber \\
&=& \frac{1+t+t^2+4t^3+t^4+t^5+t^6}{(1-t) (1-t^3)^3} ,
\end{eqnarray}
indicating that the moduli space is indeed 4 dimensional, as expected. The palindromic Hilbert series also implies that this is a CY manifold. By construction it is further toric.
To get more information on this moduli space we take the Plethystic Logarithm which gives information on the generators and relations,
\begin{equation}
PL \left [ g \left (t, \tilde{\mathbb{F}}_{0 \{1,0,0,-1\}} \right )  \right ] = 2t+6t^3-3t^4 -6t^6+O(t^7)
\end{equation}
This means that there are 2 generators of weight 1 which are identified with $D_i$ and 6 generators of weight 3 which are identified with the gauge invariant combinations $A_i B_j C_l$, with $i,l$ symmetrized due to the F term conditions, giving all together 6 generators.
There are 3 relations at weight 4 and 6 relations at weight 6. This is the moduli space of the modified $(\tilde{\mathbb{F}}_0)_{\{1,0,0,-1\}}$ theory. We can further view it as a fibration over a 3 dimensional complex base $B$ given by the non-complete intersection of 3 relations of weight 4 and 6 relations of weight 6 in the weighted projective space, $\mathbb P^7_{1,1,3,3,3,3,3,3}$ .

Next we turn to the case $k>1$. This is a $\mathbb{Z}_k$ orbifold of the previous theory. The action on the generators is 1 on $D$'s and $-1$ on the $ABC$'s.
Since this moduli space is not a complete intersection it contains infinitely many syzygies and it is hard or impractical to figure out the action of $\mathbb{Z}_k$ on each of them. Instead we will refer to the action of $\mathbb{Z}_k$ on the basic fields of the theory as they appear in the tiling. We recall that $D$ has charge $1$ and $C$ has charge $-1$. This allows to write the combination of Molien-Weyl integral and Molien invariant,

\begin{eqnarray}
g \left (t, \tilde{\mathbb{F}}_{0 \{k,0,0,-k\}} \right ) &=& \frac{1}{(2\pi i)^2 k} \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \oint_{|z_1|<1} \frac{dz_1}{z_1} \oint_{|z_2|<1} \frac{dz_2}{z_2} \frac{(1- \omega^{-j} t^2 z_2/z_1)(1- \omega^j t^2 z_1/z_2)}{(1-t/z_1)^2 (1-t z_1 / z_2)^2 (1- \omega^{-j} t z_2)^2 (1- \omega^j t )^2 } \nonumber \\
&=& \frac{1}{k} \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \frac{1+ 3 \omega^{-j} t^3 - 3 t^4 - \omega^{-j} t^7}{(1- \omega^j t)^2 (1- \omega^{-j} t^3)^3} = \frac{1+6t^4+t^8+(k+1)t^k+\ldots+t^{9k+8}}{(1-t^4)^3(1-t^{3k})^3} .
\end{eqnarray}
The last sum is doable but is too long to report here.
The numerator is indeed verified to be a palindromic polynomial of order $9k+8$, indicating that the moduli space is CY for any $k$, as expected.
By taking the PL of this expression we find 9 generators at weight 4 corresponding to the 9 basic mesonic operators of $\mathbb{F}_0$. These operators satisfy 20 relations, again as expected from $\mathbb{F}_0$. The new feature comes from $k+1$ generators at weight $k$ that obviously are a consequence of the CS term.
The Hilbert series has a behavior at large $k$ that goes like
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \tilde{\mathbb{F}}_{0 \{k,0,0,-k\}} \right ) \sim \frac{1+6t^4+t^8}{(1-t^4)^3} (1+ O(t^k))
\end{equation}
This is indeed the Hilbert series for the three dimensional Calabi-Yau cone over $\mathbb{F}_0$ \cite{BFHH}. We see again that in the $k\rightarrow\infty$ limit we recover the Hilbert series of the three-fold associated with the tiling, over which the four-fold is a $\mathbb{C}^*$ fibration.

As a second example, we can consider the theory with CS parameters $k,-k,k,-k$. The two gauge groups $U(1)_1+U(1)_2$ and $U(1)_1+U(1)_4$ acting on the fields $A, B, C, D$ with charges $0, 1, 0, -1$ and
$1, 0, -1, 0$ have zero D-terms and can be modded out. For $k=1$ we obtain the remarkably simple result
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \tilde{\mathbb{F}}_{0 \{1,-1,1,-1\}} \right ) = \frac{1}{(2\pi i)^2} \oint_{|z_i|<1} \frac{dz_1}{z_1}  \frac{dz_2}{z_2} \frac{(1-t^2)^2}{(1-t z_2)^2 (1-t z_1)^2 (1-t/ z_2)^2 (1-t/ z_1)^2 } = \frac{(1+t^2)^2}{(1-t^4)^4} ,
\end{equation}
corresponding to the variety $\mathbb{C}^2 /\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2$. This model is presumably one of the chiral orbifolds
considered in \cite{Benna:2008zy}. For $k>1$ we mod by the discrete action of the gauge group $U(1)_3$
\begin{equation}
g \left (t, \tilde{\mathbb{F}}_{0 \{k,-k,k,-k\}} \right ) = \frac{1}{k} \sum_{j=0}^{k-1}\frac{1}{(2\pi i)^2} \oint_{|z_i|<1} \frac{dz_1}{z_1} \frac{dz_2}{z_2} \frac{(1-t^2)^2}{(1-t z_2)^2 (1-t z_1\omega^{-j})^2 (1-t \omega^j/ z_2)^2 (1-t/ z_1)^2 } \end{equation}
with $\omega^k=1$.

We could similarly analyze the case with generic CS parameters $k_1,k_2,k_3,-k_1-k_2-k_3$ giving a three integer
family of four-fold Calabi-Yau singularities.

\section{Dimers and Orientifolds}

For this case we will be brief, leaving a detailed discussion for future work. One can construct CS theories in 2+1 dimensions by following the same construction in this paper and apply it to the tilings which were introduced in \cite{Franco:2007ii}. The simplest model corresponds to an $Sp\times SO$ model which was discussed in the literature in various papers \cite{Hanany:2008qc,Hosomichi:2008jb,Aharony:2008gk}, a prototypical case leading to an orbifold $\mathbb{C}^4/D_k$ moduli space. A particularly interesting aspect about this class of models is that they lead to non-toric CY 4-folds and therefore are a very interesting tool in studying such backgrounds beyond the familiar toric tools. Other interesting models
are obtained as non-supersymmetric orientifolds \cite{Armoni:2008kr}.

