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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA The Role of Counter-Current Flow in the Modeling and Simulation of Multi-Phase Flow in Porous Media Mohammad Javaheri PHD DISSERTATION MORK FAMILY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA December 2013 © MOHAMMAD JAVAHERI 2013
Object Description
|The role of counter-current flow in the modeling and simulation of multi-phase flow in porous media
|Javaheri, Mohammad
|Author email
|Doctor of Philosophy
|Document type
|Degree program
|Petroleum Engineering
|Viterbi School of Engineering
|Date defended/completed
|Date submitted
|Date approved
|Restricted until
|Date published
|Advisor (committee chair)
|Jessen, Kristian
|Advisor (committee member)
Ershaghi, Iraj
Domaradzki, Julian A.
|Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from large source points, such as power plants, and storing it in geological formation. It is a potential means of reducing CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere to mitigate global warming and ocean acidification. Geological formations are considered to be the most promising storage sites for carbon dioxide. Deep saline aquifers have the most storage capacity compared to other geological sites. ❧ After CO₂ is injected into an aquifer, a fraction of it, that can be large, is immobilized in the form of residual phase. Residual entrapment is an important component in successful storage of CO₂ in saline aquifers. Trapped CO₂ is eventually dissolved into the brine. Estimation of the fraction of the injected CO₂ that is trapped depends on CO₂ saturation profiles and saturation history. In the simulation of CO₂ injection into saline aquifers, conventional relative permeabilities functions are commonly used and it is assumed that viscous coupling is negligible. We show that the vertical migration of CO₂ in saline aquifers is often dominated by counter-current flow. Experimental and simulation studies of two- and three-phase flow in porous media show that the counter-current relative permeability is less than co-current relative permeability, that are commonly used (current industry standard) in the simulation of multiphase flow. ❧ This study focuses on including a velocity- -dependent relative permeability model in the simulation of multiphase flow in porous media to account for the flow dynamics (co- vs. counter-current flow) on relative permeability and fluid mobility. We use both co-current and counter-current relative permeability in the simulation of CO₂ injection from a well into an aquifer and show that the plume saturation profile is influenced by the dynamic relative permeability changes (transitions between co-current and counter-current flow). The fraction of the injected CO₂ that is trapped and the time-scale of vertical migration of CO₂ both increase when the transitions from co- to counter-current relative permeability are included. We conclude that using one set of relative permeabilities is not sufficient in the simulation of CO₂ injection into saline aquifers. We also demonstrate that a velocity-dependent mobility does not introduce numerical instability and that the simulation time does not change significantly. ❧ We have applied the velocity-dependent relative permeability in the simulation of gas (CO₂) injection into an oil reservoir in the context of enhanced oil recovery with three mobile phases. Cumulative oil and gas production increases just slightly in the new model, but water production decreases quite significantly. That is due to a better sweep efficiency when counter-current relative permeability is included in the calculation of phases' mobilities. ❧ Counter-current relative permeability can be measured directly using a controlled experimental design to eliminate the effect of boundaries on saturation distribution. It can also be estimated by pore-scale simulations, e.g. Lattice Boltzman simulations. Both methods have been used in the literature and both show a reduction in the relative permeability in counter-current settings. We have tested an indirect procedure to conclude a reduction of relative permeability in counter-current flows. ❧ The numerical simulations are done using IMPES and fully-implicit methods. No numerical instabilities were observed in any of the two methods by including counter-current relative permeability either in a discrete scheme or by using a velocity-dependent scheme. We conclude that the new model can predict CO₂ saturation profile more accurately than the conventional standard model.
|counter-current flow; porous media; reservoir simulation; CO₂ sequestration; relative permeability; multi-phase flow
|Format (imt)
|Part of collection
|University of Southern California dissertations and theses
|Publisher (of the original version)
|University of Southern California
|Place of publication (of the original version)
|Los Angeles, California
|Publisher (of the digital version)
|University of Southern California. Libraries
|Electronically uploaded by the author
|Legacy record ID
|Contributing entity
|University of Southern California
|Javaheri, Mohammad
|Physical access
|The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.
|Repository name
|University of Southern California Digital Library
|Repository address
|USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA
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|UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA The Role of Counter-Current Flow in the Modeling and Simulation of Multi-Phase Flow in Porous Media Mohammad Javaheri PHD DISSERTATION MORK FAMILY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA December 2013 © MOHAMMAD JAVAHERI 2013


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I'm starting to emerge from the wall of boxes! We've moved from a big house back to our small house at Lake Tahoe and we couldn't be happier. A friend once said that your home should fit like your clothes - not too big and not too small. So now we know 5,000 sq ft is too big and our condo at 1,400 sq ft is a bit tight, but workable. So until we find the right fit in the place we want to retire, we will stay here in the mountains.
It has been a busy time with moving, graduations, and all of the details that go along with life in 2012. I'm off to Portland tomorrow to care for my grandson for several days while his parents take a little vacation, and then I can begin to think about the new website. We've changed the launch date from June 11th to June 27th. I'll spend some time with my daughter this week learning the new technology.
Hope all is well with you regarding all of the new energy swirling and moving, twisting and turning. We live in interesting times, don't you think?
Special thanks to all of you that continue to stop by and check out this blog. I'm always amazed when I look at the site statistics and see that many of you are still with me - thank you so much.
More info to follow soon.

subset: commoncrawl


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|Betalain biosynthesis - Reference pathway
|Betalains are water-soluble nitrogen-containing pigments that are present in plants belonging to the order Caryophyllales (such as cactus and amaranth families) and in higher fungi. They contain betalamic acid as the chromophore and are classified into two types: betacyanins and betaxanthins. Betacyanins contain a cyclo-DOPA residue and exhibit red/violet coloration, while betaxanthins contain different amino acids or amino side chains and exhibit a yellow/orange coloration. The condensation of betalamic acid with amino acids (including cyclo-DOPA or amines) in plants is a spontaneous reaction, not an enzyme-catalyzed reaction.


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Fulbright Top Ten
Wheaton College has earned a top ten ranking among the nation's liberal arts colleges for its success in preparing students to win U.S. Fulbright awards for advanced study and work abroad.
The U.S. Department of State recently announced the complete list of colleges and universities that produced the most 2013–2014 Fulbright U.S. students. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. The success of the top-producing institutions is highlighted in the October 28 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The announcement marks the eighth consecutive year that Wheaton has ranked among the nation's top 10 liberal arts colleges in the preparation of Fulbright Scholars. Overall, the college's students have won 68 Fulbright awards from 2000 through 2012.
Wheaton's Fulbright award winners for 2013 are Lucy Cayard, Lindsay Cieslik, Rasheeda Abdul-Musawwir, Lindsay Powell and Lovina Tata.
Overall, Wheaton students won 12 national scholarships, including four Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship awards, a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Services Fellowship, a Rotary Global Grant, and a 100 Projects for Peace Award.
The success of Wheaton's students in winning the Fulbright reflects the college's broader achievements in preparing young women and men to excel in earning a wide variety of international scholarships. Since 2000, more than 161 Wheaton graduates have won awards such as the Rhodes, Marshall and Truman scholarships.


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Holy sepiatoned nipples! We've got six new clips from new Tarsem Singh's mythological epic Immortals — plus one exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how they built the massive sets our waxed-Adonises heroes would wrestle in.
Above is an interesting look at the world Tarsem and company built for our Greek Gods, plus we've got a collection of clips that show how the story will play out. Here's the film's official synopsis:
Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.
Immortals will open on November 11th!


