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Share your tips and tricks and anything you feel important for our little community! wow thanks for the very nice comment and request. We put this on the next to do list but of course first have to finish the 4 other routes making the Vancouver Calgary to a collectible series. Can you email me you Trainz username to keep your name private here. If you like something see different on this website let me know also if it does what it needs to do and no overkill. Any other subject feel free to talk about. I'm having trouble with a couple of the turnouts in the Revelstoke engine terminal, specifically P01 Revelstoke C and P03 Revelstoke C. The points on 03 seem to be frozen; even though the indicator arrows switch from red to green, the points stay in the same position. Also, whenever I try to run a loco through either turnout, it derails! Close visual inspection does not reveal any immediately obvious reason for this to be happening, and I am moving at less than 10 mph with the points properly set, so I can't see that it's anything I'm doing, either. Help??? PlS NEVER feel bad if something is not working(lucky happen very rare!) as we all know very well certain things(N3V bugs) we have no control but can repair luckily at least so i feel good when i can help. by tonight or tomorrow dec. 31st latest I will have a updated version of CPR Mountiain Sub and Rogers Pass both under release 1.0.2. If you are interested to receive please email me on roystrainz together with information on your username so I can provide each one with a newer version. update contains replaced corrupted switches, repaired textures dissolved left and right and also a new speed and signal update. The signal update will cover Viktor Lake till half way Lake Kinbasket to Donald Station. Please report any missing, corrupt or not working item so we can update them in the next version end of january 2013. thanks for all the nice post and help to get this blog getting better and more lively. Please post any remark, suggestion, idea, wish, comment in general as llong as it is constructive and positive. Many thanks again and happy, happy new year!!! Ok this morning test revealed signal 1100S is flashing yellow top left. the V2 HUD is showing green. I consider this not to bad and would accept the HUD not to be correct. The more once the train passed the signal it turned yellow for S 1095S so proofed the HUD is little bit off. Your take and please do not be shy to post something here. Trouble with the 1.0.2 download. I'm getting a file not found error. Possibly because the link says crp rather than cpr? Happy New Year to all of you!!!!!!!! I confirm that the download of version 1.0.2 and the installation in Trainz went as expected, ie. no problems at all. Thanks for such good service and for such a superb route. Thanks Gilles most other Roy's trainzers confirmed also good execution of the new release and yes works as expected, thanks for the ice comment. Hi everyone! I want to thank Roy for an AMAZING route (I bought the 3-in-1 CPR Mountain Sub)!! The detail is ridiculous and I cannot even imagine the effort and time it took to create this route. Today I spent some time reading the new PDF instructions for the CMTM System (http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showt...7-CMTM-Upgrade) and was wondering if anyone else other than myself is crazy enough to attempt creating at least one session utilizing it. It seems like a daunting endeavor and I have no doubt that it would be an intense effort. However, I believe that a few of us dedicated enough may be able to team up and put something quite impressive together for this equally impressive route. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas? I especially would like Roy to chime in here too. Thanks! Enough industries to do the first steps with lumber industries rolling stock and truck bringing the lumber from the forest..eg. 64WarHorse, yes, I think that there are enough industries, esp if you include the whole Mountain Sub. Not to even mention what Roy here has proposed (integrating it into his upcoming additional route(s)). CMTM does support all sorts of cool scenarios as mentioned by Roy, not just yard/switching duties specifically. I am in the process of learning the new CMTM version (v.4) and would gladly contribute as much time/effort that I can to developing some sessions if we do it in a team fashion. :) Maybe we can start small at first and make some very basic sessions/scenarios to see how it goes. If all works out well then we can collaborate and come up with some truly epic sessions for these awesome routes! This idea is very exciting for me and if some of you share my enthusiasm (esp Roy), I really think we could build something legendary here. Idk. Maybe we can pull DAP (CMTM creator) into this somehow too. Okay, colour me intrigued. So where do we start? I suppose the first question would be, do we need to modify any rolling stock for CMTM? This is the most expensive ad-on I have ever bought, but I consider it worth every penny. Keep the spirit high. :) I really look forward to following the devlopment of Your project. Steve i agree i will tell Ray to change the background in a neutral easy to read color monday! promise! ChrisD yeeeehhh wow that feels good you like it as so many did already before you and yes it is a marvel and yes worth every penny you spent There is so much to discover it will take you a lot of time to find out and still not see it all,........that means yes i spent a lot of time creating this and hope to finish the next section soon. Railworks user here that just had to see what Trainz was capable of in its most extreme! Picked up Trainz on 75% discount and bought the Rogers Pass route from your site. The level of detail in this route is amazing. Im a routebuilder in Railworks, and I know how long it takes to build anything. I cant imagine it being any different in Trainz.. Your work is really and I mean really fantastic! Its all in the details as they say and your route has it all. Take care all and thanks again for your hard work Roy! Hello all! Sorry for the few days absence but I've been quite busy lately. Anyway, I am almost done reading and re-reading the CMTM documentation and would soon like to start collaborating with those of you interested in helping me out with some basic CMTM session ideas and subsequently creation. All of those interested should PM me on the main Trainz forums thread and send me their e-mail addresses so we can communicate more efficiently. Or, feel free to e-mail me directly at [email protected]. saw that one too1 I did straighten a track segment and did not realize the signposts were separate and so got this cosmetic error. Moved the post and fixed already, thanks for reporting. Thank you for this nice route it is wel very long to drive cpr mountain sub -)) my wife is killing me. Guillaume, i cannot advice you what is a less of more painful death, killed by your wife or trainz excitement, lol. Thanks 4 sharing, Ning laughs she understand. Hopefully this will work in TS12, seeing errors as I install, previous versions errors, warnings. All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for the routes! all related to JVC grass items by author jankvis. missing deps or unknown deps 99% of the time are caused by to many cdp's installed at the same time in Content Manager Program! So if jankvis has unknown ora ny other look for the author and reinstall that group like here for Jankvis go to group 3 dependencies you downloaded and reinstall the group J in there, should work flawless honest. hmm working in my dungeon on Mount Stephens/Spirals/Lake Louise area Laggan sub.....sssst top secret. "Roy, the screenshots of the Mountain Subdivision are phenomenal. Have you done the whole thing to absolute scale? What sources did you use (or are you a railroader)? What version of Trainz will this run on and are there related kuids included?" Like Google real scale and detail as far as possible. Running TS12 latest version 49922. Thanks a million Roy! You are a wonderful and patient support. Everything is up and going, beautifully! Now for that latte, sit back, relax and enjoy. Thursday Feb 27th I will upload release 1.03 of the CPR Mountain Sub. Claim yours by sending an email to me and i will link an upload for you. Have a great week! did you have any succes implementing the CMTM system for our routes? let us know what the current status is ok? Hello! Sorry for the lack of updates, but I was out-of-state enjoying Mardi Gras in New Orleans for a few weeks. :) But yes, CMTM DOES work with the routes and it works quite well actually. I had started to collaborate with another member here but he hasn't replied to my last e-mail. He had some VERY good session ideas which I was excited to work on with him. He had suggested doing multiple CMTM sessions, each one building upon the previous one(s). I will attempt to contact him again. Otherwise, I, myself, have begun testing CMTM implementation on the CPR Mountain Sub route (3-in-1) and am now trying to come up with some of my own session ideas. If ANYONE else here would like to help, PLEASE contact me via e-mail or PM on the forums. Mardi Gras that has been a while for me.... very nice time! Well CMTM that sounds good, let me know when you have something for me to test here and give ideas to you as feedback. If lucky not to long we have a connection to the Laggan sub to run real CMTM! Keep up the excellent work and keep me in the pict. CPR Mountain Sub release 1.0.3 is ready for dl. email me and I open in your account for dl! Hello all! I must apologize for the delay in providing any updates regarding implementing CMTM 4 on the CPR Mountain Sub. I am just starting to get over a nasty bout with bronchitis/upper respiratory infection and have not been able to devote much time to Trainz or much else aside from sleep (and coughing my lungs out). Steve (I am now unsure of his Trainz username here) contacted me awhile ago about his interest and desire to help me get some CMTM sessions thought-out and started. I will be contacting him later today to continue to work out the details of some of his ideas (which are really awesome btw!!). Not going to ruin the surprise or anticipation, but due to the route's huge size and unique layout of industries, yards, and portals to subsequent routes that Roy has mentioned, the sessions Steve has suggested as some possibilities really do a great job of taking those factors into account. Roy, yes!, CMTM 4 can and DOES work with the route(s) and YES!, it should definitely be something you take into consideration for future updates, upgrades, and new routes/expansions. Steve and I both came to the same conclusion that adding CMTM to existing rolling stock is a very simple matter of just adding some lines to the config.txt files. However this poses a potential problem with the original content creators' licensing/hosting mandates. I am not sure what to do about this potential issue, but I am sure we will find a way. kep up the good work guys, i work hard to get the daunting task of texturing over and over again certain areas to my liking but as i get older (like all of you) every day, day by day I get more picky and say to myself time is not of the essence, quality, pride of work and fun of doing it makes the difference. if this continues I close the blog and concentrate only on supporting you guys my unbelievable nice cosy and great roys trainz family. SP1 is the door closer for me with trainz although I will support you guys to the end of the 5 major routes for the next years to come and look seriously for another alternative than N3V. i not understand what fun they have spamming this blog. there is no financial gain nor fight or dispute of any kind related unless they show their face like we do. ugly but it seems to make them happen. Garbage not only fills our oceans and kills habitat. I just finished testing a way around the grotesque bug existing for years far as TRS 2009 and now even blocking my routes from working with tunnels. It is not a copmplete guarantee it should work now for you to so pls dl it and test it once I uploaded only CPR marked as 57720_CPR. i not upgrade any smaller route instead I will teach you how to spli them yourselves from a certain release for your own enjoyment. Kepp all routes updated is to much work right now and easier to split the biog one local at your desk. Yess, they failed to block me here is a version that will work at least it does on my computer 57720! I will now start prep upload for the route with tunnels working but its new tunnels not the old one i did change little things in the config too of the tunnels. Ok just uploade the latest CPR version working with big tunnels in 57720 SP1 and also uploade the 577203rdparty_fix for deps new tunnels you need to dl again. sorry for the incovenience but thank N3V for all the mishap and fuzz they create and deny. I am not sure how to update my Rogers Pass to SP1. Please advise. Niels send me an email and acc namr and see what we can do ok? Maybe You should take a look at Open Rails when You get a few moments to spare. This is where I have moved after giving up on TS12 and its "Service Pack". This freeware Train Simulator (at 0.8 rev 1561) uses at present existing MSTS Routes, but is running on 4 cores and is revised several times each week. Bug reporting and fixing is a breeze compared to N3V, and the team even works for nothing. Visual range from the CAB, where I am supposed to be when I drive a train, is 4 Km´s and can be set even higher If You want to, but 4 Km´s is GREAT sustaining a 100+ frame rate. The driving experience is CLASSES Higher than Trainz. Sorry for rubbing salt in Your wound, but my wound is just as great thanks to N3V, and You said in a previous post that You might change platform. Just wanted to let you know that after a fresh install of TS12 SP1 and CPR Mountain Sub 57720 I am simply amazed. Never before have I been able to run with 5000MT draw successfully. Usually I cannot even open up the CPR as it locks up my computer. I have never been able to run it with all sliders maxed out but with TS12 SP1 and CPR 57720 I have no problems. The graphics are a huge improvement as is the sound. In fact the only minor issue I have is a slight stutter when the scenery detail slider is on normal or high with the other sliders at max value. Smooth as silk if scenery detail is on low. this is unheard of on my humble computer. I will play with the slider settings a little more as I am sure there is a better compromise re the stutter. I have kept the TS12 pre SP1 install just in case, but I am really loving the 57720 version so much. I will report back after testing in a heavy yard area and with other trains about. That's all for now, Andrew. sorry to hear you leave. Well if Open rails has a modeller similar to trainz or better, if the dbase of 3rd party freeware objects to choose from is similar or better, if there is a way to "move" "recreate the same DEM, networks, road,splines and locations of existing objects ....what else. I know the problem, and there is no easy solution. As for the assets, there may be a way forward. Most assets are built with some kind of 3D modeller, and if the raw files (before export to Trainz) is at hand they can be exported to MSTS as well. I am sure we will never get to a quater of a million assets, but right now N3V is voiding a batch of these, so.. I not need all dls items so far 400 are faulty in my trainz dbase. ouch but can live with it for the moment. thanks for your support dear friend say hello home from all of us!! New version of CPR Mountain Sub TS14 release 1.0.5 now available. just uploaded the 1.0.5 release which runs very nice and is the best ever driver version so far in 10 years! Scenery and quality is beyond expectations and a complete surprise probably for N3V too they never check or report things anyway. OGL is now finally the way to go and has better fps too when tweaking your Nvidia. Personally I am most happy with driver as the speedtrees and my textures now do VERY well!!! I just made a free roam around Your route and the memory usage peaked at 2,454,000 Kb, so Trainz definately uses more than the usual 2 Gb. And, no locking or long thinking pauses. Roy, thanks again, I have donwloaded all 1.0.5, do I need all these if I have the previous version? If you dl already earlier revs deps you not need to dl again same. Chris thanks for the link it seems to work better than expected! Is there a way to undo the 4GB patch? My trainz.exe file is changed, cannot apply patch #2. Thanks. you run into the same booby trap too like me. Currently i make some backups of older TS212 versions to an old HDD but a slow one. After done I will than carefully upgrdae another 57720 on my SSD and install same way you do. I lost my major HDD backup disk incl my original TS12 files from trainz setup. Not in the mood now to see if i can dl them again from trainz... Maybe when we finished supplying N#V with all the bugs they will fix them for the next TS14 for sure and use us as their testers like always. there is and never will be a rollback from them so when goes wrong you have to uninstall reinstall crazy but true as far as I know. keep me us posted and you can post in roy doors thread so other can learn from it. That is Your original file. Just delete the Trainz.exe and rename tha backup. Ok guys this evening uploaded tons of kuids upgraded to trainz build 3.5 to be used in TS12 49922 and 87898. If your interested dl the 5 groups on the deps page of your profile. Roy, just found your website by chance, looked at your route pics. they are the best I've seen. You are an artist. For all those using the CPR Mountain freeware route with s301 ZR grasses which unfortunately not do the job at all. I did replace them today but the route is not updated yet. Here is a way to use replace assets and you can dl via your profile the Pofig-JVC frewware cdp with the grasses needed. I did work on a proper replacement for the S301 grasses for the freeware grass version of the CPR route. I thought that those from jvc in the pofig lib could do the job till one decides to change/upgrade to ST_2 grasses if he/she likes them more. find near track following item "ZR~(Gr-1)Grass R-Dark green-2 mtr" open in surveyor main menu replace assets and place this object in left side as assets to replace! click current selection only to make it replace all in the route! "3D1_Pg-JVC_gr1_22" is asset to replace with! 3D1_Pg-JVC_gr2_58 asset to replace with! In case you are not familiar with I can make tomorrow a short video how to but bet you know this command how to use. Roy, a query please. I am in the process of writing a Session for CPR to be uploaded (hopefully) to the DLS. I have the freeware S301 grasses at the moment. If I replace them with the 3D1 grasses does your map still retain your kuid? If I upload a Session with S301 grasses will other players with other versions of grasses still be able to download and play a Session from the DLS? I not have experience with creating sessions to that level of detail how trainz would handle it bit from the surveyor handling this it should work as long as the other side has the same grass it will show that grass. Most probably the session would have missing deps (grasses) if the other party not have those grasses in his/her dbase. We have to test this and see or discuss with other more experienced session users on the forum. The eeasiest and most forward way for you however would be to make these grasses Gr... now used mandatory to dl and install when someone dl your session. I have never used Replace Assets before so I'm not sure if it also replaces your kuid with mine for the map. That would be no good to upload a Session to the DLS. I'll play safe for the moment and keep to the S301 grasses until my Session is released. After that I can experiment. I think you are right in that another player would have missing deps but that should'nt affect the playability of the Session. BTW, what is the correct spelling. Illecillweat or Illecillwaet? Both are used in the map. I would like to know the correct one for use in html messages. Before you release any session on the dls make sure that not inadvertedly parts of the payware route are linked or available thru the session on the dls. I never used sessions in depth but I think i saw once a large route file linked in the sessions data file that was the major part of the route. This we have to avoid you understand. Replace asset is easy and handy so pls use it and let me now the new grasses do the job. Illecillewaet is the correct name. I understand your concerns about people getting hold of your route through other means. That will not happen with me. I shall be uploading 2 files to the DLS when ready. One is the Session and the other is a HTML file which will contain the instructions, messages, etc. Nothing of your route is included apart from your kuid in the Session config.txt that gives the map being used. What this means is that if someone hasn't bought the route and downloads the Session, they won't be able to play it as the route will be a 'Missing Dependency'. With your permission I'll add into the DLS description that the Session uses a Payware route only available from you at Roy's Trainz. You never know, it might bring in a few extra sales! If someone has already bought the route then everything is peachy. I've started the Session at Revelstoke CPR Yard and have now reached Illecillewaet (correct spelling thanks). I'll tidy up here and save a backup to external HD before I try replacing the grasses. thanks for the nice post and agree with you. Sorry for the late approval of the post. My webmaster adviced me to go this cumbersome way to approve outside posts since hackers/spammers keep bombarding the website relentlessly what fun they think they have is unclear to me but this world has more unclear habits and things happening. Thanks for the reply. I agree with you, these hackers are a menace. I installed the grasses ok but what I feared would happen, did. I could only save them in a new map with my kuid. This of course is no good as I need to upload a Session for use with your map, your kuid. What I think I'll do is to continue on to Wakely and stop there. I'll upload the Session and explain that it can only be played with your S301 map. I'll wait and see if there is any positive interest/feedback before deciding whether to carry on to Golden. Don't bother replying to this post. I'll put future posts on the Forum and let N3V worry about the hackers. If you go into the config of your session and change the route map the session refers to than, anyone who has the CPR in any form but different grasses eg should be able to run the route/session. When you have a test for me i can proof what I say when you ready. I have done this dozen times when a session linked to an older CPR version I wanted to link to a newer, changed the config map kuid the session has to run on and done. I understand what you mean when updating Sessions but this is your own kuid on your own computer and Trainz recognises this. When I replaced the grasses I can only save it in my kuid which Trainz gives me, like it or not. For instance: your map 122860:100035, after installing and saving the new grasses has now become 90608:100027, the 90608 being my kuid. This is fine as long as I don't want to upload the map to anywhere. It may now be in my kuid but doesn't belong to me. I think the way to go is to release the Session with the default map 122860:100035. I will add an instruction on how to change the map kuid in the Session to whatever they have on their system. This will not infringe your copyright as any player must have bought your original map before they can update grasses. All very complicated so I'll leave that for now until I get the Session finished. I'll come back to you at that time to see about testing. defying 58414 little critters and bugs the Rogers Pass passed my QA tests with "flying colors" after crashing first time after 2 hours without any normal reason than the exisitng Trainz bug. The route is now ready for dl for those interested in a 58414 1.07 version of this section. About wich trainz TS12 versions support my routes. Simple and straight forward ALL releases work 100% and dependencies of the route are all working and links for dl provided. It cannot be more simple and all in one place.If for any reason you feel well with the 49922 version dl this one from your account profile.I use the 58414 as the driver here runs particularly well, but earlier versions no problem. Can i ask what the file size is for the whole Route please Roy ?, Like to download the whole thing mate i am on a limited wireless service here and it would take for ever to download if the Route and Deps is too big. And does it only come in a winter version ?. Loks pretty cool the whole thing. sorry I just now checked the blog to see for comments that need approval. Many times hackers and sorts of try to ruin one's day and for unknown reason and sick pleasure that never works at least not with us. Ok the size of the entire route is a cdp/zip 199 MB! not that big even for a limited internet connection and my site has fast acces so dl would work fine. The deps are all grouped in smaller ones and also setup to fit as you said ltd acces internet connections. I am very pleased to see you around here and we would be more than happy to welcome you to our community. You will love it and yes the winter/seasonal groundtextures for a auto pre and post winter experience is included. Check my thread there are somewhere also winterpictures around. This should get you on the tracks with Roy's trainz. Thanks Roy i'll certainly grab it at sum stage mate, Few other projects i want to take care of first though so thanks again. Hate to be a pain again mate sorry but can i ask one more question, If i have not updated to the latest patchs for TS12 can i still use your Route ?. Or would i have to patch to the latest build ?. Thanks Roy. yes when you purchase my routes it will show you what to dowload for eg. 49922 WIN and MAC version and in case the 58414 release the coresponding CPR route working/updated for the version of TS12. Also I did "update a lot of built-in and other used cdp's to actualize them as far as feasible to run well on 58414. these routes look awesome, i'm currently downloading alot of stuff for other software and will buy CPR Mountain Subdivision in a couple of hours. I hope the download includes everything needed to run the route because i'm new to Trainz12. Thank You Roy for your work of Art :) Harry from Montreal, Canada. you make my birthday a complete success. thanks for the very nice comment. Welcome to Roys Trainz and YES there is one page containing ALL needed deps at your fingertips. OMG, WOW! Roy you're awesome! I just finished installing "Rogers Pass" and I am in shock at how beautiful the route looks in TS12. Your payware even looks better than Railworks TS2014......BRAVO! Do you remember if I have all the routes when I bought the $70 combo? If not, which one do I not have? Curious, thank you for all your hard work and beautiful creative things. The 3 in combo means that you bought the CPR Mountain Sub from Ottertail all the way to west of Revelstoke. I made for a limited time 3 separate "smaller" routes cutting/overlapping with the huge CPR MOUNTAIN connecting them via Iportals. The "smaller 3 sep routes" where temporarily I want to allow people to taste at "entry" level before deciding to go for the big one. Some users liked the smaller ones to run a few hours i.o. of 9 up all day. 99% bought and uses the CPR MOUNTAIN SUB. I did not anticipate so much work due to several bugs in any trainz version when cutting. Imagine eg deleting a baseboard does not mean all data within and crossing is deleted and you and up with "invisble floating elements" ouside your cut route. this morning Richard post on my trainz forum threads very touching post indeed! "Hi Roy and everyone else who views this thread. 5 days ago I had been in Trainz exile for around 4 years. If I am totally honest I didn't think I would ever take an interest in Trainz again having drifted onto other things. On Sunday afternoon I stumbled across The Kickstarter Project "Trainz Simulator - A New Era". Initially I made a modest pledge, I liked the idea and the more I read about it, the more my interest in the future of Trainz was growing. The fire was lit and within a few hours I was back on the Kickstarter page increasing my pledge. At this point I was going to take a back seat and strap myself in for the ride and watch the next 4 weeks unfold. It didn't stop there though, I still couldn't stop at pledge number 2. I decided I needed a bigger slice of the action and pledge number 3 was made within 24 hours of me starting all this. Having got this far and making a commitment to the future of Trainz it was time to dust down my last version of the game Trainz 2009 and take a look. I had remembered fondly how much I enjoyed Trainz 2004 and Trainz 2006 along with Trainz classics, although if I am honest winding the clock back 4 years and looking at Trainz 2009 did little to enhance my new found enthusiasm for the Trainz Kickstarter project. Taking the above into consideration it was time to research the current version of trainz and try and establish what the best available routes for Trainz 12 were. This is where I stumbled across Roys Trainz and after browsing his site and the forums I knew instantly I wasn't going to wait for my Get Trainz Now selection from the Kickstarter Pledge. I bought Trainz 12 along with CPR-Mountain-Sub TS14 and It's one of the best decisions I have ever made. The Route is absolutely stunning Roy and is a credit to you. I look forward to seeing your work hit new heights in future versions of trains. ain't that something wow feels good and gives lots of energy. The day after Dec.17th we all feel much better KS first step reached and more streched goals will make it for sure. Thanks all the trainzers who supported vie my website and of course all those that pledged on the official KS and trainz website!!! For those new to my website asking how come this blog is not very active, the reason is simple we use the main Trainz forum my trheads and thus reach at the same time other trainzers not part (yet) of the Roy's Trainz family. If you like to share on my threads that you pledged also thru my routes please post over there and here of course. I respect eachothers privacy and not publish a list. Happy Holidays and Happy New Trainz year and 2014! william asked me today in an email if my routes work on TS 12 he bought from steam. Yes all my routes work on TS12 and all versions, see on this website when you click more on the CPR Mountain Sub it show TS12 version number and windows and or MAC version number. Well, finally we did it the Laggan sub section West is ready to download. further posts and comments we do as usual on the trainz forum in my threads Canadian rocky Mountains 2011 and others i opened there. "I just downloaded the Columbia River Basin and it is the most amazing, most detailed route in trainz! It took me in a CP ES44AC running at track speed almost 3 hours to get done! of course I met 2 trains along the way and had to follow a northbound CN grain, but it was amazing! Super fun, super realistic, and totally worth the $25! Every person that has trainz 12 download this now!!!!" Mid summer for most on this globe activity still high on roystrainz!! Most users know this blog is kind of sleepy as most activity blog etc is on trainz forum so please follow up over there to avoid double traffic. At this moment i try to solve a mysterious bug on a beautiful very intelligent way of session automated traffic for CPR Mountain Sub created by my good dutch fellow friend Henk. His sessions works flawless on his computers but mine seem to love to bug a few AI trains so this and next week i will try to re-create his work from scratch and will keep you guys updated on the results. In case you are interested in the results email me or post on my threads on trainz forum. Well we did it and cleared all winter tracks into Ottertail and further to Viktor Lake. Now ready for download is the all NEW CPR MOUNTAIN SUB SEASONAL with 4 seasons and much more and yes for future TANE use ready to migrate to that level when they are ready. In the mean time you can enjoy this gem the fullest in TS12 and maybe appreciate more now that TS12 with the so many shortcomings still is a nice piece of sim. It is sad to say how people ravage over TANE CE a not finished product (never should be released) as most trainzer have no clue what it takes to get a finished product until the final day of official release. So i released yesterday some 300 plus seasonal assets. you will find them on the download page when you have bought the CPR Mountain Sub 1.0.9 look for the route 1.0.9 seasonal. Still some more to do but that is for later now finish the TANE speedtrees first release for my routes. Well at least the curtain starts moving in the TANE 3D theatre announcing wazz up and coming "soon". Yes they start with the Columbia River Basin followed by all the other one's all new routes so much bigger,wider,more details than ever before and much much more to come all in super realistic mode and not to forget protypical!! Once all routes in TANe are out there the TS12 routes will fade out slowly and close an era we all enjoyed so much. You can post here but I prefer you do on my Canadian Rocky Mountains thread in the trainz frorum. A little bit more patience to iron out little critters and cracks by the N3V crew. they have a mountain of routes from me to get ready so give them credit and energy to get things done the soonest and well. Glad Roy is still up and kickin'!!!

2019-04-19T10:45:15Z

http://www.roystrainz.com/blog/post/so-here-we-are-ready-start-blog-division-roys-trainz/