\section{Comments and Conclusions}

In this paper we demonstrate how to construct infinitely many 2+1 dimensional product $U(N)$ Chern-Simons theories with moduli space which is generically the $N$-fold symmetric product of toric
four-fold Calabi-Yau singularities. The natural expectation is that these theories
are dual to the M theory background $AdS_4\times H$, where $H$ is the 7 real dimensional Sasaki-Einstein base of the Calabi-Yau.

We explicitly computed the Hilbert series for the abelian theory. Under the assumption that the moduli space is a symmetric product we can compute the Hilbert series - the partition function for chiral operators - for all values of $N$ using the Plethystic Exponential \cite{BFHH,Hanany:2006uc,feng}. This computation is extremely simple, similar to the computation of the partition function for the mesonic moduli space in 3+1 dimensions and does not involve all the complications due the existence of baryonic directions \cite{Butti:2006au,Forcella:2007wk}.

More generally, our construction opens the way for many interesting investigations.

Of course the most important point would be  to prove that the CS theory is really dual to the $AdS_4$ background; this might be difficult because many efficient 3+1 dimensional tools to study superconformal theories are not available in 2+1 dimensions at the moment of the writing. We could start by trying to understand better the existence and the properties of the IR fixed points corresponding to  Chern-Simons theories. Similarly to the generic 3+1 dimensional quiver, these theories will be strongly coupled and with a spectrum of conformal dimensions that is not the canonical one.
In the 3+1 dimensional case, we can explicitly compare
the results of a-maximization  \cite{Intriligator:2003jj,Barnes:2005bm} with the spectrum of dimensions computed
from volumes of cycles in $H$  and gain confidence in our identification
of the quiver gauge theory as the dual of $AdS_4\times H$ \cite{Bertolini:2004xf,Benvenuti:2004dy,Benvenuti:2005ja,Franco:2005sm,Butti:2005sw}.
This comparison can be done for a generic toric three-fold \cite{Butti:2005vn} and it
is a highly non-trivial check of the correspondence between Tilings and
toric Calabi-Yau singularities. In 2+1 dimensions, the familiar tools for studying the IR fixed point and
the exact R-charges and dimensions, as for example a-maximization,
are not available. We can still compute volumes
of cycles in toric Calabi-Yau singularities \cite{ Martelli:2005tp,Martelli:2006yb}
and extract from this the dimension
of a subset of fields. It would be quite interesting to find a surrogate
of a-maximization to compare with. Less ambitiously, it would be interesting
to understand if and how we can parametrize R-charges using
the toric data of the Calabi-Yau singularity, as it happens in 3+1 dimensions \cite{Benvenuti:2005ja,Franco:2005sm,Butti:2005sw,Butti:2005ps}.

Another interesting point regards the Type IIA description of the
supergravity background. The discrete group $\mathbb{Z}_k$, with
$k= \gcd (\{k_a\})$, is acting on the seven-manifold $H$. In the
ABJM case, it acts on the fiber of a $U(1)$ bundle on $\mathbb{P}^3$
and it reduces the length of the circle by a factor of $k$. For large $k$,
it is better to descend to Type IIA compactified on $\mathbb{P}^3$ with fluxes.
It would be nice to understand this construction for a generic four-fold,
to see whether we can always descend in Type IIA preserving ${\cal N}=2$
supersymmetry and identify the compact three-manifold $B$ that appears in the
supergravity solution. Notice, in particular, that we considered
two different fibrations of the four-fold: one over the non-compact Calabi-Yau
associated with the Tiling, and another over a compact K\"ahler three manifold.
It would be quite interesting to understand the relation between these
different three dimensional algebraic varieties. By consistency,
we can expect that the partition function for chiral scalar KK modes on $B$
(eigenfunctions of the Laplacian on $B$) coincides with the partition
function for holomorphic functions on the Calabi-Yau three-fold.

Finally, the most ambitious goal would be to find a complete classification
of the 2+1 dimensional theories dual to toric (and non toric) Calabi-Yau singularities. In particular, in this paper we produce a direct algorithm to generate Calabi-Yau singularities for a given
Chern-Simons theory. A natural question is if all toric Calabi-Yau singularities
arise in this way and how to find the inverse algorithm, that in 3+1 dimensions is developed in \cite{Feng:2000mi, Hanany:2005ss, Gulotta:2008ef}. See \cite{Agarwal:2008yb} for further details. This algorithm takes the toric data of a given Calabi-Yau singularity and generates the 3+1 dimensional theory. Similarly we would like to take the toric data of a 4-fold CY singularity and generate the 2+1 dimensional theory.

We plan to investigate all these issues in the future with
many other interesting topics that are missing in the list.

\vskip 1 truecm

\noindent {\bf Note added:} While finishing this work, a paper \cite{Martelli:2008si} appeared in the arXiv, which has
some overlap with our results. Comments on the moduli space of ${\cal N}=2$ CS theories also appeared in \cite{Jafferis:2008qz}.