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The Netgear DG834GT is a compact and simple box that offers an ADSL modem, a router, four 10/100 BASE-T switches, a 108Mbps Super G wireless access point and a firewall all in one package.
Using a chip doubler, the Netgear can effectively gain an increased data throughput over that offered by a standard 54Mbps connection. What this means in practise is you'll regularly achieve a data rate of 38Mbps. This is a more than acceptable rate, especially considering the fact that we had full encryption running.
On the downside, it gains this extra speed by claiming all available bandwidth, making this solution less than ideal in areas with a high density of Wi-Fi hotspots. There are faster chipsets on the market, but we found the Netgear DG834GT easy to setup, install and run. Michael Browne


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With nine arrests, eight guns, nine small decks and five bricks of heroin confiscated, Thursday was a busy day for the Trenton Police Department Tactical Units 1 and 2. The TAC units were working as part of the county-wide violent crime task force, which includes the Mercer County prosecutor's Office, the Mercer County sheriff's office, and each of the county's police departments. On Thursday, the TAC units under the command of Lt. Leonard Aviles worked with the prosecutor's office and sheriffs targeting violent offenders.
'We compiled a list of offenders we think have a propensity to commit violent crimes,' Sgt. Darren Zappley of TAC 1 said. 'We just looked up individual warrants and started picking them up.'
5:00 A.M. 'SLOW OUT OF BED' One of the names on the list was Isiah Harris, 25, of Trenton, who had an outstanding warrant. Police arrived at 400 block of Stuyvesant Avenue, where the homeowner let TAC 1 Det. Noel Santiago and Det. Tony Abarno from the prosecutor's office into the house and led them to a second floor bedroom where Harris was in bed with his girlfriend. The two detectives told Harris there was a warrant for his arrest, but Harris struggled to get out of bed because he said he had suffered a leg injury. Harris was shot twice in the leg in a Nov. 4 shooting on the 400 block of West Hanover Street. Harris showed the detectives his leg and pointed to a walker in the bedroom, but it seemed like the injury was not the only thing slowing Harris down.
'I wouldn't go as far as saying he was resisting arrest, but he was definitely stalling,' Zappley said. 'It was more of a passive resistance.'
It turns out that Harris was hiding a loaded Taurus .38 special handgun while he was in bed. Detectives helped Harris out of bed and placed him under arrest. A search warrant for the rest of the bedroom was obtained and under the bed, detectives found two SKS semi-automatic rifles, one of which had a loaded 30-round magazine. Various rifle and handgun ammunition and drug paraphernalia was also found. Harris was charged with three counts of possession of a weapon, certain persons not to have a weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Officer Drew Astbury with the K9 unit received a call about a man in a grey hoodie with a gun on the 100 block of Boudinot Street. Astbury saw the suspect and tried to stop him, but the suspect, a juvenile, fled inside a house. While Astbury went after the suspect through the front door, Officer Pedro Perez moved to cover the rear of the home. The suspect opened the window of the second-floor middle bedroom and tossed a loaded 9mm Luger out the window, nearly hitting Perez.
'Thank goodness a round wasn't in the chamber,' Zappley said. 'It could have gone off as it hit the ground.'
Perez recovered the gun. The suspect's mother was home and agreed to let Astbury search the home for her son. The suspect was found in the bedroom where he had tossed the gun and was placed under arrest. He has been referred to the Middlesex County Youth Home. Five bricks of heroin were also discovered in the teen's bedroom.
7:30 P.M. 'THE 'STOLEN' CAR' TAC 2 detectives Aaron Bernstein and Richard Bender, along with Ptl. Zuzzio Kane of the Hamilton Police department were patrolling the West Trenton section of Ewing, when they spotted a silver 2000 Buick with three occupants looking at an object. When Bernstein approached the vehicle to shine his flashlight through the vehicle's tinted windows, the occupants first slid down in their seats to try and hide, then the driver, later identified by police as Charles Willis, 19, of Trenton, took off. Police also observed Omar Algirner, 21, of Ewing, throw a black handgun into the back seat.
The three suspects led police on a brief car chase down Eisenhower Avenue. The suspects attempted to ditch the car and keep running in the 100 block of Oakland Street, but Willis and Karim White, 19, of Trenton, were arrested at the scene. As Algirner tried to elude Trenton police, he called Ewing police to report his Buick as stolen.
'He was trying to absolve himself from the fact that he had guns in his car,' TAC 2 Sgt. Tony Manzo said.
Ewing police noticed that Algirner had warrants for his arrest and after some back and forth with the TPD, they determined that Algernir's story was bogus. A loaded Smith and Wesson handgun and a loaded Colt .45 were recovered. All three suspects were charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, two counts of possession of ammunition, eluding police, hindering, and certain persons not to have weapons.
8:00 P.M. 'GUN IN THE SEWER' TAC 2 Detective Brian Susche and Michael Fiabane of the prosecutor's office were on Hamilton Avenue when they approached a man they suspected of having a weapon. The suspect, identified by police as Clifford Thomas, 25, of Trenton, led police to on a foot chase to Ardmore Street at Greenwood Avenue. During the chase, police said, Thomas threw a 9mm handgun into the sewer. The sewer was shallow and dry that day, so police were able to recover the weapon. Thomas faces weapons charges and eluding.
11:00 p.m. 'GUNS, DRUGS AND A LIQUOR STORE'
TAC 2 Detectives Sam Johnson and Santiago received a tip from the sheriff's office regarding a man with a gun on a bike outside the Jet Wine & Liquor Store in the 200 block of Willow Street. Outside the store, detectives approached Gregory Harrington, 47, of Trenton. Harrington tried to elude police by running back inside the liquor store, but Johnson dragged him back outside and placed him under arrest. Harrington is facing weapons and drug charges.
In two additional instances Thursday, Hakeem Tucker, 26, of Trenton and Aziz Glover, 20, of Trenton were arrested on outstanding warrants as part of the task force's operation.


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In this week's io9 show, we discuss some of our favorite web comics, urban dystopia, and the difference between the art in Alien and its forthcoming prequel, Prometheus. Plus, use science to blow up your breakfast and annoy your friends! Why do we have a hammer on the table in front of us? You decide.
You can catch more episodes of the io9 Show on YouTube or Revision3. We're also on iTunes! Tune in every Friday for more future than you can shake a hammer at!


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Beat Them to the Punch: Fall Cocktails of the Farmers Market
CUESA - Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM (PST)
Pull your party dresses and bow ties out of the closet for the kick-off event of the holiday season: Beat them to the Punch: Fall Cocktails of the Farmers Market. While the months ahead will surely feature obligatory office parties and family gatherings, you won't want to miss this evening of overflowing punch bowls and savory bites with your friends.
Join CUESA and the Northern California chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild (USBG) in the Ferry Building's Grand Hall for a cozy night of creative holiday punches, hot spiced drinks, and nogs. An all-star lineup of bartenders and chefs will highlight fresh produce from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, like pomegranates, persimmons, pears, citrus, and other fall delights.
Guests receive two full-sized signature cocktails featuring Herradura Tequila, 11 sample sized drinks, and delicious hors d'oeuvres from ten of the Bay Area's hottest chefs. A recipe booklet will be shared with attendees featuring all 13 seasonal drinks to inspire future party planning. Beat the party season to the punch and warm your soul with good friends as the winter holidays set in. There'll be no Chardonnay, baked Brie, or fruitcake at this fete!
Tickets: $45, inclusive of all food and drink.
Participating Bartenders and Bars:
Mauricio Moe Arce, Monarch
Adam Barr & Ruari Horan, Rock Bar
Tayler Buffington, Range
John DeCarlis, Chapel
Erik Ellstad, Slanted Door Group
Levi Jacobs, The New Easy
Dillon Lockwood & Alex Smith, Novela
Andrew Meltzer, 15 Romolo
Suzie Robinson, Blowfish Sushi
Aaron Sears, Palmer's Tavern
Vita Simone, Kingston 11 and Sassafras Seagrass
Trent Simpson, La Urbana
Mari Urquizo, Buckshot
Featured Fine Spirits:
Jim Beam Signature Craft Series 12 Year Bourbon
Participating Chefs and Restaurants:
Adam Carpenter, The Park Bistro & Bar
Benjamin Klein, La Urbana
Hiroo Nagahara, HN2 Group
Mario Tolentino, Betelnut SF
Erica Holland Toll, Prather Ranch Meat Co. American Eatery
Phil West & Rachel Sillcocks, Range
Mike Yakura, Dobbs Ferry
Nick Yoon, Izakaya Kou
Stephane Tonnelier, FIVE
NOTE: Tickets are nonrefundable. No one under 21 years old will be admitted.
Photos by Valter Fabiano.
CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to growing thriving communities through the power and joy of local food. Founded in 1994, CUESA operates the world-renowned Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and Mission Community Market in San Francisco, and the Jack London Square Farmers Market in Oakland. CUESA is a cutting-edge force in influencing how people grow, produce, and eat food in the Bay Area and beyond. Learn more at cuesa.org.
In order to purchase these tickets in installments, you'll need an Eventbrite account. Log in or sign up for a free account to continue.