Let ICIWorld do the advertising, marketing and networking locally and worldwide for you 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 356 days per year. You just have to plant the seeds. Place a Have and/or Want. Search from time to time! ICIWorld markets your information 24/7 on the Internet world wide until you delete or change it. One Time – Order the ICIWorld Widgets of Listings for your website. They work 24/7 updating themselves in real time automatically. Once installed, the very next person who visits your website and sees any one of these listings . . . has to call YOU for more information. If you do not have these ICIWorld Widgets of listings for your website, you are actually missing triggering leads now for yourself and do not realize it. When someone wants more information on any of 30,000+ listings . . . they would have to call you. One time setup by your website designer. Do business and do referrals. And . . . promote your website. Special global databases and information distribution services make your information available . . . globally. Special events promotion, advertising, networking, conventions, conferences, expos, Realtor Quests, trade publications and much more drive traffic for your listings and the links in your listings drive traffic to your website. Generate leads the rest of your life. SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR THOSE CONSIDERING RETIREMENT. Do not give up your license. See www.retiredbrokers.com It is all about doing referrals from the leads you generate from a website that you keep running for the rest of your life. Have fun doing referrals! Would you mind doing the odd five minute referral and making $3,000 to $10,000+ when you are retired? One Re/Max agent has done fifteen referrals ie: 75 minutes of time and made $45,000 A N D provided a great service for people. Recommended one time orientation 30 minute Webinar Workshop. Call 416-840-6227 and make an appointment.Within 30 minutes we make sure you are aware how to search, how to place listings and reasons to keep them up to date every 30-60 days, how to place exclusive information(75% of information on ICIWorld is unique), know the resources and services available to you, connect with social media to stay in touch with industry announcements, education, networking and events.See help videos: How To Add A Want. How To Add a Have, etc.Plant the seeds by placing your listings, Haves and Wants is like advertising to the world that works 24/7 on the Internet that triggers response from people. THIS IS LEAD GENERATION. Work your real estate board listings.Learn how to work exclusive information. This is something you can not do on a real estate board. Work what your buyers are looking for. Make all your opportunities available to the public on the Internet not just real estate board listings. Qualify the leads the way you normally do. Every member should have a minimum of fifteen opportunities on the Internet.This can greatly increase your revenue. If not , you are missing out and do not realize it. This service helps you to maximize your potential in real estate. Several hundred real estate brokers can’t be wrong. See 50 pages of testimonials of deals being done uniquely started on ICIWorld here on the Internet. This is all cutting edge technology built for the real estate industry world wide. compatible with the industry. Widgets for your website. Order them. This is a one time sending of an EMail of instructions to your website programmer. That’s it!!ICIWorld Widgets trigger leads from your website. Install them on your website. Customers visiting your website have to call you for more information. THIS IS LEAD GENERATION FOR YOU. It is listings that trigger leads. People want more information.We send the instructions to install widgets on your website to you by EMail. You should forward them to your website designer. One call to our office 416-840-6227 and we send you the instructions.Once they are installed, call us and we can check them to make sure they are working properly for you. Handle all inquiries the same as you would from receiving a call off a classified ad from a newspaper. Setup showings, and do referrals, do business, make money. No Website? No Problem! One Time Setup and it works 24/7 on your behalf while you are doing other things!See Samples.One time setup for a website completely setup to make you money – 90 minutes.We recommend everyone can have more than one website because they are like billboards. THIS IS LEAD GENERATION. They can all generate leads. Link them together.The workshop is usually done in two webinar workshop sessions, one of 30 minutes one of 60 minutes or vice versa. This design process requires your input for preferences so you can personalize it for colours, graphics, button selection choices, wording, listings, installing of IDX links from your real estate board (people can search MLS from your website), setting up a possible DDF Feed (when you hand in an MLS listing to your office it can automatically go on to your website), etc. We do it all for you, with you. We tailor it for your geographic area no matter where in the world you are located and we tailor it for the kind of business you would like to do and for generating referral opportunities.Websites are free for one month then $199/year if you want to keep it.They are mobile optimized so people can search listings from YOUR website, they send out new listings to your customers, they have residential and commercial real estate listings, MLS AND Exclusive, specially setup for your geographic area and specialties if any.Mobile websites are the new Internet Revolution on going now and you will have the absolute most powerful website on the planet. Ask for a demo and then you be the judge. Add listings, Haves and Wants from time to time and search from time to time. We recommend updating your listings every 30-60 days. Never let them go more than 90 days old. It takes only two clicks to update a listing. Everyone should have a minimum of fifteen Haves and Wants on ICIWorld or you are missing out. Ask us in a Webinar workshop how every single licensed real estate salesperson in the world should have at least fifteen opportunities on ICIWorld. Keep your listings up to date. Only listings less than 90 days old appear in the ICIWorld Global Apps default settings.Make sure the widgets are working on you website. If you have one of our distributed websites, you must log in to the web site a minimum of once per month for five or ten minutes and look after your To Do List and a quick checkup to make sure things are working properly. ie: all listings showing, etc.This includes approving new handshakes with new brokers who join the service. You should allow their listings to be on your website. Otherwise people visiting your website do not see all the possible listings and you can easily be missing doing a deal and not every realize it. Look after the renewal of your domain name. Check to see if listings appear on the buttons on your website, etc. Checking to see if there are new Widgets or services from ICIWorld that you can install. It is like a monthly checkup for your website to make sure things are working properly. All brokers should check their websites regularly. This is your office building and image to the public for all people in your sphere of influence and demonstrates how well connected you are in the marketplace. This is a tremendous Internet tool. One lead can make one a lot of money. Promote your website and the content on it.Why? One inquiry off your website makes you a lot of money. With the ICIWorld Widgets people must call you for more information. THIS IS LEAD GENERATION. This gives you a chance to be of service. This is like your office building on the Internet. Let people know you have exclusive AND MLS listings on your website, residential AND commercial investment properties. If you get just one person going to the web site this week and they call you on a listing, you have a chance to make a lot of money. This is so important that we provide a once per month Webinar called How To Promote Your Website and we record them so you can see them at your convenience. See them in the Training Videos number 15. How do you measure if the information tools on ICIWorld are working for you? Every single member 90 days must and should be doing business, either generating deals or at the very least generating leads that you feel will lead to doing business otherwise you call us and let us do our 2 minute checklist. If you are not doing business every 90 days, call us. Click here and may we get you started. And it can be very quickly if you wish. Any questions, issues or for assistance contact us. Post your information and reach 20,000+/- subscribers within 24 hours and . . . 40,000+/- people in 138 countries over time. Join Today. Thousands now receive a daily digest of new listings by EMail . . . free. For commercial real estate we recommend that you select the DIGEST METHOD for your state or province or general area like GTA. This way you only receive one email with all the new listings in it, whether there are 2 new listings or 10 new listings. 75% of the information is of an exclusive nature not on real estate boards! For Residential in Ontario we recommend subscribe for your city! Look for Business Category – Residential Estates to find EMail List Servers. Select you own city or choose an overall area like GTA for just one email with new listings in it. These list servers are being built for states / provinces on demand. Unsubscribe directly from any EMail. Information is placed by licensed real estate brokers and salespeople. Information includes exclusive information not available on any other service. Delivering Real Estate Haves and Wants daily to the public, to the industry . . . free. For real estate and businesses of all kinds, including Industrial, Commercial, Investment and Residential Real Estate. 20,000+/- EMails deliver new real estate Listings, Haves and Wants to subscribers, to the public, to the industry . . . Daily! Request an EMail List Server Can be by company, group, organization, association, city, country and more. See the List Server for the Central Canada CCIM Chapter. This can be built for any group to network Haves and Wants. When leadership of your group promotes it, it is inevitable for everyone to connect with others to do business. 75% of the listings are exclusive not available on any other service. Power of Sales, and more! Tenants looking for Retail, Office and Industrial space to lease, tenant mandates, and more. You must be a licensed real estate broker or salesperson Executive Member of ICIWorld to have your Haves and Wants distributed to 20,000+ people daily and displayed to the world to 50,000+/- people regularly. Reach new people interested in real estate for all your listings all year long distributed daily. GMail places a lot of legitimate incoming mail into SPAM. So legitimate email from ICIWorld can be trapped in your SPAM FOLDER. Yet each EMail contains information for contacts for potential real estate transactions. The spam folder is is different from junk. Look for a column of folders one called “more.” You will find a spam folder there. You can put a check mark on the listing and click on Not Spam. If you have not done this before, you will probably find other mail that should not be spam. However marking mail as not spam does not seem to work all the time. Mail seems to continue to go to spam. So GMail has another option. Another way you can try to keep it out of spam you have to set a filter. Gmail’s filters allow you to manage the flow of incoming messages. Using filters, you can automatically label, archive, delete, star, or forward your mail, even keep it out of Spam. There is a Filter Choice to choose Not Spam. https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6579?hl=en&ctx=mail This is a work in progress to figure out how to get google to allow all our legitimate mail to get through to you properly without always going to spam. Database 2 FSBO Area – Executive Members of ICIWorld can subscribe to receive EMail from the FSBO (For Sale By Owner) EMail List Servers. Buyers and sellers of real estate can add their Haves and Wants free. They are distributed to members. If you are a seller of real estate would you like a member to contact you if they have a buyer who could be interested? If you are a buyer would you like a member to let you know about a property that might match what you are looking for? All buyers and sellers should post their Haves and Wants here. It is opportunities to do business and the success can help free you up to get on with your plans. For all EMail check your spam folder if you are not receiving mail. Make it Not Spam. When you sign up for various email lists you should ‘whitelist’ @iciworld.ca because Digest emails can easily land in the Spam or a junk folder. If I join and place my haves and wants do they get sent out by email and if so to how many? approximately 20,000 EMails deliver information daily to the public and the real estate industry DAILY. members can add as many Haves and Wants all year long and they get delivered to the industry by EMail. How do members benefit from this service? Your contact information is made available to them, phone numbers, links to your website, EMail, etc. The listing is also sent out to the industry by email – 20,000+/- daily to the public and the real estate industry with all your contact information, website address, links, phone numbers and option to EMail you. Members and the public are informed of new listings in Database 1, everyone can contact you directly. Members only are informed of new listings in Database 2 – This is where all of the coveted FSBO’s are! One member sold a $9M apartment building within 3 days. That is how fast it can work. A few seconds daily scanning this email can be the difference of doing your next deal or missing out. When you have any questions please feel free to contact us. When: Register and if you can not attend, you will receive a copy of the Recorded Webinar by EMail after the event. Who Should Attend: Licensed Real Estate Brokers and Salespeople World Wide. Relevance: For all licensed real estate brokers and salespeople in the world. learn how to have services similar to classified ads in a newspaper for your website where YOU get the calls. learn how to send out exclusive information not on real estate boards . . . all automatically done by your website. learn how to make your website a resource for your prospects, clients and . . . for your community. A: Gary has enlivened me. Brought back the zeal I’ve had in my earlier days, before my car accident. Thankfully!. A: A bit more about Meta Tags and their importance, please. A: I haven’t met another person with such an abundance of knowledge in the Real Estate field willing to share such. A: Thrilled with the knowledge that Gary infuses into me each time I have a meeting with him! A: I heartily recommend anyone in the Real Estate field to join ICI World and gain the knowledge that I have from Gary. He overflows with enthusiasm and it is contagious!. After 36 years, I thought I knew a lot, but now I know I could learn so much more with the right leader! This Webinar is included free for Executive Members of ICIWorld, for non-members the cost is $319 plus applicable taxes. Real Estate provides the Highest Return On Investment (ROI) of any industry on the Internet. Why? Because one lead can make $3,000 to $10,000 in referrals alone! See testimonials of it being done! What good is a website if don’t have any traffic? You might as well not even have a website! The Power of a Real Estate Website is in the Listings – You should also promote this fact. If you have thousands of listings; both residential, commercial choices, MLS AND exclusive, you can maximize the opportunities for the public and . . . more opportunities to provide service! 90% of people search the Internet for real estate and if you have a great choice, then you have a better than average chance of triggering interest. We invite you to our How To Promote Your Website Webinar, it’s not just about Search Engine Optimization, it’s much more. Your website is your office building on the Internet! If you had 100 salespeople working for you and they all had websites generating leads for the company that would be great! A salesperson can have more than one website because they’re like billboards. If you have a billboard at Yonge and Dundas and another on Lakeshore Road and they are all generating leads why not? You can link them together. You only need one domain name on your business card because when people visit that one, you will have a link on that one to your other one. They can all generate leads. We support all your web sites. Call us anytime if you would like some feedback and recommendations for your website. There’s is no charge, even for non-members! This is a free complimentary offer! We have recorded several past sessions that Executive Members can see in training videos. Real Estate Have and Want Information Is The Gold That Is On The Internet. ICIWorld helps Real Estate Professionals market and network Real Estate. Get an ICIWorld App for your smartphone. Go to the App Store or Play Store on your device and search the word iciworld and install it. It is information at your fingertips! All devices including Androids and iPhones, Blackberries, Windows devices, etc. should also use your browser and go to https://iciworld.mobi Then add this link onto your home screen. Apple and Android products will have two applications, the ICIWorld App AND the mobile version https://iciworld.mobi on their device. Let us know which you like better or use more. On this page you will learn how everyone should be able to print a list of contacts for buyers or sellers for any kind of real estate literally within a minute. You should be able to produce a list of contacts for buyers or sellers by Business Area and Business Category, use key words, all within a matter of seconds. You should learn to search by date or age of listing and Status. We do not delete old listings. The buildings are still there. The people are still alive. Older listings are used for networking purposes. Make sure you know how to search the latest listings that in many cases provide for immediate showings and deals. See the age field and date of listing field. Listings contain contact names and phone numbers that you can print out and to follow up. Reply and send emails, visit a real estate salesperson’s website that contains real estate information that you can search and resources to serve you. Request a short demo. Contact us. Why is this important? Because if you miss a connection for one transaction you can be missing doing a deal and not realize it. You will learn how to get a list of real estate professionals by geographic area, specialty, language spoken. All with contact names and phone numbers and websites, etc. Executive Members and Referral Network. See the latest new search tools below such as searching the latest listings by date, etc. You can restrict searches by date, by status, by area, by property type. If it is taking you any longer after you tried to learn, simply contact us. Before you can finish a cup of coffee, we should be able to answer questions, or any concerns that you may have. Some properties are sold within a few days. You will be plugged in. We recommend a demo workshop for one on one assistance. https://www.iciworld.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/worldfingertip-1.pngOnce you learn, you will have the latest buyers and/or selling opportunities at your fingertips. 75% of the information on ICIWorld is exclusive not on real estate boards. So you will now have the best of both worlds through members on the service. One contact, one showing and if they like it, one deal. This is making a lot of people a lot of money, providing a great service to a lot of people, and helping the public achieve their real estate and investment goals. Everyone makes connections to do business or you call us. See Our Pledge. Database 1 Search over 18,000 Have and Want Ads placed by Executive Members who are licensed real estate brokers and salespeople. About 5,000 have publicly available contact information. For members, it is unlimited networking of Have and Want Ads for a year with a nominal membership fee. Members have full access to everything on the service. Readership and circulation is locally and to over 40,000+ people from over 100 countries plus 20,000+/- EMails deliver Have and Want information daily to the public by way of EMail List Servers. Free to subscribe. Database 2 FSBO Area Search over 14,000 Have and Want ads placed by the public free. Limited View. Details. Full Contact Information is available and circulated to Executive Members only. Contact a member for more information on any listing in this area. Free for the public to post. Make your own arrangements for compensation. This service is becoming one of the largest searchable databases of real estate Haves and Wants in the world. See just a few of the deals being done. Readership is world wide with people from over 100 countries. See Statistics. For the Public: Find the newest buyers and selling opportunities within 15-60 seconds with new search tools below or contact us. And there are four ways to make a connection otherwise if you miss one, you can easily be missing doing a deal and . . . not realize it. Search the latest new Have/Want Age Field search tool in World Commercial with Ontario key words and cities and World Residential with Ontario Key Words and Cities, and more for the latest new real estate Haves and Wants. Install the ICIWorld App on your mobile device for these information search tools. Add https://iciworld.mobi to your home screen of your mobile device. Search your city, key word, etc. daily within seconds for daily new listings. Search Advanced and use the Date of Listing Between Calendar Tool. Print the latest list with contact names and phone numbers within a minute. Subscribe/Unsubscribe to a Digest of new listings by a daily EMail Contact info in the EMail. Be the first to know. One transaction can make one a lot of money. This service operates in real time with every listing dated. We do not delete listings. You set your own search parameters for age of listings and status. All listings are used for networking and contact purposes. Once you have searched, many members keep up to date with the new listings daily by EMail or click on the Latest listings for your city or property type and area or set the date field for just Active Status Listings within the last 30 days. This applies whether you are looking for buyers or sellers. Some developers for instance look for the latest tenants looking for retail, industrial or office space. Investors search the latest apartment buildings coming for sale, etc. We recommend you set your own number of months to search. Many members make their contacts and do business with the older listings which identify people with whom they may be able to do business with. We recommend every member update their listings every 30-60 days and in no event let them go longer than 90 days old. This is the new default setting on ICIWorld Apps now being rolled out for all mobile devices. A real estate information service is more like classified ads in a newspaper unlike a real estate board type listing service. In many cases, there is limited information to highlight the opportunity. The advantage is that people who know about these opportunities can present them here for you in the marketplace not available on any other service. More opportunities become available to you as a result. There also can be a link to the full page of information on the brokers or salesperson’s web site if it is on MLS. Make sure you always check Internet Links in each Have or Want. Sometimes the owners of properties or the Executive Member of ICIWorld who are mainly licensed real estate brokers and salespeople are not at liberty to give you an exact address. This is because there are a lot of exclusive opportunity type properties that are not on real estate boards. Sometimes an agreement to show the property has to be put in place first before showing you the property or divulging the address of the property to you or identifying the property. So you might see Toronto Restaurant $350,000 Making money . . . and that’s it! You must call the member of ICIWorld, develop and business relationship with him/her and go from there and give them a chance to put an agreement in place first. They may have to put an agreement in place first to show you the property. There are many search methods on ICIWorld to find information. It is helpful for you to understand key word searching. The letters otel are part of the word hotel and part of the word motel. So search the subject line with these letters can find hotels and motels. Try typing otel here in the subject line. You get both hotels and motels because otel is part of each word. Search the subject line and type in your city Try typing you city here in the subject line. Naturally you can select a Business AREA along with it, as well as Have or Want. And now with the age field you can select to search Haves and Wants 30 days old, or 60 -180 days and more. Old listings might be old listings but the buildings are still there, the people are still alive hopefully so the contact information can easily lead to networking with the other person to do business. This is one of the true values of this service, is introducing you to people with whom you may be able to do business both on and off the service. Develop a good business relationship with people and it can easily lead to doing other business. Haves are the properties for sale and for lease. Wants are what people are looking for. If you are looking for a property, search the Haves. If you are looking for a buyer for your property, search the Wants. Almost everyone in the world now has a mobile device. You can do these searches on ICIWorld on any mobile device. Click here for details and to install the ICIWorld App on you phone. It is our goal to eventually to have everyone in the world interested in real estate to have this app and be able to search real estate on ICIWorld. A greater degree of safety and competence of this information is achieved by having licensed real estate brokers and salespeople filter this information through their hands. Brokers and salespeople are best positioned in the marketplace to recognize and display this exclusive information in a competent fashion industry wide. We invite all licensed real estate salespeople in the world to join. We invite all members of the public to visit a members web site in your area. Search Members and see their web site. They should have more local information available and resources available to you. Make sure you place your Wants with them as well as your Haves. They have industry wide networking power through the thousands of web sites that we have provided links for them to display your information. Prepared searches can be found clicking on Search on ICIWorld. A search matrix is something special. It can give you one page, make a choice and within seconds your results for your possible next deal are on the screen. Search Advanced You Tube Video On our new iciworld.com site you will find Advanced Searches as a feature that you can click on. If you are only interested in one specialty like a certain kind of business. There is a search that produces that result. If you add this to your home screen on your mobile device you can check it every once in a while for new Haves and/or Wants. That way you are up to the second knowledgeable. Send us an email of the result you would like to reproduce on your mobile device and then you can add it to your home screen. THIS IS A BIG TIME SAVER. CLICK ONE BUTTON AND SEE THE RESULTS WITHIN A FEW SECONDS. Latest Shopping Centers (or any business category on ICIWorld) for sale in your province, state, city. Latest buyers for Apartment Buildings (or any business category on ICIWorld) for your city, state, province. Latest buyers and sellers for any kind of business. Latest tenants looking for retail, office, industrial space to lease. When we say Latest, this is up to the second in real time listings. If something was put on 10 seconds ago, you will see it if you have a Latest (for your city) button on your mobile device. In some cases you will see Principals Only in the subject line. Click here to see how to understand what is going on and how to deal with it. This is information at your fingertips. You are only one click away from seeing the latest listings!!! There is a no charge to help you set this up on your mobile device. This is complimentary for every person who is interested. We like helping you because it helps you connect our members to do business. 90% of the millionaires in the world today did it through real estate. Developing good business relationships makes it happen. Meet people through this service and qualify and develop your network of people to do business with. Get excited. Designed as a self service, automatically operating system, with minimal ads. This presents very exciting opportunities for the licensed real estate industry to do more business than they are presently doing. How many listings do you have on a real estate board? Everyone on ICIWorld should have a minimum of fifteen opportunities because it is information not just a signed listing. Everyone should get a signed listing before showing the property or divulging the address of a property when it is information. Licensed real estate salespeople can trade in real estate information. We believe there is ten times more information that an individual salesperson can work on ICIWorld than can be worked on a real estate board. And in fact we will be making submissions to real estate boards to adopt and promote this service to all their members. ICIWorld can handle all the information that can not be placed on a real estate board. It can be done in a competent and professional manner as our members have been doing since 1994. Many do not want to search the older listings . . . you do not have to if you do not want to. But for others this is a gold mine as well. So we give everyone choices. There are also dates on every single listing. Older listings and in fact all listings are used networking purposes. They help identify people with whom you may be able to do business. Develop good business relationships with them and you will find out about other properties not on the service, other properties that come for sale in the next couple of weeks, etc. They might call you back and say a property matching the description of what you are looking for has just come available, want to see it? This service serves the world. There are five billion people who access the Internet in various ways and ICIWorld now makes all information available to the world to see. This brings traffic to ever single member from the listings and the links in the listings to members websites. Real estate has so many intricacies that it is impossible to show one way to search. This is because searching residential is different that searching commercial. There are special ways to zero in on exactly what you wish to search. You just have to learn them. There are also varying skill sets to search by the public and by the licensed real estate industry. Searching advanced is different that clicking on a prepared search. Prepared searches are presented for you to be the fastest, easiest way to search. go to iciworld.com click on Search, click on a country or continent, make choices and bingo the results are on the screen. However some people want to zero in on things a little more so an advanced search may be in order. We have heard the comment that ICIWorld is too much information. It is true and we call it a gold mine of information. But you sometimes have to dig for the gold. This page will help you get to the gold in the fastest possible way in the world today. The following are examples. Can you do these searches? How to do any of these searches within seconds. With a view to doing business. if no cooperation find out why, maybe if there is no commission from the seller, you should get it from the buyer. There is a responsibility on the part of the members to update their information. Call or email ICIWorld and we will contact the member and see what has happened with a view to rectify the situation. ICIWorld Provides Residential Marketing Exposure and Networking World Wide. Most all of our members do residential as well as commercial. Residential real estate brokers and salespeople have many advantages that help them serve the public and they make money doing it. world wide exposure – people from over 100 countries of the world access information regularly. advertise and network exclusive listings and opportunities not just real estate board listings. includes luxury, estate properties, waterfront, condos, vacation properties, cottages, condo’s, townhouses, any and all residential type real estate. includes links to your web site. these listings will also appear on other brokers web sites. members can include the links to residential on their web site. exposure now on Apps for the iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry, Windows devices. the residential web sites we supply are the most powerful on the planet earth and are used by 300,000 real estate professionals. They are powerful because of the extensive listings that are provided in links that are set up by ICIWorld. See sample web sites. It has residential listings with photos and virtual slide show displays in all areas of the world displayed for your prospects and clients in a way that YOU get the calls. Automatic delivery of listings by EMail that match the description of what your prospects and clients and looking for. It displays exclusive listings condos, residential properties that are not on real estate boards. We install the IDX link to listings for your real estate board or association if it is available. We also set you up with a DDF Feed, (Data Distribution Facility) which means when you add a listing to MLS it is also added to your web site. Includes SEO, search engine optimization and forty different ways to promote your web site. These are the most powerful web sites on the planet and suggest you see our presentation why. Do open houses and program buyers into your web site to receive listings and much more. Install the ICIWorld App on your device (See Apps) look for the Business Category called Residential Estates, Single Family Homes, Condos, Cottages, Vacation Properties and more. Executive Members of ICIWorld also have a residential buttons on their web site. When you add a listing it is not just added to one web site but it is added to a thousand web sites. Now that’s marketing exposure! On ICIWorld.com look for residential – there will be MLS AND Exclusive Listings Advertised. You should place your Want with a member. The circulation is industry wide within hours. You should subscribe to receive new listings from their web site. It is free and there is no obligation to buy from them. You can zero in on neighborhoods, price ranges, types of property. When a new listing matches the description of what you are looking for, bingo you get a copy by EMail. If you need to see it, call the broker and make an appointment. This way you are assured of getting the latest listings because of technology. Contact a member today You can search a market area, specialty and by language spoken. Visit their web site to see the residential exclusives as well as their real estate board listings. They say that 90% of the millionaires in the world made it in real estate. Almost every single member can relate about someone that they have helped to create this wealth. There are many other important reasons to use a licensed real estate salesperson. Having the best choice in the market place is just one of them.