\section*{Acknowledgments}
We would like to thank A.~Tomasiello for useful discussions.
A.~Z.~ is supported in part by INFN  and by the European Community's Human Potential Program MRTN-CT-2004-005104.
A.~H.~ would like to thank the Max Planck Institute for theoretical physics and the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich for their kind hospitality during the writing of this paper.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Church's Sending Legacy Lives On
Daron Butler
Grace Church in Wooster, Ohio has been around for over 75 years, and they are a beautiful example of a community which sends out its own to reach the Nations.
Since the beginning, Grace Church has been focused outward. In their early years, they poured all of their resources into reaching surrounding families and neighborhoods, which allowed them to grow and earn a voice in the community. After 21 years of sending their own people to serve their own community, the church decided to reach even further beyond their borders.
Though supporting global missions had always been a part of the church's culture, the first cross-cultural workers sent from Grace Church went to Brazil and the Central African Republic in 1960. This began the first wave of Grace Church people being sent to the world. By the end of 1975, a total of seven families had gone out from the church community to places like France, Germany, Cambodia, and Thailand. Since then, many waves of workers have been deployed.
And Grace Church intends to see that legacy continue.
Daron Butler has been the Next Steps Pastor for Global Missions at Grace Church for 11 years. With his rich Navajo heritage and Grace Seminary education, he's uniquely gifted to mobilize the church to reach the least-reached and marginalized peoples of the world. Whether preaching at a Native Christian Leadership conference in Minnesota or leading members of Grace Church on a short-term mission trip, Daron works hard to help people find their role in fulfilling the Great Commission.
Knowing the rich sending history of the church, Daron has done his best to prepare the next generation of goers and senders at Grace Church. Among Pastor Daron's missional to-dos as a mobilizer are running Grace Church's small group named "On-Mission," spreading awareness about their current global partners, leading short-term mission trips, and utilizing The Path series, Encompass' newest resource, to train his people. Though new generational challenges have emerged in his time at Grace Church, he's excited about what the future holds.
The next generation at Grace Church is ready to be sent out.
Kylie, a recent college graduate and long-time member of Grace Church, has taken up the call to serve overseas. With the help of Grace Church's Communications Director Rachael Snyder and mobilizers at Encompass World Partners, Kylie is learning to better understand her calling for international ministry. After completing Encompass' cross-cultural training course, Engage 5, she began searching for a possible ministry team to join.
It appears the best fit for Kylie is serving as a member of an Encompass Hope Team to Western Asia. Currently, she is raising support and preparing to be sent out by Grace Church.
Daron prays that Kylie is the beginning of a new wave of "goers" at Grace Church.
Acting on the momentum that Kylie has brought, Daron hopes that many more young people within the church will discover a passion to be a part of the Great Commission. He wants to see each person in the church take the time to contemplate how to pray, give, send, or go for the sake of the nations.
Not every church has the rich missional history of Grace Church, but a new legacy can be started now. Any church can become a sending church. To learn how your church can become better senders, check out Encompass' newest resource, The Path series.
More in this category: « A New Encompass Award Given	Our Best Days Are Ahead! »

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Salvation Army is an action-oriented Christian church and social service organization that was founded in London in 1865.
Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs without discrimination in His name.
We care for the poor, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, love the unlovable, and befriend the friendless.
We've been called "the most efficient and effective organization in the U.S.," and year after year the Army is named "America's favorite charity."
Our national average is to use 83 cents of every dollar donated in direct services for people in need. As a result, people believe that when they contribute to The Salvation Army, they're giving where it will do the most good.