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Bismillah writes "University of Bristol researchers have come up with a way to make touch screens more touchy-feely so to speak, using ultrasound waves to produce haptic feedback. You don't need to touch the screen even, as the UltraHaptics waves can be felt mid-air. Very Minority Report, but cooler."
The researchers built an ultrasonic transducer grid behind an acoustically transparent display. Using acoustic modeling of a volume above the screen, they can create multiple movable control points with varying properties. A Leap Motion controller was used to detect the hand movements.


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The problem with remastered classics is that they so rarely live up to their status, or indeed your own memories. What was once revolutionary now seems antiquated. Visuals that once evoked awe now evoke nothing more than pity. Developers face a choice between enhancing the game beyond all recognition or throwing out something that the majority of the playing public won't want to buy or play; 5, 10, 15 years later, most games just don't stand up.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is an exception. Playing what's supposed to be one of the best and most-loved games of all time, you come away thinking that it's still one of the best and understanding why it's so much loved. While Nintendo's 3DS remaster isn't perhaps all that it could have been, it succeeds in making the dated graphics look less dated and throwing in a few 3DS-specific features. Most importantly, the game beneath still shines.
Ocarina of Time 3D can feel old-school and some of the ideas it introduced have been expanded on umpteen times in subsequent games, yet it remains one of the most graceful, seamless and engaging works of game design ever produced. Think of it like the first Star Wars trilogy: it's of its time and the technology is no longer cutting-edge, but that doesn't mean it isn't great.
Let's get the disappointments out of the way first of all. Graphically, this is an update rather than a wholesale remake. If you were hoping for something on the scale of what Capcom did with Resident Evil on the Gamecube, Ocarina of Time 3D isn't it. Characters, landscapes and monsters look smoother and rounder than they did on the N64, but they still have a weird, very angular appearance, and while many textures have been replaced and backgrounds rebuilt in full 3D, we're talking enhancement, nothing more. On the plus side, the original game had character and none of this has been lost. Ocarina of Time 3D still looks and feels like Ocarina of Time, but it's a version you can play without looking at the screen and wincing.
There are also some elements of the game that could have done with updating or fixing. The save system, which saves the status of the world but not your actual position in it, is a menace, and most of us will use the 3DS's close-to-sleep function when we want a rest. Some of the camera angles, particularly in certain boss battles, are terrible. It's impossible to lock on to a specific part of a monster's body if you can't even see it, and it just adds insult to injury when the camera has decided that what you really want is a nice view of the other side of a wall.
The game has its share of mildly irritating fetch quests, and it's annoying to run out of bombs, arrows or other useful consumables, usually just when you need them most, then have to run around picking up rocks, smashing pots and slashing grass in the hope of finding what you need. It also seems silly that the Master Quest - a remixed version of the game with different dungeons - isn't unlocked at the start. Those returning to Ocarina after 12 years might have liked the chance to try a different version straight away.
Most of all, the 3DS's USP - 3D - remains a bit of a problem. Ocarina of Time 3DS uses it just about better than any 3DS title to date, and it genuinely helps enhance the feeling of being immersed in a grand fantasy game world. However, it's nearly impossible to put up with the effect for more than half an hour or so, and Ocarina of Time 3D is a game you'll want to play for hours at a time. Throw tilt controls for aiming missile weapons into the mix, and the need to keep your head at the right angle becomes a nightmare. In practice, we switched in and out of 3D mode depending on what we were doing and how tired we felt, and we suspect most sensible souls will do the same.
Oddly, the more you play, the less any of these things matter. Words like "absorbing" and "engrossing" don't really go far enough for Ocarina of Time 3D. You go into it expecting a history lesson or a nostalgia exercise, and instead get sucked clean into the game. As Nintendo's elfin hero, Link, transforms from anonymous orphan to the saviour of Hyrule, roaming the land in search of spirit stones and sages, the tale grows ever more magnificent. Let's get real: the idea of a big, open world to explore isn't as new or exciting as it was in 1999, and Zelda's land of Hyrule isn't anywhere near as big or as crammed with people, monsters and things to do as the worlds of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion or Fallout 3. Yet, despite this, the things you can see and do in Hyrule make it seem just as full of life and opportunity for adventure. Ocarina of Time still has drama and mythic grandeur to spare.
The dungeons are the stars. When Ocarina of Time first appeared it seemed like a masterclass in 3D games design, and even now it's hard not to feel impressed at the way the game introduces new tools or new principles then runs with them, twisting ideas and messing with your preconceptions so that you're solving puzzle after puzzle without ever feeling like you're running through a gauntlet of conundrums. Even the smaller monsters aren't cannon fodder - each one demands a strategy to take them out - and the bosses are imaginative and challenging without ever becoming unnecessarily complex damage sponges (we're looking at you, Darksiders: Wrath of War). Certain dungeons - the Water Temple, the Spirit Temple, the one inside a monstrous fish's stomach - have become legends, and playing Ocarina of Time again it's not hard to see why; they're tough, ingenious and memorable. Frequently copied, they've rarely been surpassed, even in subsequent Zeldas.
As the game throws in its biggest concept - allowing Link to switch between child and adult forms in two specific periods of time - the game only grows deeper and more enjoyable. It's not just that there a superb contrast between the sunny, hopeful world of the child Link and the dark, deadly world of his adult self; Ocarina of Time explores the potential this brings, as changes you make in the past transform the world you see in the present.
And when you're not wrapped up in the dungeons, there's always something else to see and do. Whether you're engaged in weird chicken-grabbing challenges, planting seeds, learning tunes or hunting the rare golden "skulltulas", a trip away from the main quest is constantly rewarding. As we said, Hyrule isn't big or heavily populated by any means, but Ocarina of Time 3D makes the most of it. Somehow, the game does more to establish interesting situations, locations and characters with primitive graphics and a few lines of text than some modern games manage with all their photorealistic, motion-captured mumbo-jumbo. Even now, it still holds up. What strikes you more is the role of the music. For all its plinky-plonky midi tones, the Zelda score conveys more emotion and atmosphere than many fully-orchestrated blockbuster soundtracks, and effortlessly nails a sense of place and occasion every time.
Changes are few and far between, but very sensible when you spot them. A new hint system, tied in to the weird carved stones dotted around Hyrule, works wonders, almost obviating any need for FAQs while still retaining the game's sense of mystery. The tilt controls for firing slingshots and arrows works well, though you may slip back into the old analogue-stick based targeting after a while. The touchscreen menus are the best feature, making powers, items and equipment more accessible, and saving you a lot of time paging through the menus. You'll appreciate it when you hit the later temples.
There's something a bit sad about the fact that the first must-have game on the 3DS is an update of a 12-year-old classic. It's even sadder when you'll spend half your time with the 3D effect switched off. But then Ocarina of Time 3DS isn't your average remastered oldie. Those of us who worked our way through the original version 12 years ago will find Ocarina of Time 3DS every bit as brilliant as we remember. Those of us who didn't have a treat in store: it's a seriously wonderful game.


text: Event Description:This classis comprised of both single and married persons, ages of 40 – 80, though any age is welcome! The Messenger class studies a wide variety of materials -- those created by class members, books class members have suggested, and an overall variety of Adult Education curriculum. Often, class members purchase their own books and when the study is complete those books are donated to the 3rd floor resource library. The class was formed from friendships developed in Alpha Classes and a mutual desire of a continued small group learning experience. This class loves discussion and debate!Church Staff: (We require all events to be sponsored by Church Staff)Marla WoodContact Information:Name: ReceptionistPhone: 256-539-5738 ext 210Email: email@example.com Information:Huntsville First United Methodist Church - Main BuildingRoom: 129 - Disciple


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If the above steps do not solve your request, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com for more options.
*These results from Archive.org are for all versions of www.latestbingo.co.uk over time. Use the Version popup under the site screenshot to switch between historic versions on Webcred.it, where available.
And Warning: Really old entries on Archive.org may be incomplete!