2019-04-25T02:54:47Z

https://www.iciworld.com/category/member-training/page/2/

PROMAN is a leading international consulting company specialised in development cooperation. Created in 1986, PROMAN is providing services to international donor agencies, national governments, public institutions and development partners world-wide. PROMAN has been awarded the ‘South Africa Sector Budget Support Technical Assistance’ contract. The project will provide support to the Government of South Africa, notably the National Treasury and relevant national departments, in the inception and the implementation phases of the Sector Budget Support provided by the EU. The project will start in April 2019 for a period of two years. PROMAN (lead) in partnership with NIRAS and Particip has been selected to undertake a mapping of services for survivors of violence amongst women and children in South Africa. The specific objective of the assignment is to contribute to the implementation of the Improvement Plan by the Inter-Ministerial Technical Task Team for Violence Against Women and Children. The project will start in April 2019 for a period of 16 months. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Formulation of the Programme of Support to the SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement in South Africa. The overall objective of the assignment is to enhance South Africa's trade and business opportunities by promoting the full implementation of the EU-SADC EPA in South Africa while advancing regional integration. The consortium led by PROMAN has been successfully providing TA in Support of the Education Sector in Sierra Leone since February 2017. The service contract has been extended with another 2 years. The contract is now scheduled to be completed early August 2021. AECOM International Europe in partnership with PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the assessment of the 2018 specific performance indicators under the Sector Reform Contract “Support to Police Reform”. Since early 2015 the consortium led by Louis Berger with PROMAN as partner has been providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Social Assistance and Reinsertion (MINARS) in the framework of the Support Project for Vulnerable Groups. The contract has been extended with another 18 months, with completion now scheduled early August 2020. PROMAN in partnership with B&S Europe has been awarded the contract for the final evaluation of the "Firkidia di skola" project and the identification and formulation of the 11th EDF education sector support programme. The past months have been very successful. A total of 5 new long-term contracts were awarded to PROMAN as lead company (2) or partner (3) for a total value of €18.8 million. Turnover has now more than doubled over the past 5 years, and is projected at over €18 million in 2019. PROMAN (lead) in partnership with Palladium International BV has been awarded the €2.8 million 3-year contract for the Support to the Office of the National Authorising Officer of the EDF in Zambia. PROMAN herewith confirms its position as market leader in the provision of TA to NAO structures in ACP countries. The past 5 years PROMAN has been/is supporting NAO offices in Chad, Kenya, Solomon Islands, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Zambia, Guinea, Comoros, Papua New Guinea, Namibia and Angola. AECOM International Europe in partnership with PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Support to the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement in the field of maritime transport. PROMAN has been contracted by DFID to provide an independent assessment of progress against DFID’s Jordan Compact Education Programme Disbursement Linked Indicators. PROMAN has been contracted by the Ministry of National Education, Teaching and Research of the Union of the Comoros to assess the feasibility of the proposed AFD funded project ‘Performance and Governance of the Education Sector in the Comoros” with an indicative budget of €6 million, define more precisely the purpose, content and implementation modalities of the project and provide support during the start-up phase, as appropriate. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for consultancy services for assessors to assist in the evaluation of grant applications received in the framework of the VET TOOLBOX call for proposals on inclusion in Vocational Education and Training (VET). The call for proposals intends to fund new and innovative cooperation initiatives aiming to improve employment opportunities in the formal and informal labour market for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups (especially women, migrants and internally displaced people, people living in rural and remote areas, the poorest quintile and people with disabilities) through inclusive Vocational and Educational Training (VET). The VET Toolbox is composed by GIZ, British Council, Enabel, LuxDev and AFD, and co-funded by the EU. AECOM International Europe in partnership with PROMAN has been selected to support the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board to establish a Tourism Development Fund. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the ‘Promotion of Inclusive Education in Kyrgyzstan’. The specific objective of the assignment is (i) to develop and pilot pre-service and in-service teacher training designed to address inclusive education for children with disability; and (ii) to promote budgetary commitments enabling to address the inclusive education. The project will start in February 2019 for a duration of 20 months. PROMAN is very pleased to announce it has been nominated implementing agency for the first phase of the Programme for the Relaunch of Economic Activities in the Region of Ménaka (DDM). The focus of the €1.5 million, one-year contract will be the realization of small infrastructures, favoring labor-intensive works in order to immediately revive economic activity in the territory; to conduct training/labour market insertion actions for young people; and to undertake feasibility studies for the construction of more substantial infrastructures and equipment to be carried out in Phase 2. This new contract further strengthens PROMAN’s important current portfolio in regional socio-economic development support programmes in the northern regions of Mali, in a difficult security context (3F, SDNM II, DDRG, DDRK IV). PROMAN will provide social sector expertise on the team undertaking an evaluation of the Humanitarian - Development Nexus process in Mali, and providing technical expertise to relaunch the process so as to accelerate the achievement of concrete results. The TA team is co-financed by the EUD, Swiss and Luxembourg Cooperation. We are delighted to announce that the consortium led by Cardno Emerging Markets, Belgium with PROMAN, Palladium International BV and the Spanish Association for Standardization-UNE as partners has been awarded the €8.9 million contract for the provision of technical assistance for the implementation of the ARISE Plus-Indonesia programme. The ASEAN Regional Integration Support - Indonesia Trade-Related Assistance (ARISE Plus - Indonesia) will be the first EU-funded trade related assistance programme with Indonesia that is closely linked to the ASEAN economic integration agenda. ARISE Plus-Indonesia aims to contribute to Indonesia's preparedness and enhanced competitiveness in global value chains through specific support targeting national and sub-national levels. By enhancing Indonesia's trade competitiveness and openness, the programme will promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, boost job creation and increase employment in a gender sensitive way. Furthermore, the programme provides country-level interventions closely linked to the regional programme ARISE Plus, supporting regional economic integration and trade in ASEAN. The project will start in January 2019 for a duration of 4 years. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the evaluation of the Inclusive Basic Education Component of Education Outcome of the Government of Mongolia and UNICEF Country Programmes 2012-2016 and 2017-2021. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Evaluation of UNICEF’s Disaster Risk Reduction Programming in Education in East Asia and the Pacific. The consortium led by Linpico with PROMAN and Quarein as partners has been awarded the €2 million contract for the provision of long-term technical assistance services and training for the offices of the EDF NAO in the Republic of Angola. PROMAN currently implements similar TA to NAO projects in Comoros, Guinea, Swaziland, Zambia, Papua New Guinea and Namibia. The consortium led by Integration with PROMAN and Oxford Policy Management as partners has been awarded the 5-year €3.6 million contract for the provision of long-term technical assistance to the National Authorising Officer (NAO) / National Planning Commission (NPC) Support Programme. PROMAN currently implements similar TA to NAO projects in Comoros, Guinea, Swaziland, Zambia and Papua New Guinea. PROMAN has been awarded the contract ‘Monitoring, assessment and support to EU and other donors-funded Education and complementary programs implemented by the Ministry of Education to deal with the Syria refugee crisis’. The overall period of implementation will be one year. The 3-year "Three Borders" (3F) program, with an indicative budget of €33.5 million aims to stabilize the border region of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The programme will support socio-economic development and strengthen social cohesion in cross-border territories. PROMAN has been solicited to support AVSF to undertake a first set of priority activities during the 6-month start-up phase in the region of Gao. PROMAN has been selected by UNICEF to undertake a meta-analysis of existing research to create a region-specific evidence base on the most effective strategies for improving learning among the most marginalized children in East Asia and Pacific based on existing scientific evidence from the region. Geographically the literature review can consider evidence from the 25 countries in EAP: Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, DPR Korea, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. PROMAN will provide expertise on the assessment of grant applications received in the framework of the restricted Call for Proposals “Local Authorities: Partnerships for sustainable cities”. The global objective of this CfP is to promote integrated urban development through partnerships built among Local Authorities of the EU Member States and of partner countries in accordance with the 2030 Agenda on sustainable development. PROMAN in partnership with EPOS has been selected to undertake the mid-term evaluation of the EU funded Northern Dimension Partnership on Public Health and Social Well-being and Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture. The Northern Dimension (ND) is a joint policy between the European union (EU), Russia, Norway and Iceland which promotes dialogue, practical cooperation and development. PROMAN in partnership with Transtec has been selected to undertake the mid-term and final evaluation of the EU funded Culture Support Programme in Tunisia (PACT). The evaluations are scheduled respectively for mid-November 2018 and end 2021. PROMAN has been awarded the contract to undertake a survey of class practices in primary education in Niger. The objective of the assignment is to undertake an analysis of the situation of class practices in primary schools in Niger and of the links between class practices and pupils' academic achievements to guide the content of initial and in-service training of teachers. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the mid-term evaluation of the Balochistan Education Support Programme. The overall objective of the programme is to accelerate and further increase the number of children (especially girls) enrolling in and completing quality elementary education in Balochistan. PROMAN has been selected to conduct a Tracer Study (ex-post evaluation) of the EU funded TVET I project. The global objective of the study is to provide comprehensive information to allow the implementing partners and the European Commission to make an accurate assessment of the immediate and long-term value and contribution of the project to the employability of its graduates including the uptake of self-employment opportunities. PROMAN will assist the EUD support the European Union Delegation to Ghana (EUD) with the preparation of the Terms of Reference for the tender dossier to award the service contract "Support to Communication and Visibility actions for the Ghana Employment and Social Protection Programme (GESP)". The GESP Programme funded by the 11th EDF is expected to contribute to enhance social protection services, notably for vulnerable population groups and to generate employment opportunities, with a particular attention to the youth in Ghana. The consortium led by AFC, with PROMAN and I&D as partner, has been awarded the € 5.36 million TA contract for the Implementation of the AFAFI-NORD Programme. The main objective of the 6-year AFAFI-NORD program is to promote a sustainable agricultural sector, inclusive and efficient in the North of Madagascar. Its specific objectives are: (i) the improvement of governance of the agricultural sector, (ii) increasing household incomes by supporting the development and strengthening of inclusive agricultural value chains, and (iii) the improvement of food and nutrition security of rural households. The program is organized around two components: (i) support for project coordination, (ii) support to the Agriculture, Livestock Fisheries and Environment covering the three specific objectives. Activities will be in all three targeted regions of northern Madagascar (Diana, SAVA, Analanjirofo). This award further consolidates our solid reputation in the country, in the Indian Ocean region and further reinforces our growing portfolio in local regional development. PROMAN in partnership with EPOS Health Management and AECOM International Development Europe has been awarded the contract for reviewing compliance with eligibility conditions and disbursement indicators for the EU budget support under the Development, Protection and Social Inclusion Programme. This contract is the first award under the new FWC SIEA 2018, Lot 4. PROMAN has been awarded the € 1.5 million contract for the Support to the Management of Visibility and Communications for the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Malawi. The overall objective of this 3-year contract is to enhance the visibility of the EU-Malawi cooperation and promote a greater awareness and understanding among key actors in the public, private and civil society sectors on issues of EU's development assistance. Partners to the PROMAN led consortium include Action Global Communications and Quarein. For the past 2 years PROMAN has been a selected service provider on the Long term Agreement for the provision of timely and high quality technical expertise to the UNICEF education sector in the areas of early learning, gender/girls' education and inclusive education, quality and learning and education in emergencies and resilience. The LTA has now been extended till June 2019 and will continue to be called upon to provide technical assistance, advice, capacity building or support services to UNICEF regional and country offices at short notice. The scope of this FWC is to carry out evaluations of geographic (regions/countries) cooperation strategies and programmes; thematic multi-country evaluations; evaluations of selected policy issues and aid modalities, particularly budget support operations and to support dissemination of the results: lessons learned and evaluation recommendations, support for development of appropriate methodological approaches and tools for evaluation. PROMAN is partner to the consortium led by Landell Mills. This FWC has now been extended till March 2020. The contract for the External Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) reviews and support missions concerning projects and programmes financed by the EU for the Asian and Pacific regions including OCTs has once more been extended, the contract now to end in April 2019. The project did start on 1st of January 2015. PROMAN is partner to the consortium led by Landell Mills. PROMAN is very pleased to inform that the consortium led by AECOM Belgium, with PROMAN as partner has been retained as framework contractor for the EU funded FWC Services for the Implementation of External Aid 2018 (FWC SIEA 2018), Lot 6: INNOVATIVE FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT. Lot 6 covers the following sectors: Economic, financial, technical and legal experts on Finance Products and Structures, Financiers/Risk Takers, Markets and financing needs/gaps, Policy issues, Legal, institutional and procedural issues. Contract implementation will start on 1st of June 2018 for an initial period of two years. PROMAN is very pleased to inform that the consortium led by AECOM International Development Europe, with PROMAN as partner has been retained as framework contractor for the EU funded FWC Services for the Implementation of External Aid 2018 (FWC SIEA 2018), Lot 5: BUDGET SUPPORT. Lot 5 covers the following sectors: Public policies, Macroeconomic stability, Public finance management, Domestic revenue mobilisation, Statistics and indicators. PROMAN is very pleased to inform that the consortium led by AECOM International Development Europe, with PROMAN as partner has been retained as framework contractor for the EU funded FWC Services for the Implementation of External Aid 2018 (FWC SIEA 2018), Lot 2: INFRASTRUCTURE, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND JOBS. Lot 2 covers the following sectors: Transport and infrastructures, Digital technologies and services, Earth observation, Urban development and cities, Sustainable energy, Nuclear safety, Sustainable waste management, Private sector, Trade, Employment creation. PROMAN is very pleased to inform that the consortium led by TRANSTEC, with PROMAN as partner has been retained as framework contractor for the EU funded FWC Services for the Implementation of External Aid 2018 (FWC SIEA 2018), Lot 1: SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND RESILIENCE. Lot 1 covers the following sectors: Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable forestry management and conservation, Fishery and aquaculture, Land management, Food security & nutrition, Food safety, Extension/Training/HRD/Institutional Development, Rural infrastructure, Climate change, Sustainable natural resource management, Disaster risk reduction. PROMAN is very pleased to inform that the consortium led by PROMAN has been retained as framework contractor for the EU funded FWC Services for the Implementation of External Aid 2018 (FWC SIEA 2018), Lot 4: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SAFETY NET. Lot 4 covers the following sectors: Education, VET, Lifelong learning, Culture, Social inclusion and protection, Health, Research & Innovation. Contract implementation will start on 1st of June 2018 for an initial period of two years. Partners to the consortium include AECOM International Development Europe, AEDES, B&S Europe, CultureLab, EPOS, GOPA, hera, INOVA+, Lattanzio Advisory, Niras Finland, IP Consult, Niras Sweden, Particip, PAI, SFERE, Transtec and World Learning. PROMAN has been contracted to assist the Ministry of Education in the preparation and facilitation of the review of the 2016-2020 Five Year Education Plan and the definition of targets and actions to be carried out for the coming years of the plan. PROMAN has been selected by UNICEF to provide technical assistance and overall guidance to the Government of Uzbekistan (and various Ministries of Education and institutions under them) through the process of developing a comprehensive Education Sector Plan (ESP) for the period 2018-2022. The comprehensive ESP is the key national education policy document, which provides a long-term vision for the education system in the country and outlines a coherent set of practicable strategies to reach its objectives and overcome difficulties. PROMAN has been successfully supporting the NAO Office in Guinea since December 2015. An extension has been granted with the contract now to run till December 2019. PROMAN has been selected to undertake the end of year 1 and mid-term evaluation of the third phase of the EU funded Support to the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector Programme. The specific objective of the programme is to improve governance and private sector participation in the TVET sector to enhance access to quality skills development that meets demand of the labour market. The past months have been extremely successful for PROMAN. No less than 8 new LT contracts have been awarded to PROMAN as lead company (4) or partner (4), with a total value of some € 34.2 million. These remarkable results further consolidate our impressive growth of the past years. PROMAN in partnership with EGIS International (lead) has been awarded the contract for the provision of long term technical assistance for the implementation of the 11th EDF Territorial Development Support Programme (PADT) (€ 2.45 million). The specific objective of the PADT is to support the State and Territorial Administration (deconcentrated and decentralized) with the operationalization of the National Policy of Decentralization and Deconcentration (PONADEC). The period of implementation will be 4 years. Decentralisation and Local Development continues to be major area of specialisation of PROMAN. The past months the portfolio has grown with a further 3 long term contracts in the sector. The consortium led by PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the provision of Technical Assistance for the support programme to the implementation of EU-Papua New Guinea cooperation. The € 3.65 million TA contract will start in March 2018, with an implementation period of 40 months. Partners to the consortium are Cardno Emerging Markets and Transtec. PROMAN currently implements similar TA to NAO projects in Comoros, Guinea, Swaziland and Zambia. PROMAN has been successfully supporting the NAO Office in Zambia since April 2015. An extension has been granted with the contract now to run till the 10th of December 2018. We are delighted to announce that the consortium led by Palladium International BV with PROMAN as principal partner has been awarded the € 14 million EU funded contract for the provision of Technical Assistance for the 'Employment Promotion through SMMEs Support Programme for the Republic of South Africa'. The specific objectives/outcomes of the SMMEs Programme are (i) to improve the competitiveness of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) and their ability to meet procurement requirements of large multinational/local corporations, government and state-owned enterprises; (ii) to improve access to finance for SMMEs with limited/no access to finance and (iii) to improve the regulatory and administrative environment for SMMEs. The contract will start in March 2018 for a period of 52 months. Other partners to the consortium are Enclude and Tutwa Consulting Group. PROMAN has been selected to undertake the final evaluation of the EU funded Technical Cooperation and Official Development Assistance Programme (TCODAP). The Programme aimed to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and sustainable management of incoming and outgoing ODA for better management and impact on strategic development priorities of South Africa. PROMAN has been selected to provide TA to the Department of Higher Education and Training to build the knowledge and understanding of DHET staff in the extent and range of open learning approaches, open educational resources and the use of multi-media and materials development processes. The consortium led by MDF with GIZ and PROMAN as partners has been retained as contractor for the Training on Financial and Contractual Procedures in the Framework of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF). Under this € 4.8 million TA contract training courses will be delivered for NAOs and RAOs staff, as well as EUD staff in the ACP countries over a period of 5 years. PROMAN is very pleased to announce it has been nominated as regional operator for the project "Sécurité et Développement des Régions du Nord du Mali, phase II / Security and Development of Northern Regions of Mali, phase II" (total budget of € 19 million) for the regions of Gao, Kidal and Ménaka, financed by AFD and the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the stability and development of the regions of the North by supporting access to basic social services and revitalizing the local economy. The regional operator will provide support to local authorities on the different stages of the project cycle (identification and consultation for the selection of projects to be financed under the Local Investment Fund, technical and economic feasibility, formulation, procurement, monitoring of supply and work contracts etc.). The selection of PROMAN confirms its strong reputation in the country and the region in the management of projects in a difficult security environment. PROMAN is active in the north of Mali since 1999. This 3-year contract will start end January. The PROMAN led consortium has been awarded the EU funded contract for the Technical Assistance team for the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) programme. The purpose of this EUR 4 million TA contract is to assist the Office of Prime Minister in the effective and efficient execution of the DINU programme. DINU has been designed as an integrated programme providing support to Northern Uganda in the 3 focal sectors identified in the NIP for the 11th EDF, which are food security and nutrition, good governance and transport infrastructures. The project will start mid-December for a period of 64 months. Partners in the consortium are Palladium International BV, NTU International A/S and Saba Engineering Plc. PROMAN in partnership with B&S Europe has been awarded the contract for the final evaluation of 3 EU funded education sector programmes in Indonesia: (1) the EU Budget Support Programme "Education Sector Support Programme" (ESSP Phase I & II); (2) the "Analytical Capacity and Development Partnership" programme (ACDP) and (3) the "Minimum Service Standards Capacity Development Programme" (MSS CDP) in basic education. PROMAN has been awarded the contract to assist the National Aid Fund (NAF) to develop a qualitative awareness, information and communication toward public, stakeholders and final beneficiaries. The National Aid Fund (NAF) is one of the leading institutions in the field of social protection in Jordan. Established in 1986, the Fund aims to provide assistance to the most deprived and vulnerable groups to improve their standard of living. PROMAN in partnership with Lattanzio Advisory has been contracted to support the Women in Engineering and Technology Awareness Campaign in Guyana. The specific objectives of this assignment are to design (i) a communication strategy and annual awareness campaign for girls and women to study science, engineering and technology; (ii) a toolkit to enhance the role of the industrial attachment scheme in attracting more female interest in science, engineering and technology and (iii) an action plan for enhancing the role of women in the Sea and River Defence Board and other disaster risk management (DRM) sector related decision bodies. The assignment will start in September to be completed mid-2019. PROMAN, in partnership with B&S Europe has been awarded the contract for the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Project SRRMLME- Support to the Reintegration of Returnees and to the Management of Labour Migration in Ethiopia. Skills development is a major result area under the UNICEF Strategic Plan (2018-2022). PROMAN will assist UNICEF HQ in the development of program guidance on Skills for Employment. The guidance will provide practical advice to inform UNICEF Country Offices when developing related programs. PROMAN, in partnership with Lattanzio Advisory has been awarded the contract "Consultancy to document lessons learnt and case studies from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (ECS) 10th EDF programme". The purpose of this contract is to create a Lessons Learnt Information Package contextualising the continued journey toward Regional Integration over the last five (5) years towards the continued sensitization and education of the public. Since January 2015, PROMAN has been successfully providing advisory services to the European Commission, both to headquarters and to delegations, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of the EU's development aid on education. The project has received additional funding with completion now scheduled in January 2020. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the 'Analysis of the Needs of Labour Market Institutions' in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The assignment will undertake a detailed analysis of existing infrastructure of Public Employment Services and IT requirements and other logistical aspects of labour market institutions and provide overall recommendations. The consortium led by PROMAN has been successfully providing assistance to promote education quality and educational services in 9 regions of Madagascar since early 2013. Early July a final extension to the contract was signed, with a reduced expert team till end June 2018. Emphasis will be placed on consolidation of achievements and closure of this 32 MEURO programme. PROMAN, in partnership with B&S Europe has been awarded the service contract "Consultancy to develop and implement a public sector improvement programme for Barbados". The specific objectives of the assignment are to increase productivity levels within the public sector through sensitization, promotional and advocacy activities, by facilitating knowledge - and experience-sharing, providing the building blocks for a collective approach to solving problems and by training, equipping and supporting employees to maximize the effectiveness, productivity and performance of their departments/ministries, and hence the government of Barbados. Since end 2014, PROMAN in partnership with PwC and Marge has been providing TA for the implementation of the regional programme "Renewable Energy Development and Energy Efficiency Improvement in Indian Ocean Commission Member States". The contract has now been extended for an additional 30 months with project completion scheduled in December 2019. The consortium led by NIRAS, with PROMAN as partner has been awarded the contract for the project "Support to the Development of Social Welfare Regulatory Mechanisms" in the Republic of Serbia. The overall objective of this two year project is to contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth for the Republic of Serbia by building a more knowledgeable and skilled labour force, improving social protection policies and promoting the social inclusion of vulnerable populations. PROMAN will support the International Development Cooperation Unit, National Treasury on the management of the call for proposals under the General Budget Support Programme. The assignment will start end May for a period of two years. The contract for the External Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) reviews and support missions concerning projects and programmes financed by the EU for the Asian and Pacific regions including OCTs has been extended till end April 2018. The project did start on 1st of January 2015. PROMAN has been successfully supporting the Government of Mali on the decentralisation process under two consecutive EDF funded contracts since end 2006. The current PARADDER contract has now been extended till December 2018. A new award under the UNICEF LTA agreement. The purpose of the consultancy is to reinforce and help finalize the current draft UNGEI Strategic Directions 2017-2022 paper, including the development of a Theory of Change, results or monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework and governance framework. PROMAN will support the EU Delegation on the regular monitoring of the implementation of the vocational education sector reform support programme. The expertise will be provided by a team of three experts. A total of 6 missions are scheduled in the period May 2017 to March 2020. Last year PROMAN was awarded the contract for a similar assignment focusing on the education sector reform support programme. Under this assignment the first three monitoring mission have been successfully completed. Another contract award under the LTA agreement. The objective of the mission is to develop guidance and mechanisms to strengthen knowledge management and capitalisation of projects and experiences, based on the Ministry of Education (MoE)-UNICEF cooperation experiences implemented during the period 2012-2016. This includes the development of a methodological guide (manual) and a training module to strengthen capacities at central and decentralised levels. We are very pleased to announce PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the provision of TA to the Development Cooperation Support Programme (PAC). The specific objective of this contract is to increase the technical capacities of the services of the National Authorizing Officer, the NAO and the technical ministries in order to improve project management in the framework of the cooperation between the Union of the Comoros and the EU. The project will start in April for a period of three years. This contract further consolidates PROMAN's position in the Indian Ocean Region with currently various other major projects ongoing: PASSOBA-Education (Madagascar), PROCOM (Madagascar), HRD (Seychelles), Biodiversity (IOC regional), Renewable Energy (IOC regional) and Islands II (IOC regional). The provision of TA to NAO services remains a core speciality of PROMAN, with ongoing projects in Guinea, Zambia and Swaziland. The consortium led by Particip, with PROMAN as partner has been successfully supporting the NAO services in Swaziland since December 2014. The project will be extended for another 20 months with project completion now scheduled end 2018. PROMAN will assist the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in developing a costed 3-year action plan (2018-2020) for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sub-sector plan. The costed action plan will be used by the MoES and development partners to support the planning, implementation and monitoring of the MoES annual work plans as well as the Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) 2016-2020. PROMAN has been selected by the Evaluation Office UNICEF HQ, NY to undertake the formative evaluation of the Out-of-school-Children Initiative (OOSCI). OOSCI was launched in 2010 by UNICEF and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). It aims to 'turn data into action' by developing detailed 'profiles' of out‐of‐school children, identify barriers that are pushing them out of school, and propose changes in partner government policies and strategies to address these barriers. Field visits are planned to Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Sri Lanka. PROMAN has been contracted by the EU Delegation to undertake a gender analysis. The gender analysis will provide an understanding of whether gender inequalities persist in Nigeria and its causes, how it intersects with other inequalities, how it impacts on human rights enjoyment and/or benefits produced by and access to development efforts. It will also provide an understanding of Nigeria's government's commitment and capacity to work on GEWE issues. The analysis will provide relevant and reliable information which the EU and Member States may use to (i) Prepare gender sensitive development response strategies and (ii) contribute to the political dialogue. The consortium led by PROMAN has been awarded a major contract for the provision of Technical Assistance in Support of the Education Sector in Sierra Leone. The purpose of this 4.1 M EUR contract is to provide the beneficiary country and in particular the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), the Teaching Service Commission, selected district education offices and selected teacher colleges with technical assistance to deliver on strengthening of management capacity and provision of education services, in compliance with national education policies and targets. Technical assistance will be carried out by a team of 4 long-term key experts complemented with a pool of short/medium-term experts operating in Freetown and in other locations across the country over an implementation period of 30 months. Partners in the consortium are Palladium, Plan International and Redi4Change. PROMAN will provide the services of a Senior Border Management Expert in the team undertaking the Evaluation of EU support for Security Reform in enlargement and neighbourhood countries (2010-2016). PROMAN will assist UNICEF HQ in the production of the Education Annual Results Report for 2016. UNICEF's Annual Results Reports outline the organization's results against the Strategic Plan 2014–2017 to advance children's rights and equity in the areas of health; HIV and AIDS; water, sanitation and hygiene; nutrition; education; child protection; social inclusion; humanitarian action; and gender. The reports detail what UNICEF achieved in each outcome area, working with diverse partners at the global, regional and country levels, and examine the impact of these accomplishments on the lives of children and families worldwide. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Mid-term Review of the Programme to Support Pro-poor Policy Development (PSPPD) II. The programme contributes to improved policies, building systems and institutional capacity to reduce poverty and inequality through evidence-based policy-making. PROMAN is pleased to announce that the consortium consisting of AECOM International Development Europe (lead) and PROMAN, PAI, Democracy Essentials, Global Operational Support (partners) is of the 4 consortia retained on the EU funded Lot 1 Framework Contract for Support to Electoral Missions. The scope of lot 1 is to provide services (expertise, material and technical support) for Election Observation Missions (EOMs) and Election Assessment Team (EATs) missions which observe electoral processes in partner countries of Africa, Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific region. The maximum estimated budget for this two year FWC totals 215 000 000 EUR. PROMAN has been selected to undertake the institutional, organizational and functional audit of the National Institute for Pedagogic Training (INFP) and its regional centres (CRINFP). PROMAN in partnership with Lattanzio has been awarded the contract for the formulation of the 3rd phase of the EU Support Programme for the Implementation of the National Literacy Strategy (Alpha III). PROMAN will provide support to the EU Delegation on "Monitoring, assessment and support to EU and other donor funded Education and complementary programs by the Ministry of Education to deal with the Syria crisis". The contract is to run for a period of two years. PROMAN has been awarded the contract to provide Technical Assistance for the research on "Using Social Dialogue as a socio economic development tool". The specific objective of the assignment is to provide the European Commission (DEVCO B3) and the European Delegations with a reference document (orange publication): (i) Developing an understanding of Social Dialogue and the added-value of including its related mechanisms in development actions; and (ii) Identifying Social Dialogue good practices in technical cooperation projects that can provide operational guidance on how to best include it and support it in future actions. PROMAN will assist the Government of Angola on the identification and formulation of the 11th EDF higher education support programme. The assignment will include a detailed review of the sector. PROMAN has been contracted by DFID to support the Donor Coordination Unit at the Ministry of Education (MOE) to develop and finalise one common results framework for delivery of quality formal education for Syrian refugee children. The work will be carried out in close coordination with key donors (Canada, EU, Germany, Norway, US and UK). PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the provision of specialized sector expertise on the formulation of EU support in the field of communication and audio-visual in Morocco. PROMAN is very pleased to inform that its bid on the development of a Human Resource Development Strategy for the Seychelles has been successful. The overall objective of the assignment, which will be undertaken in partnership with the Centre for Employment Initiatives (UK) and Edge Consulting (Mauritius) and will last one year, is to develop a HRD strategy for the next 5 years in order to transform the knowledge and skills base, diversify the economy and address the skills and expertise gaps. This contract reinforces PROMAN's position in the Indian Ocean region. Other major ongoing projects include PASSOBA-Education (Madagascar), PROCOM (Madagascar), Renewable Energy (IOC), Biodiversity (IOC) and Islands II (IOC). PROMAN in association with Lattanzio Advisory has been contracted by the EU Delegation to conduct a Gender Audit of EU bilateral cooperation in Cambodia. The gender audit should (i) measure how gender mainstreaming has been implemented in ongoing EU bilateral projects and programmes; (ii) identify good practices and provide specific recommendations (possibly including gender indicators) for each project as appropriate to improve gender equality and inclusion; and (iii) provide analysis and recommendations that will inform and trigger debate around gender mainstreaming in EU cooperation. PROMAN has been selected to conduct the final evaluation of the EU funded project "Supporting Technical and Vocational Education and Training Reform in Pakistan (TVET II). The work will be undertaken by a team of four experts over a period of 6 months. The consortium led by PROMAN has been successfully providing assistance to promote education quality and educational services in 9 regions of Madagascar since early 2013. Early August a new contract was signed extending the TA till end October 2017, the expert team now consisting of 13 long term key experts, and bringing the total value of TA services to 8.650.000 EUR. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Interim Evaluation of Employment and Vocational Education Training (EVET) and to measure the feasibility of EU's further support for education, focused on Lifelong Learning. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Evaluation of the UNESCO/EU Expert facility on the governance of culture in developing countries. The overall objective of the Expert facility is to reinforce the role of culture as a vector of sustainable human development in developing countries. PROMAN experts will undertake a study to explore options for a new EU-ACP Research and Innovation programme that will both meet the needs and demands of ACP countries in the context of Agenda 2030, particularly SDG 9 and its targets, and bring an added value at collective intra-ACP level. PROMAN in partnership with Arp Dévelopement and CENAFOD has been successfully providing TA to the Support Programme for Administrative Reform in Decentralisation and Regional Economic Development (PARADDER) since February 2012. Mid July an extension was signed with increased funding extending the contract for a further ten months. The project is now scheduled to end in June 2017. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the final evaluation of the EU funded Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs Project in Uzbekistan. The project focuses on pre-school and primary school (1-4 classes), and promotes the inclusion of 1,200 children aged 2-10 with intellectual and motor disabilities and developmental delays. PROMAN will provide the services of a senior education expert (general education and TVET) in the team on the preparation of the 11th EDF National Indicative Programme for the Central African Republic. The assignment is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Review of the Education Sector Reform Contract. Within the framework of the ESRC (AAP2015), the EU provides financial assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic during Kyrgyz fiscal years 2016-2018. This assistance is provided through a foreign currency facility channeled into the national budget. The overall objective of the contract is to provide a detailed review of the implementation of the ESRC 2015 and to enable the EU to use the outcomes of the reviews for decisions on instalment disbursement and programme execution, as well as to contribute to the Programming exercise to be funded by the Annual Action Plan 2018. The assignment will start in July 2016, to be completed during the 1st semester of 2018. PROMAN has been selected as service provider on the Long term Agreement for the provision of timely and high quality technical expertise to the UNICEF education sector in the areas of early learning, gender/girls' education and inclusive education, quality and learning and education in emergencies and resilience. The LTA will be called upon at short notice to provide technical assistance, advice, capacity building or support services to UNICEF regional and country offices when requested. The LTA has an overall duration of two years. PROMAN has been awarded the EU funded contract "Evaluation of the policy steps taken by the Ukrainian government towards the delivery of social services to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)". The global objective of the assignment is to assist the Ukrainian authorities in putting in place a policy framework which respects the social, economic and human rights of the IDP population and fosters social cohesion in challenging political and economic circumstances. UNICEF has renewed the contract for the provision of the services of a Technical Advisor to Support Decentralization and De-concentration Reform in the Education Sector, for a further year. PROMAN has been awarded the EU funded contract 'Support for the Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for SIDS in the ESA-IO region – Phase II (ISLANDS II)'. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the Sustainable Development of the Small Island Developing States of the ESA-IO region by addressing specific development constraints of beneficiary countries (their natural characteristics linked to insularity, their relative smallness, proneness to natural disasters, and limited access to capital) and by fostering regional and global SIDS-SIDS cross-fertilisation. The contract will start 1st of March 2016, for a duration of 20 months. We are pleased to announce that the consortium led by Landell Mills, with PROMAN as member has been retained as framework contractor on Lot 1. Evaluation. The scope of this contract is to carry out evaluations of geographic (regions/countries) cooperation strategies and programmes; thematic multi-country evaluations; evaluations of selected policy issues and aid modalities, particularly budget support operations and to support dissemination of the results: lessons learned and evaluation recommendations, support for development of appropriate methodological approaches and tools for evaluation. This new FWC will start on 1st March for an initial duration of maximum 2 years and can be extended up to 2 more years. We are pleased to announce that the contract for the External Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) reviews and support missions concerning projects and programmes financed by the EU for the Asian and Pacific regions including OCTs has been extended till end April 2017. The project did start on 1st of January 2015, to last initially for one year. PROMAN, in partnership with AECOM has been awarded the EU funded contract 'Support to the implementation of the PFM Action Plan 2015-2017'. This consultancy will be delivered over a period of indicatively 18 months through several in-country missions with an indicative start date in February 2016. PROMAN will support the EU Delegation on the regular monitoring of the implementation of the education sector reform support programme. The expertise will be provided by a team of three experts. A total of 7 missions are scheduled in the period May 2016 to November 2018. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the 'Comprehensive assessment of Social Units in the poorest Governorates in Egypt'. The global objective is to assess the capacities of the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity to develop its Social Units into efficient, client-oriented and adequately resourced social service providers. PROMAN will provide expertise on development policy to the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovakia to the EU in Brussels and the team dealing with the EU Presidency in the headquarters/capital of its ministries, in view of handling a demanding EU and Global Development Agenda. The assignment will last from May 2016 to January 2017. PROMAN in partnership with B&S Europe will undertake the thematic evaluation on EU support to Economic Governance in enlargement and neighbourhood countries, covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey. The contract will run for 9 months and start in May 2016. A PROMAN expert team will support the EU Delegation to Swaziland in programming the second tranche of the EDF11 (9.2 million EUR) for improved access to education and decent life for vulnerable children. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the TA to NAO project in Guinea Conakry. The expert team will consist of 4 long term experts. The project will start early December for a period of 3 years. PROMAN was officially mandated by the Luxemburg Government as executing agency for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Programme in the Gao region. With a total budget of 4.920.000 EUR, the programme will focus on 2 major components: rural development and food security and TVET. Implementation has formally started on 1st October 2015, to be completed by 31st December 2019. PROMAN was officially mandated by the Luxemburg Government as executing agency for the implementation of the fourth phase of the Sustainable Development Programme in the Kidal region. With a total budget of 8.380.000 EUR, the programme will focus on 4 major components: rural development and food security, TVET, health and decentralisation/good governance. Implementation has formally started on 1st October 2015, to be completed by 31st December 2019. PROMAN, member of the consortium led by TRANSTEC will field a new mission under the FWC for Mid-term and Final evaluations of Projects and Programmes of the Belgian Technical Cooperation in the Education Sector. The objective of the assignment is to undertake the mid-term evaluation of the programmes "Strengthening organizational capacity through scholarships" in Senegal and Morocco. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the Final Evaluation of the Support to the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Sector project. The assignment will be undertaken in two phases, to be completed by end 2016. PROMAN has been selected to assist the EU Delegation in Myanmar in the formulation of its support to the National Education Sector Plan (NESP) and to the PFM reform strategy. This is the second major assignment in Myanmar on the preparation and formulation of EU support to the education sector. The expertise will be provided by a team of 4 experts over a period of one year. PROMAN in partnership with B&S Europe will provide support to the EUD on three work tender evaluations in the water and sanitation sector. PROMAN in partnership with Lattanzio and B&S Europe will undertake the evaluation of the support in the area of equal access to quality education (integrated and inclusive education) financed under the Operational Programme for Human Resource Development 2007-2013. PROMAN in partnership with Lattanzio has been awarded the contract for the Formulation of the Education Component of the EU Social Sector Support Programme under the 11th EDF. PROMAN and B&S Europe have been awarded the contract to evaluate the results so far achieved through the EU support delivered under the Country Strategy Programme 2007-2013. Focal sectors of the CSP include Good Governance, Private Sector Development, and Basic Social Services. PROMAN and B&S Europe have been awarded the contract to provide technical assistance and expertise to the EU Office in Kosovo for the assessment of project proposals under several Calls (Civil Society 2014-2015, IPA 2013 (Civil Society grant scheme), EIDHR 2014). PROMAN in partnership with B&S Europe will support the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Preservation in Tunisia in the realization of 4 priority actions of its 2015 programme including development of a documentary portal of the National Library, status of artists, institutional strengthening of cultural centres and realisation of a communication campaign. PROMAN will provide legal advice to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on the evaluation of the existing gap between the Labour Code (and its regulations) and the 'acquis communautaire' and European best practices. PROMAN has been contracted by the EU Delegation in Armenia to undertake a Review of the Sector Support Programme for Continuation of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Reform and Development of an Employment Strategy. PROMAN has been awarded the contract to support the EU Delegation in the identification and formulation phase of planning for the continuation of its support to the TVET sector in Pakistan. PROMAN (lead company) in partnership with GRM International has been awarded the EU funded contract for the provision of long term technical support to the National Authorizing Officer in Zambia. This 3 year project with a budget of 1.8 million EUR has formally started on 15th April 2015. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the provision of short-term technical assistance to support the preparation of the disbursement requests for the second and third budget support tranche of the EU-Cambodia Education Sector Reform Partnership 2014-2016. PROMAN has been contracted by the EU Delegation in Kampala to undertake a Salary and Remuneration survey for EDF funded projects in Uganda. The mission is to start end March 2015. UNICEF has renewed the contract for the provision of the services of a Technical Advisor to Support Decentralization and De-concentration Reform in the Education Sector, for a further 2 years (2015-2016). Activities are to start in March 2015. PROMAN will provide the services of the ICT expert on the expert team for the identification and formulation on the new EU Regional Environmental Programme for Central Asia. The assignment is undertaken in partnership with B&S Europe, Linpico and AGRER. On 5th March 2015 the new Indicative Programme (PIC) 2015-2019 was signed between the Governments of Mali and the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg. PROMAN is the official Implementing Agency for programmes in the northern concentration zone of the PIC. Main focal areas include rural development and food security and TVET for the Gao region; and rural development and food security, TVET, health and decentralisation/good governance for the Kidal region. The total budget amounts to 13.3 million EUR for the period 2015-2019. Implementation is scheduled to start mid-2015. PROMAN has been awarded the contract for the provision of short-term technical assistance for supporting the implementation of the Promoting Heritage for Ethiopia's Development programme (PROHEDEV) funded by the EU. The objective of mission is to provide technical support to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism during the start-up of the programme and to provide targeted training for museum professionals. The consortium led by Louis Berger with PROMAN and PBLH as partner has been awarded the contract for the provision of Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Social Assistance and Reintegration (MINARS) in the framework of the Project to support the Government of Angola to define and implement an effective policy for Social Protection and Social Solidarity. The specific objective of this 4 year TA contract with a budget of over EUR 9 million is to strengthen institutional capacity of the Ministry leading to enhanced national social assistance to the population needs with a focus on the most vulnerable groups. The overall objective of the study is to support DG NEAR and IPA II beneficiaries in strengthening the monitoring and reporting systems to track the performance of IPA II assistance, while enhancing the transparency and visibility of IPA II funds, and providing support for related information and communication activities targeting stakeholder audiences in the EU Member States and a wider public. PROMAN will undertake the final evaluation of the Regional Support Programme to Cultural Initiatives, covering PALOP-Timor Leste. Field work will cover Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Sao Tome & Principe and Mozambique. The consortium led by Landell Mills with PROMAN and LINPICO as partner has been awarded the contract for the External Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) reviews and support missions concerning projects and programmes financed by the European Union for the Asian and Pacific regions including OCTs. This lot covers the EU funded national and regional projects and programmes whether single or multi-country in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, East-Timor, Fiji, French Polynesia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia and Dependencies, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Yemen. The project has started on 1st of January 2015 and will initially last for one year. Over 300 ROM reviews and support missions are foreseen. PROMAN has been awarded the Mid-term review of ongoing 'SHARE: Supporting the Hardest to Reach through Basic Education' Programme in Bangladesh. The specific objectives of SHARE programme are to provide basic education opportunities of quality for the hardest to reach children and their parents and guardians, in 219 upazillas and thanas of 47 districts in 7 divisions of Bangladesh. The mission will start in January 2015. The global objective of the assignment is to provide findings and conclusions on the performance of EU assistance in Turkey in the field of occupational health and safety with regard to the alignment with the EU acquis and practices and recommendations on the measures/actions that might be addressed by IPA 2014-2020 to improve programming and future project identification. PROMAN in partnership with Particip has been contracted to provide Support to the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs and Regional Authorities in Ethiopia to start up activities in the area of the enhancement of women's economic status in Ethiopia, under the WBP Project. The mission will last from December 2014 to April 2015. PROMAN (lead company), in partnership with 4Assist and Save the Children Norway has been awarded the service contract for the Support to the Education Sector Reform project in Lao PDR. The purpose of this 2.5 year project is to improve quality and relevance through implementation of Education Quality Standards for primary education and improved textbook management and supply and strengthening the planning and budgeting process. The project will start mid-January 2015. The consortium led by Particip with PROMAN as partner has been awarded the long-term contract for the provision of 'Technical Assistance to the NAO Support Unit and Relevant Line Ministries in Order to Build Capacity in Project Management, Mbabane, Swaziland'. This two-year project compliments PROMAN's impressive TA to NAO track record. PROMAN in partnership with PAI has been contracted to provide Consultancy Services for the Elaboration of an Action Plan for the Tertiary Education Strategic Plan 2013-2025. The global objective of the assignment is to assist the Republic of Mauritius in achieving its objective of becoming a knowledge-based economy. PROMAN (lead) in partnership with GRM International BV has been awarded the Education Advisory Services project. The contract will consist of: (i) providing advisory services to the European Commission, both to headquarters and to delegations, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of the EU's development aid on education. This will be achieved by providing adequate support at the key steps of the project/programme cycle and by increasing the know-how and the capacity of staff in charge of operations in the education sector; (ii) supporting the EU's contribution to the international policy debate and the definition of its own strategies for cooperation in the education sector; enhancing the accountability and visibility framework of the EU; (iii) contributing, on a request basis and resources allowing, to reinforcing the technical capacities of the EU's main stakeholders in the field of education. The project will start in January 2015 and is scheduled to be completed by June 2017. This contract reinforces PROMAN's position as key player in the education sector. PROMAN provides the services of a Democratisation Specialist on the Mid-Term Evaluation of the 10th EDF SADC Regional¨Political Cooperation Programme (FWC COM Lot 1). The EUR 18 million programme is centred on 4 different components: Strengthening Democratic Institutions, Conflict Prevention and Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Trafficking in Persons. The mission is to start end October 2014. PROMAN is partner to ICF International on the "Evaluation of the technical assistance component of DFID India's Education Portfolio", awarded under the DFID Global Evaluation Framework Agreement. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has challenged DFID to better capture the full range of impacts from engagement in the social sectors in India. This is the first major study of its kind to look at a DFID portfolio relating to technical assistance. The study will start the first week of November 2014, to end in March 2016. On the 20th of October 2014, the formal kick-of meeting took place on the 'Study to design a programme/clearinghouse providing access to higher education for Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons'. The specific objective of the assignment is to assist in the design of a future programme by the EU to enhance access to further and higher education for young Syrians who had to drop out of formal education, especially internally displaced students inside Syria and Syrian refugees across the region, with a focus on Jordan and Lebanon, but also on Turkey and Iraq. The Directorate of the Centre for the European Union Education and Youth Programmes (Turkish National Agency) is responsible for the management and implementation of the EU Youth Cooperation Programmes such as Erasmus, Comenius, Comett-I, Petra-I, Youth for Europe, Lingua, Eurotechnet, Force and Socrates. In 2012 the TRNA was allowed to recruit additional 50 staff members bringing the total staff at 178. The specific objective of this assignment is to provide technical assistance to the TRNA in training the newly-employed assistance experts in the areas of PCM, LFA, development of project proposals, M&E, financial management, IPA etc.PROMAN is lead company and provides the services of the trainer in IPA and financial management. PROMAN in partnership with Lattanzio e Associati has been awarded the contract for the Mid-Term Review of the Second Education Sector Development Programme in Somalia. This evaluation will contribute to the broader process of results mapping under the current programme, contracting of the EU-funded ESDP III programme and planning for future EU funding in the education sector, in line with Sector-Wide Approaches. The assignment started in September and is expected to be completed in November 2014. The 'Comprehensive Framework for the European Union's policy and support to Myanmar/Burma', adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council in July 2013, sets out the framework for EU policy and support to the on-going reforms in Myanmar. The EU is now finalising its Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2014-2026 and the global objective of the assignment is to provide assistance in the identification and appraisal of options for EU support to the education sector in Myanmar. PROMAN in partnership with Particip and B&S Europe has been awarded the contract for the 'Monitoring, assessment and support to EU funded Education and complementary programs by the Ministry of Education, UN Agencies and NGOs' in Jordan. The main objectives of the mission are (i) to provide an overall independent assessment of the European Union's past and current cooperation under the EU Support to the Second Phase of the Education Reform (EUSSPER) programme in Jordan in the field of basic education under the ERfKEII program, in particular the assessment of the completion of agreed benchmarks as well as newly planned EU budget Support programs in the field of Basic Education; (ii) to monitor the education programs in support to Syrian refugees under the Ministry of Education and UN agencies in terms of overall and administrative efficiency to Syrian refugees provided for by the Ministry of Education and by the UN agencies and their sub-contracted NGOs, which will take the form of a field verification; (iii) to make recommendations for the future cooperation programing in the field of education (bilateral, regional and thematic) with Jordan and improvement of the current and future European Union's implementation strategies for (Syrian) refugees as well as suggestions to strengthen the visibility of the interventions; (iv) to develop a strategy for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education in the field of the Vocational Education and Training and (v) to develop recommendations for the teacher induction program. Started in September 2014, the mission will last till June 2016.PROMAN is the lead contractor and provides the services of the Team leader/Education Expert and the Monitoring Expert. PROMAN has been contracted for the Review of South African Trilateral Development Cooperation Activities, under the Technical Cooperation and Official Development Assistance Programme (TCODAP). The mission is scheduled from early to mid-2015. Two new mandates have been signed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Luxemburg. The project 'Support for improving access to basic social services for people affected by the crisis in the Kidal region' will extend activities started in 2013. The project will run from June 2014 to January 2015. A similar project was approved for the Gao region, to be implemented over the period October 2014 to June 2015. Both projects will compliment other activities in Mali undertaken by PROMAN as executing agency for the Luxembourgish Government. PROMAN in partnership with ACE International Consultants (lead company) has been awarded the 5-year EU-funded Technical Assistance to the Employment and Regional Integration Support Programme (PROCOM) contract in Madagascar. PROCOM aims to strengthen the capacity of the private sector to grow inclusively and to be more competitive on national, regional and international markets, notably through: (i) strengthening intermediary organizations to act as a lever for change and competitiveness; (ii) developing technical, managerial and marketing skills of MSMEs; and (iii) facilitating and securing commercial transactions of MSMEs nationally, regionally, and internationally. The TA team will start activities the first week of November 2014. This is the second major project currently on-going in Madagascar, next to the PROMAN led TA to PASSOBA-Education. The Consortium led by PwC South Africa, with PROMAN and MARGE as members has kick-started project activities under the recently awarded 'Technical Assistance for the implementation of the regional programme 'Renewable Energy Development and Energy Efficiency Improvements in Indian Ocean Commission Member States'. The programme aims at creating the conditions for an increased access to modern and sustainable energy services at acceptable cost, focussed both for demand and supply side measures and based on indigenous and renewable energy sources, and for optimising the energy supply requirements which the economy of each country can afford and facilitate trade in this area. The programme covers the Indian Ocean Commission Member States: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Reunion Island (with specific funding). The project will run from October 2014 to June 2017. PROMAN will be co-managing the project with PwC South Africa. This project further reinforces PROMAN's presence in the region. In April 2014 the Consortium led by Landell Mills, with PROMAN as partner started activities under the Technical Assistance contract for the implementation of the Regional programme 'Coastal, marine and Island specific Biodiversity Management in the Eastern and Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Coastal States', which will run till January 2018.