text:
8: Experimental Research
UHMC: PSY 212 - Research Methods (Thornton)
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Fri, 21 Feb 2020 11:40:18 GMT
8.4: Experimentation and Validity
[ "article:topic", "license:ccbyncsa", "showtoc:no", "Internal validity", "External validity", "operationalization", "Construct validity", "Statistical validity", "authorname:jhangiani1", "mundane realism", "psychological realism", "source-socialsci-19648", "source@https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/psychmethods4e" ]
https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@app/auth/3/login?returnto=https%3A%2F%2Fsocialsci.libretexts.org%2FCourses%2FUniversity_of_Hawaii_Maui_College%2FUHMC%253A_PSY_212_-_Research_Methods_(Thornton)%2F08%253A_Experimental_Research%2F8.4%253A_Experimentation_and_Validity
University of Hawaiʻi Maui College
Rajiv S. Jhangiani, I-Chant A. Chiang, Carrie Cuttler, & Dana C. Leighton
Kwantlen Polytechnic U., Washington State U., & Texas A&M U.—Texarkana
Four Big Validities
External Validity
Statistical Validity
Prioritizing Validities
Explain what internal validity is and why experiments are considered to be high in internal validity.
Explain what external validity is and evaluate studies in terms of their external validity.
Explain the concepts of construct and statistical validity.
When we read about psychology experiments with a critical view, one question to ask is "is this study valid (accurate)?" However, that question is not as straightforward as it seems because, in psychology, there are many different kinds of validities. Researchers have focused on four validities to help assess whether an experiment is sound (Judd & Kenny, 1981; Morling, 2014)[1][2]: internal validity, external validity, construct validity, and statistical validity. We will explore each validity in depth.
Two variables being statistically related does not necessarily mean that one causes the other. In your psychology education, you have probably heard the term, "Correlation does not imply causation." For example, if it were the case that people who exercise regularly are happier than people who do not exercise regularly, this implication would not necessarily mean that exercising increases people's happiness. It could mean instead that greater happiness causes people to exercise or that something like better physical health causes people to exercise and be happier.
The purpose of an experiment, however, is to show that two variables are statistically related and to do so in a way that supports the conclusion that the independent variable caused any observed differences in the dependent variable. The logic is based on this assumption: If the researcher creates two or more highly similar conditions and then manipulates the independent variable to produce just one difference between them, then any later difference between the conditions must have been caused by the independent variable. For example, because the only difference between Darley and Latané's conditions was the number of students that participants believed to be involved in the discussion, this difference in belief must have been responsible for differences in helping between the conditions.
An empirical study is said to be high in internal validity if the way it was conducted supports the conclusion that the independent variable caused any observed differences in the dependent variable. Thus experiments are high in internal validity because the way they are conducted—with the manipulation of the independent variable and the control of extraneous variables (such as through the use of random assignment to minimize confounds)—provides strong support for causal conclusions. In contrast, non-experimental research designs (e.g., correlational designs), in which variables are measured but are not manipulated by an experimenter, are low in internal validity.
At the same time, the way that experiments are conducted sometimes leads to a different kind of criticism. Specifically, the need to manipulate the independent variable and control extraneous variables means that experiments are often conducted under conditions that seem artificial (Bauman, McGraw, Bartels, & Warren, 2014)[3]. In many psychology experiments, the participants are all undergraduate students and come to a classroom or laboratory to fill out a series of paper-and-pencil questionnaires or to perform a carefully designed computerized task. Consider, for example, an experiment in which researcher Barbara Fredrickson and her colleagues had undergraduate students come to a laboratory on campus and complete a math test while wearing a swimsuit (Fredrickson, Roberts, Noll, Quinn, & Twenge, 1998)[4]. At first, this manipulation might seem silly. When will undergraduate students ever have to complete math tests in their swimsuits outside of this experiment?
The issue we are confronting is that of external validity . An empirical study is high in external validity if the way it was conducted supports generalizing the results to people and situations beyond those actually studied. As a general rule, studies are higher in external validity when the participants and the situation studied are similar to those that the researchers want to generalize to and participants encounter every day, often described as mundane realism. Imagine, for example, that a group of researchers is interested in how shoppers in large grocery stores are affected by whether breakfast cereal is packaged in yellow or purple boxes. Their study would be high in external validity and have high mundane realism if they studied the decisions of ordinary people doing their weekly shopping in a real grocery store. If the shoppers bought much more cereal in purple boxes, the researchers would be fairly confident that this increase would be true for other shoppers in other stores. Their study would be relatively low in external validity, however, if they studied a sample of undergraduate students in a laboratory at a selective university who merely judged the appeal of various colors presented on a computer screen; however, this study would have high psychological realism where the same mental process is used in both the laboratory and in the real world. If the students judged purple to be more appealing than yellow, the researchers would not be very confident that this preference is relevant to grocery shoppers' cereal-buying decisions because of low external validity but they could be confident that the visual processing of colors has high psychological realism.
We should be careful, however, not to draw the blanket conclusion that experiments are low in external validity. One reason is that experiments need not seem artificial. Consider that Darley and Latané's experiment provided a reasonably good simulation of a real emergency situation. Or consider field experiments that are conducted entirely outside the laboratory. In one such experiment, Robert Cialdini and his colleagues studied whether hotel guests choose to reuse their towels for a second day as opposed to having them washed as a way of conserving water and energy (Cialdini, 2005) [5]. These researchers manipulated the message on a card left in a large sample of hotel rooms. One version of the message emphasized showing respect for the environment, another emphasized that the hotel would donate a portion of their savings to an environmental cause, and a third emphasized that most hotel guests choose to reuse their towels. The result was that guests who received the message that most hotel guests choose to reuse their towels, reused their own towels substantially more often than guests receiving either of the other two messages. Given the way they conducted their study, it seems very likely that their result would hold true for other guests in other hotels.
A second reason not to draw the blanket conclusion that experiments are low in external validity is that they are often conducted to learn about psychological processes that are likely to operate in a variety of people and situations. Let us return to the experiment by Fredrickson and colleagues. They found that the women in their study, but not the men, performed worse on the math test when they were wearing swimsuits. They argued that this gender difference was due to women's greater tendency to objectify themselves—to think about themselves from the perspective of an outside observer—which diverts their attention away from other tasks. They argued, furthermore, that this process of self-objectification and its effect on attention is likely to operate in a variety of women and situations—even if none of them ever finds herself taking a math test in her swimsuit.
In addition to the generalizability of the results of an experiment, another element to scrutinize in a study is the quality of the experiment's manipulations or the construct validity . The research question that Darley and Latané started with is "does helping behavior become diffused?" They hypothesized that participants in a lab would be less likely to help when they believed there were more potential helpers besides themselves. This conversion from research question to experiment design is called operationalization (see Chapter 4 for more information about the operational definition). Darley and Latané operationalized the independent variable of diffusion of responsibility by increasing the number of potential helpers. In evaluating this design, we would say that the construct validity was very high because the experiment's manipulations very clearly speak to the research question; there was a crisis, a way for the participant to help, and increasing the number of other students involved in the discussion, they provided a way to test diffusion.
What if the number of conditions in Darley and Latané's study changed? Consider if there were only two conditions: one student involved in the discussion or two. Even though we may see a decrease in helping by adding another person, it may not be a clear demonstration of diffusion of responsibility, just merely the presence of others. We might think it was a form of Bandura's concept of social inhibition. The construct validity would be lower. However, had there been five conditions, perhaps we would see the decrease continue with more people in the discussion or perhaps it would plateau after a certain number of people. In that situation, we may develop a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. But by adding still more conditions, the construct validity may not get higher. When designing your own experiment, consider how well the research question is operationalized your study.
Statistical validity concerns the proper statistical treatment of data and the soundness of the researchers' statistical conclusions. There are many different types of inferential statistics tests (e.g., t-tests, ANOVA, regression, correlation) and statistical validity concerns the use of the proper type of test to analyze the data. When considering the proper type of test, researchers must consider the scale of measure their dependent variable was measured on and the design of their study. Further, many inferential statistics tests carry certain assumptions (e.g., the data are normally distributed) and statistical validity is threatened when these assumptions are not met but the statistics are used nonetheless.
One common critique of experiments is that a study did not have enough participants. The main reason for this criticism is that it is difficult to generalize about a population from a small sample. At the outset, it seems as though this critique is about external validity but there are studies where small sample sizes are not a problem (subsequent chapters will discuss how small samples, even of only one person, are still very illuminating for psychological research). Therefore, small sample sizes are actually a critique of statistical validity . The statistical validity speaks to whether the statistics conducted in the study are sound and support the conclusions that are made.
The proper statistical analysis should be conducted on the data to determine whether the difference or relationship that was predicted was indeed found. Interestingly, the likelihood of detecting an effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable depends on not just whether a relationship really exists between these variables, but also the number of conditions and the size of the sample. This is why it is important to conduct a power analysis when designing a study, which is a calculation that informs you of the number of participants you need to recruit to detect an effect of a specific size.
These four big validities–internal, external, construct, and statistical–are useful to keep in mind when both reading about other experiments and designing your own. However, researchers must prioritize and often it is not possible to have high validity in all four areas. In Cialdini's study on towel usage in hotels, the external validity was high but the statistical validity was more modest. This discrepancy does not invalidate the study but it shows where there may be room for improvement for future follow-up studies (Goldstein, Cialdini, & Griskevicius, 2008)[6]. Morling (2014) points out that many psychology studies have high internal and construct validity but sometimes sacrifice external validity.
Judd, C.M. & Kenny, D.A. (1981). Estimating the effects of social interventions. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. ↵
Morling, B. (2014, April). Teach your students to be better consumers. APS Observer. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2014/april-14/teach-your-students-to-be-better-consumers.html↵
Bauman, C.W., McGraw, A.P., Bartels, D.M., & Warren, C. (2014). Revisiting external validity: Concerns about trolley problems and other sacrificial dilemmas in moral psychology. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8/9, 536-554. ↵
Fredrickson, B. L., Roberts, T.-A., Noll, S. M., Quinn, D. M., & Twenge, J. M. (1998). The swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 269–284. ↵
Cialdini, R. (2005, April). Don't throw in the towel: Use social influence research. APS Observer. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2005/april-05/dont-throw-in-the-towel-use-social-influence-research.html↵
Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B., & Griskevicius, V. (2008). A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 472–482. ↵
This page titled 8.4: Experimentation and Validity is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Rajiv S. Jhangiani, I-Chant A. Chiang, Carrie Cuttler, & Dana C. Leighton via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.
8.3: Experimental Design
8.5: Practical Considerations
Rajiv S. Jhangiani, Carrie Cuttler, & Dana C. Leighton
mundane realism
psychological realism
source@https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/psychmethods4e
source-socialsci-19648
© Copyright 2023 Social Sci LibreTexts