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Welcome to the Trawler Photos Forums.
In order to promote communication between individual fishermen we have created the classified section available in the link at the top of the page. It means that classified is only between fishermen, not company to fishermen.
Companies who want to advertise on this site, please contact the site administrator for future information and opportunities. Contact Us
This area is for the administration of the site.
Details on any news & announcements regarding the website. Only Admins & Moderators may post in this forum.
15th December 2017, 15:02
If you're looking for a guide on how to use the features of the site, having any problems with the site, or have a question on how to do something, then post it here.
Just a little thanks to the...
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This category is for the discussion of any aspect of trawlers.
Talk about anything to do with trawlers, their gear, crews, owners, etc here.
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Post any requests or research related queries you may have in this forum.
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Discuss all aspects of model trawlers here.
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Any other information to do with modelling is always useful. Post all your modelling links here.
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A forum for talking about the photos featured in the gallery on this site.
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HULL TRAWLER GROUP on Facebook
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Off-Topic , non-fishing related , infact anything you like provided its not nasty guys.
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Welcome to our newest member, Highlandeer


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Plays for Today: David Edgar at the Wickham Theatre
7 May 2012
The internationally celebrated dramatist, David Edgar comes to the University of Bristol this Thursday [10 May] to deliver the 2012 Wickham Lecture entitled 'Plays for Today: the playwright's place in British Theatre – then and now'.
David Edgar has been at the forefront of playwriting in Britain for three decades. In more than sixty plays, performed worldwide, as well as on TV and radio, he has explored political and social issues in this country and abroad.
He won a Tony Award for The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby, his adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel, which became an international success for the RSC. Most recently, Written on the Heart, his play about the writing of the 1611 King James Bible, has been acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.
In addition to his plays, he is a regular commentator in the press on the relationship between the arts and society, a frequent broadcaster, and the author of How Plays Work, an analysis of the dramatist's art. In 1989 he founded the UK's first MA in playwriting at Birmingham University, becoming its Professor of Playwriting Studies in 1995. He is also President of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.
The annual Wickham Lecture is sponsored by the University of Bristol's Department of Drama: Theatre, Film, Television and the Society for Theatre Research. It is presented in recognition of the achievements of the late Professor Glynne Wickham who pioneered the introduction of drama as an academic subject in British universities and established the Bristol department, the first in the UK. Professor Wickham was also President of the Society for Theatre Research for many years.
The lecture takes place on Thursday 10 May at 5.30pm at the Wickham Theatre, Cantocks Close, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UP. Admission free.


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STOCKTON - University of the Pacific men's basketball program has waited seven years for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
STOCKTON - University of the Pacific men's basketball program has waited seven years for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
So, the players, coaches and others in the Tigers' travel party didn't seem a bit annoyed Wednesday afternoon when their flight out of Stockton Metropolitan Airport bound for Austin, Texas, for Friday's meeting with Miami in the NCAA Tournament was delayed about 90 minutes.
Nothing could calm their excitement.
"I still haven't been able to get my smile off my face the past few days," senior forward Travis Fulton said. "It's just a dream come true to make this tournament and what I've always wanted to get, and now it's come true, so I'm very happy."
Allegiant Air Flight 4406-1 lifted off the tarmac at about 4:30 p.m. with Pacific's 101-member travel party aboard a chartered 150-seat McDonnell Douglass 83 aircraft. The original plane scheduled to take the Tigers to their first tournament since the 2005-06 season and the fifth in coach Bob Thomason's 25th and final season experienced technical problems earlier Wednesday, so another plane had to be dispatched from Las Vegas.
Pacific's flight arrived safely Wednesday night in Austin, where Pacific will practice and meet with the media today at the Frank Erwin Events Center before conducting another practice at a different location tonight.
Thomason knows the 15th-seeded Tigers are long shots to beat the No. 2-seeded Hurricanes, a popular pick among national pundits to advance to the Final Four in Atlanta. Win or lose, Thomason wants the players to enjoy the experience.
"I don't care if you're trying to win or can win, you better enjoy this experience because it's something these kids have dreamed about all their life," said Thomason, who is retiring as head coach of his alma mater's program at season's end. "And now they have a chance to do it."
Pacific was picked sixth in the Big West Conference preseason media poll after winning just 11 games last season.
The Tigers doubled their number of victories this season and take a seven-game win streak and the Big West Conference Tournament championship into Friday's game against No. 2 Miami, the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament champions. Pacific's success in Thomason's final season has been special.
"It's kind of overwhelming," said Thomason, who will turn 64 on Tuesday. "It's a situation where you always dream of going to the NCAAs and then to go in your last year of coaching with a team that we didn't know would be able to go to the NCAAs, but they played really great. Hopefully we'll play the game of our life on Friday and give ourselves an outside chance to win."
Last season, senior guard Lorenzo McCloud was in his first year at Pacific out of Santa Rosa Junior College.
He said suffering through a losing season was a sobering prelude to this season's success.
"I just really felt like from the beginning this was the best place where you had an opportunity to win," said McCloud, the Tiger's leading scorer, averaging 11.4 points per game. "We all just finally meshed together and made it happen."
Pacific's travel party includes the Pacific Pep Band and Pacific Dance Team. Mackie Fay, a 20-year-old engineering management major from Oakdale, appeared to be as excited as the players. She said she has plans on how to spend some of her spare time in Austin.
"A lot of our team wants to go line dancing," said Fay, who's in her third season on the dance team. "We want to get the whole Southern, country thing and of course, win the game."
Pacific booster Bing Kirk and his 12-year-old son, Nick, made the trip.
"There's some destiny here," said Kirk, a retired real estate developer who owns a coffee roasting business in Stockton. "What a great way for Bob to retire."
DeAnn Jacobsen and her father-in-law, Von Jacobsen, were among the first in the travel party to congregate inside the airport terminal. With her 10-month-old son Luke in her arms and daughters Presley, 8, and Ava, 5, milling about, DeAnn appeared to be excited but a tad frazzled. Her husband, Adam Jacobsen, is in his 12th season coaching on Thomason's staff after playing guard for Thomason at Pacific from 1993-98.
"Late nights, early mornings," DeAnn Jacobsen said. "And Adam's working the whole time and trying to take care of the family and school work, and the players have school work, too."
Von Jacobsen is no stranger to the NCAA tournament, having seen Adam coach in the tournament and his younger son, Casey, compete in the tournament while at Stanford from 1999-2002.
"There's nothing like this trip," Von Jacobsen said. "I like playing the best teams and we're playing one of the best teams. They're going to look past us, and you never know."
That's why it's called March Madness.
Contact Sports Editor Bob Highfill at (209) 546-8282 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/sportsblog.


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Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012 -2:00pm – 5:00pm
Beginning Aikido is a FREE workshop offered on Saturday, September 22nd, 2012 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. This FREE workshop will be taught jointly by senior students of Aikido Shugyo Dojo. It is for new members (in their first six months) at Aikido Shugyo Dojo, and others who have no experience in Aikido, but are interested in trying.
This workshop offers a comfortable atmosphere in which to try new things and to ask questions. Please bring a t-shirt and loose-fitting pants. For more information, please contact Fran Turner.
Elements in the workshop, Beginning Aikido, include:
- Ukemi—fear of falling, balance, power
- Timing—dynamic vs. static practice, waiting
- Contact—controls, locks, pins, contact exercises
- Centred Movement—weapons demonstration, selected techniques
- Breathing—ki and relaxation
- Demonstrations of weapons practice, dealing with multiple attackers and technique reversals


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Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
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Running on an upgraded and improved version of the Infinity Engine, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition includes the entire Baldur's Gate adventure, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack, and never before seen content including a new adventure, and three new party members: The Calishite Monk Rasaad yn Bashir, Neera the Wild Mage, and Dorn Il-Khan, the evil blackguard.
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MUDDY CREEK TWP — A Butler man is accused of drunken boating at Moraine State Park.
The defendant, 34-year-old Roy C. Jones II, also collided with another boat shortly before 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12 on Lake Arthur, authorities said.
Park rangers Monday charged Jones with operating a watercraft under the influence, reckless and negligent operation of a watercraft, and possessing and/or consuming alcohol at a state park.
Authorities said they responded to the lake after a caller reported an unsafe boater driving a rental boat on the water.
Authorities eventually spoke to the defendant and he appeared to be intoxicated. Rangers found seven empty cans and five full cans of an unspecified alcoholic beverage in the boat he was driving.
Read the full story in Wednesday's Butler Eagle.