2019-04-24T00:47:11Z

http://proman.lu/

There was a small town near the shores of the sea; it was a topical climate with mixture of occasional rainfall, hot summer & even pleasant atmosphere with low heat & humidity. The whole town was encircled with the backwaters of the rivers. With such a classic whether there was also a short coming which could wipe out the whole town. The tornado’s quite regularly hit the surrounding towns so the impact of it would hit this small town too. Owing to the increasing trouble of these the people had started to flee from here. While there were people in towns who were the survivors of these who took shelter in this town. Today two different people both who were survivors of the same town moved into this new place but both were strangers & poles apart. One was calm & patient while the other was fierce & impatient but both were always inevitable & destructive in nature if meddled with, with a slight deviation, the calm one had the ability to choose either go ahead & wreck everything but the fierce person didn’t had that choice once a step taken forward has to feel the burnt. Even if these two people’s ways were different and always repulsive in nature, they both were away from their people it was a test of survival for them in this place. They had none to share what they felt, none to listen to their talks, none to see their pain hidden in their heart. But destiny could not stop itself posing them infront of each other. He, who was fire and she, who was water did face each other will they ever overcome there obstacles & blend in one another without terminating the other. Seeing is believing is said for the human sense sight but at this time of the day when darkness is all you could see around and light is something alien and hard to visualise what is there in front of you that doesn’t mean you are lost or blind? Just like everyone my other senses come to my rescue. Exactly now when I cannot see anything through my eyes I could hear the roars of the ocean everytime it hit the banks indicating I am standing right infront of the vast expanse of the ocean. Petrichor, the scent of rain filled my lungs predicting the approaching rain, the touch of which would cease my burning but I am not ready to taste the freedom from this fire. In addition to these I know how to eradicate the darkness as I have the capacity to turn on the light even at the darkest times of life. The rain can come down to the earth anytime and I have to take shelter before that but still I wait at the banks waiting for the darkness to break into dawn. This has been my routine from past week to sprint around the seashore of this sea at the darkest hour before the dawn and wait for the moment of darkness breaking into the dawn. To watch the sun to gain its position high in the sky, paint his colors over the world showing his supremacy to kill darkness of life. It is not only the sun but also me who feels that has spread my color all over the world. Slowly the sun made its way out of his den painting the whole sky bright redish yellow with its rays. Consuming the gloomy night and spreading the light bringing new hope & a beginning of bright fresh life. Once I had witnessed the magnificent sight of sunrise my concentration went towards my sense which had alerted about the approaching rain. But now there was no sign of it, that left me astonished as rain is one thing I just hate it and my senses have never been wrong in identifying them. Leaving that thought aside I make my way back to the hostel which has become my new home from where I will have to attend my first day of my master’s classes today. Not before I had turned my eyes get struck to the sight of a girl in bluish white suit running away something was there about her unknown which made me watch her till she disappeared from my vision. I have been coming here from past 5 days but never did I saw any girl at this time of the hour. She did turn back once but I could not see her face. Just then I heard my cell beep reminding me of the time & I headed back still I couldn’t stop myself to watch at the way she ran off. Some things never change every where the seniors welcoming the juniors especially in there own innovative way. I had just entered the gates of my college when a group of people naming themselves as seniors blocked my way. They were many more already in queues who were dancing as puppets of seniors. I had a strong urge to teach them a good lesson but I couldn’t just barge in and destruct everything but that would only catch the attention of everyone. Now itself I can feel many eyes on me, that always annoy me. Against my wishes I simply follow there orders to stand in the queue and wait for my turn to come. Just then there was absolute silence as everyone’s attention was on the entrance maybe another junior’s who are trying to dorge away from these ragging session? But No. when I look at the entrance I could only see a beautiful mesmerising alluring blue eyes of the girl, they captivated me in its pools as deep as oceans that I can get lost in them. It was a picture painted in blue theme, every essence of her oozed as serene beauty. I could no longer see the world around me just her only; everything around her seems to vanish away from my view. As if in the whole world it is you and me alone, with my every breath, with my every heartbeat clearly wanting to be with you. Her earrings kissed her cheeks everytime she kept walking her bangles made sounds of waves in the ocean which was matching her light blue & white mixed dress. Is she the same one whom I saw in the beach today, looks like she is as even at that time she wored the same dress, the same gait, the same care free strides. Today I felt like I got a whole new world to live in. I don’t know when my legs take me away from the crowd towards the object of my interest but I was pulled back by something. When I turn to see what that was I saw it was the guy next to me who pulled me back, he was saying something which I failed to hear it. I turned back my gaze to her; she was not there; I turn around everywhere only to find her in front of those seniors. I moved in a way to have clear view of her face without any interruption. Her eyes had a gleam of naughtiness which I didn’t know for what. I felt another nudge in my hand to jolt me into the reality. It was again the same guy but now I heard him say “Man, what are you doing come back and stand here, don’t mess with seniors. See how these girls got them in trouble.” The word Girls made me look at them again to find another girl beside her. All of them were watching her ignoring the pleasant beauty of mine. They were questioning them, that is when I got to know her name is Geet & the girl whom I just noticed her name is Pari. Geet, the name rang in my ears inveigling my heart with unknown bliss. Such a melodious name she has got that I could only hear and speak her name throughout the remaining life of mine. My heart was showing its presence more than ever with her first visual itself, weaving many desires which could bind me into something which I never was bound to. Thoughts are flying high freeing it self from the strings of my mind. Spirit is flowing in a direction which it had never crossed but it surged without bothering about any hindrance. Wish I could just embrace this moment in myself, to witness a new facet of the dreams. Her eyes were revealing more than she could every voice out surprising me at the things which it could conceal. I was eager to be with her which made my heart to live. Dilon mein tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho. My revive was broken when the guy next to me was biting his nails in nervousness as he was worried for the girl next to Geet, as he was muttering “Please God save Pari from these ragging’s” but what I saw actually amazed me as that girl Pari stood fearless while my Geet stood behind her hiding herself from the situation. Such a contrary thing it was happening I was not scared for Geet as I knew she could come out the situation without any help where as the guy next to me was praying for Pari while the girls were doing just the opposite. But Geet’s eyes shone bright, calm & undeterred confidence trickled in her every stir though she portrayed as fearful infront of everyone. She held on to the facade of a timid girl duping around the others. Her face can deceive everyone but her eyes couldn’t as they told every story of hers. She was not a meek girl, none could scrum her into doing things against her wishes, but why does she have to do things like that. Apparently the situation in the hand was the senior’s portrayed themselves as generous enough to give us the option to whether we want to get ragged or not. Well that was not a real option though as a person would be asked to light the candle once they did it they would say since you have lighted it that means you have accepted to be ragged. So now the candle was placed in the middle of the stand and the girls were asked to light that. I was more interested to see the play as I read her eyes which had the mischievous glint in it. And just I guessed the fun started Geet’s face turned was something everyone could not miss as it turned pale with fear and she clutched Pari’s hand & fainted next second. For a second even I got worried but then the wink confirmed all my doubts. Getting the clue Pari played along shouting “Geet…….what happened Geet…get up… get up…. Please someone get some water.” After a while she stood drawing everyones attention to herself. When the seniors questioned her, the reply just shook everyone but I was just lost in that melody and couldn’t stop the smile. Geet replied as a scared kitten shuttering and trying to hard to form even a word that “I burnt it …. I burnt it”. Well ever Pari was confused so enquired “what did you burn Geet.” “B…..B……Blub” But looks like seniors were not falling for her drama as she was asked to light the candle now. I was now curious to know more about her plan as the naught sparkle twinkled in her eyes. She with trembling fingers tried to light the candle but stick failed to burn. Geet said “It is not burning so can I leave for the class sir.” Finally not able to withstand the bugging kitten they let go of her. We will trap her someother time is what I heard a senior whisper into another senior. Her eyes showed she had won this play but that play was not only for her but for everyone there. With a confident & smiling face she left, actually she was concealling more may be she would have danced at her victory but stayed quite because of the people around her. After she left what happened was really a boon to others as none were able to light the candle with the sticks and were given a green signal to leave to class without any interruption as none of the juniors revealed that the stick had been damp. Actually what had happened was when Geet had feel on the ground the box had feel down in moist grass, which none of them saw at that time. Now the seniors were getting suspicious why none are able to light it are they acting? Then one of them noticed the wetness of the sticks. So when it was my turn they changed the rule if you light it only then you will be set free. I never had lost any game or battle then how could I just bow down when it was the question of lighting a candle. I made my hands covered there vision of the candle and the stick and within seconds I lit the candle without any trouble. What did they thought that this is the only stick through which the light could be generated. There are other ways to do that & winning over me is not going to happen ever. Without any further delay I dropped the match box in the nearby bin & went to the class with a stride which meant not to be stopped by anyone. I was joined by the guy who came running towards me while he said “Hey man, slow down, how did you do that”. I didn’t stop but started to move towards my designated class. When he came in front of me introducing himself “Hi, I am Yash and you are” “Maan” was the only thing which I said and entered my class to see Geet in the same class of mine. Another lecture starts from today, well that is one thing I always disliked but still I have never let the other person to feel that I am not one of the keen listener as I don’t ignore them but just bear there words which some or the other time has been useful. This time I had a silver lining say it a distraction or attraction which would last for atleast a little while. I entered the class to witness Geet who sat at the front bench with her was Pari, looks like both are friends that they are sticking together. Class was almost full any time the classes would start as the time to start was nearing. I sat away from everyone as I was never a man who needed company. My loneliness didn’t last for long as it was accompanied by the slim nerd with broad forehead and wide cheek bones that narrow to a small chin with the naroow frame spectacles guy Yash I wished it was Geet beside me but this time I have to bear with this one as the guy, yes Yash was behind me and had followed me to the place where I had selected to sit. Well there was a special thing at this position and that was the view I would get, from here I could see the professors & behind the dias was a glass on which the image I could see was of the reflection of Geet. Time passed a person came said something and then my eyes went back to Geet who was busy in writing and then she was lost in seeing something when I glanced where she was looking at I saw some other person who stood at the podium. I wonder where the other person went but before I could ponder about that my eyes went on the pen which was just about to touch the curvy glossy lips of hers. Constant bugging of Yash gained my attention as he was mentioning something about some Economics, business and management I glared back at him to stop him from irritating me. As I take a quick look at the platform to witness yet another different person there. Have I started seeing things, was that a mirage or did the face of the person change like chameleon? I wanted to see what was happening around so I kept watching him but as the person was a lean bald guy he wasn’t covering the glass behind giving me more access t0 my distraction she was time & again glancing over her lace tied around her wrist. It took a minute more to realise she was getting bored maybe that’s why she was checking the time. That is when I checked the time which said 3 and half hours has been passed since I have been sitting here in this place. That means this is the 4th class of the day & I haven’t heard a word from anyone. Suddenly Geet’s face had shone and next second there was a long ring indicating the end of the first session and once the unknown professor left the room she & Pari flew from there may be they were hungry. Half n hour of break like everyone I too headed towards the canteen to check what I can get to fill my appetite. I had got one plate of food and sat away from the crowd when I saw my hearts leisure pursuit the blue girl getting her plate filled with food. I saw them looking at the whole canteen to check for a place just then Yash who was just behind them showed the table where I am sitting. He wanted to watch her everymove but staring like that when the other person was watching straight back at you was not manners and that too when I held the fire to consume her. My eyes were unwilling to obey my order to look anywhere but her. Then somehow I managed to concentrate on the food but it was just for a second then it was back on her. Fortunately this time she was looking at something else at the other end. She was looking at that direction more intently making my inside to burn. I turned my gaze towards her vision and that enraged me again as Geet was looking at the seniors and one of them who was leading the ragging session was heading to our table. I wouldn’t mind breaking his bones or even burning him to show him the glimpse of hell. He was just a feet away from his table when the ground under him vanished as he lost balance and swan through the air bang his nose to the ground. He was carrying a plate of food he had picked it up on his way and all of it he had been carrying in his hand fell on his head and finally even the plate hit his head giving him the award he deserved. That’s when I noticed the wet floor and the caution board kept to be careful as the floor was slippery. A slight giggle caught my ears out of the whole laugh going around the canteen and that was from none other than the girl who sat infront of me. She was trying very hard not to laugh as it would only instigate the others and bring us under their scanner. But even then she couldn’t stop the smile that escaped against her wishes and adored her lips. The twinkle in her eyes which held the power to hypnotise even a saint. It was the first time she sat so close to me and I was failing to stick to my previous decision of not to stare at her but when did the heart listen when God’s such a exquisite creation was right before my eyes. She had her eyes fixed on the table I just didn’t know what is so interesting out there on it while I couldn’t move my gaze from her. I wished she looked up to me at least once so that I could read what she was thinking. Maybe she didn’t noticed me till now as she was busy with the laugh she got to see here but before I could make that statement sink into my heart she raised her lashes to meet my molten eyes to lose the whole world around us or to find a new way together. Change is the only thing which is constant in life and is the same thing which I am experiencing now. My sense’s which has always been active in alerting me of my surroundings has changed its allegiance. My eyes never leaves the sight of her as it only tries to find more about her while I always search to hear her melodious voice in every sound that hits my ears, I wait for the moment of slight touch of her veil every time we have bump into one another. It takes every ounce of my will to resist from tasting this forbidden fruit. She is all bent to change me as she smells like a dew drop making me to hate the thought why I hated that before. The fact which I always certain about eradicating the darkness & lighting it seems to be lost with the way my life had taken a turn. My day which always used to start with the sprinting before the breaking of dawn to keep me fit and focussed has also changed. Now after sprinting I would do my exercise using fire to help me keep focus on the issue that is on the hand. Every day I try new ways with fire I would light up the edges of the stick with fire and swinging the blazing stick in different ways so as to wipe out that vision which has plastered to my eyes. That day when our eyes had met, the world around me had just ceased to exist. Those deep blue eyes held me captive in her spell that I felt I wandered into a place where every thing was so serene that I didn’t know whether I was lost before or am I getting lost now. I was looking deep into violet & green mixed pupils of her to find what all secrets that could unfold infront of me. But what I found was a haze image of person’s face which started to disturb the tranquilly of those orbs a bit later what I saw was it was not just the disturbance but vanquishing the glow with the flame of that persons mere presence which turned into my face. That was the harsh reality of mine which broke my trance and I had left the table in a rush leaving everyone to ponder anything what they wish. I would now rather light up the whole place to make me remember the fact of my presence in anyones life would only harm everyone. How could I forget why I am all alone? I break one another stick that was in my hand with the rage which had only amplified the concealed fire in me. I have led lonely life because of this reason, when ever I have lost focused I have not only lost my dearest and nearest but also have felt the burnt of it my own self. How unlucky am I to even not retain a companion for even a small part of this long life. With these thoughts cruising in my mind everytime I would never know when the dawn breaks & the day starts. But with my starting ignorance with the surroundings one had not left to remind me about my college and that was Yash who used to call me with his stupid problems. Exactly now I got a call from Yash making me realise the time as even the sun elevated high in the sky failed to be gain my attention as I was busy fight with the inner battle. I switched on the Bluetooth and without a second delay he started his cribbing. That reminds me of the act of last night when I had held the light in my hand & had snapping the fingers lighting it & switching it off with my thoughts running about the past and trying to get the things straight in present. “15 minutes.” I reply and make my way to start yet another day just like past 8 months but before I leave this shore I put of the fire which I had set around the place. Out of all these things against me this is one thing that I am glad of this deserted place to give me my privacy. As always my eyes search that place where I had seen her on the first day but as every other day even today I couldn’t see her there maybe it was just by chance that she was here that day. I again console my heart which still wants to see her against my will. And in these 8 months every single day didn’t end without an encounter of ours but every time I shifted my course away from her as those eyes held something which could not be comprehend. During the classes I try to gauge her reactions but she didn’t let me through her lashes making it difficult to read her. Things which made these encounter possible were Yash & Pari and their budding love story. There talks left me know more about Geet, how she is, how even she came here after losing her family. How lonely she has become now and how she is coping with her life. What her aims are, how she has influenced Pari to be more focused about the future. I get to hear each and every word about them from Yash. There is not a single place in the college which doesn’t remind me of our encounter and just a week ago when Geet was searching for Pari near this fountain at the entrance of the college where I am standing that was the time we met again face to face to let me read her mind through her own blue eyes. This time when the cover of her lashes had been shed for my view all I could see was the same mischief gleam in it. But what is she upto now, did that senior again became the scapegoat of her acts. She has been enjoying that senior’s state to an extent which none knew except me as always after every fall of his she had walked away with a winning stride. One thing which even I didn’t know was did she do anything which always landed him in trouble or was that a pure coincidence that whenever she was present he was embarrassed with one or the other thing. Last time I had accompanied Yash to the mall as girls wanted to do there shopping while Yash wanted to join them and I also went along with him. Once they had roamed alround the mall we had settled down in the food court to fill the hunger of stomach. The seating arrangement was in a semi circle round the table and at one end was Geet next to her was Pari and next was Yash, after him I sat. I smiled looking at the them planning for the seminar which I didn’t even know there was I never had to bothered for any academic activity as even before I realise the need of the work it would have been done for me too. Yash was someone who used to do it for me I never did ask him for but he simple did it for me and then it become a silent treaty that he used to hand over all the assignments to me. I could have asked him the reason for it but then I never indulged in talking with anyone not even Yash, who was my hostel roommate. Pari loved Yash but always gets irritated with his “I am scared attitude” college works were not an issue but handling the world or people was something he always held a back foot. I guess this was the reason Yash always used to be with me scared to be alone, scared that he might just get into trouble and I tagged with him because he never asked any questions about me but just used to bug me with non stop talking about the college or Pari or her friend Geet. That was much more than a vital reason to actually tolerate him and his actions. There was sudden hustle bustle in the food court, apparently some waiter was pushed by someone making all the food in his hand to spilled on the ground and that person was none other than our same senior who had lead our ragging session. The owner was all set to bash the waiter & dismiss him from the job as he thougt the waiter couldn’t even handle his customers properly, creating disturbance to them and also damaging his places aesthetics. And this senior of ours who was having fun in this trouble just was leaving creating the mess and while crossing over the table next us the kid who sat there was supposed to have her milk in the bottle but the kid opened the cap in a way that all the milk erupted out of it spilling it all over the place along with the wetting the pants of our beloved senior in turn making him embarrass infront of all the people. At that time her eyes showed “you deserve it” look. Today too her eyes conveyed the same thing to me but who deserves that, was that me or was that someone else. I was still searching for answers when a loud laughter hit my ears and that was of Yash & Pari who came running & laughing even before I could ask them they started to narrate that the gardener was having trouble why water stopped suddenly coming in his pipes while watering the plants and then he tried to twist them in all direction water gushed out like a stream which unfortunately showered on our same darling senior. Once Yash was here I moved out to our hostel when Yash again started his pleading to accompany him to Pari’s house as she had challenged him “Yash if you love me you have to come to my hime without getting scared of my owner who stayed next door. Only then I will talk to you.” Did I needed this pleadings no defiantly no, but still how would I just give in so I gave him “I am not interested” look and then I finally agreed to him. We knocked at the door of the girl’s home late at 12 midnight as it was quite a distance we had to travel. There was hesitation quite visible on Pari’s face as she opened the windows to check who is banging the door at this hour. I could clearly see one was shocked while the other pretended to be shocked as she was not afraid of facing any situation. As it was a season of rain many would come inside the front yard for shelter but now it wasn’t raining either and even if it was entertaining an outsider at this hour was not safe. We stood at a distance so when she checked the window none were visible, then she had a confused look thinking who banged on the door. Just when she thought to close the window and return to bed we came out of the shadows scaring her a bit as she asked who it is. But only thing she heard was her own sound and crackle sound of the dry leaves. Surprise was the word Yash screamed making her squeal in shock but then she was happy to find her love leaving his inhabitation self. Surprise was the word Yash screamed making her squeal in shock but then she was happy to find her love there leaving his inhabitation self and visiting her. “Yash is this the way you come. There is a calling bell which you could always use then why were you banging the door like that. You just scared the hell out of us.” Pari growled on Yash. “I don’t know why she gets scared suddenly of such little things.” said Pari referring to Geet’s action. “Yash left a sigh once Geet left as he can have his little talk with Pari now without interruption. Now you will do as I say” Yash whispered. Looking at them I thought they need a little more privacy so…. I left that place at once and started to move backwards when I heard something rather say some sound. That made me realised that the path I choose leads to the back yard of the house where Geet went. The thought that she is there was enough for me to move more faster my mind constantly warned me not to go and face at this time but when did mind had any say in front of this heart. My luck was not with me today as suddenly there was lighting followed by a noisy thunder. Normally boys liked these situations where girls would be scared and cling to boys but here it was a different story as I despised rain. Seeing the pouring rain my legs freeze at the place I was safe under the shelter in the pitch darkness where no one knew anyone would exist. Even in the most solitary life I have an angel who had descended from the heaven whom I could gaze till my hearts content. Geet was in her light violet velvet suit stood admiring the sky above. I stood as far as possible but my eyes could view her from head to toe, I guess she was also standing below some shelter as there was not a drop of rain falling on her. She was not only admiring it but also waiting for the rain to fall as the moment she stretched her palm a drop fell on it, she did the same again and again collecting the drops of the rain in her palm. It looked as if the rain was waiting for the orders of her to fall. Once it was full she let them drop on the ground making the sound like pearls were falling off from the necklace as they didn’t just fall but also they had another path to follow. She was the commander in chief imposing the flow of rain. Slowly the drops of rain increased & made its way from her shoulders to her long silky hands gliding over them to reach the small little fingers of her just before they descended to reach there fellow droplets. If that was the sight I beheld unknown to her next set of her acts just made my insides move as molten lava. The water which blessed themselves touching her forehead slid through the sides measuring the length of her sleek neck before they disappeared into the fabric. The view brought him of my revive giving me a reality check about my act. I was not supposed to look at her like this minutely. She has always hid behind the mask of a meek girl and now thinking no one is here she would have let those masks off her face. She might have not been this free had she known about my presence here. But I didn’t have it in me to turn back from her. This time I wanted her to decide and it would be easy on me to feel her rejection than turning back from her. With this decision I let my legs lead towards the magnetic pull. I couldn’t have stepped in rain too so I stood at the rim of the shelter making my presence known to her. Passing the message towards her clearly that she is not alone to let her barriers down and baring her oneself to me. She stood in the middle, hands out stretched to let the rain drench her. Even after making my presence evident she didn’t deterred was she so involved in her own world that what is happening around, who is there beside her didn’t matter or was she giving me a treat by letting me to witness her subtle movements of unparalleled grace. Rain which had drenched her whole form gave a shiny effect to her. With a determination which none could stop her to express herself today neither the rain nor my presence. She bent her back in a semi circle swinging her hands in a way that looked like a white rainbow twinkling in the moon light. Was she dancing with rain or was rain dancing with her, was she following it or was that following her moves was all I could ponder about as she and rain matched steps with each other. Unknown to me “Geet” came out from my lips it came out just as a whisper and I doubt whether my own ears heard it or not. But as the name left my lips the rain just came to end like it was waiting for me to utter and it would stop and with not a drop of rain pouring her whole concentration turned to me. I stood there waiting for her reaction, would she walk away as I do or…. I didn’t know what to expect. She slowly closed the distance between us and stood right in front of me. Her eyes held an unknown compassion which I could not understand. I felt a sudden chill spreading around me was it the dip in the temperature or was it her who was cooling my fire in me. My eyes closed for a brief second to hide the things which it may give away if I look deep into the blue ones it may questioned me anything. There were many things which my heart wanted to convey but words were just not enough to express them. Many emotions were binding me with you bring in a new flavour sweeping us into a different world. This is the riddle which could not be hidden within me or with in her or even the world. I was still entranced in her when I felt her chilled hands touch my cheeks sending shiver down my body. It took only a second to ignite the fire in me; it took lot of efforts to break the shackles to let my hand to stretch so that I could feel that creamy skin. She closed her eyes to engrave the feel of me on her hand, so did I wanted to engrave it. I was just an inch away when she trembled back and before I could comprehend anything or hold her she collapsed on the ground & like how the water gushes out when the gates of the dam are opened the rain poured out on her. What happened was something has happened with me many times before too when ever I have left my confines things has gone messy. That is the reason why I have to be alone & none are allowed to be with me. My mother left me giving birth to me to live in this world all alone; my father was there only till that another natural calamity which shook more than half of the village when I was a small kid. From that time all I have led is a life alone each day was like a year or even more than that. Relatives were there to support me but even that didn’t last for more than few days as they would fell into deep troubles due to me. So I had spent most of my life in an orphanage far away from everyone who was my family once. This was my curse which I am still burdened with. And today that has spread to Geet, she fell the moment I thought to ignore my curse but it was all present to remind me of the repercussions if avoided. I still stood the same way gazing at her fallen state; I couldn’t gather enough courage to even check her. What if she also just left because of my mistake? It would have been better to be away than to live in guilt for becoming an endangered curse to someone else. With the sudden enormous sound of water gained the attention of Pari & Yash so they came out to check the reason for it and all they could see was Geet lying in the pool of water while I had lost my voice to tell anything to them. I started to take my steps away from her whereas Pari was trying to revive Geet by patting her cheeks. Yash asked her to pull under the shelter first so that she wouldn’t catch cold. They tried to rub her legs & hands it was turning little blue due to chillness of water. Yash looked back at me to ask what happened but what would I reply, there was nothing to tell it was all my fault to have agreed with him to accompany Yash to her place. My strides were moving fast to just hide myself away from everyone especially from those blue eyes mermaid of my life. I push all the things in front of me & put everything on fire with my own hands but would that reduce the blaze in me. Ripping of my self also didn’t reduce the helplessness in me. Why should I be compled to live a life like this with no love no happiness all alone nothing pleasing can exist around me? Why it is that anything that wants to give me bit contentment would turn into ashes before I could embrace it. Why can’t I hold a little bliss in my palm? All I had heard was they were taking her to the nearby doctor, I so wanted to check on her but it was best with me not going near her. I waited at the shores waiting for the sun to break the darkness, which was actually trying to consume me within it. After what seems like eternity I just couldn’t wait more but wanted to know if she was fine, I decided I would only see from far & then will move out before anyone would actually notice my presence. I stood at the doorway hearing that melodious voice of speaking to the doctor which was a relief till I heard there talks. The doctor was quite upset about something but what was the fault of Geet in all these things which happened. “Geet, I am telling you last time you have to be careful, I can’t hide these things everytime. It was just pure luck that your friends bought you to me, what would have happened if they would have taken you to other doctor.” Doctor was scolding sternly. “Doc, I would have managed it.” Geet answered meekly. “Right the way you just managed it today. I have answered others as you got dehydrated but I want answers from you now? What happened & how did it happen if you had taken all the precautions.” Doc questioned. “2 days, what will I do here for 2 days? I am perfectly fine & I would like to take your leave now as I need to attend the class.” Replied shocked Geet on the sudden order passed by her doctor but when did she listen to others. “No, you are my friend, so bye.” Geet stromed out of the room after saying that. There talk left me in thinking what was it that they were talking about was she hiding something or is she under some medication due to some disease. But if I question the doctor she would definitely not spit out the truth. Doctor must have known Geet for a quite a period and that’s why she was so comfortable & then also she hid the truth with Yash & Pari also that too even before she consulting Geet. I should follow her to know more but after what happened yesterday night I need to be very careful & stay away from her. I have been observing her more meticulously from past few hours but nothing actual changed in her ways neither in action nor in words. Still we didn’t speak neither she nor Yash or Pari actually asked me about that night. It was as if nothing happened, don’t know what Geet said to them but they were actually being careful with Geet, making sure that she had lot of liquids. They didn’t let her give presentations in seminar also but only person who regretted that was me as I couldn’t hear her. Yash asked me to help them in the last seminar and the group discussions for the year before college breaks for the exams so that Geet could take proper rest. I agreed but I didn’t know what I am supposed to do so he gave some notes which I had to go through & speak about them. Seminar was said to be on one of the topics in some subject which we read but the group discussion was just a practice session so that everyone would get good exposure to the presentation skills. I actually wondered what am I going to do as I had not an iota of idea how these are done but this would help Geet is all I know so I had to do it. Seminar finished & I don’t exactly remember what all I have to say. Seeing my capabilities with words they had given me a small part. Was that a 5 min material which I finished it in 2 minute or was that only a 1 minutes one for which I too 2. But whatever it was that ended without much hanky panky. Well one hurdle was crossed & the other awaited. Yes the group discussion would start in a while, groups were made. Pari, I & few other class mates were selected and made the group. The topic was read out it was “Myth”. With that few started to oppose it & many started to agree with it. But when I heard what all they were discussing I couldn’t stop my self from putting my view in it. “How could you say that God is a myth” I questioned. “If he was there then people would not have suffered unnecessarily, take your example are you not an orphan… why?? because God took away your parents that too in a natural calamity which was controlled by God.” Pari replied. “It was not the God who controlled these calamities they are done by the people who are posses the power to protect the nature and people in this world.” I counter replied. “Oh you are a believer of those grandma bedtime stories in which God entrusts some power to three people who were termed as guards of the earth but these people quarrelled among themselves to attain the supremacy over the human beings. If only one is left they would be invincible who could be termed as equal to God.” Pari questioned. The whole discussion was heating up between Pari & Maan and everyone present there were just a mute spectators as they didn’t know where it all would go to. Some had heard these stories in there childhood from there elders but then with time all these things were termed as only story. “Yes I am a believer of it but that is not the whole truth what all things they would have to undergo for being a guard is not known to many. Life span of these persons would be more than 400 years which they should be spent away from everyone if those powers are entrusted. These powers would be there curse but also a boon, which could be used to restrict many calamaties. And humans never get to know what things were averted but can only know & rememeber when these gaurds fail. Yes they fight among themselves but are these fights for gaining supremacy or to gain freedom from those things is still a mystery which none have been able to know it till now.” I said. I would have said many more things but I was stopped by the sapphire eyed girl who pleaded me through her eyes to not say a word more and how could I utter a single word after that. My tongue was now tied with her plea so I let every other person to continue with the discussion and in no time the hour flee so did the students from the class. This was the last class for the year and students would forget about all these talks is what I could wish for as many were worried about their individual exams or was excited for the farewell party of the seniors which the juniors had organised for. I don’t know whether I blabbered more than required or was my speech revealed more than necessary things. Pari responded “He started” pointing all the blame towards me. “I know who started what even I was here only. Now do you think about yourself Maan what were you doing talking all these stories.” Geet turned towards me questioning but she was shocked and continued “Now where did he go?” as I was not there standing but had started to move out of the class saving my self from there questioning eyes. Today is the farewell party girls were dressed in red & white combination where as boys were in red & black combo. For a change juniors had planned to rag the seniors on there own farewell which was led by Pari & group, well I knew whose idea this would be. Time has changed so had the relations too in past 10 months seniors have become more friendly and supportive, thus playing pranks with them would not be a trouble and anyways they are leaving the institute so the coast is clear for fun. Party was in the open air hall in the grounds of the college which had a stage at one end where Geet was speaking to Pari who stood beside her with today’s event manager & at the far end was the fountain where I stood gazing her every move. She looked angelic in that white salwar of hers as blue veil adored the slender creamy neck. Yash was running behind Pari helping her out with all his love and I was standing away from everyone feeling glad that atleast there are people whom I would love and they are infront of me. People dressed in vibrant colors were already to enjoy & have fun as the party was about to start. Whereas things don’t happen as you wish for and who knows that better than me and exactly the way I had the intrusion there was a sudden hassle alround the place everyone were running into the college that’s when I witnessed the tornado coming towards us. I stood waiting the tornado to come to me as what can it do to me carry & through me somewhere that’s it right. However when it was just a yard away from the ground when it stood still as if something stopped its way. When I look around the ground there is no one present but my eyes stopped at one place where a girl lay may be unconscious and it didn’t take a minute to know who that was as she is Geet only girl who was in her blue while everyone was in red & white. I flew away from the college far away from the place where I burnt her with my own flames as I was not able stand any more minute at that place; how long do I have to face the same thing again and again. Everytime when the sadness has engulfed me I have always consoled my heart that it isn’t my mistake everyone has to go through these pains in their long-lasting life. Heavy as this heart feels now with the overwhelming emotions I stare at the Sun which is all set to take a dip in the vast expanse of ocean but now I have nothing to hold on to there is a deep stillness which has settled in me as the world has moved but I haven’t. With the increase in the pour even ocean seems to be more intended to swallow me within as I hit the first waves of the huge mass. It left me shocked as I could hold to anything, I felt like I am moving without my own will. Today there was only one will that was to try every possible way to put off this blaze. Even the thought has not left my mind I was hit by another way, now it seemed as if I was floating in it and next second I was submergered in it. I want to go deep into it so I tried to find the ground and started to walk into the depth of it. As I stepped deep within my luck just flew away because the water which was soothing my soul just sweeped in making a space between me & the water mass. Same like Geet had created when we were in the college, was she here or was it someone else who possessed the same power. “Geet …” my lips took her name as a whisper and just as that day today also rain which had been pouring stopped and my attention went towards the form in the shadows. “Yes … Maan we can but are you willing to be with me till the end. Will you love me without any of my ability to control water? Will you love me….?” She replied with uncertainity. “Maan, you need to let go this fear and worry nothing will happen to us. Yes, we will have to work hard to survive now.” She pressed her ear to my chest while she continued “But together we will surpass every hurdle that comes in our way. This isn’t yours anymore but mine now so stop troubling it.” She said refering to my heart also showing her dominance over me. “Shh…You don’t have to voice it Maan, your face convey’s it all, every thought that your heart analyzes, every notion it evaluates, every outcome it concludes. You are just as open book to me as I am to you.” Geet declared her point. By the time I was back Yash was up and had sat up against the rock as I hand over a bottle of water to him. He seemed surprised and undoubtly happy about something. “You guys are making fun of me and we are all worried for you. I wouldn’t have been awake had I sleept last night, but after that storm had eloped you guys there isn’t a place where we have not searched you. Today I thought lets look at the opposite direction too and here I found you guys.” Yash explained the reason of his presence. “Carry him, I can walk we will get more oppurunities going forward.” Geet smiled winking at me. And today this diary answered me why I could never hear what they were worried about was that about the mess or about me contolling my powers as both could read each other face without voicing a word from their mouth. Today I am very happy reading that my parents too had powers like me, actually defeated the air power and that’s why I their daughter am gifted with power of air. She grew faster than we could think and tomorrow is her 18th birthday and I couldn’t see her confused and worried anymore uncessarily too. Yes even her face revealed every secret of hers. And that’s why I decided to place this diary in a place where she could get her hands on it. “When were we separate from eachother Geet.” Papa buttered Mama so easily.