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[Home] [Blog] [R-36MUTTH/SS-18 missile launches German satellite]
R-36MUTTH/SS-18 missile launches German satellite
The missile that was used to launch a German Earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X from Baykonur is a R-36MUTTH (SS-18, RS-20B) missile, which had been on active duty for 23 years. According to the Strategic Rocket Forces, the missile was removed from service in 2005 and, after a brief time in storage, was transferred to the Dnepr space launch program in 2006.
The launch took place at 06:14 MSK (02:14 UTC). The satellite was successfully delivered into orbit. It was reported that the missile used a new payload shroud that allows it to accommodate larger satellites - more than 5 meters long.
Technically, the launches of R-36MUTTH missiles are conducted as part of the effort to liquidate these missiles, which is part of strategic arms reductions. R-36M2 launches, on the other hand, are conducted as part of the missile life-extension program. In any event, the launches give the Strategic Rocket Forces an opportunity to earn some money in the process. The Dnepr launches are handled by the Kosmotras company.
[Rocket Forces] [Space] [June 15, 2007] [#]
It seems some Satans still able to fly... ;-)
[Russian] [June 15, 2007] [#]
Any videos available? I've only got one good SS-18 launch. Very interesting stuff.
[Scott Ferrin ] [June 15, 2007] [#]
Must have looked funny, Dnepr sticking its nose out of the Silo before launch.
There is a video on the website of Kosmotras, look in the archive section.
This was the second Dnepr launch this year, with 2 more scheduled this year alone.
[Sam] [June 19, 2007] [#]
Does anyone know what is up with Sea Launch currently after its last failure and its plans for nextgen primary boost vehicle ... beyond the Ukranian-Russian Zenit?
[Ozzy] [June 19, 2007] [#]
as far as I know SeaLaunch wants to resume its launches already this year. Officials said there was a piece of metal within the pump of the RD-171 engine leading to the loss of the launcher.
Also Land Launch, the Baikonur based version of SeaLaunch wants to start its first commercial satellites this or next year. They got a lot of contracts in recent time.
There is no information on a possible Zenit follow on for the Zenit. SeaLaunch is a company consisting of Boeing, Kvaerner, the ukrainian producer of the Zenit and the Russian producer of the RD-171 enginge and the upper stage. It is possible that they end there cooperation when Zenit get phased out. The Russians have Angara, Boeing has its expensive Delta II and IV for the US Government, Kvaerner is an Oil company and if the Ukrainians have the money to design a new booster on there own?
Their next project is to launch Zyklon 4 from Alcantara/Brazil, but I don´t know if that will really happen.
[Martin] [June 20, 2007] [#]


text:
Вересковский сельский Совет — упразднённый сельский Совет на территории Новогрудского района Гродненской области Республики Беларусь.

Состав
Вересковский сельсовет включал 8 населённых пунктов:
 Будные — деревня.
 Вересково — деревня.
 Галковичи — деревня.
 Евсеевичи — деревня.
 Плянта — деревня.
 Хорошево — деревня.
 Хохлово — деревня.
 Черешля — деревня.

См. также
 Новогрудский район

Примечания

Ссылки
 Новогрудский райисполком
 Населённые пункты Республики Беларусь

Упразднённые сельсоветы Новогрудского района
Статьи с эдитнотисом об осторожности при редактировании