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That is so old and so simple it isn't worth mentioning. Even a local cop can commandeer your car and take it on a high speed chase if needed. Nothing new here at all.Him needing to sign an executive order for it is new, and very suspicious looking.
tbeek, a couple of threads back you made a statement about the media trying to widen the divide in this nation but throwing bush up in this seems designed to do the same thing, i didn't mention obama when i brought this up. this will outlast the current administration so it really doesn't matter who defines what will no longer be mine when they decide to take it.i agree with kathy, the authority has always been there in some form but it is now detailed and rubber stamped. our government sure seems to be setting the stage for grabbing a lot more control these days. i need to start looking over the farm bill, i heard something on the news yesterday that threw up a red flag and i want to look into it a little closer. it had something to do with labeling and it sounded like it could make things hard on small farmers.
yeah, and they had no system for tagging what they took so some people never got their stuff back. that was a heck of a mess and it started right there in NO. i have been down there for disasters a couple of times and it rivals Chicago for corruption.


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There are some emails with links to people's cracked websites with a malware download
Like this kind of email: fake DHL pack station email
... the links often take the form of:
http:// www.mandyhank.com /sbfdiqr.php?get_info=ss00_323
http:// sasfamily.com /fpxlcaj.php?get_info=ss00_323
http:// tfdesignsandpcrepair.com /dinwnle.php?get_info=ss00_323
And, until the site is taken down or fixed, going there with a browser will download a zip file containing an exe trojan.
But trying to wget or curl it gets:
Not Found
The requested URL was not found on this server.
I've tried to use the same user-agent string from my browser in curl. How can I get a copy of the landing page HTML so I can follow it the rest of the way? I doubt it's a JS thing, my browser runs with JS disabled.


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Wednesday, August 3, 2016
It is a known fact that the economy of small towns is not as buoyant as metros and Tier I cities. However, Indian startups belonging to small towns are trying to prove it wrong. Although most investors and VCs chase startups from bigger cities, small town startups are holding their own and tasting success. In spite of launching their ventures from small towns, their founders have met with startup success well beyond the boundaries of their small towns.
"Indusface has proved to be a valuable security partner with its Total Application Security solution. Their 'detect-protect-monitor' package handles security worries so we can focus on improving services for our customers. Vulnerability detection, attack blocking and near real-time reports are some of the key differentiators that we enjoy with them. The web application scanning and web protection combination ..."
"As one of the leading banks in India, securing application infrastructure is critical for us. Indusface's Total Application Security package allows us to scan vulnerabilities continuously and prevent attacks. Indusface also provides the unique benefits of expert handling and tuning on custom rules with round-the-clock traffic monitoring and protection through on-premise appliances ..."
"Our complete ecommerce infrastructure is hosted on the cloud and we are glad to have Indusface as partner for web security. Due to their association with cloud service providers and prompt deployment options, Indusface was the preferred security choice. The on-demand and scheduled scanning helps us keep track of vulnerabilities that may otherwise damage our website or put customers at risk ..."


text:
3,000 SF Villa Park LEASED!
Brown Commercial Group, Inc.
1400 E. Higgins Rd., Ste. A
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847.758.9200
Fax: 847.758.9292
Brown Commercial Group specializes in commercial and industrial real estate in the Chicagoland area. With over 50 years of combined experience, our professionals have built many relationships, and gained a thorough understanding of the intricacies needed to negotiate and secure the most timely and favorable results for all of our clients.


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Knowing full well the State of Texas had no jurisdiction to try the case filed against me by Gilmer Boating and Fishing Club Incorporated because they were in bad standing with the state of Texas and had no right to conduct business or file suit in the state of Texas Judge Parish tried the case anyway and found against me and later sentenced me to 4 months in county jail. My attorney told her that there was a mistake on GBFC's filing and they filed in a bogus name.
So I say PISS on Judge Parish.