2019-04-22T16:52:49Z

https://jeevanap.wordpress.com/incredible-fusion/

Vanto is rated 4.5 out of 5 by 120. Rated 4 out of 5 by JoeGetRDone from Caldera Moments We love every minute we spend in our hot tub with family and friends. A true, mind settling experience that allows time for real conversations in a relaxing environment. Love it!! Rated 4 out of 5 by MP22 from Very Pleased We've had our Vanto for a year now and love it. Use it at least once a week and really enjoy it over fall and parts of winter. So far, easy maintenance. Very pleased with our choice in spa. Rated 4 out of 5 by Nick from We like our spa Very nice. Moderately priced. Easy to keep clean.Shopped many different brands before choosing Caldera and glad we did. Rated 4 out of 5 by so Cal soaker from enjoying the bubbles... While I find the vanto very comfortable, the built in bromide and mineral system was challenging to monitor. Thought it would be a no fuss system... But after 5 months of constant checking and altering... I'm back to floating bromide tablets. Unit holds temperature well and is very comfortable. We use the spa frequently. Rated 4 out of 5 by Tiki from We spend alot more time in the yard! We have a small corner yard. It was hard to entertain in, once we bought the spa that all changed. We have two children they love to have their friends over. Especially when the weather is cooler. At times there has been more than 10 kids in it. The boys have gotten very creative at making games for the spa. Together we have spent hours of family time in it. I often host a moms night w my girlfriends and whine which is always a hit. Rated 4 out of 5 by Eaglerivertub from Vanto We've had the Vanto for almost a year. It has held up well to our moderate to low usage and all the knobs, controls and head rests have held up to four kids 5-11 years old. Water care was easy once we gave up on the bromine and went with regular chlorine granules. Overall a good quality purchase that we enjoy using. Rated 4 out of 5 by Happyhusband from Deep Seats The one bonus for my husband is the extra deep seat. He is a big guy, so being able to actually be covered with water while he is enjoying it is great. Rated 4 out of 5 by Mom22 from Water Issues My husband loves the new spa, but he does not need to maintain it! The Spa Frog does not provide adequate bromine even at the highest level. We were told, after the fact, that this is an issue with the larger spas. That means we need to add bromine tablets as well. Further more, the "Ozinator" only runs when the pump is running. This impacts energy efficiency because we need to run the pump 12 hours a day. Having its own power supply would have been a big plus. Rated 3 out of 5 by hot tub chuck from Hot Tub The hot tub water is very cloudy and no seems to give a good explanation why. Rated 3 out of 5 by 3boys from Disappointed Replaced an old hot tub with a Caldera and have spent the first year trying to keep the tub clean. For some reason the cleaning system does not keep water and hot tub clean. The place of purchase just keep selling me more chemicals. Hot tub looks good. We wish it worked better..very disappointed.. Rated 3 out of 5 by scorjo44 from Happy My 1st. hot tub. Happy with it so far. Use it alot more in winter than summer. Rated 3 out of 5 by JayM from Help Ok, got this spa delivered a few weeks ago so I could not hook it up right away due to the cold weather spell here in NY. I finally got a decent weekend and got to work. All new 8/3 wiring, 50amp breaker in the main panel, new sub panel w/a 50amp breaker, outside line in flex conduit. got all the wiring done and wanted to test to ensure connectivity before filling, I figured a brief light up on the spa panel...shut it off...fill it up and good to go. Not so much. Everytime I hit the breaker in the sub panel it trips. I went over EVERYTHING 3 times to make sure it was all done properly and it still does the same thing. Any help would be appreciated. Is there a dummy sensor in this...to save people from themselves? I'm at a loss at this point. Im a general contractor and have reasonable electrical experience along with this being one of many I have done.....but this is getting the best of me. Rated 3 out of 5 by Brocko from Good at times I like my spa. However I have had trouble with it as far as the jets go and leaks. The service people have came out 3 -4 times and apparently cant fix it because they were ordering a part and it wasnt replaced. Rated 2 out of 5 by Vanto from Rough start but we love our hot tub We sat in every hot tub in town and ended up selecting the Vanto based on the styling, comfort, and price. We had many problems with the unit over the first 3-4 months that we owned it from vacuum pressure sensors to the main control board had to be replaced. The service from the company we purchased the tub was not as knowledgeable as I expected. When the unit would simply not heat they came out and said the filter was dirty. We had only owned it for a few weeks and the filter was absolutely clean. Once a new vacuum sensor and control board were replaced we then had problems with the ionizer that we purchased as an adder. This is not a Caldera problem but yet another problem by the dealer as they installed the wrong size port. We have also had both heating element couplers break in a span of a few weeks. When this happens it spits water all over the inside of the cabinet, a huge problem in the winter months as this cabinet is un-insulated. The entire tub has to be drained to replace the couplers which means there is a real danger for the cabinet to ice up until the heater can turn back on. I remain nervous that this may happen again as the dealer could not offer any explanation as to why this happened twice in less than a month. Since all of these initial problems however we have had a trouble free experience with the unit and I'm in it nearly every day. I switched from the included Spa Frog bromine system to regular chlorine as it is easier to keep the water clean with less hassle and a smaller amount of chemistry. The only negative I would say is that our power bill went up $60 or so per month and we expected only $30. With the main cabinet being un-insulated it is no wonder that during the winter the heater runs frequently. I plan to add some insulation to the main cabinet to hopefully offset our high power bill. Everything else about the unit is great. It's comfortable, has enough jets and features to make a great soaking experience and we absolutely love it. Had we been able to avoid the initial problems I would rate it five stars for everything but energy efficiency. Rated 2 out of 5 by bandit780 from 2014 tub We have only had our tub 1 1/2 years. The first month of ownership (Dec 2014) we had to drain the tub. All four foot jet chrome ring covers fell off. So we drained the tub, re glued them and refilled our tub. They have stayed on now. Spring 2015, noticed a panel on the outside of the tub where the lid lifter is attached is cracked. We believe that because of the unstability of the cheap lid lifter, it jerks on the lid on the opposite side that you are using to lift the hot tub lid.Contacted company we bought from at the end of March 2015. End of May we got a call that they will replace the panel(because its under warranty) but we will have to pay mileage for them to come and repair it. We live 75 miles one way from the dealer. Wow, really? Not happy with this situation and don't feel we should pay for parts that are under warranty and obviously defective. Dealer told us they had 4 of them with similar problem. Rated 1 out of 5 by johndoe44 from Won't buy again unless Caldera provides access to parts I purchased my spa with the waterfall feature. This no longer works due to a cheap plastic part cracking. It also affects usage of the spa itself as water spews out the opening where the waterfall control should be. I can't purchase the part from the dealer and see no access to parts online at Caldera. It's easy enough to take the apparatus out and replace the part if I could get the part. To replace the part I have to purchase the entire $35 apparatus to get one little cheap plastic part which probably costs less than $1 to make. It just shows a lack of consideration for the customer to even produce the product with such a cheap plastic single point of failure and then on top of that to not provide a way to replace the part. Rated 1 out of 5 by ProblemsinAlaska from Problems The first time using this 8 jet covers came off. To date 29 jet covers have been replaced. Within a month a large crack developed. I haven't even had it a year... nothing but problems. Rated 1 out of 5 by ffmom from Awful Don't share with you that the ozone generator does NOT work continuously - only when the pump is running - NOT very energy efficient. Gave it away! Also the backflow valve for the ozone failed after 11 months. Service tech said this is normal!! Rated 5 out of 5 by Joe from Vanto I am very pleased with my spa. I didn't think it was a good investment at first but I loss that discussion with my wife and today I am glad she won! Rated 5 out of 5 by Vantovacationer from Should have made this purchase sooner My husband and I love the Vanto! It is large enough to fit 4-7adults comfortably and leaves enough room to access jet areas for a completely relaxing experience. The controls for jet speed and temperature are easy to use and reach from the cool down seat. The lighting and waterfall options are a nice feature but not necessary to enjoy this spa. Rated 5 out of 5 by BunkyFourBeers from Worth every penny... Best purchase of my life. I wish I just would have pulled the trigger and bought a quality hot tub like this ten years ago, but I thought it was too much of a hassle to maintain. Man, was I wrong. Its so ridiculously easy. And to think of the good times I let slip by by not buying this earlier... Oh well, it mine now! Rated 5 out of 5 by aamcz from Great spa Love this spa. The lighting features are great. It is easy to maintain/clean. And can use it with water temperature hot or cold. Rated 5 out of 5 by Chuck from Vanto I could not be happier with my Spa. It works exactly as promised. We use it daily, it's easy to maintain, and inexpensive to operate. The Spa Frog mineral system is great. It took me a little time getting the water balanced but the directions are spot on. I'm using factory setting & recommendations and it works great. Thank you Caldera for building a great product. Rated 5 out of 5 by Asiaf from Caldera Vanto We've owned our spa for a little over a year now and are still completely in love with it. It fits our lifestyle perfectly and is regularly enjoyed by our family and lots of friends. Would definitely recommend this spa to others! Rated 5 out of 5 by Force22 from Vanto The vanto spa we purchased is great! Excellent product and great customer service experience. Rated 5 out of 5 by Jim from YOU WILL LOVE THIS SPA! I shopped for spas for over a year before I made the decision to go with the Caldera Vanto. The reason I took my time was because years ago I purchased a lesser spa from another manufacturer and was disappointed with it. I did not want to make that error again. I am happy to report that the Vanto was worth the wait. The jets are very strong, the fit and finish are stunning and the quality is world class. The controls are logical and simple to use and the lighting is beautiful and tasteful. Water maintenance is a breeze and all is well on my little patio. If you happen to live in the Tampa Bay area, you should stop in and see Jerry at Tampa Bay Spas. He is a true professional and has a passion for hot tubs that shows in his enthusiasm for Caldera. This guy actually took the time to hand write instructions for my tub sanitizing schedule. I could not be more impressed. Rated 5 out of 5 by themaroon from Incredible spa for the money We wet tested a few brands and just loved this spa so much I had to get one. It doesn't have the most raw horsepower, but it's unbeatable for its price range, and two seats do have some pretty good power. All of the seats are comfortable. There isn't a huge mix of hydrotherapy options. Every seat just works a slightly different part of your back. I'd love some more leg/side options. But at this price range it's hard to complain. I'm not a big fan of the Spa Frog. The minerals are expensive and not helpful for sanitation (and maybe harmful to the tub). Bromine tablets in a floater are much cheaper and equivalently good. I'm going to try rigging a floater to fit in the inline Spa Frog chamber since it's nice to have it out of sight. Rated 5 out of 5 by Cabin Boy from Turned our summer lake cabin into a year around retreat For our 25th wedding anniversary gift to each other we built a patio on the lake side of our weekend cabin. After years of thinking about hot tubs we took the plunge and made the Caldera Vanto our patio's signature feature. Wow! I'm not the kind of person who typically enjoys sitting still. That changed with the Vanto. We spent hours and hours in the tub relaxing, listening to football games on the radio, gazing at the stars and watching the activity on the lake. We now find ourselves going to the cabin much more in the fall and winter so we can spend time in the hot tub. Even New Year's Eve included a sub-zero hot tub excursion. The Vanto has a great range of water pump speeds, fun accent lights and an easy to use cover. It has become a wonderful gathering point for our family. Rated 5 out of 5 by Jo from Best bang for your buck!! Powerful, comfortable seats 5 very easily. Waterfall feature is much appreciated by young children, they love it. With this tub you never need to upgrade because it has everything and very easy to use no complicated buttons or complex programming. It's great in the winter too and the electricity bills are very low. Love it!!! Rated 5 out of 5 by JVK3700 from We have enjoyed more family time together in our spa. The Vanto spa has been a good purchase for our home. It's attractive on our deck and quiet when running. It doesn't require a lot of maintenance or time to maintain. Rated 5 out of 5 by j12 from Great Spa This is the second spa we have owned and the ease of the chemical frogs is wonderful. Our water never stayed as nice with prior tub. Rated 5 out of 5 by JLW from Good value We have no complaints at all. Love our tub and use it most days. Rated 5 out of 5 by aamcz2516 from Glad we chose caldera We purchased the vanto and we love all the features and ease of maintenance. We use it once to twice a week and we were expecting a higher electric and water bill but we didn't notice much change. The only minor issue we have is when we close the spa cover, the head rests at the far side of the pool (the side the cover sits while open) pop off from the cover rubbing against those head rests. It appears they do this because is looks like the top of the head rests are raised slightly above the pool rim. Rated 5 out of 5 by Susan from Best money we ever invested for family time I did all the research to find the best spa for our money. This landed, hands down, with a decision to buy the Vanto Caldera Spa. We were looking for a quality spa with maximum seating, so this version without the lounger was perfect. The main reason we wanted a spa may have been different that others - we simply wanted a place we could hang out with our tween and teen kids without phones, tvs, or facebook! I can't tell you how many wonderful conversations that we have had with one or all of our kids that would probably never have happened inside with all the distractions. My husband and I have said countless times, after a significant conversation with a kid in the spa, that it was the best money we could have ever spent as parents. It also makes our house a more inviting hang out spot for their friends, since they all love to get in the spa as well. The best part is that it is always ready... no warm up time... so it is something that we or their friends can always do spontaneously! Rated 5 out of 5 by MzrJoe from The best idea we ever had! We shopped for about four months before Lonny, of Crystal Pools in Elizabethtown, Pa., suggested the brand new Vanto model from Caldera. Despite not having a floor model to examine, we were familiar its first cousin, the Marino. This model had been number 1 on our shopping list. The only thing we didn't want with the Marino was the lounger as we did not want to give up a guest-seat. The Vanto addressed this concern. The good news is that because the Vanto is a 7-footer, my family can slouch in their seats and be as comfortable as if we had lounges. This is because there is something to press your feet against from virtually every position in the tub. Speaking of seats, each one has a unique array of jets. When my wife and I use it, we rotate between the seats, which allows for a varying set of enjoyable stimuli over different muscle groups. Not only do the accompanying foot jets provide amazing pleasure (i have a neuroma in my right foot), the bubble-shaped well helps users stay better-positioned in their seats. The lighting array is beautiful at night and the buttons which control the jets, heat, and lights are all very easy to use. The Vanto is built with very sturdy construction. If i were to suggest anything, it would be to add more color choices for the housing. One of my great concerns about owning a spa was a fear of chemical smell. But the Frog Spa system greatly reduces the amount of chlorine needed compared to friends who own pre-Frog models. After use, we feed the tub about 1 tsp of chlorine crystals and that does the trick. We keep the bromine on a 3 setting. These are pretty low doses of cleaning chemicals. Not does this GREATLY reduce the smells that I have hated over the years, but the fewer the chemical used, the less we are spending on them. We use the tub for about an hour to ninety minutes at a time and so far, our skin has handled all of this very well. The Vanto sits in a great price point and if you are in the E-town area, the folks at Crystal Pools are great to work with! Rated 4 out of 5 by JR_AZ from Happy owner Well constructed, love the pressure and location of the jets. especially like the fact that different seats focus jets in different locations. the cartridge chlorine is a nice touch, although I still find I have to add chlorine manually which I thought was avoided with the cartridge. overall, highly recommend the spa to anyone! Rated 4 out of 5 by My2dice from Vanto is good We like our Vanto a lot! We use it all the time!!! Rated 4 out of 5 by R&S from Caldera Spa Owner We like our spa and the set up and delivery were great. I see the difference however in the jets. The action of them is less than what I expected. The foot massage at the center is also a bit in the way for most users. Overall good spa and quality seems to be good. Rated 4 out of 5 by MM from We love our new spa We absolutely love our new spa. We especially love the foot sprays, which I've never seen on a spa before. The only reason I give it 4 instead of 5 stars is because I wish there were an option to have all of the jets on low. Unfortunately, the only low option only turns on two of the jets, while the other two options have some or all of the jets on high. The jets are actually somewhat painful for me on high and not relaxing, but I love them on low. No biggie, since I can usually snag one of the two jets turned on when we have it on the low setting, but that would be a change I'd like to see perhaps. Rated 4 out of 5 by RC from Vanto review Very happy with Vanto hot tub. Easy and simple to use and maintain. Local dealer very professional with install and providing me with maintenance tips and suggestions. Glad I went with Caldera Spas. Rated 4 out of 5 by TheGolfer from Great hot tub Our old hot tub finally died. We purchased the Vanto hot tub and are happy with our purchase. The largest driver of the purchase was the value to tub provided. We rent our place 130 days/year and use it another 30 ourselves. Thus, we wanted a tub that was pretty basic, but appeared / was comfortable. We also didn't want to pay the exorbitant prices some of these manufacturers suggest. The Vanto met all those goals. Rated 4 out of 5 by ronnAK from The Hut Tub is very good. I am very happy with the Hot Tub and the features are just what I need. My only reservation is the Frog system. It seems to go through the bromine cartridges very fast. After one week I get a low Br reading and there is still Br in the cartridge. I shake it and get another week out of it. I am seriously considering trying a Br tablet floating dispenser rather than the Frog.. Rated 4 out of 5 by Krsweet from Good quality for the price Only improvement I would like is the ability to upgrade filters. Rated 4 out of 5 by Jewel45 from Overall Happy Purchased the Vanto Series hot tub. Very happy with purchase and price. We use it almost every day in the fall, winter and spring! We emptied it for summer too hot here for use. Rated 4 out of 5 by Mark from What is with those lights? The tub seems like the best one we've had in all regards except the lights. We either sit in the dark or put up with disco ambiance. Worst part? There are lights that sit above water level which are irritatingly in your eyes the whole time unless you just dispense with the lights altogether. Who thought that was a good idea? Rated 4 out of 5 by NeedABetterMouse Trap from Have a mouse in the cabinet not sure how it got in - but the insulation from inside started to pile up on the outside... checked with our dealer and they said likely a mouse - plug any openings with steel wool and that should take of it - we will try it, but i don't understand how or where the would be a hole large enough for a mouse to get in or out? Rated 5 out of 5 by HE from Very pleased We are very pleased with our Caldera Vanto Spa. It has all the features that we could want, the sitting set up is what we desired, and we are very impressed with the quality of the unit. Rated 5 out of 5 by Aunt Sparky from Well Worth the Money We purchased our Caldera Hot Tub around the first of the year. My doctor approved it for knee surgery that I had, and actually wrote a letter approving it for my knee. We were able to alleviate the taxes on it. We have used it for 7 months now and absolutely love it! Very easy to use! We cleaned it for the first time a week ago, and it could not have been easier! The draining, cleaning, refilling did take most of the day, but it turned out to be so easy! We definitely recommend the Caldera Spas. Rated 5 out of 5 by Bugs from A hot tub that is really Hot! We have owned this tub for one and a half yrs! Great value on a. Very good tub. Easy to maintain.quiet and great lights! We are previous hot tub owners and this tub has made many advances in hot tub tech. Dealer was great to deal with.install was on time and well done. No problems at all. Rated 5 out of 5 by WLMC from Great tub, but outstanding customer service We love our tub, but when we had a problem with our pump, what was even more amazing was the customer service that we received. They Watkins/Caldera group went above and beyond to help us with the problem. They are an outstanding company, I would highly recommend their products and their people! Rated 5 out of 5 by Hap from Great Product We would not have made our purchase if it had not been for Cassidy Anderson's help out of the Clackamas OR store. Her knowledge of her product and the competition made all of the difference. She also offered us a deal that when compared to the other two brands we were considering was too good to turn down. We had an old Bullfrog tub and the massaging and comfort difference with the Caldera tub is like night and day. We would definitely recommend Caldera to someone considering a new hot tub. Rated 5 out of 5 by Bugs from HOT TUB FUN Nice Tub.It was nice experience from the sale to install and use.I had an old tub that was replaced and this is soo good.Room inside the shell is great.It is the same size as my old one,but sooo much better,Lites and waterfall are a fun fit and care has been pretty easy with the canister system we use. Rated 5 out of 5 by Rick from Our First Spa It is our first spa and it has been an outstanding purchase. I use it more than my wife because of a bad back, but we both have just loved it on cool or cold nights. The setting and the beautiful colored lights sets the mood. Living in south Alabama it gets quite hot during the summer months but that does not stop my getting in for all the jets and warming of my bad back after a day of golf or working in the yard. It is very beautiful and easy to maintain after just a little home reading and working at it. We love our Spa! Rated 5 out of 5 by MangoMango from Good spa for the money, We shopped many different brands. The Vanto is a good value. Rated 5 out of 5 by Lonn111 from Such a GREAT PICK!!!!! We love our Caldera Spa so much!!! It is not only enjoyable but we use it for disabilities. We feel refreshed and our bodies are rejuvenated!!! Thank You Cal Spa for making an amazing product. TY TY TY We are so happy with our choice!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 by nysport7 from My happy place.... I love getting into my Caldera Vanto spa for a quick 20 minute stress release. It melts the stress of a long work day. Rated 5 out of 5 by Jes from I love my tub! I have had my hot tub a little over a month and I have lower back issues and I try and spend a minimum of 30 min. A night in my hot tub before bed and sometimes I the morning before work. I am sleeping better and my back is feeling better. Rated 5 out of 5 by mac_quad from Great tub...only a couple of issues We had our spa installed last year and thoroughly have enjoyed it, especially during the winter. I did not notice any increase in my energy bill this winter, and we had the spa constantly on at 103 degrees. The only major issue we have had was that the lighting system malfunctioned. Fortunately, it was covered by the warranty and the spa dealer spent a lot of extra time to ensure everything was operating properly. The lights have worked great ever since. One feature disappointment was that the waterfall is not lighted. It has the same light bar under the waterfall jets as other Caldera spas, so I assumed it was lighted like the other spas. I should have checked that out...oh, well I should know not to assume anything! Lastly, the chrome circular donuts on each of the smaller jets keep coming off. They are easily re-installed, but why are they not more securely attached? Overall, we are pleased with the spa and despite the issues listed above, we would purchase the Vanto again. Rated 5 out of 5 by pianocrazed from Great Price and Great Product We didn't want to spend a fortune but we also didn't want a tacky cheap product. This hot tub was the perfect balance of cost and quality. It looks expensive, has all the right jets (particularly love the foot jets, and the adjustable back jets), has a few nice touches (like the lights and waterfall feature) without being extravagant. The water maintenance has been a breeze. We've got a pretty simple scheduled routine that keeps things nice and tidy, so the tub is always ready when we feel like hopping in for a soak. We highly recommend this hot tub! Rated 5 out of 5 by SiemersSpa from Time with Un-Plugged Teens Our Vanto hot tub was a 20th anniversary splurge for my husband and me. We have never owned a hot tub, but were intrigued by the idea of unwinding outside together each evening - and decided this gift would be a longer-lasting alternative to a trip to Mexico, which we had considered as a gift to one another. We've been very pleased with everything about the Caldera model we chose. The unexpected part of our purchase was how it has enhanced time with our two teenage daughters. It has been fun to see how they look to that quiet time to pop in and connect with us - or even how they pull up a stool outside of the hot tub and catch us up on their evening as we sit in the tub and relax with a drink. The kids have enjoyed the tub on their own, as well. One night, we allowed them to host a "dive-in movie" with a small handful of friends - projecting a movie on the side of the house near the hot tub. They were pretty wrinkled by the end, but enjoyed the chilly night from their warm spot in the tub. One accessory we added, which we would highly recommend is the Bluetooth sound system. We didn't originally order it, but after turning up external speakers to try to hear them within the tub, we quickly understood the value of the built-in speakers, which project sound right at "ear level" inside the tub. This is a better way to keep the sound down, as we wanted to be sensitive to the neighbors. My husband is pleased with the sub-woofer which enhances the sound, considering the relatively small speakers. All-in-all, we're very happy with our purchase, and hope (expect) to continue using it as regularly as we do now! Rated 5 out of 5 by Gordon from Terrific Hot Tub!! I've had a couple of hot tubs but this one is the easiest to manage and keep in good shape. I love the filter location and the way the filter rises and falls with the water level. I have 9 grand kids and they lOVE the spa. When they get out of the tub I simply add a small amount of chlorine and the tub stays clean. What a dream this tub is. Rated 5 out of 5 by TimG from Ghormley Hot Tub Review We love our hot tub. Best purchase I've made in the past 20 years. Rated 5 out of 5 by Nate from well worth the money spent We have really enjoyed spending family time. in our hot tub..great time for all ages! Rated 5 out of 5 by Russ from Great Spa, but! I love my spa, but due to my ignorance I have trouble keeping out the suds. I clean my filter and use the sanitizer and clearifier as directed, but the suds seem to grow over night. Now the last two weeks the water appears to be going green? Whats up with that. I use the other products as directed and the PH is always good, So I just don;t know. Maybe a spa water treatment class is needed. Rated 5 out of 5 by Rackmanjru from Rest & Relaxtion Best purchase I ever made. We use our spa almost each and every day. Nothing like soaking each night to loosen tight sore muscles, We sleep better at night after using our spa. Easy to operate, empty and clean and easy to maintain chemical levels with the inline frogger cartridges. Don't wait buy one today! Rated 5 out of 5 by Tim from Vanto....Excellent value We love our Caldera Vanto spa. Enough room for my teenage daughters to have friends over. It has been extremely easy to maintain with Spa Frog. I added the blue tooth wireless sound system and it made our experience even more enjoyable. Even though last winter was rough in ohio, we never really complained since we had our spa to enjoy. Also, if you live in the Akron/Canton, I highly recommend Job Rite Spas, Awesome customer service!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 by Jsmaisey from One year of ownership and it is flawless! Every time I step into my Caldera Vanto I am amazed how good it is. The maintenance is so simple. The water stays so clean. And I have not noticed any increase in my power bill. This tub just seems so well built. The jets are strong and in exactly the right spot. At night the lights are just stunning. You have a very happy customer on your hands. Rated 5 out of 5 by cjgink608 from Love it We purchased our hot tub for our special needs daughter. We have all been able to enjoy it! We think the value is great for the wonderful quality and ease of use. Would recommend this to anyone looking for a hot tub! Rated 5 out of 5 by ang from valued purchase We love our spa! Enjoy it several times every week. Rated 5 out of 5 by thecaryzoo from We love the Vanto! This is our second hot tub. Our first one had a lounger and we never used it. You tend to float up! In this tub we can all sit with great jets. We sit in it every single day, all year long. Rain, snow, or sunshine! I even did my ALS ice bucket challenge in my hot tub! Our friends bought a Caldera after we bought ours since we loved ours so much. Rated 5 out of 5 by Scott7152 from What have we been waiting for? My wife and I have been married 29 years last month. For our anniversary gift to one another we decided to purchase a spa. We have talked about this for a long time. I always thought they were a waste of money, I was wrong! We absolutely love our Vanto and the fact that it is a non lounger was a selling point for us. It is very comfortable and we have three daughters that love it too. We believe we have the perfect set up for it with our deck and patio entertainment area. Nothing like watching some college football from the comfort of your spa!! Rated 5 out of 5 by Mike from So happy with my choice of spa We shopped around from used to various brands of new and are so glad we settled on the Caldera Vanto. We purchased the pearl white one in the espresso cabinet a month ago. It looks beautiful and is very comfortable. Kids love it as well. Have no regrets on our decision. Water maintenance has been a breeze. Controls are great/intuitive and the quick features like 'sys on' and 'clean' are very handy. Rated 5 out of 5 by retired1968 from Vanto Our first hot tub, we love it, been in it daily since it was installed. A great addition to our home!! Rated 5 out of 5 by The Yoder's from Improved family time!!! This spa has really brought the family time back together. Every night we spend time together relaxing in the spa and enjoying each others company. It was well worth the money so far and, the system works perfectly. We haven't received a new electric bill yet to see how efficient it is. Overall, my family and I love it!!! Rated 5 out of 5 by DJW1200 from Love it Glad we bought it. Has a lot of room. We shopped at 3 different spa company's and seven seas treated us like we meant something to them. From buying the spa to install seven seas was awesome. We love our spa. Great place to sit and talk with he kids! Rated 5 out of 5 by Rmoon604 from Vanto We have had our new hot tub for about 1 month now and we love it. Rated 5 out of 5 by Jimmy from 3 RELAXING YEARS I hope readers know that all hot tubs are not the same. I have owned other brands and found out the hard way. I can tell you my Caldera Vanto is quiet and powerful. It needs almost no maintenance looks as new as the day I bought it. I have spent many hours with my family relaxing and strongly recommend Caldera to anyone I speak to about hot tubs. Rated 5 out of 5 by South Jersey from Wish we purchased it years ago! We have only had the spa for 1 month but we love it! Rated 5 out of 5 by Terry from Great hot tub first time My wife and I have done alot of shopping around. We have been very happy with this pick of the hot tubs that are out in the market. Myself, I have been very especially happy during the colder weather. I use the hot tub on a weekly basis. I am very happy with the vanto hot tub. I do not regret making this purchase. Well worth the value, effort and time that was invested to make the right choice. Thanks caldera for a great value... cannot express enough how much I enjoy my hot tub. P.S. with the aurround system. Rated 5 out of 5 by Boomer from Tub is wonderful! Our tub is wonderful! this was the best gift my wife and i ever gave ourselves! Rated 5 out of 5 by James from Month old We did our research and have loved our spa. Took only about a week for us to grasp and understand how to care for the water. We have used it as a family almost every night. Great conversations are happening between my wife and I and our 2 daughters. Rated 5 out of 5 by Soaking it up from Love this spa! I bought the Caldera Vanto at La Costa Pool & Spa in San Marcos, and I am so glad I did! I was lucky to meet the owner who sat me in every spa until I found the perfect fit in the Vanto. This spa fits tall and short people and the jets are perfect. I put off purchasing a spa because I thought it would be too much work. But this spa makes it easy. It has definitely been worth it and I know I have a reputable dealer and product should I need anything along the way. Thanks Caldera! Rated 5 out of 5 by One Life from Great Feeling The thought of being able to get into my Caldera spa after work makes me start relaxing immediately. I often feel the stress in my neck and shoulder area. Anticipating soaking in my spa melts my tightness away. Thank you Caldera! Rated 5 out of 5 by Stephanie777 from Love my Caldera We previously had a spa and it was nothing compared to Caldera! Best ever!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 by Melimey from Never thought I'd get a hot tub...... ....but so glad I did! If you've never had one you will quickly find it's so much more than just a place to relax in after a hard day's work: the therapeutic benefits of the massage jets have worked wonders (and probably saved me a few trips to the chiropractor). It's great in the winter but just as good in the summer when it's warm out. Rated 5 out of 5 by Ron from My hottub experience We thoroughly enjoy our spa. It is an awesome replacement for the first spa I owned. My only concern after 1 year is the chrome rings on the Jets won't stay in place. After each use we have to replace 2 or 3. It's not a big deal it would be nice if they would stay in place. Rated 5 out of 5 by SJ from Great tub! Here's what I love the most about the tub: the center area is so large that when there are 6 or more people in it our feet don't touch! That's really unusual. Everything else about the tub is perfect for us. Using it in a blizzard is fantastic. Rated 5 out of 5 by Happy Hot Tubber from Love The Extra Seats - No Lounge! This is our third hot tub and I am so glad we chose a model without a lounge. We never used the lounge in our previous hot tubs and we love having the extra seats. Rated 5 out of 5 by NEDaddy from Great 1st hot tub Perfect for our family of 5. Seating options for adults and kids. Rated 5 out of 5 by Adams from Excellent Hot Tub We have had our hot for just over a year jowls and I would say it is one of the best purchases we have made. Rated 5 out of 5 by Don from Great value for the price! Very well built spa, with a good warranty package. Rated 5 out of 5 by Dale from Great deal on great spa Not only does this tub work great but the frog system makes maintenance a breeze. Hot Tub Heaven was great to deal with and made our choice easy. I recommend the Caldera line to anyone in the market for a new spa. Don't miss not having lounger ( by choice) for more seating area. Rated 5 out of 5 by DebN from Great Value We bought our hot tub, at the end of the model year, so we got it for an excellent price. Initially, we had some challenges learning to get the chemicals regulated, and occasionally it still doesn't respond as expected, but most of the time it responds as expected. If it doesn't it may be time to drain it and refill. Our heating bill went up more than expected ($50.00) per month(12 month average) the sales man told us $20-25 in the summer more in the winter $35-40. The cost of chemicals is also more than expected (again we listened to the salesman), we spent about $500.00 in the first year. The tub itself is great. There are a different number of jets on each seat, and the water pressure is different strengths when set fully on. The jet strength is adjustable at the 4 main seats. Also, 2 of the 4 main seats sit a couple inches higher which means someone with a long torso and someone with a short torso can both sit comfortably with the water at a nice height (when I sit on the lower seats the water is to my chin, but when I switch to a higher seat, it hits me lower on the neck). We have not encountered any mechanical problems in 15 months. Rated 5 out of 5 by John from It's the best purchase I have ever made I have had other hot tubs in my time. but the caldera vanto Spas is the best purchase I have ever made because it is energy efficient and easy to maintain. Rated 5 out of 5 by Happy from Beautiful spa This spa is performing well. It is an additional 150.00 per month on the electric bill and did require an 800.00 installation cost, separate from the cost of the spa. But we love it. We use it. We consider it a little bit of vacation every day. Rated 5 out of 5 by Skibum from Why did we wait so long to upgrade !!! Fantastic spa, water care is SO easy, maybe it's our well water but it just makes it a pleasure to know that you can open the cover and get in! Uses much less electricity then our old spa did even in the bitter cold of New Hampshire winters. Very comfortable and easy to use the controls. Rated 5 out of 5 by Roxie17 from Wonderful Spa We love everything about our spa! One of our favorite features is the audio being Bluetooth compatable with our iPod! Rated 5 out of 5 by BG16 from Just What We Were Looking For We purchased this Vanto model in January 2015. My wife and I use it multiple times per week. No complaints; super easy to maintain. We prefer the bench construction over the molded and contoured seats, as it allows us to choose our own seating posture. Absolutely would recommend! Rated 5 out of 5 by CRL3418 from great spa we have been very pleased with our new hot tub. Quality and comfort are excellent and the routine care is very simple. Rated 5 out of 5 by Clearly from Amazing purchase!! This is a fantastic hot tub at a reasonable price. The jets are amazing! Kids love it too. During the summer drop it to 95 degrees the rest of the year crank it to 102!! Fantastic! Rated 5 out of 5 by RH from Comfortable tub Relaxing and comfortable for 1 to 4 adults. Doesn’t have all the bells and whistles but was good value and provides a great place to sit and unwind anytime of day. Rated 5 out of 5 by stevyb from Vanto review Great tub love it. Also very easy to use and maintain. Rated 5 out of 5 by Ski from Love our new spa We we're looking to upgrade to a bigger house but instead decided to stay and get all the things we wanted for our current house. A spa was on that list and the Vanto is perfect. The four deep massage seats are amazing and I love that it also has 3 higher seats for when I don't want to be that submerged. Rated 5 out of 5 by Amy A from Amazing Purchase I love my hot tub. It has helped me physically and mentally. I love relaxing in the hot tub after a long day. The jets work as well as getting a massage. I used to have tension in my neck and upper shoulders. No more. I used to suffer from migraines. No more. An amazing purchase. My family loves our hot tub as well. We spend time together as a family. This was an amazing purchase. Rated 5 out of 5 by Jen007 from LOVE IT!!! My only regret is that I waited so long to purchase!!!! I love it, picked up a midnight job to purchase it!!! Worth every penny!!! Rated 5 out of 5 by Peanut from Vanto Spa Review We have only had our spa about a month but so far love it! My only complaints....the light on the controller is on ALL the time. It dims but you cant turn it off. I don't like the waterfall feature so we just turn it to a trickle. Otherwise, the jets are great. The color is beautiful. I'm short so needed to find a tub that I wouldn't "sink" in but my husband is very tall so we had to find a tubi to fit both our height needs. This was just right! !