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
libby king
Category: About the article
Satirical doublespeak? New York Times Book Review calls Nineteen Eighty-four "outdated"
March 18, 2013 June 11, 2013
Version with hyperlinks
I am very annoyed with The New York Times Book Review Podcast. They would go and make a fool of me for defending professional literary critics, wouldn't they?
There I was in my pink rubber gloves, diligently doing the dishes while listening to podcasts from far-flung parts of the world when things started being said that made me splash soapy water, break wine glasses and prance angrily over dirty lino. It was a mess and I know precisely who is to blame.
There is no pretty way of introducing what I heard; the list of sins is long and of the most damning kind.
The topic was a newly published collection of George Orwell's diaries called, simply, Diaries and the reviewer, Barry Gewen, was talking about Nineteen Eighty-four and Animal Farm. Hold tight, here we go:
"in addition to the pessimism …"
(NB: Gewen says pessimism, I say foresight, responsibility etc, but in the face of the crime to come that is a very small aside)
" … what those books are most known for, is their attacks on totalitarianism, and I think for that reason they may be outdated. They may be the books that fall by the wayside because they were written at a particular period and had particular influence during the Cold War."
Gah! Fall by the wayside? Outdated? Relevant only to a particular period?
I wonder what Gewen makes of the enormous surge in dystopian fiction of late, linked by threads about the size of – oh, I don't know, a New York City bridge – to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four and the other dystopian greats.
Did he simply not notice the enormous amount of dystopian fiction that has been flying off bookshelves? Could he not have noticed the resurgence in dystopian literature, even though it is in the very pages of The New York Times Book Review – the most definitive meeting place between arithmetic and literature – that this nouveau dystopian turn has been documented?
I won't lie, it worries me. Would it worry me if these words were a lone book blogger? Probably not, but when an established voice, an amplified voice, gets it so very wrong it's confounding on a different level.
Gewen was presented on the podcast as an expert on Orwell, but how can he be if he doesn't notice the real-time living legacy of Orwell's most influential book? He couldn't use words like "outdated" and "fall by the wayside" when discussing Nineteen Eighty-four if he wasn't completely blind to the influence the book has today.
The fact that "Orwellian" is now a term that describes totalitarianism beyond the post-World War II period and the Cold War would, one might suspect, have provided more clues on the matter. Orwell himself was also absolutely clear regarding his own position:
"My recent novel is NOT intended as an attack on Socialism," he said referring to Nineteen Eighty-four and added that his aim was specifically to show "that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere."
Orwell's position is one that the book buying public has thoroughly endorsed.
My biggest fear is that Gewen dismissed the books that carry Orwell's mantel because they are in large part books by women aimed at women and young people – demographics that are often sidelined by the established literati.
Women like Margaret Atwood, Ursula Le Guin and Lois Gowry eagerly delivered the popular dystopian legacy founded by Orwell into the twenty-first century; a mantel picked up by authors such as Suzanne Collins and Lauren Oliver. It is a connection that others at The New York Times Book Review haven't missed. In a recent podcast about Lois Gowry's latest novel, the last in her The Giver series, the links to and influence of Nineteen Eighty-four were endorsed by both Gowry and the interviewer.
To add to the insult the Diaries podcast include warning potential readers they may be disappointed by a lack of "gossip" and "sexual revelations" or bored by too many records "relating to daily life," such as counting chicken eggs – warnings that were neither honourable nor insightful.
I think perhaps Gewen was trying to say that he prefers Orwell's essays to his diaries and novels – a fair position to hold, but a case he left unmade.
Critics don't get it right or wrong because of where they're saying it – little book blog or enormous curator of cultural criticism; they get it right or wrong because of the quality of their insights. In this case The New York Times Book Review got it very, very wrong even though they are very, very established literati. I, on the other hand, have got it very, very right even though my voice echos from one side of the depths of obscurity to the other and back again.
Peter Stothart, Booker Prize panel judging chair, would have been just as correct in claiming that the status quo literati is ruining literary criticism as much as book bloggers.
Just because the method of doing the dishes changes it doesn't mean the solution is to throw them into a hole in the garden, as tempting as it sometimes may seem. Dish by darstard dish, we will go on, caring more when the voice is amplified but trying to judge based on content rather than status.
Orwell quote is from Sonia Orwell and Ian Angus (Eds.), 1968, The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell IV, Secker & Warburg, London; p. 502.
This article first appeared in Trebuchet Magazine on 18 March 2013.
Who could call Orwell "outdated"?
The particulars of this article are fairly self explanatory. I was listening to The New York Times Book Review podcast while doing the dishes. I was amazed at what I heard. The self-proclaimed Orwell expert suggested that Nineteen Eighty-four and Animal Farm were outdated. The dishes splashed, though I'm not sure if any broke.
The irony of an esteemed outfit like The New York Times Book Review getting Orwell so very wrong just after I'd written a defence of established literary critics (inspired by Dorothy Parker) was not lost in the dirty water. The result is a defence of my beloved Orwell (in the style of Dorothy Parker) called Satirical Doublespeak? published by Trebuchet Magazine.
I love Trebuchet Magazine – only they delight in my absurdist humour; only they rejoice in following the peculiar clues and twisted turns that sometimes come forth from my guts in the form of tofu and pink rubber gloves.
Who else would fall for a pre-review analysis of Total Recall through elementary and culinary themes?
Who else would rejoice in a defence of Orwell in the style of Dorothy Parker that is informed dirty dish water and calls to task a self-proclaimed Orwell expert from The New York Times?
Trebuchet, Trebuchet, Trebuchet. Visionary folk ;)
Read the article:
Read Satirical Doublespeak? as published by Trebuchet Magazine on 18 March 2013
Read a version with all the hyperlinks and references on this site.
Changin' Bleedin' History
December 8, 2012 March 18, 2013
It was an epic train journey across Canada and I had some malady that made me whoozy. Just re-reading "Are you there God, it's me Margaret" by Judy Blume – one of my teenage favourites – was a struggle.
When I realised they changed the belts to pads I almost fell off that train – one of my strongest and most enjoyable memories of the book and they went and changed it like it was a tampon instruction manuel – I got a case of the changin' history blues.
Here's my article about why notes are good but re-writes are bad and here's a picture of an old sanitary belt.
Changin' Bleedin' History as it appeared on For Books' Sake on 7 December 2012.
What might Dorothy Parker think of book bloggers?
Parker, Dorothy. (1970) "Literary Rotarians," In, The Constant Reader. First published in The New Yorker on 11 February 1928.
Why Dorothy Parker and book bloggers?
Earlier in the month I was reading an article on The Guardian about the value (or not) of Book Bloggers following comments – of the (or not) variety – by the chair of the Man Booker Prize judging panel.
Thanks to a random force, about half an hour later found myself reading a column by Dorothy Parker from 1928 called "Literary Rotarians" in which she complained about the same things.
Thus struck, I wielded my pen.
If you have read Ms Parker's columns you might notice that I tried to evoke her style in my little article; it was a dreamy business. My favourite lines are:
"life really does rotate like a circle, like a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel; and, baby, literary criticism is no different."
"Parker describes literary Rotarians flittering from one literary throwdown to the next."
I also put in a few of my own opinions, as any self-respecting person would – they are, by complete coincidence, pastoral in more ways than one:
"Indeed, to be human is to be a critic and the evidence suggests nothing will hold us back from our evolutionary duty."
"Our best critics lead us to the choicest fodder – and all the better if we have to pass through the Valley of Death, so long as we know we will arrive somewhere of quality in the end."
I would like to link to Parker's article in its entirety, but I can't find it on the net and I'm not sure of the legalities of scanning it and uploading it myself. If you know either where to find it online so I can link to it or whether I can put it up myself, then, pray, tell me.
Oh, and look, Margaret Atwood and Joanne Harris RT'd this article. They are two people I respect so much. They took me to the depths of my heart, even though they'd never met me. Literature is amazing. It really means a lot to me that they think it's interesting enough to share. There is … welling.
@MargaretAtwood What might Dorothy Parker's two cents on the book blogger/booker prize palava be. Warning: DP wit forbookssake.net/2012/10/19/wha…
Libby King (@libbyking) October 19, 2012
@Joannechocolat Maybe you'll like my article and RT it to the WORLD! What might Dorothy Parker say about book bloggers? forbookssake.net/2012/10/19/wha…
Read What Might Dorothy Parker say about book bloggers? as published by For Books' Sake on 19 October 2012.
Total Recall: An Elementary and Culinary Guide to Not Fretting about the Remake
Why an Elementary and Culinary Guide to Total Recall?
The genesis of the piece was as simple as the first paragraph suggests:
"Like many, when the pre-trailer trailer of the new Total Recall was released I was incensed."
I loved the original for reasons that only someone who has ever been deeply in love with a B-grade movie can understand. I wanted to properly know that feeling though, so I went about trying to work it out in the best way I know how – writing things down.
Arnie in Total Recall: "an enormous body builder with muscles that look like they belong on the cover of an Italiano staliano romance, not a construction site, acting (it hurts me to say this) pretty appallingly, and mucking about with a jackhammer – probably on a piece of painted foam."
I had NO IDEA it would take the culinary and elementary bend. I remember thinking it was coming out weird, but I was enjoying writing it so much I couldn't stop.
Finding someone who would be willing to publish something this absurd was hard, but the good people of Trebuchet Magazine loved it and came to the rescue. Unfortunately lots of the comments were lost when they changed their commenting system: the best was a suggestion for it to be called TOFU RECALL – right on pjgrvstck!
Read Total Recall: An Elementary and Culinary Guide to Not Fretting about the Remake as published by Trebuchet Magazine on 26 June 2012.
Read the Original Version on this site with the culinary and elementary parts bolded, as I originally intended.