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During my seven years as a visual designer at Cooper, I've learned that designing for complex digital products and services requires input from a number of unique perspectives to be truly effective. Furthermore, each of those perspectives must be effectively integrated throughout the lifecycle of the design process to achieve results that are consistently and predictably usable, useful and desirable.
In the course of managing, consulting and teaching, I have not only had the opportunity to define and discuss design process with my colleagues here at Cooper, but with countless practicing designers from organizations all over the world as well. Unfortunately, my observation has been that even when all of the right people are involved, more often than not, the various design disciplines opt to compartmentalize the problem. In other words, they divide the project into an interaction design problem, a visual design problem, and an industrial design problem. Each of these problems is then tackled separately, and the resulting individual design solutions get bolted together at the end. It's a Tower of Babel situation, where huge opportunities are lost because the team fails to work together to come up with an innovative product solution and to employ a single, unified design language.
A fractured process makes for a fractured user experience
In practice, people view their experience with a product in a unified way. For example, when a user interacts with a cell phone, she doesn't experience the phone's behavior separately from the visual and tactile presentation of that behavior on screen and through the physical form factor. Why, then, don't product teams consider these aspects of the experience in a unified way when designing solutions?
Of course, we know that many digital products and services represent extraordinarily complex, large-scale design challenges. A significant degree of rigor and a rational approach to methodology is required to bring together the diverse perspectives of the different design disciplines in a way that results in optimal creative abrasion, rather than destructive friction that threatens to bring the entire process to a grinding halt(1).To this end, let me share with you a few of the insights that we've gleaned from practicing a truly convergent approach to design.
(I should note that in an attempt to keep the length under control, I've focused this article on the convergence of interaction and visual design for products with defined hardware, like PC's or handsets. We're looking forward to sharing our experiences with integrating these two disciplines with industrial design in a future article.)
All for one, and one for all
First, each design discipline must be involved throughout the entire lifecycle of the design process in order to get full value from a convergent approach. This doesn't necessarily mean full-time participation by all team members at all times, but it does mean consistent and regular involvement from the beginning.
A common approach that I have observed in the industry is to have research and analysis specialists conduct an investigation and deliver a document to interaction designers, who then develop and deliver wireframes to visual designers, who subsequently skin the wireframe for delivery to developers. Meanwhile, the industrial design team will have taken that same research report (or, in some cases, an entirely separate research report!) and developed a hardware solution to the physical components of the problem for delivery to manufacturing. At this point, the manufacturer is responsible for merging the software and hardware into a single, "integrated" product. This fireman's brigade approach to design ensures that many good contributions get dropped between handoff points, never making it into the final design deliverable.
Industrial design shouldn't happen prior to interaction design, and visual design shouldn't occur after interaction design is complete. Rather, activities from each discipline should happen in parallel, with all design team members working in partnership on key activities. This includes research, requirements definition, the definition of the design framework, and the refinement and documentation of detail design.
The practice of interaction design tends to be highly process driven, while visual design is often less so. Yet, I have observed that a well-defined process improves the results of both. For example, a process that provides visibility, predictability and supports rational decision making minimizes the effects of subjectivity and the need for experimentation in order to achieve outstanding visual design solutions. Besides, a well-considered process is essential to the successful integration of the disciplines.
Find a process that brings the right constituents together
You may be familiar with Goal-Directed Design. The basic idea is simple: by focusing on accomplishing goals, instead of specific product features or technologies, we create the opportunity for discovering breakthrough design ideas. While the level of effort and certain tactical details may vary, for nearly every design challenge the same basic strategic approach proves to be most effective.
For instance, understanding and defining the design problem and the people it relates to before you attempt to develop serious solutions is always a good idea. Investing time in considering the fundamental form and key relationships of a design concept before attempting to resolve precise details is essential for avoiding painful, expensive and sometimes unworkable course corrections. Design considerations don't suddenly evaporate when implementation begins. These truths are relevant to interaction design, visual design, and industrial design. This is why they are represented in the Goal-Directed Design process: Research, Modeling, Requirements Definition, Framework Definition, Design Refinement, and Development Support.
Convergence during design research
During research, the team's focus is on interviews with stakeholders, subject matter experts, customers, and end users. This ethnographic-style research facilitates vision alignment with project stakeholders and provides critical data for the design process. At Cooper, we believe that it is essential for designers to be directly involved in the research. While research specialists exist, my observation has been that it is difficult for interaction designers to do their jobs well if they are not directly involved in the collection of the vital information that feeds the design process.
With this in mind, it is not uncommon for visual designers and industrial designers to be left out of this activity altogether. In some cases this is done to reduce cost, since even the interaction designers are fighting to justify every single interview. In other cases, the value of their participation is not well understood. It is true that some of the information from research activities can be shared in the form of a written report or through verbal communication. However, excluding key design team members from the activity entirely drastically reduces their ability to contribute to the design process, especially so for a convergent approach. Without direct participation, visual designers and industrial designers are forced to either accept the interpretation of those that conducted the research (often the interaction designers) or reject that interpretation entirely and rely on a purely self-referential design approach.
Another factor to consider is that each design discipline has unique information needs for effective design decision making. When one of these design team members is excluded, it is almost certain that some of this unique information will not be properly emphasized (or collected at all, for that matter). For stakeholder interviews, there is often a need to speak with exclusively visual or industrial design-oriented stakeholders, who may be disregarded with a purely interaction design oriented research approach.
Involve visual and industrial designers in stakeholder interviews
Key visual design stakeholders, for example, include GUI developers responsible for implementing the design, product managers or others who are responsible for the overall vision of the product and have information about the intended display, and senior corporate marketing people or others responsible for brand strategy. Also, make sure to identify brand stakeholders who can speak beyond what is written down in the available brand documentation. A visual designer needs to know what has been done before and why, as well as what the future portends, not just what the current state is. This will facilitate the process and execution of a visual design language strategy that works.
During stakeholder interviews, interaction designers look for a product vision, information about the users and relevant markets, presumed project schedule, time, cost, and technology constraints, as well as any general concerns that might affect the success of the project. In addition to this, visual designers also ask about brand attributes the design should convey, existing guidelines and examples of branded artifacts, competition, and technical constraints that have a bearing on display such as target platform, resolution and color depth. A final point that should not be overlooked is that stakeholder interviews represent an opportunity to initiate relationships with key stakeholders. For these reasons, we make full-time participation in stakeholder interviews a best practice for our projects.
Involve visual and industrial designers in user interviews
It is also important to consider full design-team involvement in first-hand user research. However, this is an activity where it is usually difficult to justify full-time engagement by all, because there are some very real trade-offs beyond the standard cost considerations. For instance, cramming one or two more people into that tiny office cubicle can certainly present difficulties. In addition, interview time is always a limitation, and there typically isn't enough time for all team members to get equal time (besides the fact that it can be intimidating to have four or five people barraging the interviewee with questions). We address this last issue by making a practice of identifying a single team member to drive the main line of inquiry, while the others restrict themselves to providing support and taking advantages of gaps in the conversation to slip in a question. I have also noticed that there is often a few spare minutes left at the end of each interview session where discipline-centric topics can be explored.
A convergent approach relies heavily on the productive tension created by the unique perspectives of the different design disciplines. If one or more team member is excluded entirely from any significant part of the engagement—but particularly the research phase—the balance of power is lost.
Consider this scenario: The design team is reviewing an early framework sketch for a consumer-oriented photo and video sharing interface. Based on past experience, the visual designer on the team has some concerns over the information density represented by the current design and the impression it leaves. The interaction designers respond by referencing the research, suggesting that the degree of density shouldn't represent an issue based on the people they interviewed and observed. If the visual designer has no direct experience with that research, where does the conversation go from here? The visual designer is not an equal participant in the conversation. This naturally results in design solutions that miss significant opportunities to fully address more emotional and inspirational drivers, which are key for creating memorable interactions that build long-term customer loyalty and brand equity.
Balancing resources during research
So, what is the right balance for participation in the research? For stakeholder interviews, full-time participation by all contributing team members is the way to go. The content of these interviews is critical to the success of all of the contributing designers, and there is no more efficient method for ensuring that the information is received and understood.
For user interviews, where the trade-offs are more significant, a more judicious approach is warranted. For projects that are defined by a familiar context of use, such as a typical office desktop PC configuration, and a user population with no unique characteristics, one or two days of full team participation may suffice. In these cases, the interaction designers are typically best suited to serve as a proxy for the full team for the remaining interviews. It is crucial that visual and industrial designers be involved in defining and adjusting the interview topic list as the research progresses and that regular check-ins are scheduled to allow for these other team members to participate in the iterative synthesis of the research data.
For initiatives dealing with a more foreign context of use, like a surgical operating room, or users with unique considerations, such as diabetics who tend to have vision or motor disabilities like shaky hands, it can be easy to justify four or five days or more of full-team user research participation, depending on the scale and strategic significance of the project.
What challenges and opportunities might a visual designer or industrial designer identify from an interview context like this one?
How might a visual design language strategy differ for people in these different environments?
Convergence during Modeling
Based on the synthesis of the completed research, the design team models users (personas) and workflows in order to provide insight into user goals that will drive and focus design, and support effective communication with key decision-makers. Interaction designers typically begin this phase by understanding and modeling processes, and more importantly on driving the development of personas.
Visual designers and industrial designers should consult into the persona creation process to ensure that these essential user archetypes align with brand strategy, and more specifically, contain appropriate emotional and aspirational dimensions. When this perspective is omitted, the resulting persona set tends to over-emphasize the satisfaction of functional goals (what users want to accomplish) and leaves out experience goals (how they want to feel while they are using the product or service). Not having a strong perspective on experience goals can cause the team to overlook opportunities to deliver unique, memorable, and ultimately brand-building experiences. In addition, a minimal amount of participation in the process itself can ensure that the entire design team feels a sense of ownership, and has the chance to truly understand and internalize the key factors underlying the persona set.
Beyond the creation of user models, one of the crucial activities of this stage is achieving a shared understanding with stakeholders of the process, workflows, and other important concepts that will shape the decision-making process throughout the lifecycle of the project. In this regard a picture really is worth a thousand words. The right visualization can spark immediate understanding and healthy discussion in a way that other forms of communication can't match. It is also true that the wrong visualization can confuse and mislead stakeholders. Visualization is powerful, and it can take considerable effort and time to realign understanding once stakeholders have an image in their heads. Since visual designers are often more adept at effectively visualizing complex processes and concepts, it is only common sense to involve them in this activity to ensure that communication is clear and effective.
Convergence during requirements definition
Ultimately, the objective of the research and modeling activities is to define and communicate a set of sound design requirements that will lay the groundwork for the design effort. To achieve this goal, interaction designers construct and explore idealized workflows (in the form of context scenarios for the personas), which illuminates a list of critical needs. This approach allows the design team to deal with big issues early in the process, before concrete design begins and it becomes too expensive and painful to address those concerns. While it continues to makes sense for visual and industrial designers to consult into this process, this is also the point at which it is important to initiate a parallel effort to define appropriate visual-design and industrial-design oriented requirements. Some of these requirements are typically more technical in nature, such as type size, screen resolution, and bit-depth (for visual design), display size, device weight, and battery life (for industrial design). Others focus on the more emotional and aspirational brand qualities the design language should convey.
A brand is the embodiment of all the qualities people associate with your company, product and or service. At the end of the day, it is what people remember about their experiences that matters. While many people limit the concept of brand to a logo, it is important to remember that a logo is only one representation of the attributes that define a brand. It is like the desktop shortcut on a PC that serves as an entry point to the larger experience.
What attributes do you associate with these brands, and what effect does that have on your behavior?
Brand attributes are an important factor in establishing a complete set of design requirements. Many organizations make considerable investments in defining, establishing and maintaining these attributes, given that they are a key to building brand equity. By not incorporating brand considerations into your work, you are failing to tap that equity, which can be a powerful force in setting initial expectations and impressions, and moreover, you lose the chance to add to that equity. With that said, while they should have significant influence and effect on any design language strategy, corporate brand attributes are typically not specific enough to effectively drive detailed design decisions for an individual digital product or service. Corporate brand attributes are designed to drive communication across the entire brand platform, which is made up of a plethora of brand applications of all shapes, sizes and materials. Digital products in particular are almost always insufficiently considered in brand guidelines.