2019-04-25T10:41:08Z

https://www.calderaspas.com/shop/vacanza/vanto

N.B. If any minutes were taken of the meeting in 1985 then they have long since been lost. These two articles, authored by Katherine, cover all of the content of her talk, and more. As anthropologists, most of us would agree with Bruner that "our first responsibility is to respect people's accounts of their experiences as they choose to present them" (1983:9). However, those of us interested in historical anthropology face a special challenge since we are rarely able to draw upon indigenous accounts of everyday life. Even when we are able to use such texts, the problem of ethnographic authority remains (Clifford 1988:8; Clifford and Marcus 1986). Considerable work is being done in historical anthropology in reconstructing indigenous histories by using the early narratives of Western observers. However, such efforts have obvious problems of observer bias (see Cohn 1987:136-171; Said 1978; Savage 1984). Furthermore, as in the descriptions discussed in this article, the outside observers have sometimes recorded opposing opinions. How are we, as anthropologists writing today, to assess such conflicting appraisals? Using the case of textiles in 19th-century northern Thailand, I should like to suggest that by reconstructing the political economy of a society, we can evaluate contradictory historical descriptions. From Veblen (1912) and Simmel (1957) to Weiner and Schneider (1989), an appreciation of the varied manner in which textiles symbolize social distinctions has been longstanding. As Bourdieu has written of symbolic goods in general, textiles can be an integral part of the "infinitely varied art of marking distances" (1984:66; see also Barthes 1984; Sahlins 1976). Often the distinctions are extremely subtle. Writing of the use of fashion, Barthes notes the importance of details as "concentrated meaning" (1984:185). For Barthes, just a detail can change an object's meaning: "a little nothing that changes everything; those little nothings that can do everything" (1984:243). However, more than just symbolizing distinctions, textiles have also been shown to constitute and consolidate social differences through their often vital role in a society's political economy. In his pioneering article on tributary textiles in the Inca kingdom, Murra notes not only that "no political, military, social, or religious event was complete without textiles being volunteered or bestowed, burned, exchanged, or sacrificed," but also that cloth served as "a primary source of state revenues" (1962:722). insights into the semiotics of consumption and an important methodology for historical anthropology. Others have made a similar point (see Schneider 1987 for an excellent review of the cultural, economic, and political significance of cloth). As Weiner and Schneider summarize, architects of centralizing polities have awed spectators with sartorial splendor, strategically distributed beautiful fabrics amongst clients, and exported the textile output of royal and peasant workshops to earn foreign exchange" (1989:2). Contradictory assessments of dress also occur in 19th-century descriptions of northern Thai dress. The anonymous author of one of the earliest surviving accounts remarked on the lack of class distinction in women's clothing: "It is curious to notice the uniformity and universality of the female dress. The higher classes vary the style a little by inserting a very showy strip of wrought silk next above the bottom piece" (Bangkok Recorder 1866). Twenty years later, an American missionary working in northern Thailand wrote in almost identical wording: "Rich and poor all dress alike, except that the higher classes vary the universal style a little by inserting a very showy strip of wrought silk into the skirt near the bottom" (Cort 1886:348). Thus, depending upon the archival source, contemporary scholars can reach opposing assessments of the character of these earlier societies. Research on textiles in mainland Southeast Asia is just beginning (see Brown 1980; Cheesman 1988; Fraser-Lu 1988; Lefferts 1988, 1990; Prangwatthanakun and Cheesman 1987). Prangwatthanakun and Cheesman's Lanna Textiles: Yuan, Lue, Lao (1987) is the only full-length work on textiles in northern Thailand; as such it is an important preliminary study, especially useful for describing some of the items woven and the techniques used. In this article, I examine the broader social context of textile consumption and production, drawing upon two major kinds of sources, archival and oral. The archival sources include consular reports (primarily British), 19th century newspaper accounts, travelogues, and works by American missionaries. In addition I have interviewed hundreds of villagers over the age of 80 living throughout the Chiang Mai Valley of northern Thailand.5 I use archival sources primarily for insight into the consumption, production, and acquisition of textiles by the elite; I rely more heavily on oral histories for insights into the everyday life of villagers. Based upon an understanding of the social processes of textile production and consumption, I argue that the controversy generated by the contradictory opinions of certain 19th century observers of northern Thai society can be resolved in favor of those who asserted that there were dramatic differences of dress and class in the northern Thai semiotics of consumption. The Chiang Mai Valley was the site of the largest and most important of the northern Thai kingdoms. These kingdoms were located in the region today called northern Thailand but called "Western Laos" by 19th century missionaries and other foreign observers. The courts of the various principalities were located in the mountain valleys of Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Phrae, Nan, and Chiang Rai, each today serving as a provincial capital. Although these kingdoms were independent, they had been tributary to the neighboring kingdom of Burma for several hundred years. During the 19th century, they were tributary to the central Thai court at Bangkok; thereafter they were incorporated into Thailand. This article is divided into two parts. In the first, I examine the cultural significance of textile consumption in 19th century northern Thailand. I present some of the surviving descriptions of dress, ranging from the daily wear of commoners to the state robes of the ruling lords, and subsequently expand the discussion from dress to other applications of textiles, arguing that there were dramatic differences between peasants and lords in this broader sphere as well. In the second part of the article, I describe how this differentiation between elites and commoners was revealed in the social process of textile production. Focusing on the two most important textiles used; cotton and silk, I consider the overall importance of textiles in the political economy of these northern Thai kingdoms, noting the role of tribute and slave labor in the acquisition of textiles by the elite. Previous studies have shown that 19th-century northern Thai society was divided into three major social statuses: the aristocrats (jao), the freeholders (phrai), and the slaves (khiikhaa). The aristocracy was internally differentiated by economic and political power. The greatest power and prestige were concentrated in those lords who occupied the five top positions in each of the kingdoms, while lesser members of the aristocracy whose inheritances had dwindled were barely separable from the peasantry at large. Free villagers were all liable to perform corvée labor and pay tribute to the ruling lords, but they were internally differentiated according to economic class. The wealthiest villagers rivaled many members of the aristocracy; in fact, many had royal titles and intermarried with the lower levels of the aristocracy. Villagers spanned the economic continuum, from those with land and numerous animals down to those who were destitute or landless beggars. The difference between slaves and free villagers was also often a gray area. Elite slaves sometimes worked very closely with their lords and received more benefits than ordinary commoners. On the other hand, the conditions for ordinary slaves were generally worse than those for commoners since the former were at the mercy of the lords. (For more on 19th century northern Thai social structure, see Bowie 1988; Calavan 1974; Ganjanapan 1984.) Nonetheless, although portions of this social spectrum overlapped, there were significant differences in lifestyle from one end of the spectrum to the other. To give an idea of the purchasing power of a rupee at this time, some indications of wage rates are suggestive. Although very few statistics on northern Thai wage labor rates survive, I was able to find three references in the archival sources.16 According to the British trade report of 1894, porters were paid 12 to 15 rupees per month, assuming they carried an average load of 15 to 20 viss; about 54 to 73 pounds (Archer 1895). Some figures on the wages paid to laborers in the teak industry also survive. According to W. J. Archer, the British vice consul, Khamu workers who could once be hired for 40 to 60 rupees a year (and their food) could in 1894 no longer "be had under Rs. 70 to Rs. 90 a year" (1895). Writing five years later, Acting Consul J. Stewart Black gave somewhat lower wage figures, while also lamenting the increasing costs. He noted that Khamu workers were paid 30 to 50 rupees per annum, in addition to their food, which cost about 5 rupees per month, or an additional 60 rupees per year. Black wrote that in 1899 some teak laborers were being paid as much as 120 rupees (food included) and went on to castigate the native villagers for their indolence, commenting that "not even the attraction of what is to him [sic] a small fortune will induce them to undergo for any length of time the hard labour and isolation of forest work" (1 900).17 Thus, forest workers in the teak industry were earning anywhere from 90 to 120 rupees per year (including the value of their food), or about 7 to 10 rupees per month. Such wages paid to forest workers were considered a "small fortune." Although the wages paid to porters were higher, it should be noted that portering such heavy loads required tremendous stamina and could be done by only the strongest villagers. Furthermore, such employment was seasonal. According to oral histories, the wages paid to agricultural workers were less. Many villagers cited rates of one win (approximately one-seventh of a rupee) per day for agricultural labor at the turn of the 20th century.18 Archival sources suggest that wages for teak workers averaged one-quarter to one-third of a rupee per day and those for porters averaged half a rupee per day. Villagers also recalled that in the early 20th century one rupee could buy a full set of clothing, including a homespun shirt and pair of pants or skirt. Clearly, the aristocracy's most luxurious clothes were not likely to serve as daily casual wear. Nonetheless they marked a significant distinction in purchasing power and social status between the elite and ordinary villagers. A tin jok skirt border that cost 60 rupees represented at least four months' wages for the best-paid porter and over a year's wages for agricultural workers. Everyday peasant dress already represented anywhere from two to seven days' wages and thus constituted a considerable expense for the ordinary wage laborer. The ruling lords of the northern Thai kingdom also had distinctive regalia, including umbrellas and spittoons. Whether a formal sumptuary code existed is, as I mentioned earlier, unclear. However, even without the evidence of sumptuary laws, I believe that there is considerable indication of significant class differentiation through dress.19 With the exception of state robes and regalia of rank, differences in dress may well have formed a continuum of wealth rather than a clear-cut differentiation based on status. Poorer members of the aristocracy, less able to afford the most elaborate of clothes, would have blended with those below them. Conversely, wealthier members of the rural elite, especially those who had intermarried with the lower ranks of the aristocracy, would have dressed more ornately. Nonetheless, overall, when one considers the cost of elite dress in light of the economic situation of poor villagers who were begging, stealing, or patching their simple clothing, a dramatic distinction emerges. Textiles were used not only for dress but also for a variety of household items and on various ritual occasions. Such uses of textiles also revealed considerable differences according to wealth. Although the poorest villagers often did without, ordinary villagers used textiles for making mattress and pillow covers, blankets, bed sheets, and mosquito nets. In general the mattress and pillow covers were plain indigo or black with red stripes or trim. Bed sheets were plain white or white with a red stripe or checked pattern; fancier sheets had embroidery and in some cases more complex weaves. Mosquito nets were woven on special large looms, and many informants complained about how heavy homespun cotton mosquito nets were to wash. Cloth also figured importantly in the lives and rites of the elite. In addition to owning more and fancier clothes, the elite had more and better household items. Instead of just having enough mattresses, pillows, and other bedding items for the family, wealthier families had additional bedding sets for guests. Furthermore, the guest bedding was considered an object of display and so was more likely to have embroidered ends and complex, time-consuming weaves. Even today wealthy village families usually have wood cabinets with glass doors along the wall of the main room of their home to showcase guest bedding sets. The possession of ornate pillows was another particularly significant attribute of elite households. Although Thais had a variety of pillows, the prestige pillows were usually triangular and were used for daytime reclining. Their importance was highlighted in a British official's passing remark that such pillows were "to be seen in every house of any pretensions" (Lowndes 1871).25 Furnishing their palaces, the northern Thai princes displayed numerous luxury items such as foreign-made weapons, chandeliers, mirrors, lanterns, curtains, reclining pillows, and even imported carpets (Taylor 1888-1930:73; Younghusband 1888:63-64). In 1830 Richardson noted the presence of Indian and Chinese carpets (1829-36:63), and in 1885 Ernest Satow recorded that the ruling lord of Chiang Mai had European furniture and "a number of gaudy Brussels carpets" (1885-86:51). The full extent of the differences between commoners and aristocracy was most visible when members of the ruling elite traveled in state or participated in public ceremonies. Royal barges had large cloth canopies: the royal barge of the central Thai king, according to one observer, featured "a canopy of cloth of gold where the King sits on a golden throne wearing a gold embroidered coat and golden shoes" (Dodd 1923:289). The royal entourage often consisted of scores of boats, the rowers all clad in matching uniforms. The elite also traveled by horse or elephant, the animals gaily festooned with decorative textiles. On state occasions, the highest ranks of the nobility used gold and silver decorative caparisons. Mary Cort noted that the gold elephant trappings were "worth thousands," whereas the silver trappings were "worth hundreds" of rupees (Cort 1886:349). In addition to making public prestations such as those at the Kathin ceremonies, the elite would have given considerable amounts of textile goods away during any other life-cycle or calendrical ceremonies they might hold. Thai ceremonials usually included a merit-making component in which gifts, including monastic robes and embroidered pillows, were given as offerings to the monks (see Davis 1984). Archival sources also note the use of textiles as gifts to visiting dignitaries: the gifts given to Satow, a British official, by the ruling chief of Lampang included velvet mattresses, pillows adorned with Chinese brocade, and silk skirts (Satow 1885- 86:206). Thus, not only did the peasants and the lords differ considerably in terms of dress and household possessions, but they also differed in the extent to which they donated textiles on ritual occasions. In this article thus far I have depicted significant differences between the elite's and the peasants' uses of textiles. I have described a range of dress: from the stolen and the hand-me-down, from the threadbare and the patched, from the simple cottons of commoners to the state robes of the ruling lords. I have also outlined some of the different uses of textiles in village households as opposed to the court. Here, I should like to show how the differentiation was manifested not simply in the consumption of textiles but also in their production. As will become clear, both accounts are true; the differences lie in the type of fabric being woven. Most clothing was made from cotton. However, contrary to what is commonly assumed, weaving was not a universal household industry; only certain villagers in certain villages wove (see Bowie 1988, 1992). The weaving of simple cotton cloth was spread quite widely throughout the Chiang Mai Valley, and certain districts were especially known for their concentrations of weavers. Those districts that had a reputation for cotton weaving in the past, especially the San Kamphaeng and Bo sang districts, have maintained their reputations down to the present. Furthermore, oral histories reveal weaving to have been a highly specialized activity, with different villagers involved in the different phases of production. By far the most commonly produced cloth was a plain white cotton, often later dyed with indigo. The villagers most likely to produce such cloth were the poorer ones, who wove both for their own household needs and for sale or hire. Such village weavers were more likely to find weaving an onerous obligation from which others were freed. From the simplest and plainest of homespun white cloth to the most elaborate designs using imported fibers, the value of the fabric gradually increased. Striped or plaid cloth involved more work and skill, in both weaving and dyeing, than plain cloth and was consequently valued more highly. Cloth woven with imported threads, most often used for women's phaa sins, was more expensive than the domestic handspun cotton. The wealthier the village weaver, the more likely she was to weave the more time-consuming decorative items such as colored skirts or striped sheets. The more elaborate the design, the more likely the weaver was weaving for pleasure with a "cool heart." The more complex the weave, the more likely that the weaver was affiliated in some manner with the aristocracy, as war captive, slave, or member of the court. Virtually each of the areas known for weaving is associated with an ethnic minority brought into the Chiang Mai Valley as war captives sometime during the 19th century. Baan Ton Hen is a Khyyn village; San Kamphaeng (particularly around the original district town of Baan Oon) is also known as a Khyyn area. The Khyyn are a population who originally lived in the Chiang Tung area: Chiang Mai led attacks on Chiang Tung in 1849, 1852-53, and 1854, and it seems people were brought back on these occasions (Wilson and Hanks 1985:29). Over half of the people living in the Lamphun region are said to have descended from war captives (Freeman 1910:100). Chom Thong town has a Lawa population, many of whom served as temple slaves. Unfortunately, I was unable to acquire any information about the ethnic background of villagers in Baan Aen since the entire village was forced to relocate when a hydroelectric dam was built. Unlike villagers, who had to weave, trade for, or buy their clothing, the ruling lords were able to extract raw cotton, woven cloth, and dyestuffs as tribute. Their ability to levy tribute on broad sectors of the population provided the aristocracy with a quantity of cotton cloth no single producer could hope to match. Interestingly, the majority of villagers who sent cotton or cloth as tribute appear to have been hilltribe populations, such as the Karen and the Mussur (today more commonly called the Lahu). One of the Karen villages that Captain Thomas Lowndes visited in 1871 had just taken its year's taxes to Chiang Mai: "it consisted of Rupees 2, 2 blankets, and 40 viss of cotton" (1871). Richardson also noted tribute of cloth paid by the Karen during his travels in 1830 (1829-36:37, 45). Captain McLeod found that the KaKuis had to make presents of mats and cloths to the lords (1836:57). McGilvary commented that much of the raw cotton being purchased by the Yunnanese traders came from the Mussur; although he did not specifically mention tribute, it is likely that the Mussur too would have been expected to offer tribute to the ruling lords in the form of raw cotton or finished cloth. While the aristocracy were able to make apparently generous donations on ritual occasions, much of what they gave was in fact the contribution of others. Thus, the aristocracy appear to have been able to extract raw cotton, simple cotton cloth, and complex cotton weaves through political means. Tribute afforded them both raw cotton and cotton cloth, and the labor of war captives seems to have provided them with complex weaves such as tin jok skirt borders. Although silk was considered a more valuable fabric, cotton cloth nonetheless had a variety of uses in royal households. The tin jok borders, even those made of cotton, would have marked their wearers as wealthier than ordinary villagers, who only wore plain skirt borders. Possession of textiles ranging from mattresses to elephant headpieces made from complex woven cotton would have similarly served to add to the prestige of their owners. Such cloth could be used as rewards for favored underlings or as gifts for visitors. In addition, cotton cloth made possible the public display of largess involved in merit-making ceremonies, since monks' robes were typically made from cotton. It is also possible that royalty were involved in the cotton trade. There was considerable demand for raw cotton by Yunnanese traders and some demand for cotton cloth in Burma (Bowie 1992; Hill 1982; Reid 1988:91). British vice consul Archer mentioned in his trade report of 1894 that "women's cloths of coarse cotton, woven by the Laos [were] sought after in Burma as being very durable," although he added that the export was not very considerable (1895). Such cloth, together with silk goods, could also have been offered as tribute to other kingdoms. However they used it, lords - because they could exact tribute and slave labor - found it much easier to acquire cloth than did commoners, who had to weave fabric themselves or find some other means of acquiring it. Archival sources also indicate that royal slaves were involved in silk weaving. The British official A. H. Hildebrand noted, "There is a good deal of trade capable of being done also in silk garments and silk fancy work, at which the slaves and others are great adepts" (1875). It is not clear whether these slaves lived solely at the court or also in slave settlements established to produce cloth for the court. Silk weaving is known to have been done in only two areas outside the court itself: the towns of San Kamphaeng and Hot (and their immediate environs). While silk weaving continues to this day in San Kamphaeng, in Hot only traces survive in archival sources and in the memories of the town's oldest residents. No information survives to explain why Hot, a town some 70 kilometers from Chiang Mai, would have been a center of silk production and weaving, or why the industry died out. (Villagers said it was because the cocoons scared easily and so had died.) However, in San Kamphaeng a senior member of one of the prestigious silk-weaving families recounted the local version of the history of silk weaving in his area. According to his account, lords victorious in war would capture various kinds of artisans and resettle them in their own kingdoms. Thus, silversmiths were settled near the south end of Chiang Mai town, lacquer ware artists in another location, and weavers in San Kamphaeng. This account indeed suggests that the silk weavers in San Kamphaeng may have been royal slaves weaving at the behest of the court. Some idea of the potential scale of royal weaving was given by D. J. Edwardes, who wrote that the ruling lord of Chiang Mai had 300 slaves weaving cloth for him (1875). It appears that these Chiang Mai silks were marketed in Burma. In his summary of the Chiang Mai kingdom, Lowndes commented: "Weaving and embroidery are the principal handicrafts, the silk putsoes [phaa nung] are much sought after by the Burmans, as they wear three times as long as those of Burmese manufacture" (1871). He made a similar point about the silk woven in Hot, noting that it was "said to be very strong and durable" and adding, "A thitgoung [headman] showed me a putso that he had had in wear for 7 years, and it was by no means worn out" (1871). In San Kamphaeng, where silk production has continued to the present day, raw silk was imported from Luang Prabang, Laos, and later from Mandalay, Burma. Raw silk was also routinely imported by the Haw traders coming from Yunnan, China (Hill 1982; see also Bowie 1992). The geographical distribution of raw materials had social implications. Since sufficient quantities of cotton grew in upland regions of northern Thailand to be readily exported, cotton was more accessible to ordinary villagers and could, in turn, be extracted by the ruling lords through tribute. Since silkworms were not abundant in northern Thailand, raw silk had to be imported. Silk's scarcity heightened its price and its prestige value, serving to concentrate silk weaving in the hands of the court. Aristocratic control of silk production was further aided by the fact that the silk fiber is very fine and hence is far more difficult and time-consuming to weave than cotton. A comparison of cotton and silk production, then, reveals important contrasts. While cotton was exported, silk was imported into northern Thailand. While cotton was generally woven by freeholding villagers, silk seems to have been woven by slaves and members of the aristocracy. While villagers, except those who begged or stole their clothing, had to obtain textiles through direct economic means, aristocrats were able to augment their own production through the political means of tribute and slave labor. Furthermore, because poverty was widespread and not all villagers grew or wove cotton themselves, many villagers faced hardships in acquiring clothing of any kind for their families. Understanding the process of textile production helps contemporary readers gain insight into the cultural meaning of cloth to 19th century northern Thai. Once we understand the chronic poverty of most villagers and the difficulty with which villagers obtained even the simplest of cotton cloth, the significance of cloth in daily life and in village rituals becomes clearer. Simultaneously, we can begin to enter the cultural world of 19th century villagers to learn the social meaning of the difference between clothes made of cotton and those made of silk. Understanding the productive process also helps us appreciate the manner in which textiles were interwoven with royal authority. Because of their coercive power, the lords were able to exact cloth as tribute from freeholders and labor from slaves. Their political position reinforced their economic position, since the textiles - and other goods - they acquired through tribute and slave labor were apparently marketed for revenue. The revenue and surplus textiles they acquired through the labor of others, in turn, reinforced their political position. By sponsoring large, conspicuous merit-making ceremonies in which they gave robes and pillows to monks, the lords enhanced their prestige and, ironically, created an image of generosity. The fine silks in which the lords dressed themselves symbolized not only their distinction from the poor but also their own relationship to the political economy of the kingdom. Combining oral histories with archival sources, this article has examined textile consumption and production in 19th century northern Thailand. If we have an understanding of the social process of textile production, the "concentrated meaning" (Barthes 1984:185) of northern Thailand textiles becomes more apprehensible. Such apparently minor details of fashion as the use of a silk skirt border - or, as one early observer phrases it, "a showy strip of wrought silk" - can no longer be interpreted as meaning that "rich and poor all dress[ed] alike" (Cort 1886:346). Important differences in dress, household possessions, and ritual prestations separated the aristocracy from the peasantry. These differences signified profound differences in the relationship of each to the political economy. Thus, the semiotics of consumption in northern Thai society is illuminated by an understanding of its political economy. This article on the consumption and production of textiles in 19th century northern Thailand has been at once a description of the social context of textiles and an exercise in historical anthropology. The evaluation and appropriate application of archival sources present a challenge to every historical anthropologist, since these sources are replete with omissions and distortions. However, by interweaving oral histories with archival sources, we can recapture much of the fabric of the past. Oral histories enhance the archival sources by contributing some sense of the lived experiences of the unrecorded majority. This article has shown how developing a better understanding of a society's political economy can provide an independent means to assess the opinions of outside observers of indigenous societies. Acknowledgments. This article emerges from my dissertation fieldwork on 19th century political economy, conducted from 1984 to 1986 under the auspices of the National Research Council of Thailand with a grant from the Social Science Research Council. Subsequent fieldwork specifically on textile production was conducted during the summer of 1989 with a grant from the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I would like to thank Cornelia Kammerer, Jean De Bernardi, Nicola Tannenbaum, Patricia Cheesman, Songsak Prangwatthanakun, Kristine Hastreiter, Kate Bjork, Hugh Wilson, and the American Ethnologist reviewers for their various contributions toward the research and writing of this article. 1 Edwardes' summary raises questions about Anthony Reid's conclusion that in Southeast Asia, "the difference in dress between rich and poor, servant and master, king and commoner, was less marked than in pre-industrial Europe, where each man's station and even vocation could be read in the prescribed style of dress" (1988:85). 2 The distinctions of dress appear to have been quite subtle at times. Crawfurd wrote, "The better classes permit the ends of the dress to hang loosely in front, but the lower orders tuck them under the body, securing them behind" (1987:313). Although the older men in northern Thai villages sport tattoos, the practice has fallen out of vogue among the current generation of northerners. For more on the symbolism of tattoos, see Nicola Tannenbaum (1987). 4 In the course of my interviewing I also encountered villagers who made mention of sumptuary rules with regard to housing and clothing, but they were unable to recall any of the specifics. The quotation cited suggests not only that sumptuary laws existed but also that they varied by ruler and kingdom. 5 During dissertation fieldwork in 1984-86, I interviewed more than 500 villagers over the age of 80 living in about 400 villages throughout the Chiang Mai Valley. I repeatedly asked villagers for their recollections of life when they were young as well as for their memories of what their parents and grandparents had said about life in their days (see Bowie 1988). This article emerges from accidental observations made during my dissertation research. During the summer of 1989 I interviewed another 100 villagers, specifically asking about textiles. 6 Considerable confusion is caused by the various linguistic borrowings of the 19th century English language sources, which alternately use Indian, Burmese, and central Thai words to describe northern Thai clothing. Thus, terms such as phaa nung, lungi, and putso are used in ambiguous ways. In general, these terms refer to the lengths of cloth worn by both men and women on the lower half of the body. The lengths may be sewn into a tube (as in the phaa sin) or twisted into a thick cord worn between the legs (as in the phaa toi). To add to the confusion, the usage of these terms has changed over time. During the 19th century, phaa nung referred to the length of cloth worn on the lower part of the body by central Thai men and women alike, corresponding most closely to the phaa toi worn by northern Thai men. Over time the meaning has changed to refer to the tubular cloth, or phaa sin, worn during the 19th century by northern Thai women and now worn by women throughout the country. 8 Bock, writing in 1884, observed, "A few Lao women are beginning to wear tight-fitting jackets, cut to the shape of the figure, with equally tight sleeves, something after the style of the 'ladies' jerseys' recently so fashionable in Paris and London, and involving no small amount of labour to get on and off" (1986 :327). Writing at about the same time, Cort made a similar observation: "Some are beginning to wear jackets or waists, but the usual style is for the women to have a brightly colored cotton or silk scarf tied around their chests just under the arms" (1886:348). 9 The indigo-dyed cotton daew chador and indigo shirts now identified as stereotypical of the Thai peasantry appear to have been of recent vintage, dating from about the turn of the century. Ironically, the blue farmer shirts (sya moh hoom) now worn by university students and Thai officials to demonstrate Thai nationalist pride seem to have been popularized by Chinese merchants. The daew chador has more in common with Chinese-style loose-fitting pants than with the traditional phaa toi. Additional support for the view that jackets became more common as the century progressed are provided in a few passing comments. In 1868 Henry Alabaster detailed his recollections of people's dress ten years earlier, noting: "I remember that ten years ago at any of the great festivals which attracted there 40 or 50,000 spectators, almost all wore but one garment - or a sarong and scarf. Now almost every one adds thereto a cotton or silk jacket" (1868). Stringer, writing in his trade report of 1890 specifically about northern Thailand, commented, "The wearing of singlets and coats of European pattern by the men and cotton jackets by the women is becoming more common" (1891). 10 That cloth was highly valued elsewhere in Southeast Asia is also reflected in the following Burmese proverb: "If you are on the way to an ahlu [merit-making ceremony], do not wear your jacket; carry it and put it on when you arrive; it lasts longer that way" (Nash 1965:232). 11 "A comment on the poverty of temple slaves in Burma supplies further evidence that the sheer amount of cloth in one's clothing was an indication of economic status: "They are poor these slaves, the men wear no brilliant putsoes and the women wear no vest beneath their jacket" (Rangoon Gazette Weekly Budget 1899b). 12 The value of cloth is also suggested in a northern Thai rhyme describing the payment that three women received in return for sexual favors: "Miss Kum asked for silver, Miss Huan asked for cloth, Miss Noja asked for an elephant. Hurry up and finish Doctor" (Bristowe 1976:127, cited in Patel 1990:127). Cotton's value as a commodity is seen too in the fact that there were traveling minstrels who literally "sang for their cotton." A favorite form of village entertainment in the past was soh, witty and often bawdy repartee between a male and a female singer, with musical accompaniment. One especially popular form of soh was the soh kep nok, or "singing repartee to collect birds." In villages with surplus raw cotton, this soh would be performed as soh laek fai (singing in exchange for cotton). Each village household wishing a performance would build a tree as a stage prop, with cotton representing the birds in the tree. At a certain point in the plot, the male singer would then "shoot down" all the cotton birds and put them in his bag. Having collected all the cotton balls, the performers would then move to the next house where they had been invited to perform, again receiving cotton as payment. (For more on the soh kep nok performance itself, see Shim- bhanao 1982-84). 13 Nineteenth-century paintings have been preserved at Wat Phumin in Nan and Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai. 14 Because during times of peace Chiang Tung and Chiang Mai were closely linked by trade as well as by cultural and linguistic similarities, I include these descriptions of Chiang Tung in the discussion of northern Thailand. Kun or Khynn is the name of the ethnic group living in the region around Chiang Tung (Keng Tung), many of whom were brought to Chiang Mai as war captives and resettled there. 15 Stringer wrote that Manchester chowls, "of which four different sizes are sold, fetch from Rs. 20 to Rs. 24 per corge of 20 pieces, and the Bombay goods, also sold in four sizes, fetch from Rs. 17 to Rs. 20 per corge" (1891). Chowl is another word for phaa nung. According to T. Carlisle's 1899 trade report, chowl was "the Indian name for the Siamese 'phalai' or 'paley,' that is the 'phaanung' or lower portion of the Siamese costume printed and furnished with a glaze" (1900). In other words, it was a length of printed cloth some three to four meters long. A possibly higher figure for the price per length was given by Alabaster, who suggested that if the British could manufacture sarongs to sell retail at about 4 to 6 shillings apiece, they might find a market in Thailand (1868). Since the rupee was valued at 13 pence in 1895, this would suggest a cost of 3.7 to 5.6 rupees per length. However, I have no figures with which to calculate the shilling/rupee exchange rate for 1868. 16 James Ingram has done a remarkable job of gathering wage labor rates for central Thailand (1964). 17 1t is interesting that while remarking on the indolence of the natives, Black commented that it was "not uncommon to find Khamoos working for foresters who had failed to pay their wages for 5-6 years" (1900). 18 Until the early part of the 20th century, the Burmese rupee (called the taep in northern Thai) was the dominant currency in northern Thailand. The Siamese (central Thai) baht only became the standard currency thereafter. The baht equaled 100 satang. The exchange rate between the Siamese baht and the Burmese rupee fluctuated but was about 80 to 90 satang per rupee (according to interviews and Archer 1895). Since a win equaled 12 satang, it was approximately equivalent to one-seventh of a rupee. 19 The significance of sumptuary laws is ambiguous. On the one hand, the presence of such laws suggests an elite strong enough to have them passed; on the other hand, it also suggests an elite whose status is being undermined. It has been argued that in England, where a variety of such laws were passed, they represented not the strength of the aristocracy but its weakness vis-à-vis the growing fiscal strength of the bourgeoisie. Sumptuary laws have even been interpreted as the protectionist tactics of a local bourgeoisie protecting domestic production against foreign imports (see Hooper 1915). They have also been interpreted as paternalistic efforts by concerned governments to protect their citizens from profligacy (Phillips and Staley 1961). 21 Far more remains to be said about the raw materials needed for dyeing. For more on this and other dyes, see Prangwatthanakun and Cheesman (1987) and Fraser-Lu (1988). See Schneider (1976) for a fascinating discussion of the importance of dyes in the political economy of Europe. 