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Notifications for NHS trusts
Organisations we regulate
You must tell us about certain changes, events and incidents that affect your service or the people who use it.
NHS trusts can send most types of notification through the NRLS. There is no need to notify us separately. However, there are some types of notification you must send directly to us.
Notifications of the death or absence of people detained, or liable to be detained, under the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) are dealt with under a separate process. Find out more about making Mental Health Act notifications.
Community interest companies (CICs) must notify as independent healthcare providers.
Using the forms we provide ensures you include all of the information that's required by law. We may also ask you to provide extra information that helps us understand what has happened and how you have responded to it. This helps us decide whether you handled the event correctly without having to visit or ask you for more information.
Statutory notification: Change to a statement of purpose
Statutory notification: Change to a statement of purpose Word
When you notify us of a change to your statement of purpose, you must also send us a revised copy. The easiest way to do this is using our template, which comes in four parts.
Download the statement of purpose template.
Statutory notification: Changes to a provider's or manager's registered details
Statutory notification: Changes to a provider's or manager's registered details Word
Statutory notification: Absence of a registered manager or registered partner for 28 or more days
Statutory notification: Absence of a registered individual for 28 days or more DOCX
Statutory notification: Return of a registered manager or registered partner from an absence of 28 or more days
Statutory notification: Return of a registered manager or registered partner from an absence of 28 or more days Word
Statutory notification: Application to deprive a person of their liberty and its outcome
Statutory notification: Application to deprive a person of their liberty and its outcome Word
Notifications for all sectors
Mental Health Act notifications
Notifications: Guidance for NHS providers
Notifications: Guidance for NHS providers PDF


One of three films by Hong Sang-soo in this year's festival, Claire's Camera was shot during the Cannes Film Festival while actresses Isabelle Huppert and Kim Min-hee were there to present other films. Manhee (Min-hee) plays a film sales agent whose life takes a turn when she runs into Claire (Huppert), a teacher who loves taking photographs of everyone she meets with her Polaroid camera. Claire's photos kick-start a chain of events fueled by chance, alcohol, and wry humor. "The eternal question of whether cinema, and art in general, can make a difference in people's lives gets a light-hearted affirmative answer in [this] breezy celebration of the mysterious power of filmmaking." —Hollywood Reporter. In Korean, French, and English with subtitles.


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Denis ('Denny') Curran (6 December 1875 – 25 August 1968) was an Irish footballer and Fianna Fáil political figure.

Early life
The third son of Patrick Curran, a farmer of Ballyseedy, County Kerry, he was apprenticed as a grocer as a young man, and 'lived in' at Baily's in the Mall in Tralee.  The Curran family descend from the Uí Charrain, of the Uí Meic Caille sept of the Uí Liatháin kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland; they settled in County Kerry as gentry after the war in 1177 between Domnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond, and Diarmait Mor Mac Carthaigh.

Football
Curran began his footballing career in 1903; in an article in The Kerryman published 28th January, 1961, he recounted how in summer he would begin training at the sports field at seven A.M., before working from nine A.M. to eleven P.M., and often being picked up from work by Austin Stack for evening training, missing dinner due to having to return to work. Curran was one of Kerry's players (as a forward) against Kildare in the 1903 All-Ireland home final series of games, contributing to their victory (over London Hibernians)- the first ever win for the Kerry side at this level- by scoring a goal at a critical point in the final match, played on 12 November 1905, which was scored 0-11 to 0-3. The following year, he played again for Kerry, with the team defeating Dublin, in the game played on 1 July 1906, by 0–5 to 0–2 in the final. Although Kerry dominated the game for decades afterwards, their failure to score in the first half of a 1966 game (which Kerry eventually won by two points) against Wicklow led to the players being jeered by their own fans; Curran observed 'Lord bless my soul, I never saw worse in my life.'

Other activities
Outside of his sporting endeavours, Curran was employed as an official of Tralee Harbour Board, serving also as Secretary of the Roger Casement Fianna Fáil Cumann of Tralee, President of the John Mitchel GAA Club, and member of Tralee Urban Council.

Personal life
Curran died 25 August 1968 aged 92, leaving three sons and a daughter. Son Paddy was also a "prominent and successful" footballer. On Curran's death, only Denny Breen remained of the 1903 Kerry winning team.

Curran's younger brother Michael took in the Republican Stephen Fuller at his farm following Fuller's injury in the explosion that killed several of his compatriots during the 'Ballyseedy Massacre' of March 1923.

Curran's great-grandnephew, Micheál Quirke, played for the Kerins O'Rahilly's GAA team and for the Kerry side that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009, the Munster Senior Football Championship in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007, and the National Football League in 2004, 2006 and 2009.

References

1875 births
1968 deaths
Gaelic games club administrators
Irish sportsperson-politicians
Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers
Politicians from County Kerry


Just down the Canyon from the Lodge you'll find the unparalleled Spearfish Canyon Golf Club – the first 18 hole course in the Northern Black Hills. Stunning Spearfish Canyon provides the perfect backdrop for this challenging, scenic course.
Spearfish Canyon Golf Club is great for families, individuals, and groups. This semi-private facility is well-known for its outstanding golf experience, superb course conditions, top-notch service, and the best views in South Dakota. After you play 18, head to the full-service Restaurant & Bar for a delicious meal and refreshing beverage.
Besides for the breathtaking scenery, golfers can enjoy a unique experience on the course. The front nine, or original nine, features a traditional 3138-yard layout surrounded by thick forest. With small push-up greens and varied elevations (included some steep hills) you can look forward to a challenging yet rewarding experience. The back nine boasts a more modern design. Here you will find 3529-yards of large greens, rolling hills, and an oak-laden creek bed – features that present their own set of challenges.
The course is a short drive from Spearfish Canyon Lodge, making this the perfect golfing destination regardless of whether you are staying in the canyon for a day or a week! We would be happy to help you make your reservations at Spearfish Canyon Golf Club. If you're planning a trip to the Lodge, take advantage of our Black Hills Golf Getaway package!