Furthermore, the users of a product or service can be distinct from the audience that the corporate brand is designed to serve. In order to ensure a strategy that will guide and drive good design decision making, we develop an explicit set of user experience attributes that are a synthesis of how the organization wants to be perceived (the corporate brand), how the users want to feel about their experience (personas' experience goals), and other factors specific to the product or service to be designed, such as the influence of competition and opportunities to differentiate.
Visual design: defining experience attributes
The process for establishing a set of experience attributes starts with the designers synthesizing the information from stakeholder interviews and existing brand documentation into a list of terms that represent patterns in how the ideal product or service is perceived. We'll often fill a whiteboard full of these recurring terms, at which point a process of consolidation begins. Clear patterns begin to emerge around a few key concepts, like Trustworthy or Innovative, which often represent an intersection of the different perspectives.
Key patterns are identified in the way the ideal experience is described, which forms the basis of concept categories.
These key concepts become labels for attribute categories, under which related terms can be organized. It's rough at first, and it sometimes takes a few attempts to get a collection of categories that resonate, but it is at this point that the elemental experience strategy begins to form. From here, the categories are refined into an ideal set of attributes and supporting terms, based on their fitness for driving design language decisions.
Not just any term will do when it comes to useful experience attributes. The body of research, and specifically the work that Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass published in "The Media Equation," suggests that the way we approach and appreciate our interactions with computer-based products and services is surprisingly similar to the way we interact with other human beings. For this reason, some of the best attributes for shaping user experience are words you might naturally use to characterize a person, such as smart, funny or humble.
Generally, it is helpful to think of attributes in terms of functional (those we can see and that define how well the product or service works) and emotional (those that are more abstract, and are often largely internal or invisible and most responsible for creating an "image"). High quality is an example of a functional brand attribute, while trustworthy might be considered an emotional attribute. It takes an emphasis on both to establish the highest value brand. In my experience, too much emphasis on functional attributes within the design language strategy can lead to a brand that is perceived as a commodity. I find that functional attributes are helpful in establishing the basis for making a brand promise, but they rarely represent the unique differentiating factor that drives long-term customer loyalty on their own. In this way, functional attributes could be considered hygienic. People expect these attributes, look for them when establishing their first impressions, and certainly miss them if absent from the language, but functional attributes are almost never the thing that makes a product exceptional and memorable. This is where emotional attributes come in. They go beyond the mechanical satisfaction of functional goals and connect with people on a deeper level. It's the difference between a high-quality cup of coffee and a Starbucks.
At the end of the day, as designers, we want to look for a set of attributes that tells a comprehensive story that resonates with both stakeholders and users, and has a healthy amount of tension which will be productive for exploring and establishing boundaries. For example, the attributes innovative and mature create some natural, productive tension. This contrast establishes a continuum that we can explore between the attributes, while establishing an extreme for each opposing attribute. For instance, a design language that takes the concept of innovation to the bleeding edge can no longer be considered stable and mature, and therefore falls outside the boundaries of the strategy defined by the overall attribute set.
A set of four experience attributes, along with their supporting terms. A good attribute set always contains productive tension that is good for establishing the boundaries of a design language strategy.
Along these lines, it is often as productive to describe the negative space as it is to discuss the positive. In other words, make sure you spend some time discussing and explaining what it is categorically not, as well as what it is. For instance, the product should be brilliant, but not "bleeding edge." An ideal negative attribute is one that represents a good thing taken to its extreme, rather than an inherently negative concept. For all experience attributes, but especially for expressing the significance of negative attributes, providing a visual reference can be very effective.
The completed attribute set forms the basis for a visual (and tactile, if industrial design is involved) language strategy, which is vital to defining essential design requirements. While the experience-attribute set is certainly influenced by, and has an effect on, the behavioral aspects of the design language that the interaction designers are driving, it generally serves as a tool for guiding visual design decisions. It defines boundaries for exploration and provides a set of metrics to judge the fitness of design directions.
Still, it is important that interaction designers participate in the same way visual designers should contribute to the development of personas. Interaction designers represent a good resource for resolving any apparent contradictions in the research findings. Furthermore, because interaction designers often have the most direct exposure to the research, they are well equipped to contribute to the refinement of individual attributes as well as to test the general fitness of the attribute set as a whole. Perhaps most importantly, involving the interaction design perspective in this activity ensures that any disconnects in strategy between the two design disciplines gets resolved early and the overall vision remains aligned.
Convergence during framework definition
Once agreement has been reached on the fundamental product definition, the user targets, and the appropriate design requirements (including the design language strategy), the next step is to frame a solution. This involves creating high-level sketches and studies that allow us to validate the major concepts and general design direction quickly and inexpensively. Designers translate the goals defined by the user and domain analysis into a concrete vision that can be inspected, discussed and evaluated. The ultimate objective of this phase is to establish a clear, uncluttered structure that will provide a solid and stable foundation for designing and refining the details needed to implement the design.
One of the single greatest reasons for design projects failing, in my observation, is a failure to first establish a design framework before attempting to resolve the details. It's not all that different from trying to design a skyscraper without placing proper emphasis on the foundation and superstructure. You can't start over once the skyscraper is half built, and it can be just as painful to revisit a fatal flaw in the design framework once a significant amount of detail design has been done. The excuse that is often given is that there isn't enough time; "Our developers are waiting, we need to move quickly!" Of course, there is no advantage to going one-hundred miles an hour if you are going in the wrong direction.
Exploring the visual language system
During the framework phase it continues to make sense for the different design disciplines to work in parallel, with regular opportunities to get input from the entire team. While interaction designers are focused on establishing a behavioral framework, relying on scenarios and personas to rough out the fundamental interface panes, views and navigation that will be required, visual designers must similarly begin exploring a visual language framework that will address the strategy, underpinned by the experience attribute set. This starts with the development of visual language studies, which combine the basic visual language building blocks of color, type and style in a thumbnail-like rendering. The intent of these expedient studies is to present specific visual language directions that map to the overall strategy. The studies are a catalyst for early discussion and decision making. The various directions are vetted with the entire design team, and then shared with key stakeholders as part of a facilitated discussion aimed at narrowing the focus for further exploration and refinement.
An example visual language study set
One of the keys to this approach is maintaining the discipline to separate the emergent behavioral framework from the visual language discussion, which may seem counterintuitive; after all, aren't we advocating a convergent approach? Let me explain. In most cases at this point, the interaction design is not mature enough to provide a stable platform for applying visual design. In other words, the simple "rectangles" that interaction designers use to expediently explore the range of relationships within the system as a whole do not offer a level of granularity that is sufficient for applying visual design. It is nearly impossible to apply visual design to approximate form in a meaningful way. To force more specificity at this stage can be perilous. While the team might have a hypothesis for certain behavioral constructs, it is almost guaranteed to be wrong in some number of ways.
An interesting thing happens when you apply visual design to interaction design; it becomes real. It is like wrapping a skyscraper's superstructure with glass and the other exterior materials. The design is no longer viewed as a framework, where evaluation is focused on concept, approximate form and general direction. The details now demand recognition. As with concept and workflow visualizations earlier in the process, once a specific image is formed in stakeholder's minds, it can be very difficult to change that initial frame of reference. You do not want visual designers to establish a separate, competing interaction design framework.
So why not just wait for the interaction design framework to mature? The simple answer is that doing so will put the visual design effort out of sync with the interaction design effort, limiting and even eliminating opportunities to benefit from convergence going forward. Once the team gets out of sync, it is very difficult to get back into alignment without significant cost. Visual language studies represent color, type and style treatments applied to a generic interface structure. The objective is to produce a sort of tailor's dummy, which is detailed enough to apply visual design to, but that doesn't represent any specific interface recommendation. The entire team should collaborate on the approximate form and the primary elements that make sense to represent within this structure. If the design team knows that the design is likely to be oriented around data grids and tables, then it makes good sense to include that as an element for treatment in these initial studies. The key is to ensure that the studies drive a discussion of visual language, and do not encourage discussion of behavior. An effective way to further promote this, in addition to crafting the right underlying framework, is to crop the studies for presentation. This further abstracts the behavior, and helps to prevent stakeholders from confusing recommendations for visual language with interaction design.
On average, it takes somewhere between three and five unique directions to explore and discuss the range necessary to adequately address the established visual design requirements. Bear in mind, to produce even just three compelling, viable studies, it is common to explore as many as ten or more rough concepts. For projects where the visual language and experience is crucial, such as with many consumer applications, a wider exploration may be justified, where a straightforward, internal business utility will likely require less. Another helpful tip for establishing an effective set of studies is to include one or two directions that push the envelope. Like negative attributes, defining the negative space tells us a lot about that which is within the boundaries. With that said, we never present studies to stakeholders that the design team doesn't think are viable. Remember the designers' corollary to Murphy's Law: if there is a design direction you don't want stakeholders to pick, that is the one they will pick.
I occasionally get the question, "why not just show a single recommendation?" There are a couple of reasons why this is not the best approach for this material. First, visual language in the context of complex digital systems is highly nuanced. There is almost always a range of reasonable and appropriate ways to express the visual design requirements, in contrast to interaction design, where scenarios tend to suggest a more narrow range of possibilities. Secondly, visual language studies are not meant to suggest final, detailed recommendations. Their intrinsic value is in the discussion that they inspire with stakeholders. They are intended to present strategy in a format that can be pointed at and questioned.
You might think of visual language studies as a visual creative brief. Remember, the objective for visual designers during the framework phase is to map out the boundaries of the design solution. The stakeholder discussion that visual studies feed permits the design team to sharpen their understanding of the visual design requirements, and therefore narrows the focus of exploration needed to achieve a convincing solution. In other words, it reduces the need for trial and error, which increases predictability and allows the visual design effort to share a schedule with the other disciplines, which is necessary to maintain a convergent approach.
Collaboration during visual language study creation
All design team members review and provide feedback on the visual language studies prior to presenting to stakeholders. When presenting the studies, we're looking for gut reactions first. Ask stakeholders to consider their first five-second reaction. Does the study align with their vision for the product? Will it resonate with the targeted users, defined by the persona set? Does it integrate with the overarching brand strategy? Start with a quick review of the material you used to drive the studies, and around which you have previously established consensus.
Next, ask stakeholders for more considered reactions, with a focus on the experience attributes and strategic implication, rather than personal preference. It is helpful to explain how the use of color, type and style relate to the experience attributes, as well as the overall strategy that the study is emphasizing related to the overall attribute set.
Ultimately, we're looking to build consensus around one or two directions to explore and refine further. While directions often primarily correlate to individual studies, they may comprise aspects of multiple studies. Remember, it's less about selecting a specific study and more about gaining a shared understanding around which directions are worth investing additional effort in. An excellent way to make consensus easier to achieve is to work with the group to eliminate the outliers. By eliminating one or more studies, perhaps by agreeing on which directions are too progressive versus too conservative, you narrow the range of options and move closer to consensus.
Converging with interaction design
As the interaction designers progress through the framework stage, exploring a range of key path scenarios, a few archetypal screens begin to take shape, where there is sufficient detail and confidence to begin the process of integrating the visual and behavioral languages. By the time the team moves to detail design, we want to be dealing with a single unified design language, including industrial design if applicable. This process begins by applying the visual language strategy to one or two interaction framework sketches. The result is an initial design language archetype.
Visual language study + interaction framework = design language archetype
This is the earliest point in which the various perspectives of the different design disciplines can be effectively unified into a single vision. Within the design language archetype, the visual design must not only respond to the defined visual-oriented requirements, but perhaps even more importantly, it must effectively support behavioral imperatives as well. How are visual affordances and cues utilized to clarify behavior, define relationships, and establish clear information hierarchy? Because the effective presentation of behavior has such a fundamental impact on shaping positive long term experiences, our general philosophy here at Cooper is to emphasize it in our approach. By integrating distinct interaction and visual design perspectives, relatively early in the process, we are able to ensure that the right behaviors are expressed in the right way, so that they are not only clear and understandable but unique, memorable and connected to a larger brand experience.
Onward to design refinement
I've found that it's the activities described above that either happen out of sync or not at all in most design projects. This lack of convergence can doom a project from the beginning, making it painful (or impossible) to pull together a seamlessly integrated user experience later on.
During design refinement, the visual designers, interaction designers, and industrial designers spend more "alone time" working through the details of the now common vision. It's easy for individuals to get too heads-down working on their own area, so be diligent about creating opportunities for the team to collaborate and share progress with each other outside of formal collaboration time and internal reviews.
As a final thought, truly integrating visual design, industrial design, and interaction requires more than just skilled, compatible designers. It also requires a commitment from product and project managers, who must allow time in the schedule for collaboration while also maintaining the separation that allows individual designers the space they need to bring their expertise and perspective to the table.
1. The Creative Priority: Driving Innovative Business in the Real World by Jerry Hirshberg (Hardcover – Jan 20, 1998)