22 A few of the traditional ordination pillows have survived. I saw one that was among a villager's last remaining unsold treasures; it had been made by his mother for his initiation. A triangular pillow made of black satin cloth, it had gold thread embroidered into a flower design at the points of the triangle. 23 Cloth that has been worn as a woman's phaa sin can be very powerful symbolically. Soldiers often wore pieces from their mothers' phaa sins to protect them in battle, with the idea that their mothers had done the most to give them life and would do the most to protect them. This symbolism becomes even more intriguing when considered in light of the famous myth of Queen Chamathevi. She wove pieces of a phaa sin into a hat for a suitor to ensure that his arrows would fall short of their mark and he would thus fail in his quest for her hand in marriage. The stratagem worked. 24 Textile production seems to have been a more important and more widespread part of the village household economy in northeastern than in northern Thailand. Consequently, I believe, cloth goods figured more prominently in wedding celebrations in the northeast. 26 The Pali word kathina means a piece of cloth that in former times was donated to a temple for making robes; alternatively, it means the wooden frame on which the cloth was traditionally sewn into robes (Davis 1984:200). 27 Even today kathin ceremonies are "most often sponsored by government agencies, private companies, and wealthy families" (Davis 1984:200). 28 The central Thai king, King Mongkut, wore robes of yellow silk while he was a monk (Feltus 1924:53). Rich people didn't know how to spin or weave. They bought their clothes ready-made or hired other people to weave their cloth for them. Rich people were too lazy to weave for themselves. But some rich people were stingy; they wove their own clothes instead of hiring poor people. 30 lronically, Prangwatthanakun and Cheesman suggest that in the past "every woman owned at least one tin chok for special occasions" (1987:12). Because these borders required so much skill to weave and were so expensive to buy, I am quite skeptical of this claim. I think that only the wealthiest of villagers, or villagers who were themselves expert weavers, would have owned a tin jok. 31 Hildebrand did not specify how the slaves of the second chief were employed; however, we know from Bock's account that one of the second chief's wives had her slaves spin silk. Hildebrand wrote, "The second chief's source of income is not so calculable; he derives a good deal from the labor of his slaves, of whom, with his wives and children, he never has less than 600 under his roof, and the number outside would probably double this amount" (1875). 1868 Trade Report of Siam of 1867. 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Understanding how landscape factors, including suites of geographic and environmental variables, and both historical and contemporary ecological and evolutionary processes shape the distribution of genetic diversity is a primary goal of landscape and conservation genetics and may be particularly consequential for species involved in ecological restoration. In this study, we examine the factors that shape the distribution of genetic variation in a leguminous shrub (Caragana microphylla) important for restoration efforts on the Mongolian Plateau in China. This region houses several major bioclimatic gradients, and C. microphylla is an important restoration species because it stabilizes soils and prevents advancing desertification on the Inner Mongolia Plateau caused by ongoing climate change. We assembled an expansive genomic dataset, consisting of 22 microsatellite loci, four cpDNA regions, and 5788 genome-wide SNPs from ten populations of C. microphylla. We then applied ecological niche modelling and linear and non-linear regression techniques to investigate the historical and contemporary forces that explain patterns of genetic diversity and population structure in C. microphylla on the Inner Mongolia Plateau. We found strong evidence that both geographic and environmental heterogeneity contribute to genetic differentiation and that the spatial distribution of genetic diversity in C. microphylla appears to result partly from the presence of a glacial refugium at the southwestern edge of its current range. These results suggest that geographic, environmental, and historical factors have all contributed to spatial genetic variation in this ecologically important species. These results should guide restoration plans to sustain genetic diversity during plant translocations. Unraveling the factors that influence spatial genetic variation and population structure is one of the fundamental goals of ecological and landscape genetics . Patterns of genetic differentiation often reflect spatial variation in gene flow, and landscapes can influence gene flow through geographic and environmental variation and their combined effects [2–4]. Isolation-by-distance (IBD) is the correlation of genetic divergence and geographic distances, while isolation-by-environment (IBE) is a correlation between genetic divergence and environmental dissimilarity [5, 6]. IBE can result from environmental differences between populations that generate divergent selection, which reduces dispersal success between different environments, or from biased dispersal, which leads to higher dispersal rates between more similar environments [2, 3, 6, 7]. Thus, both IBD and IBE represent important ways in which landscape heterogeneity influences genetic structure in natural populations [3, 8, 9]. Inherently, geographic and environmental isolation are not mutually exclusive, and spatial genetic divergence among populations can result from reduced gene flow associated with both geographical and ecologic factors [2, 7, 8, 10]. The rise of modern spatial statistical methods and the increasing availability of high-resolution geographic and environmental data layers now make it possible to accurately describe geographic and ecological landscapes and to simultaneously estimate the effects of IBD and IBE on spatial genetic divergence [5, 6]. Understanding patterns of IBD and IBE is particularly important for species of conservation concern or that are involved in ecosystem management, because the outcomes of conservation strategies may depend upon properly managing genetic diversity. One such species is Caragana microphylla, a perennial sandy grassland and desert deciduous shrub species belonging to the legume family (Fabaceae). Native to temperate Asia, including Siberia, Mongolia, and China , C. microphylla is a widely distributed shrub species in the northern steppe and agro-pastoral ecotone of China. On the high plain of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, C. microphylla is a key component of the shrub steppe landscape, and on the sandy land of the steppe it is a dominant species of vegetation . The species has been valued for its tolerance to heat, cold, and drought and for its resistance to wind erosion, sand burial, and hail storms. It has been used as a pioneer leguminous shrub species for vegetation rehabilitation and stabilization of widely degraded and degrading grasslands in China, because of its ability to serve as a windbreak and its capacity for carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation, and nutrient accumulation in sandy soils , and it can also be served as supplemental livestock forage with high nutrient value . Genetic variation and population structure of wild C. microphylla from the Inner Mongolia Plateau have been evaluated by different marker systems, including AFLPs, RAPDs, and microsatellites [13–17], but no previous studies have quantified the contributions of IBD and IBE to spatial genetic divergence in this system. However, better understanding population dynamics in species like this is an important goal for restoration ecology, ecosystem management, and landscape and conservation genetics. Studies like this one are critical for identifying the factors that shape the distribution of genetic variation in species undergoing assisted dispersal and recolonization so that genetic diversity can be managed properly . The Inner Mongolia Plateau is characterized by pronounced biophysical gradients, presenting an opportunity to investigate the effects of multiple geographic and environmental factors on population connectivity. A temperature gradient runs roughly North-South, while a precipitation gradient runs from arid regions in the Southwest to wetter regions in the Northeast. An ecotone largely tracks the precipitation gradient, transitioning from desert in the Southwest to grassland (high meadow and steppe) in the central plateau and forest in the Northeast, with pockets of shrublands and sandy lands in the Southeast. Here, we evaluated population genetic divergence of C. microphylla across its entire geographic range on the Inner Mongolia Plateau, using a set of 22 polymorphic microsatellite markers, four cpDNA sequences and 5788 SNPs generated through genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). The major goals of this study were (i) to characterize genetic variation and population structure in C. microphylla, and (ii) to quantify the relative contributions of geographic factors (IBD) and environmental clines (IBE) to genetic differentiation in this important restoration species. We collected samples from 221 individuals of C. microphylla at ten sites throughout the natural distribution of the species in the southern Inner Mongolia Plateau of China (SZW, ZXB, DL, XH, and QYH), central Inner Mongolia Plateau (XU and DU), and northeastern Inner Mongolia Plateau (EWK, CB, XBY) (Additional file 1: Table S1 and Fig. 1). Together, these sites cover a wide range of climate space, giving us good power to detect environmentally-driven spatial genetic variation (Additional file 1: Figure S1). Sample sizes ranged from N = 18 to 24, with a mean of N = 22 (Additional file 1: Table S1). Total genomic DNA was extracted from leaf tissues using the Qiagen DNeasy Plant Kit, according to the manufacturer’s protocol (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). We genotyped all samples at 22 microsatellite (simple sequence repeat; SSR) markers (Additional file 1: Table S2) that were developed by Han using the method described by Lian et al. (Additional file 1: Table S2). PCR amplification was conducted in a total volume of 25 μL including 40 ng DNA, 1 × buffer, 3 mM MgCl2, 300 μM dNTPs, 0.6 μM forward primer and reverse primer, and 1 U Taq DNA polymerase (TaKaRa, Shiga, Japan). The forward primers were tagged with a fluorescent 6-FAM or HEX label to produce flourescent-labeled PCR amplified fragments. PCR was performed on a Mastercyler gradient thermocycler (Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany) using the following procedure: 10 min at 94 °C, followed by 10 touchdown cycles of 45 s at 94 °C, 60 s at 65 °C (−1 °C per cycle), and 60 s at 72 °C, then 35 cycles of 45 s at 94 °C, 60 s at 55 °C, and 60 s at 72 °C, and a 10 min final extension step at 72 °C. An ABI3730xl DNA Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) was used to capture amplified products by a fluorescence detection system for SSR markers. Fragment sizes were determined using an internal size standard (LIZ500, ABI, USA), and the output was analyzed using GeneMapper software (Applied Biosystems). Four cpDNA regions, including trnL-trnF, psbA-trnH, psbB-psbH and trnG, were amplified for all 221 individuals. The primers and methodology for amplification of these four DNA regions via PCR were described in Taberlet et al. , Demesure et al. , Hamilton , and Shaw et al. , respectively. Sequences were generated with an ABI 3730XL DNA Sequencer (Applied Biosystems), and edited, assembled and aligned in Geneious (v7.1.7, http://www.geneious.com/). All cpDNA sequences were deposited in Genbank (accession numbers KU564257 to KU564268). A total of 127 samples from ten populations were used to generate the genotyping by sequencing dataset (GBSseq; Additional file 1: Table S1). Individual DNA libraries for each of these samples were prepared using the restriction enzyme ApeKI according to the protocol in Elshire et al. . Libraries were then sequenced using paired-end sequencing across 3 lanes of Illumina HiSeq 4000 (BGI, Shengzhen, China). The quality of the raw read data was examined using FASTQC . GBS data assembly, mapping, and SNP discovery were performed using Stacks v1.23 . In the absence of a reference genome for this species, RADSeq loci were assembled de novo using the ‘denovo_map.pl’ pipeline in STACKS. We used a parameter combination recommended by Mastretta-Yanes et al. : minimum read depth to create a stack (−m) = 3, number of mismatches allowed between loci within individuals (−M) = 2, and number of mismatches allowed between loci within each catalogue (−n) = 2. All other parameters were kept at default values. Those loci present in at least 80% of individuals at each site were retained in the final dataset, and loci with minor allele frequencies lower than 0.05 were removed. GBS genotyping of the samples from population SZW resulted in significant missing data, so this population was removed from the GBS dataset. GBS-seq raw data were submitted to the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) with reference number SRP071628. All 22 microsatellite loci were tested for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. We calculated common metrics of genetic variation, including average number of alleles (Na), observed and expected heterozygosity (Ho and He), and global and pairwise FST. Both global and pairwise FST were tested for significance based on 9999 permutations. All calculations and statistical tests were conducted using GenAlEx v6.5 . We used the software STRUCTURE to infer the probability of assignment to distinct genetic clusters for all 221 individuals in the ten sampled populations . The analysis was performed using the admixture model and with the option of correlated allele frequencies between populations. Ten runs were conducted for each value for the number of genetic clusters (K), with K ranging from 1 to 10. The length of the burn-in for the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) replications was set to 10,000, and data were collected every 1000 steps over a total length 100,000 MCMC steps in each run. We identified the optimal value of K using the method developed by Evanno et al. as implemented in the software Structure Harvester . Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences were edited and assembled using SeqMan software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA). Multiple alignments of the DNA sequences were performed with Clustal X , with subsequent adjustment in Bioedit . Haplotype (Hd) and nucleotide (π) diversities were calculated from aligned DNA sequences using DnaSP v5 . We conducted an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and tested for significance based on 1023 permutations in Arlequin v3.0 . A haplotype distribution map was constructed using ArcMap v9.3 (ESRI, Inc., Redlands, California, USA), and a haplotype network was constructed in NETWORK v4.678 using Medicago sativa as an outgroup. Observed and expected heterozygosities (Ho and He) were calculated using the package Adegenet v2.0.1. in R (www.r-project.org). Both global and pairwise FST were calculated and tested for significance based on 9999 permutations using Genepop v4.0 . As with the microsatellite dataset, we also performed STRUCTURE analysis on our GBS dataset, using the admixture model and the same MCMC parameters as before. We used climate-based ecological niche models (ENMs) at multiple time periods to investigate whether current and past climate suitability is a relevant factor shaping observed patterns of genetic differentiation among populations of C. microphylla. Ecological niche modelling was carried out in MAXENT v3.3.3 . A total of 53 occurrence points, obtained from the literature [13–16] and our own sampling, and 19 GIS data layers at 2.5 arc min resolution for present-day bioclimatic variables, obtained from the WorldClim database (http://www.worldclim.org), were included in the analysis (Additional file 1: Table S3). To estimate the distribution of C. microphylla at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), we projected the model obtained by our present-day species-climate analysis onto the LGM using data layers for past climate constructed under the commonly used Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC v3.2) scaled down to a 2.5 arc min resolution and obtained from WorldClim. To model the suitability of C. microphylla under a future climate scenario, we acquired data layers (2.5 arc min resolution) predicted for the year 2080 under, again, the commonly used general circulation model MIROC from WorldClim. As with the LGM scenario, we projected the present-day ENM onto the future climate layers to explore how the predicted distribution of C. microphylla may be affected by ongoing global climate change. The performance of the model prediction was evaluated using the area under the (receiver operating characteristic) curve (AUC) calculated by MAXENT. Model predictions were visualized in ARCMAP v9.3 (ESRI, Redlands, CA). To investigate the roles of geographic and environmental factors in spatial genetic differentiation, we tested for isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by environment (IBE) using all three marker types collected in our study. In all analyses, population pairwise genetic distances were represented by matrices of pairwise FST / (1-FST) as recommended by Rousset . Geographic distances were represented by the logarithms (log10) of geographic distances between all pairs of populations. For the environmental predictors, we downloaded the 19 bioclimate variables from the WorldClim database (www.worldclim.org) at 0.5 arc min resolution and then reduced covariance by performing spatial principal component analysis (PCA) analysis on the raster layers using the R package ‘RStoolbox’ . We retained the first three PC rasters that resulted from this analysis and extracted the value of the data point on each raster at each of the coordinates for our sampled populations. To quantify IBD and IBE, we performed multiple matrix regression with randomization (MMRR) using the R function ‘MMRR’ . We also tested for covariance between geographic and environmental distances with a Mantel test using the R package ‘vegan’ . In each analysis, 10,000 permutations were used to generate a null distribution for significance testing. To further evaluate IBD and IBE, we also performed a complementary analysis, generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDM). GDM is a statistical technique that uses nonlinear matrix regression to model spatial patterns of biological dissimilarity, including genetic distance, between sampling sites against differences in geographic and environmental variables . GDM uses an I-spline turnover function for each predictor variable to quantify: (1) variation in the rate of genetic turnover along each environmental and geographic axis (the shape of each spline) while controlling for all other variables, and (2) the curvilinear relationships between genetic distance and geographic and environmental distances [46, 47]. The maximum height of each spline corresponds to the relative importance of the associated predictor . Genetic distances for each model were the same FST / (1-FST) matrices used in the MMRR analysis, and geographic distances were based on the geographic coordinates of each sampling site. For the environmental predictors, we used the same three PC rasters as in the MMRR analysis. After fitting the GDM model to these data, we visualized spatial patterns of genetic turnover by projecting the GDM model onto the PC rasters. This assigns a color value to each cell on the raster based on its predicted genetic composition, and greater differences in the colors between cells indicate greater predicted genetic differences. All of the GDM analyses were performed in the R package ‘gdm’ . Twenty-two microsatellite markers were used to evaluate genetic diversity across 221 individuals of 10 populations of C. microphylla (Table 1). The mean number of alleles per locus (Na) ranged from 5.318 in population XBY to 8.091 in population DU (Table 1). Mean observed heterozygosity per population (Ho) ranged from 0.416 in CB to 0.693 in QYH, and mean expected heterozygosity (He) values ranged from 0.490 in XBY to 0.708 in DU. We did not detect significant deviations from HWE in any of the 22 loci. A total of 11 different cpDNA haplotypes (H1-H11) were identified based on 7 polymorphic sites detected in four cpDNA sequences (Table 1). Haplotypes H1 and H2 were the two most common haplotypes, found in 70% and 50% of C. microphylla populations, respectively (Fig. 1b). Haplotypes H3, H6, and H10, on the other hand, were found in only one population each (Fig. 1b). Haplotypes H8 and H4 were identified as the most ancestral and youngest haplotypes, respectively. The populations ETW, CB, and XBY had the lowest haplotype diversity (Hd) and nucleotide diversity (π) with only one haplotype (H8) observed in each population. The highest diversity was observed in population SZW (Hd = 0.771 and π = 0.47; Table 1). Overall, 5788 SNPs from our GBS reads were retained for 106 individuals from 9 populations after quality control and filtering steps. Mean observed heterozygosity (Ho) per population ranged from 0.196 in CB to 0.303 in XH, and mean expected heterozygosity (He) values ranged from 0.247in CB to 0.308 in XH (Table 1). Global FST among all 10 sampling sites based on our microsatellite dataset was 0.115. The pairwise estimates of genetic differentiation (FST) across all 10 populations ranged from 0.017 (ZXB vs. XH) to 0.139 (XBY vs. QYH) (Additional file 1: Table S4). All C. microphylla population pairs were significantly differentiated from each other except for the ZXB and XH pair, for which FST was not significantly different from zero. Comparisons between regions revealed little structure between the central (DU and XU) and northeast (CB, EWK, and XBY) populations (mean FST = 0.071) nor between the central and southwest (QYH, SZW, DL, XH, and ZXB) populations (mean FST = 0.073), but did reveal higher differentiation between the northeast and the southwest populations (mean FST = 0.138). The population XBY showed the highest degree of genetic differentiation from other populations (mean FST = 0.171), followed by populations CB (mean FST = 0.168) and EWK (mean FST = 0.138). For cpDNA, global FST among all sites was 0.360. About 76% of pairwise FST estimates among C. microphylla population pairs were statistically significant (Additional file 1: Table S5). Pairwise comparisons between regions revealed similar patterns compared to the microsatellite results. The mean genetic differentiation between northeast and southwest populations was FST = 0.64, followed by southwest vs. central populations (mean FST = 0.48), and northeast vs. central populations (mean FST = 0.17). For our GBS dataset of 5788 SNPs, global FST among the nine sampling sites retained in this dataset was 0.246. Pairwise comparisons between regions revealed similar patterns compared to the microsatellite and cpDNA results (Additional file 1: Table S6). The mean genetic differentiation estimates between southwest vs. central populations and northeast vs. central populations were FST = 0.164 and FST = 0.168, respectively. Whereas, the mean genetic differentiation between northeast and southwest populations was FST = 0.350. STRUCTURE analyses performed on both our microsatellite and GBS datasets indicated that the best supported number of clusters was K = 2, according to the ΔK methods for identifying the optimal number of clusters (Additional file 1: Figure S2). The probability of membership to either of the two clusters (A and B) was geographically structured among populations and regions (Figs. 1, 2). Specifically, the membership proportions in the STRUCTURE analysis revealed a significant geographic pattern in which individuals in populations mostly associated with cluster A (i.e. SZW, ZXB, XH, DL, and QYH) were more common in the southwest of the Inner Mongolia Plateau (41°N - 42°N; Fig. 1a, 2a), while individuals in populations mostly associated with cluster B (i.e. EWK, CB, and XBY) were found in the northeast of the Inner Mongolia Plateau (48°N- 49°N; Fig. 1a, 2a). In the central region of the Inner Mongolia Plateau (44°N - 45°N), two populations (XU and DU) showed intermediate probabilities of assignment to either cluster, based on the microsatellite dataset (Fig. 1a, 2a). This could result from potential admixture, shared ancestry, or demographic factors. Of the two central populations, although the XU population is more southerly, it shared genetic cluster assignments (35.6% in cluster A and 64.4% in cluster B) more with the populations in the northeast of the Inner Mongolia Plateau than with those in the southwest. The DU population, on the other hand, showed more similar genetic assignments (72.3% in cluster A and 27.7% in cluster B) to the populations in the southwest of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, even though it is geographically closer to the northeast populations (Fig. 1a, 2a). In contrast, the assignment probabilities for individuals in these populations based on the GBS dataset (Fig. 1c, 2b) were much more closely aligned with cluster A (the southwest populations) compared to those based on the microsatellite data (Fig. 1a vs. 1c; Fig. 2a vs. 2b). Three climate-based ecological niche models were constructed using 19 bioclimatic variables for three time periods: present day, the last glacial maximum (LGM), and the future (year 2080) (Fig. 3). The model based on present-day data showed strong support based on the receiver operating curve (AUC > 0.95), suggesting good model fit to the underlying data. The present-day predicted distribution of C. microphylla is consistent with its presently observed distribution (Fig. 3b). In total, precipitation had a greater influence on C. microphylla than temperature, as indicated by jackknife resampling of the regularized training gain (Additional file 1: Figure S3). Compared with its current distribution, the estimated distribution of C. microphylla during the LGM was much smaller, based on projection of the present-day model onto past climate layers, suggesting that a significant expansion occurred after the LGM from the southwest to the northeast of the Inner Mongolia Plateau (Fig. 3a). The ENM projected onto the future climate scenario for 2080 suggests that climate change will result in a significant reduction of the species’ potential range (Fig. 3c), resulting in a retraction to a small zone of climatically suitable habitat in the southwest-central part of C. microphylla’s current distribution. The spatial PCA that we performed on the 19 bioclimate data layers returned three PC rasters that explained >85% of the total bioclimatic variation. Factors loadings showed that PC1 was primarily described by temperature variables (Bio1–11; www.worldclim.org), while PC2 was derived from precipitation variables (Bio12–19; www.worldclim.org). PC3 was driven by three variables – precipitation seasonality (Bio15), mean diurnal temperature range (Bio2), and temperature annual range (Bio7) – and therefore represents an environmental seasonality and range of variation axis. Multiple matrix regression with randomization (MMRR) analysis suggested that genetic differentiation showed a significant pattern of both IBE and IBD for all three molecular datasets (Table 2 and Fig. 4). For each of the microsatellite, cpDNA, and GBS datasets, the model was a significant fit to the data (p < 0.001for each; Table 2), and explained a large proportion of the total variance (R2 = 0.685, R2 = 0.696, R2 = 888, respectively; Table 2). The signal of IBE in each dataset was driven by PC1 (temperature variables), which had a significant association with genetic distances in all three cases (p < 0.01 for each model; Table 2). PC2 and PC3 did not have significant correlations with genetic distances for any of the three molecular markers (p > 0.05; Table 2). IBE was slightly stronger than IBD in the cpDNA (IBE = 0.515, IBD = 0.361) and GBS datasets (IBE = 0.564, IBD = 0.444) and was considerably stronger than IBD in the microsatellite dataset (IBE = 0.702, IBD = 0.260; Table 2). Geographic distances were moderately correlated with distances in PC1 (Mantel’s r = 0.685, p = 0.001) and PC3 (Mantel’s r = 0702, p = 0.002) but showed no correlation with PC2 (Mantel’s r = 0.044, p = 0.553). Generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDM; Ferrier et al. 2007) analysis also revealed significant patterns of IBE and IBD in all three of our molecular datasets (Table 3). Overall, the models were a significant fit to the data (p < 0.01 for each model) and explained a large proportion of the deviance in the data structure, with 77.95% of deviance explained for the microsatellite dataset, 74.81% of deviance explained for the cpDNA dataset, and 89.18% of deviance explained for the GBS dataset. Deviance explained values for non-linear models are analogous to R2 values for linear models. Concordant with the results of the MMRR analysis, GDM revealed significant associations between genetic distances and PC3 distances for each dataset (p < 0.05; Table 3). IBE was stronger than IBD in the microsatellite dataset (IBE = 0.561, IBD = 0.132; Table 3) but slightly weaker than IBD in the cpDNA (IBE = 0.473, IBD = 0.627; Table 3) and GBS (IBE = 0.622, IBD = 0.717; Table 3) datasets. In general, maps of spatial turnover in genetic composition generated by GDM show similar patterns for the microsatellite and GBS datasets (Fig. 5). China’s Inner Mongolia Plateau contains dramatic clines in several bioclimatic variables that are critical for plant growth and community assembly and also exhibits spatial heterogeneity in various soil properties and characteristics , making it an excellent landscape on which to examine the geographic and environmental drivers of population genetic structure. This region contains high elevation arid steppe and sandy soils ecosystems that are traditionally understudied in landscape genetics and phylogeography. The need to better understand population dynamics in key species in these ecosystems is pressing because the entire region is heavily threatened by soil erosion, desertification, and ongoing climate change . In this study, we utilized large genomic datasets, including 22 microsatellites, cpDNA sequences from four gene regions, and 5788 SNPs, to characterize patterns of range-wide genetic differentiation across biophysical clines in C. microphylla, an important species for ecological restoration efforts, on the Inner Mongolia Plateau. We found that genetic diversity (haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity, average number of alleles, and heterozygosity) was distributed across the range of the species, with more centrally located populations typically showing higher levels of genetic diversity than populations nearer to range edges, particularly to the northern range edge of this species (Table 1 and Fig. 1). This spatial pattern of genetic diversity is fairly common in many different and diverse taxa . While genetic variation can have many other spatial distributions, this “abundant center hypothesis,” in which central populations harbor greater diversity appears to be one scenario that is observed fairly frequently [51, 52]. Under any scenario, better understanding the spatial distribution of genetic variation is central to developing improved management plans for maintaining genetic diversity and for predicting the impacts of potential threats to genetic diversity . The exceptions to this general pattern in our study system were found in the southern populations that we sampled. Several of these populations (e.g. DL, SZQ, XH, and ZXB) harbored among the highest levels of haplotype and nucleotide diversity (based on our cpDNA dataset), allelic diversity (based on our microsatellite dataset), and observed heterozygosity (based on our microsatellite and GBS datasets; Table 1 and Fig. 1). This pattern may be explained by the historical distribution of C. microphylla. When the ecological niche model that we constructed was projected onto past climate layers from the last glacial maximum (LGM), it suggested that suitable habitat for C. microphylla was much more limited, compared to present day, and was primarily restricted to an area in the southwest corner of C. microphylla’s current range. This suggests that a northward expansion following glacial retreat after the LGM allowed C. microphylla to achieve the distribution it has today. Glacial refugia often harbor greater genetic diversity, particularly in plants [53–55], and that appears to be the case here as well, demonstrating how biogeographic histories can influence patterns of genetic diversity observed today. To investigate how contemporary landscape factors affect patterns of genetic variation in C. microphylla, we conducted a landscape genetic analysis in which we employed complimentary linear and non-linear matrix regression analyses to quantify patterns of IBD and IBE. Multiple matrix regression with randomization (MMRR) and generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDM) revealed strong evidence that both geographic and environmental factors play important roles in structuring genetic variation in this system. Overall, the results of our MMRR and GDM analyses were highly concordant, but there were some minor differences (Tables 2, 3). Some of these differences are likely due to the linear vs. non-linear regressions used in MMRR and GDM, respectively [44, 46]. Whether the observed differences result from GDM over-fitting the model or MMRR under-fitting the model is not currently known. In any case, our results can be viewed as strong evidence that IBD and IBE are both significant patterns of genetic differentiation in C. microphylla, even if their precise strengths are uncertain, and therefore geographic and environmental factors are both important contributors to the genetic structuring of populations in this system. There were also slight differences among our three genetic datasets. If we average the results for the MMRR and GDM analyses, we find that IBE played a considerably stronger role than IBD in structuring genetic variation in the microsatellite data (βIBE = 0.196 vs. βIBD = 0.631), but IBE and IBD were much more balanced in the cpDNA (βIBE = 0.494 vs. βIBD = 0.494) and GBS datasets (βIBE = 0.581 vs βIBD = 0.593). There is no clear reason why microsatellite markers would be expected to have lower IBD than cpDNA or GBS markers. There is an interesting possibility that chloroplast DNA, which is uni-parentally inherited through seeds, could show a different spatial pattern from nuclear DNA, which is bi-parentally inherited through seeds and pollen, if dispersal in seeds and pollen are subject to different controls. For instance, if different animals disperse seeds and pollen, which is commonly the case, or if pollen is wind dispersed while seeds fall onto the underlying terrain, then we would expect that patterns of spatial genetic variation in cpDNA and nuclear DNA could be very different . For C. microphylla, which has pollen dispersed by wind and insect pollinators , we would expect that nDNA markers would show a greater signal of IBE compared to IBD, because geographic factors would be much more limiting for seed dispersal. In fact, we do see that IBE is slightly higher than IBD for our nuclear microsatellite and GBS datasets, while IBE and IBD are very similar in our cpDNA dataset, but this difference is fairly subtle. The GDM and MMRR analyses both detected a significant signal that variation between populations in environmental PC1 drives the pattern of IBE. This signal was highly significant (p ≤ 0.02) and explained a large proportion of genetic variation (β = 0.383 to 0.565) in all three of our genetic datasets in the results of both MMRR and GDM analysis (Tables 2, 3). Signals for PC2 and PC3 were not significant in any dataset under either analysis. PC1 captured variation in the bioclimatic temperature variables in our environmental GIS dataset. Hence, our results suggest that IBE in C. microphylla is primarily driven by differences in temperature variables between populations. Both phenology and leaf emergence are linked to temperature cues in C. microphylla [57, 58]. Flowering period in C. microphylla lasts less than 30 days, and shifts in flowering period occur under different experimental temperature treatments . This suggests that differences in temperature regimes between populations may cause differences in phenology which lead to reduced overlap in flowering period and, therefore, reduced gene flow. This pattern of reduced overlap in reproductive timing has been referred to as ‘isolation by time’ and may be a key factor driving genetic structure in this system. Thus, overall, our study presents a strong case for a role of both historic and contemporary factors, including both geographic and environmental variables, in generating the currently observed patterns of spatial genetic variation in C. microphylla. For plants involved in ecological restoration, like C. microphylla, understanding these patterns is critical, because restoration work inherently involves moving plants between areas (even if they are geographically close). For instance, in this system, populations exhibit genetic differentiation between environments with different temperature regimes, and therefore restoration efforts should focus on transplanting between areas with similar environmental conditions. Plants adapted to different thermal climates may flower at the wrong time or out of sync with the local population, reducing the effectiveness of transplant efforts. Because C. microphylla also show geographically driven genetic differentiation, plants that are transplanted from distant sites that are environmentally similar could be effective at introducing genetic variation into struggling populations . Hence, better understanding the factors that shape genetic variation in these species is critical for preventing unintended consequences of reintroductions and translocations and for guiding conservation plans to produce the best possible outcomes. Specifically, the knowledge generated by studies like ours can contribute to managing how genetic variation is distributed in these species, the probability of individuals surviving and becoming established under various climatic factors, and the chances of maintaining genetically healthy populations. We thank Prof. Tieliang Shang Guan, Shanxi University, for the sampling and identification of the plant material and the UC Berkeley Geospatial Innovation Facility for providing GIS software. This research was funded by a grant from the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP-IAS10) of China. The funding body did not play a role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript, but just provide the financial support. All cpDNA sequences were deposited in Genbank (accession numbers KU564257 to KU564268). GBS-seq raw data were submitted to the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) with reference number SRP071628. The SSR genotypes datasets and the other rest of the dataset used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Z.W. conceived and designed the study, B.X., and J.L., collected samples, B.X., G.S., J.L., and Z.W. performed the experiments, Z.W. and I.W. analyzed the data, Z.W., B.X., G.S., X.W., and I.W. drafted and revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version of this manuscript. All the plant materials were sampled by us. The sampling of plant materials was complied with the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and national and local laws. All the materials were identified by Prof. Tieliang Shang Guan, Shanxi University. Andrews S. FastQC: a quality control tool for high throughput sequence data Babraham. Cambridge: Bioinformatics; 2010. Available at https://www.bioinformatics.babraham.ac.uk/projects/fastqc/.