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It is never too late for anyone to discover his/herself in life. Discovering this talent of writing makes me feel elated...
Due to the past nasty experience that the maiden had from the hand of her previous lover, she puts many conditions across to the young man and the man was always fulfilling those conditions even when they are hard and such conditions make no sense at all.
He was cautioned by his friends on becoming a slave to a lady, but he told them to shut their mouths up because the conditions bringing her to him differ from the conditions that brought them to their partners.
His friends tell him that things would change later, then he will find it hard to have a say on her, but he will not yield, because he does not want her to suffer another trauma as it has happened before.
Through this young lady the young man knows different things about lady and how to keep romantic relationships with ladies. Although no two ladies are the same in their thinking and way of life, but some salient things about ladies he learnt from her.
While he has started to rest on his oars about the relationship that all is well and would end well, even as her parents had consented to their romantic involvements it was at this time that problem started surfacing.
Having been together for a very months, and her people has known him, the young man too asks that the lady follows him to his parents and people, but the lady turned down this request.
Since he has been allowing her to have her way, he allowed this to happen several times.
However, his people have been pressurizing him according to the culture of their land that he needs to get married, they were telling him that if he finds it difficult getting someone to marry they can arrange for a lady for him.
He was telling them that he has someone he is seeing and wants them to give him more time.
He told her about the pressure being mounted on him by her parents and he does not want to do what she does not like.
The lady told him that she is not ready for that kind of knowing telling him to accept the woman her parents have gotten for him.
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He told her that her people have not gotten lady for her but that cannot be prevented if he fails to show them someone he is involved with, pleading with her that all he wants of her is to follow him to his people and if they know they are in relationship other things could take years that he would not mind that because of his love for her.
She asks him to give her time to think about this.
When they would meet again, she told him that after serious consideration about what he has said, she concludes that she cannot continue with him again, broken relationship is better than broken marriage she says.
He pleaded with her to reconsider her stand but she did not yield. He told her friends and people who said she was the one who said she loved you and she has again said she is no longer interested that he should leave her alone because they would not want a repeat of what happened to her in the past.
The young man left the lady on seeing that there is nothing he could do to bring about the change of heart to her eventually left her, but it was very painful to him.
The young man for the love he has for her was still thinking she would reconsider her stance because of the love he has expressed to her but she did not change her mind.
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His Parents' Resolution
The young man did not cave in to the pressure from his people to get him a lady saying that if he gets a lady through any of them and there was issue in the future for there is no relationship that is completely freed of issues. The lady may say she has been forced on him and he would not want to hear such statements from any lady he says.
What he has said moved his father and he told his wife, his mother to leave him alone, that they should continue to pray with him that God gives him a wonderful and God fearing maiden to be married to as it is said that "whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD." Let us continue to pray that he finds favor of the Lord in marriage his father conclusively said to his mother.
As the culture of the land demands, that every woman should obey to letters their husbands, the woman agrees with her husband without questioning him nor raising eyebrows again.
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Red Hat makes MIS Asia Global 75 honoree list in 2013
2014年 1月 2日Red Hat Corporate Communications Team
标签:奖项
We're pleased to share that Red Hat is a repeat honoree on MIS Asia's Strategic 100 Index - Global 75 companies. MIS Asia's Strategic 100 index is a special annual index featuring the region's top information and communication technology (ICT) vendors.
The Global 75 are companies chosen by a select panel of judges as world leaders in their field, in terms of reach, operational and financial performance and influence on the ICT industry. The panel of judges included Hood Abu Bakar, general manager, Information & Communication Technology, MISC Berhad (formerly known as the Malaysian International Shipping Corp), Raul Paolo Miranda, deputy director, Technology Solutions Division, National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, Andy Tan, CIO, RHB Bank and associate professor, Daniel Tan, director, Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore).
Since our founding in 1993, Red Hat has become the global leader in providing open source software technologies to enterprise customers worldwide. Red Hat now operates in more than 80 locations globally, including offices in North and South America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Red Hat and Boston University Announce Red Hat Collaboratory Research Incubation Award Recipients
Red Hat honors APAC partners for supporting customers in their digital transformation with open source innovation
CRN recognizes Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux as Tech Innovators


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Bankruptcy News
March 4, 2019 / 5:54 PM / 4 months ago
Odebrecht bondholders ask for collateral, cash infusion to restructure
Tatiana Bautzer
SAO PAULO, March 4 (Reuters) - A group of bondholders of construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA proposed on Monday the restructuring of $3 billion in bonds requiring new collateral and a cash infusion to allow a four-year extension on maturities.
In a proposal publicized by the bondholders advisers, Rothschild & Co and law firms Davis Polk and Pinheiro Neto, bondholders require payment with no discount from the bonds' face value.
Bondholders also ask for an immediate cash infusion of $375 million by Odebrecht SA into the construction unit, that is the guarantor of the bonds, and the pledge of shares in petrochemical company Braskem SA as collateral.
The proposal is radically different from what Odebrecht had floated to bondholders in recent meetings, a discount of 70 percent over the bonds value, Reuters reported.
Odebrecht is the controlling shareholder in the company, and its stake is already pledged as collateral to the conglomerate´s largest banking loans with local creditors such as Banco Bradesco SA.
The conglomerate, implicated in a multinational corruption scandal, has been in negotiations with LyondellBasell Industries NV for a merger between the two companies.
Bondholders also ask to be consulted before asset sales.
In an e-mailed statement, Odebrecht said the publicly released proposal "was not discussed" between the company and its bondholders and is "unfeasible". The conglomerate added its advisers are working on a formal proposal that would be consensual.
Odebrecht has spent the past four years at the center of one of the largest corruption scandals in Latin America, after admitting paying bribes for works contracts from Peru to Panama. It has paid about $3.5 billion in settlements as a result. (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; editing by Grant McCool)