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Maui Community College to host "Islands of the World IX" conference
International conference on issues related to small islands to focus on sustainabilityMaui College
Clyde Sakamoto, (808) 984-3636
Maui Community College
KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaiʻi — Scores of scholars and experts from around the world will converge on Maui to discuss the island's sustainability efforts and strategies for sustainable development as it applies to all small islands at the Islands of the World IX Conference, July 29-August 3, hosted by Maui Community College.
Presented by the International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA), the conference's theme of "Sustainable Islands — Sustainable Strategies" will focus on poʻokela (economy), mālama ʻāina (ecology), and hoʻohanohano (social equity and heritage).
Among the conference's keynote speakers are:
- Three-time Presidential Award winner and architect William McDonough of William McDonough + Partners — Architecture and Community Design;
- Native Hawaiian cultural expert and world-renowned navigator Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Voyaging Society;
- Sustainable agronomy expert Dr. Carlos Hernandez of EARTH University, Costa Rica;
- Sustainable urban development expert Dr. Ivo Martinac of the UH Mānoa School of Travel Industry Management's Environmental Sustainability in Tourism Program;
- Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission Director Sol Kahoʻohalahala;
- Maui Land & Pineapple Company President & CEO David Cole;
- UH Mānoa Center for Conservation Research and Training Director Ken Kaneshiro; and
- Art Medeiros of the United States Geological Survey's Biological Research Division.
Keynote speaker presentations are open to the public and will be held in the mornings from 8:30 a.m. to noon, Monday thru Wednesday, July 31-August 2, at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater.
One of the highlights of the conference will be the use of Teleportec, a three-dimensional video imaging system that is used to "teleport" speakers broadcasting live from remote locations. This will be the first demonstration of this technology in Hawaiʻi.
In addition to presentations, conference participants will have the opportunity to participate in pre-conference activities including excursions around Maui, as well as post-conference excursions to visit the other neighbor islands. A sustainability fair and sustainability video contest are also planned in conjunction with the conference on Tuesday, August 1, from 3 to 6 p.m. on the lawn at Maui Community College.
For more information about the conference and a schedule of activities, visit http://maui.hawaii.edu/isisa2006/.
In 1986, the International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA), made up of scholars, researchers, and island enthusiasts from around the world, organized an international conference on Vancouver Island, Canada, to discuss issues related to small islands. This inaugural "Islands of the World" Conference was so successful that it was followed by others in Tasmania (1998), the Bahamas (1992), Okinawa (1994), Mauritius (1998), Isle of Skye (2000), Prince Edward Island (2002) and Taiwan (2004).
At the 2004 conference, Maui Community College Chancellor Clyde Sakamoto, Acting Dean of Instruction Suzette Robinson, and Academic Senate Chair Dan Kruse represented the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi. As a result of the college's active participation in the organization and Sakamoto's presentation to the ISISA Executive Committee, Maui was selected as the site for the 2006 conference.
For more information, visit: http://maui.hawaii.edu/isisa2006/


text: Go here to see many gun articles in British Press http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/0,2759,178412,00.html Jerry, can this be sticky for a while? I just checked it today (17 May) and it is being updated. Edited to Add: Above link no longer works. Here's another link that bring UK gun news from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/world/gun-crime+uk/uk and an article about soaring Britiswh gun crime from 2012: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiep...ars-in-england-where-guns-are-banned-n1464528