2019-04-21T12:38:55Z

https://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12870-017-1147-7

North Americans are known for living some of the busiest lives in the world. Few other people (if any) have as many competing demands on their time than we do. A few years ago I became aware of how obsessed everyone was with being busy. “How are things?” I would inquire. “Oh, you know, super busy.” came the reply. The way they would say it was one part complaint, three parts badge of honour. It was as though they wanted to signal that they too, were “busy.” Very, very busy. After going through a very stressful time in my life, I began a journey to live a radically less stressful existence. This meant many things, including stopping the instinct to be busy. I was shocked at how hard my brain tried to keep pushing me back to my old ways. The ways of my culture. Breathless, constant busyness was portrayed at almost every turn. Whether it is the corporate ladder climbing heroine in a movie, the businessman in a magazine ad or whatever, we have absorbed a view of success that demands 24/7 scheduling of our time. If we have a unifying religion in the West, it is Busyness. Interestingly, our brains and bodies seem to be suffering. Stress-initiated illnesses such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Anxiety/Depressive Disorders and Chronic Fatigue are sky rocketing. We are officially pushing ourselves beyond what we were designed to endure. Some times in our lives are unavoidably busy. As the owner and operator of a busy clinic, a serving member of my church and married father of FOUR kids under 14 I am a busy man. We also do quite a bit of traveling throughout the year. How did I pull this off? Allow me to explain. Research has shown that being active is healthy, but being negatively stressed is not. A few years ago, TED speaker and researcher Kelly McGonigal unveiled new research showing how our interpretation of our busyness can make the stress good or bad. Her evidence essentially showed that if we are overloaded by things we despise or dread, our bodies suffer. But exhaustion coming from activities we enjoy have seemingly positive effects on us. 1. Know Your Have-To’s and Make Them Fun: All of us have to do certain things. Work, cook, commute, etc. If you are lucky enough to do what you love, this won’t be hard. If you work a less than ideal job, well, make it fun. If prisoners in Auschwitz were able to find the good in their lives, you can to. This may take some time, but figure it out. No excuses. Your commutes can be times to plug into a podcast or other enjoyable audio experiences. Be hands-free on the phone with a loved one while cleaning/cooking. 2. Know Your Strengths and Grow Them: All of us have a unique contribution to make to this world and our generation. All of us. As a Christian, I believe very strongly that we bring something to the table of humanity that no one else in history could. If you are not engaged regularly in your passion, you will suffer. Just Do It. 3. Balance Your “3 Passions”: I recently discovered a wonderful piece of advice: “Have 3 passions in your life. One that makes you money. One that keeps you healthy. One that let’s you be creative.” Find those and work them into your life. Take up jiu jitsu or biking. Get into it. Do it. Start drawing. Playing the piano. Blogging. Expand your mind and influence. 4. Embrace Doing Nothing: If you wake up on a Saturday and immediately feel the urge to “do something,” you are caught in the Cult of Busyness. Your body and brain are accustomed to always trying to do something. Make money, clean the house, prepare for some future disaster, etc. The survival instinct is in overdrive in most North American minds. Interestingly, it has been proven that being overly busy destroys productivity. For me, the Art of Nothing comes in 2 forms. ONE, several times a day, even in busy clinic times, I take a 3 to 5 minute break. Either I close the curtain on a treatment table and nap or I watch a funny video on youtube. Just a smidgeon of “nothingness” to alleviate my body and soul. Just living, breathing, existing, being. TWO, for at least a full day each week, I do “nothing.” I can’t necessarily lay there all day because I have 4 children and a wife. But, I don’t do anything on impulse of “I have to.” I will lay in bed as long as I can before I get up. I only do the bare minimum of “have to’s.” I will chose the activities that I want to do, none that I don’t. I will not push the kids to be “doing something.” I will fight my brain’s push to get me to “BE PRODUCTIVE.” No. I don’t want to produce. I want to just exist. Medical marijuana is a hot topic nowadays. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party is playing peekaboo with the possibility of legalizing marijuana and certainly helping grow the number of “medical” marijuana dispensaries throughout the country. One look at social media and google and you get thousands of messages about the miracle healing capacity of Cannabis Sativa. It appears there is nothing a little pot won’t cure. Claims range from pain relief to cancer prevention. Remarkable! My question is, are these claims true? Or are they a good dose of wishful thinking to help make the bitter pill of legalizing drugs taste better? First, you have to realize that less than 7% of all studies done on marijuana are researching its medicinal purposes. This is probably due to the fact that most marijuana research is funded by government agencies and these tend to relate to drugs in a negative sense. Government has a vested interest in understanding the negative effects of drugs in order to treat addicts and form drug use prevention methods. Pro marijuana advocates will say that the big pharmaceutical companies and the government are both invested in the continued ban of legal marijuana and so will continue to only look in the negative direction and downplay positive research. In part, I would agree that a large amount of research done by medical schools and even universities are funded by drug companies. And these companies have much less interest in finding natural cures than they do in validating synthetic drugs as the core of health care. Furthermore, there are a growing number of areas in which our culture is becoming aware of the plethora of natural cures available that Big Pharma drugs are not able to out-perform. Natural alternatives to anxiety, depression, blood pressure issues, pain management, etc are emerging as we better understand nutrition, exercise and cognitive behavioural therapy as well as other natural remedies. And if you delve into the realm of anecdotal evidence (both in your circle of friends and online) you will run into some convincing cases in which a marijuana compound was found more effective than a pharmaceutical alternative. I have not problems with the notion of finding natural alternatives to health issues, even in the Cannabis Sativa plant. But how confident can we be that marijuana has very strong medical benefits? And are there any side effects worth knowing about? For thousands of years mankind has used both Cannabis Sativa and the poppy seed for its felt effects. In regards to poppy seeds, they have long been known to help induce sleep. Likewise, cannabis has been known for the intoxicating effects of its most famous cannibinoid compound: THC. For at least the past 5,000 years, humans have known how to extract opium from poppy seeds. And since 1804, we have known how to extract morphine from the poppy seed as well. To this day, morphine continues to be our most potent pain killer. And it is a completely natural extract. My point? Poppy seeds have a very specific medical use that works universally: pain killing. No one can doubt or disprove this. There is no need to hunt through conflicting anecdotal and peer reviewed accounts to see what (if any) are the medically useful aspects of poppy seeds. In contrast, even though we have been experimenting with cannabis for as long as we have been with poppy seeds, we know of only two universal effects that come from marijuana: intoxication and appetite stimulation. Since at least the 1980’s, hospitals have been giving synthetic THC to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy because of its remarkable ability to stimulate appetite even in extreme circumstances. But the effectiveness of marijuana for the entire host of claims made online remain tenable and less than solidly proven. There are hundreds of cannabinoid compounds in marijuana, THC is only one of them (and the only real psychoactive one). Cannabidiol is another of these and it has little to no intoxicating effects, making it less controversial. Cannabidiol has been touted mainly as an anti-psychotic and anti-convulsant. Yet its effects are nowhere near universally true (in contrast to morphine) or even very repeatable. Some studies have shown some value in cannabidiol for sleep inducement as well as pain killing and muscle relaxants for Multiple Sclerosis and epileptic patients. But the strength of the evidence is not overwhelming at this point. More time is needed because studies have gone in both directions. Cannabis simply does not have a singular, universal medical value that can be proved conclusively. As for THC, it does indeed decrease fluid pressure inside the eyes and so will relieve glaucoma symptoms. But the effects only last a short while and because THC is psychoactive, intoxication co-exists with the effects, making it unlikely to be safe or helpful for people who have to go to work with their glaucoma medication. To be under the effects of THC all day is not a recommended lifestyle. Especially when safe, non-intoxicating and long lasting drugs do exist for glaucoma sufferers. THC also dilates the small airways in the lungs, bringing relief to those with asthma, COPD and other chronic lung conditions. Again, this effect is short lived and comes with intoxication and alternative exist in both the natural and pharmaceutical realms. All in all, the effects of marijuana on a variety of medical conditions is not cut and dry. Even when positive studies are found, they are not very strong and often you will find other studies that failed to replicate the findings. However, if an individual is finding success with a cannabinoid compound, I am not against its use. I support the right for doctors to oversee and prescribe a variety of cannabinoids (often with little to no THC) in the few cases in which better alternatives do not seem to exist. I don’t see, however, how wholesale legalization has to come hand in hand with the few cases in which genuine medical marijuana usage can be rationalized. It is also curious that it is mainly the psychoactive THC that gets most of the attention from medical marijuana activists. Could it be because it is marijuana’s main intoxicant? And that rationalizing its use would excuse chronic intoxication? Maybe. Just maybe. Before closing this brief article, I have to speak about the negative side effects of THC and marijuana.Since the 1980’s, the percentage – by weight – of marijuana that is THC has arisen in the United States from an average 3% to approximately 12%. This has not occurred naturally but is the result of synthetically manipulating the strains. Much the same way men have bred animals and plants over the centuries. Obviously, the main drive for increasing THC concentration is to maximize intoxication in chronic users who are now desensitized to former dosages. This phenomenon occurs with all artificial intoxicants. And the 12% figure is an average in the U.S., not worldwide. Some strains have been found to be as high as 35% THC by weight. A staggering dosage that is not in the least naturally occurring. With the rise of THC percentages in recreational marijuana we have seen a rise in the ill effects of this drug. The most susceptible — as is always the case — are youths. Studies in both the U.S.1 and Canada2 have shown — with functional MRI’s, blood work, psychological evaluations, brain mapping and sociological research — that a developing brain exposed to marijuana use well before the age of 17 is at risk of cognitive, mood and behavioural disorders. Further, the higher the usage, the lower the youth’s chances are of attaining financial health and independence in adult life. Chronic early use is needed to truly trigger serious disorders but the risks are still ominous. Considering the growing push to render marijuana use socially acceptable combined with the sharp rise in THC concentrations it should be no wonder that health care facilities are reporting more and more issues with adolescent and young adult marijuana use. Proponents of marijuana legalization will say that alcohol is also a drug and that it causes more carnage in our culture than marijuana. Both claims are true. However, alcohol use is much, much higher than marijuana use. Partly because it is legal and mostly because it is culturally acceptable. If marijuana use reached the same levels of use in North America the societal ills caused by this drug would not diminish, they would only grow exponentially. Unleashing another negative substance on our youth and culture is not an improvement by any means. I cannot comprehend this version of the pro-legalization argument. Remember that alcohol can be used in moderation. A glass or two of wine can even be beneficial in every way to your health with zero side effects. It is much harder to use marijuana without intoxication or side effects unless you strip it of its psychoactive compounds (which I do not see any medical marijuana dispensaries doing as this would most likely curb sales downward). And before singing the praises of local dispensaries, realize that a Journal of American Medical Association study, John Hopkins Medicine study as well as a Globe and Mail investigation found that the labels on pot products from such stores were grossly inaccurate. Shedding a poor light on the ability of such outlets to regulate the quality and safety of their drugs. Considering the negative side effects of THC and the shakily established “medicinal” value of Cannabis Sativa, pushing for nation-wide legalized marijuana on every street corner – a la neighbourhood liquor store — seems to be a thinly veiled attempt at plainly and simply legalizing an intoxicant for the pleasurable effects it produces. Arguments can be made as to the economic consequences of legalizing pot, yet this is a different argument than the medicinal one. Be wise. Be prudent. Be informed. The Olympics are over and the new school year is around the corner. I don’t know about you, but watching world class athletes run, jump and swim at peak performance inspires me. I love goal setting. Yet in the past, I set too many goals with too many deadlines. I started on a lot of journeys that did not end where they were supposed to. So I refined my goal setting methods. One thing I tossed out was the big deadline. This is that “etched into stone” date at which you want something completed. I see this as the biggest motivation killer. What happens if you get sick? Or injured? Or have a family or personal crisis? Have a goal in mind for your journey, but do not add a set date. Instead, make a weekly routine up that is broken down into daily tasks. Make them reasonable. For example, if your goal is to increase hip flexibility and the amount of weight you can squat, start small. MONDAY: squat with same weight you have been using but add 3 reps. Stretch for 12 minutes instead of 10. Then, every time you squat, add either 1 rep, or 2.5 lbs per side (5 overall). Usually do both, back and forth. If you hit the wall, don’t add anything for two or more weeks, just keep squatting without going backwards on your reps or weight. Slowly add 30 seconds here and there to your stretching. Off you go on a slow but risk-free and fully realistic journey towards constant improvement. People often over shoot their goal setting and force unrealistic changes onto their lives. Life does not work this way. Change has to be gradual but constant. So slowing down the demands actually increases the speed of results. If you are driving a car and you want to make a 90 degree turn, you cannot go immediately to a 90 degree without turning the wheels 1, 2, 3… 10… 25… 75 degrees and so on. Life is about increments, not instantaneous results. If you can introduce a slow, flexible, daily routine towards improved performance, you will successfully change your long term life style towards your goals. Whether they be financial, relational or health oriented. Dream big, act small. Get there! Over-training is a phenomenon that is becoming better understood. Many enthusiastic athletes forget to listen to their body as they pursue excellence. But this will serve to decrease performance in the long run, not improve it. Many fitness participants follow gruelling schedules and push themselves hard. If you are in the category of people who train regularly you will want to realize when over training begins to set in and you’ll also want to adopt a “smart rest” program as part of your training. If you have 4 or more of the above (especially the resting heart rate), you qualify as being over-trained. It’s high time to take some time off. A solid 3 weeks of no exercise followed by one or two weeks of very low intensity, part time exercise will do you much good. Then head into a 2 week period of moderate exercise and then finally, take another full week off. Be warned, if you are drastically over trained however, it could take several weeks — even a few months — to recuperate. Which is why you want to listen for the beginning signs of over training and not the drastic symptoms. If you are not over trained (have less than 4 — or none — of the above symptoms) you will want to incorporate “smart rest” techniques to ensure you never get over trained. Very simply put, smart rest is pro-active breaks in your training that allows your body to recuperate before you ever go near the over training zone. As we train hard, week in and week out, our multiple body systems can start to fall behind in recovery. This can be our nervous system, our psychological state, our immune system or our musculoskeletal system. Depending on what other stresses are going on in our lives and how well nourished we are, any one of those systems can start lagging behind and cause over training to set in. By pro-actively resting before anything falls far behind, we are protecting ourselves from over training. How Do I Implement Smart Rest? Once every 6 to 10 weeks (you decide by listening in on how your body and mind are feeling), take an entire week off training. During this time, you can go for walks, but no exercise. None. You will want to push the fluids more than usual during your week of rest and you will want to stay away from alcohol and high sugar foods. Nutrition, hydration and rest are the antidotes to over training. Make sure you are going to bed early and on time during this week of rest. Not only will smart rest prevent over training but it keeps your body and mind working at their peek. This will prevent mental burnout as well as injury. Remember, you are not to wait until you are starting to over train to implement smart rest, you are supposed to inject one full week of rest once every 6 to 10 weeks regardless of how well you feel. This is what maintenance looks like. You are building a fence at the top of the hill instead of having an ambulance at the bottom. Try it out and see for yourself the benefits of smart rest! Athletes pay big bucks to go into hyperbaric oxygen tanks and essentially give their bodies oxygen baths. With the increase in atmospheric pressure and a pure injection of oxygen, the body’s tissues (muscles, organs, nervous system) get a hyper-dose of O2 which increases the rate and depth of healing and repair. In fact, stroke victims are being placed through a series of hyperbaric oxygen tank treatments to create an increase in healing of the affected brain areas. As great as this is, many folks cannot afford regular hyperbaric treatments. Luckily, there is a natural alternative. Although not as intensive as hyperbaric treatments, this natural hyper-oxygenation method is risk-free and can be done anywhere, any time. It is simply the art of concentrated deep breathing. Essentially it consists of reaching a state of near hyper ventilation by repetitive deep breathing for a prolonged period of time. Studies have shown that deep breathing not only gives an increased dose of oxygen to the brain and body tissues, but it ignites the body’s “relaxation response.” This response is mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system and does the opposite of the stress response (controlled by our sympathetic system). Stress tends to constrict capillaries and shorten our breaths, resulting in hypo-ventilation. So it may be time to incorporate deep breathing to not only enrich your brain, but relax it as well. As you get comfortable deep breathing, you can adjust it to your liking. Some people like taking 5 or more seconds to inhale. There is no right or wrong, as long as you follow the basic guidelines above. Personally, I enjoy deep breathing outdoors as the air is much more fresh. Don’t be surprised if you feel the tips of your fingers or toes tingling once you’ve completed several breathes, this is one side effect to hyper oxygenation. If you are light headed or nauseous, you may want to pause momentarily. Regular deep breathing is beneficial for anyone. It helps counter stress. It helps athletes decrease recovery time. It is not as popular as regular exercise and good nutrition, but it is a highly recommended health habit. Reading can make your brain more fit. Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia used functional MRI’s to see how reading affects brains. They found that engaging in a good book will fire up not only the language centres of the brain but the sensory areas as well. And it will stay activated as an “afterburn” for up to a day or more afterwards. Sensory activation was an unexpected outcome and the conclusion was that the imagination mimics what the brain is reading. So if you’re reading a high action adventure, your brain “feels” what the character is doing and you are vicariously living through the book. Research conducted in 2009 at Mindlab International at the University of Sussex showed that reading relaxes the body and brain faster than listening to soothing music. Other research has pointed to reading as one of the key activities that can help stave off Alzheimer’s and senile dementia. A common phenomenon in our culture is to gather our information from audio/visual mediums. In an age of the internet and massive repositories of videos (e.g.: Youtube) people are reading less and less. Screen time is replacing study time. Unfortunately, passively gathering information from audio/visual sources does not work the brain as well. In fact, it places it in a state that is less active than sleep. It is essentially a brain-numbing activity. Furthermore, research is showing that screen time in bed works against good sleep. Staring into a light source actually tricks the body’s circadian rhythm into believing it’s time to wake up, so your brain is being woken up just when you should be winding it down. Reading at bedtime will expose your true fatigue and will put you to sleep at the appropriate time and will not disturb your sleep. Reading also is known to stimulate creativity and memory skills. Not to mention getting all the overall cognitive improvements that result when you regularly give your brain a workout. Whether you love fiction or non-fiction (or both) adding a good 15 to 30 minutes of reading into your day can have a powerful impact on your mental health. One of the hallmarks of childhood is how much darn fun we have. Unfortunately, many of us lose this capacity as we grow into adulthood. Although some things are childish and should not follow us into later life, some things kids do are pretty darn smart. Laughing a lot is one of them. You don’t need to laugh all day. Try taking time 4 or 5 times a day to see, read or think of something funny. This builds up and probably gives you 15 to 20 minutes of solid laughter each day. If stress has built up beyond a certain point, you may find it hard to relax and have fun. Fortunately, this can be worked at (like anything else). Make time in your day when you do things you enjoy (or used to enjoy). Regardless of whether or not you get a huge kick out of these, just practice doing something other than work and worry. Watch light hearted comedies. Mr. Bean episodes or Just For Laugh Gags are great starts. Stay away from the 24-hour News Cycle. It only reports on the most horrid atrocities and with the most stressful angle. News websites and channels are taping into your stress centers and getting you hooked on bad vibes. Take one or two months off the news. Seriously, try it! Read more and read light hearted books. Sometimes reading classic children’s literature is the best antidote to being too “grown up.” There is much wisdom in classic books. Work at thinking positively, hanging out with people more and maybe engage in activities that make you laugh (charades, goofy party games, etc). It’s never too late to rediscover the healthier things in life. Relationships, fun, laughter and good vibes. Our world is made up of both good and bad events. Whichever you focus on the most will predominate your life. If you are a human living on earth, chances are you have a social media account. Whether it be facebook, twitter, pinterest or any of the hundreds of options available, people are “connecting” through this digital medium. Therefore, with so much “connecting” going on we should all be very happy and loneliness should be on its way to extinction, right?.. The data has come in and it appears our social ills have only been increased due to compulsive internet use, including social media. An article from the CyberPsychology & Behaviour magazine by PhD psychologists Kim, LaRose and Peng showed that those turning to the internet to fill a social and emtional void were only further disconnected from true human relationship. For many of us who were born in the early 80’s or earlier, a world without social media is easy to imagine. A time when contact was real and organic. In contrast, modern concepts of human connectedness are — for the first time in human history — composed almost as much by digital “relationships” as they are by real human contact. Combine this trend with the affordable nature of mobile devices and the near omnipresence of Wi Fi connections and you can see how we have been transformed into homo sapien digitalis. When I go to the grocery store or to the bank, I hardly ever see anyone stuck in line that will turn and start conversing. They used to. Nowadays, most everyone is looking down at a mobile device if they are at a bus stop, in a line up or even at the park while their kids are playing. I’ve even seen a couple at a restaurant texting away and ignoring each other! After more than a decade of heavy social media use, it appears that we’ve come full circle and must realize that there is no replacing true human contact. The superficial nature of online relationships are millions of miles removed from the real touch of actual human social connection. Soul to soul. Not IP address to IP address. Third world countries who live with much less technology have lower rates of anxiety and depression. Although there are many reasons for this statistics, one thing is certain: they are forced to live more authentically then most Westerners because they deal with people all day, not avatars and internet trolls. The average third world resident’s day includes human contact that is comprised of actual human relationship and has nearly zero time spent in cyber-relationships. I’m not advocated the annihilation of social media, but a much more restricted use of it. A University of Waterloo self-administered test can be used to evaluate whether or not your are spending too much time “connecting” through your computer or mobile device. Although determining this will be more of an art than a science. Perhaps another way to gauge your social media usage is to ask yourself how many of your social media usage is for business or for pleasure. It is inevitable to be hooked into online business connections. It is the new phone book. But it may be unhealthy to use it too much for personal emotional voids. I’ve recently asked myself how many of my “friends” on social media would actually take time to help me physically if I had an urgent need such as moving or renovating my house hold. The list is probably MUCH smaller than the hundreds of names on my facebook friends’ list. Just food for thought. I work in an exercise rehabilitation clinic and prescribe hundreds of different types of exercises. Yet I am surprised at how few adults in our society continue to play their favourite sport once they hit their 30’s and beyond. Usually, once the demands of family and work set in, they turn to mechanical treadmill and dumbbell routines. Fitness has officially become a “must do” and not a “I wanna do!” This is highly unfortunate and in the long term promotes increasing sedentary lifestyles. One simple alternative is to play a sport as part of your fitness approach. There is far less routine in an individual or team sport than in a repetitive gym routine. Further, sports tend to use the body in a safer and more natural manner than many exercise machines and heavy weight workouts do. And they almost inevitably work the core muscles much more than most people’s weight lifting or cardio routine. Everyone who already plays a sport should add sport-specific exercises to improve their performance. That’s what the pros do. Yet most people who are not professional athletes usually do not see playing sports as a legitimate means of getting or staying fit. there are no “all out” avenues for them in their beloved sport. Thankfully, this is is false. With a 5 minute phone call to your local rec centre or YMCA, you will be shocked at how much friendly competition is available for the average joe. I feel that because competition is missing from many individuals’ fitness lifestyle so is the natural motivation to do better and better. If you are willing to compete at something, the psychological and physical rewards increase tremendously. And please don’t get me wrong. I know how life can get crazy busy. You don’t have to join a league that comes with fees and a tight practice schedule, etc, etc. But you can join rec leagues that allow you to jump in and compete any time you are free. My wife and I are raising and homeschooling 4 young children. I have my own practice and am involved at church. Yet 4 times per week my wife attends the YMCA and does a lot of TRX group classes. This group factor is an indirect but real form of competition. It is as much competition as she wants and so she thrives on it. It pushes her harder than solo workouts. I have fallen in love with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I train under Adam Zugec at ZUMA. Whenever I show up I have the opportunity of getting friendly competition. The competitive element keeps my mind focused, gets me off my worries and I workout harder than I otherwise would without even noticing it! Whether it is swimming, racquet ball, tennis, hockey or a running group, the social and physical benefits of a group or competitive environment is available for the non-professional athletes. I highly recommend it. A recent study by the Edinburgh University showed that people over 70 who walked during the week had less brain shrinkage then those who were sedentary. Researchers followed nearly 700 people for 3 years, performing before-and-after brain MRI’s to determine their findings. The study also claimed that reading books or doing crossword puzzles does not seem to help as much as regular, non-strenuous exercise. Seniors who walked during the week had less damage to the inner part of the brain (i.e.: the white matter) and they had more outer brain (i.e.: gray matter). So it appears you can increase your brain size with even a mild form of regular exercise. A Harvard Medical School article stated that a review of literature on depression examined evidence going back to 1981 and concluded that in younger and older patients with depression, regular walking was an effective treatment for emotional problems. It appears something even as simple as daily walks can significantly enhance mental and emotional well being. If you are simply starting out with an exercise program, walking 3 to 5 days per week is enough to see a boost in your brain’s health. As time goes on, a good idea is to diversify your activities. Joining a local recreation centre offers access to swimming, weight lifting and other fitness activities. This keeps you interested and it keeps your brain and body adapting to new acitivities. Which increases the degree to which your brain grows and benefits from an active lifestyle. So you see, it’s easy to make your brain healthy and stave off unwanted ailments! Get out there and enjoy a nice walk today.

2019-04-19T09:32:04Z

http://www.drparenteau.com/category/mental-health/

Initiated by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Nathan Twining and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke, and then presided over by General Thomas Power, Director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff (1960-1964), SIOP-62 mapped out a synchronized nuclear attack by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army combining strategic bombers, Polaris submarine-launched missiles and Atlas ICBMs in an ‘alert’ force of over 1,706 nuclear weapons and a ‘full’ force of over 3,240 nuclear weapons delivered to 1,060 targets in the Soviet Union, China and allied states. In this Plan there was little or no distinction made between Communist states that were at war with the United States and those that were not. Some sites (Designated Ground Zeroes – DGZs) would be struck by two or more weapons, and included both military installations and urban-industrial areas. The alert force would target 199 cities and the full force would target 295.2 The planners estimated that the total human deaths from such an attack would be 108 million in the Soviet Union and 104 million in the PRC as well as several million in satellite states,3 while Kaplan estimated that 175 million Russians and Chinese would be killed by the ‘alert’ force and 285 million would be killed by a ‘full’ force, and an additional 40 million more injured.4 To make such threats credible, the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Energy (DoE) and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) conducted visible tests of new nuclear weapons in various atmospheric conditions in a twenty test series between 1946 and 1963. Even after the limited test ban treaty was adopted, they continued with underground tests. General Thomas Power presided over the creation of SIOP-62 as Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command (1957–1964) and Director, Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff (1960–1964). As nuclear intimidation continued, and as other nations sought to gain ‘parity’, the global nuclear industry grew. It was clearly understood in these early decades that the dual-use of nuclear materials in nuclear energy generation and nuclear weapons served to establish and maintain national influence in the international arena. Since 1945, the supply and procurement of uranium together with coal (for steel production) has been a good indicator of a nation’s capacity to both rapidly increase its energy production with the potential to produce munitions and, for those states already with the capacity, to produce and enhance a nuclear weapons arsenal. High-energy power generation was an index of a nation’s war-making potential underlining the link between mining and militarisation. In the following I seek to explain why and how the Australian government in 2014 has concluded a uranium trade deal with India that is in breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by tracing the development of a nuclear nexus between India, Australia, Japan and the United States. Just as it was in the early cold war, this trade in nuclear materials is informed by interlocking and mutually reinforcing economic and geostrategic interests that have long undermined international disarmament initiatives. I argue that changing climatic conditions caused by emissions intensive energy production, however, demand a fundamental re-thinking of this paradigm. Of the 67 reactors under construction globally as of July 2014, at least 49 were experiencing delays and eight had been under construction for 20 or more years. China too, having planned before 2011 to replace heavy carbon emitting coal-fired power stations with nuclear power stations, stalled and re-assessed its position after 3.11.8 For the most part, China (along with the US, India and Germany) has boosted its renewable electricity generating capacity so that by 2013, it produced through wind, solar and hydro power over 1000 terawatt hours – the equivalent of the total power generation of France and Germany.9 In Japan, nearly four years after the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns, 46 other nuclear reactors remain shut down. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) approved the restart of two reactors in Sendai, Kyushu on 10 September 2014 and Mayoral consent was secured in October. Until 2014, along with China, Japan has also seen a boom in mostly solar and wind electricity generation. But this has been stalled by utilities who have refused to take an influx of renewable power into the grid or to reduce electricity prices.10 With fewer nuclear plants scheduled for construction around the world than for shutdown, however, the nuclear industry faces the likely prospect of contraction11 and replacement by rapidly advancing renewable energy options, including solar, wind, tidal, hydro and possibly geothermal power over the longer term. New mining leases were approved in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, and Queensland Premier Campbell Newman broke his electoral commitment not to permit uranium mining by inviting uranium mining companies to commence exploration operations. The new (Queensland) Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Bill 2014, for example, passed on 9 September 2014 authorizes a Coordinator General to overrule community objection rights to ‘State significant projects’ including coal, bauxite and uranium mines, or to limit them to concerns unrelated to environmental protection.13 This Act gives virtual immunity to large companies exploring for uranium deposits in the Mitchell and Alice River basins in Cape York and the Gulf country. Encouraged by these positive signs, along with other Japanese, Chinese and Indian investors in uranium projects in Australia, the major French energy corporation Areva recently bought a 51 percent share in a joint venture with Australian uranium miner Toro Energy for exploration in the Wiso Basin in Northern Territory.14 In other words, federal and state governments in Australia have been approving exploration licenses and the opening of uranium mines at a time when the global nuclear and uranium industry was marked by decline and exit. While some of the larger corporations chose to wait for uranium demand to rise, many in the Australian uranium mining industry scrambled to reprioritise, turning to the newly emerging market of nation-states tipped for rapid economic expansion. India attracted attention due to its high-growth economic potential, geostrategic positioning and nuclear ambitions. As then Prime Minister Howard had done in 2007, ‘energy starved’ India’s ‘power crisis’ is again being widely portrayed in desperate terms,15 while the solutions are presented as economic expansion and greater energy consumption by a growing middle class.16 In addition to coal exports, Australian politicians, in consultation with business representatives in the uranium and minerals sector, have framed the push for uranium trade with India as a ‘moral duty’ and ‘humanitarian responsibility’ to improve living standards of India’s impoverished people. Over the nearly four years since the Fukushima disaster, the Japanese government and corporations have actively courted more than 20 countries for the purchase of Japan’s nuclear technologies. Agreements had been reached with Jordan, Vietnam, South Korea and Russia under the Kan and Noda Democratic Party Japan (DPJ) governments, and the export of nuclear technology remained central to the Abe government’s economic plans. Two more nuclear technology agreements with Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have since been reached,19 and six more are under consideration – with India, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. Despite the continuing negative effects of ongoing radioactive contamination dispersal from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the Abe government remains intent both on nuclear startups in Japan and on promoting its exports of nuclear technology to other countries. A similar initiative followed on 5 September 2014, when Abbott and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed the Australia-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in New Delhi. It was the culmination of the efforts initiated by the Howard government in 2006,22 carried forward by the Gillard government in 2011–2012. After India’s ‘Smiling Buddha’ Pokhran-I nuclear tests in May 1974, when the Indian government declared that it intended to harness nuclear energy to manufacture nuclear weapons, the Australian government (and many other countries including the US) placed a ban on exporting uranium to it (France and Russia continued to sporadically export uranium under a safety clause). India had built its clandestine nuclear weapons program using imported Canadian reactors. Since Nehru, India has justified its indigenous development of civil and military nuclear capacity and fuel and its refusal to ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by pointing to the nuclear weapons held by existing nuclear weapons states. It has argued that the NPT is a flawed agreement that reflects the hypocrisy of the nuclear weapons states in refusing to seriously engage in disarmament while expecting non-nuclear weapons states to abstain from possession. In 1975, partially in response to the Indian tests of the previous year, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) initially comprising seven nations (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Japan, France, Canada, West Germany) was formed to prevent the diversion of nuclear materials used for commercial and peaceful purposes for the production of nuclear weapons. NSG members were obliged to cease trade with governments that did not submit to international inspection. India and Pakistan were included. Despite the bans, India went ahead to conduct its Pokhran II nuclear tests in May 1998. These were followed by Pakistan’s tests two weeks later. UN Security Council Resolution 1172 of June 199823 expressed grave concern and demanded that both countries foreswear further tests and abandon their nuclear weapon ambitions. expressed grave concern and demanded that both countries foreswear further tests and abandon their nuclear weapon ambitions. Despite the resolution’s unanimous adoption and threat of sanctions, the turning point was when the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009) chose to prioritize U.S. bilateral relations with India over any unified front to counter nuclear proliferation. The US–India energy agreement of July 2005 opened the way for other states, such as Australia, to engage bilaterally with India. Meanwhile in October 2008, the Singh government overcame stiff opposition in parliament to secure national and international backing for the signing of the US–India ‘1-2-3’ Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.This Agreement stipulated that India would open its civilian nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and delineate its civil and military facilities so as to ensure US-origin fuel would not be used for military purposes. In return the US would supply nuclear fuel and nuclear technologies (six reactors) and gain greater access to the Indian nuclear market. As unanimous approval from the 48 states of the NSG was also required, the US and India lobbied hard and secured an unprecedented waiver of NSG export guidelines so as to permit nuclear commerce with India despite its non-NPT signatory status. Having granted the exception, several NSG members then negotiated bilateral nuclear accords with India (including France, United Kingdom, South Korea, Canada and Kazakhstan). In 2008 the Singh government purchased 300 MT of uranium ore concentrate from Areva of France, in 2009 2000 MT of uranium oxide pellets and 58 MT of enriched uranium dioxide from JSC Tvel/Russia, also in 2009 2100 MT of uranium dioxide concentrate from NAC/Kazakhstan and in 2013 2000 MT of uranium ore concentrate from NMMC Uzbekistan.27 While details are yet to be finalised, the deal with Australia in 2014 would secure for India a steady, reliable, high-grade uranium supply from the world’s largest known uranium deposits (its uranium resources are about 28 percent of the world total). While details are yet to be finalised, the deal with Australia in 2014 would secure for India a steady, reliable, high-grade uranium supply from the world’s largest known uranium deposits (its uranium resources are about 28 percent of the world total). In November 2010, in a joint statement signed by US President Obama and Indian PM Singh, it was agreed that negotiations would begin between Nuclear Power Corporation India Ltd (NPCIL) and US nuclear energy companies in return for implementing India’s full membership of the NSG in a ‘phased manner’. India agreed to accommodate the demands of General Electric and Westinghouse, which sought strict adherence to the CSC31 by diluting the CLNDA to reduce both suppliers’ liability and the time period for exercising right of recourse in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Rules 2011.32 The US-India Business Council, PM Modi and industry executives from the Nuclear Power Company of India Ltd. (NPCIL) also devised an insurance package to indemnify the American suppliers in the event of a nuclear accident for the maximum liability amount stipulated in the CLNDA (INR 1500 Crore/$250 million).33 This was to encourage US/Japan companies (among others) to collaborate in building new nuclear reactors to allow India to ‘achieve its full blown potential’.34 In short, India would take as close to full liability for nuclear accidents as possible in return for receiving the benefits of NPT and NSG membership without the full obligations expected of its members. In doing so, the integrity of the NPT was further compromised. Given that Australia’s uranium mining and export accounts for less than 1 percent of its hundred billion dollar mineral export business (iron ore, bauxite, coal, copper, nickel etc),36 however, these decisions by Australian leaders risked significant political capital over what has been a highly contentious issue in Australia’s recent political history. the NPT non-nuclear-weapon states agree never to acquire nuclear weapons in exchange for which the NPT nuclear-weapon states agree to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology and to pursue nuclear disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals. Nuclear weapons states have had the primary responsibility to ensure disarmament of their own arsenals so as to prevent nuclear non-proliferation among other states. The export controls regime of the NSG and enhanced verification measures of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) Additional Protocols are ostensibly to end every possible means to acquire nuclear weapons. While Article Four of the NPT provides ‘inalienable rights to every non-nuclear weapon state’ to pursue nuclear energy for power generation, India is neither a member of the NPT nor a Non-Nuclear Weapon State and there is no provision in the NPT which permits for signatories to form nuclear cooperation agreements with Non-NPT states. India quite rightly has pointed out the hypocritical approach of the nuclear weapons states in approaching the NPT regime. As the Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee stated in 2007, India was not an NPT signatory because it considers the regime to be not one of ‘universal, non-discriminatory verification and treatment’.37 In the same statement, Minister Mukherjee also claimed that India had an ‘impeccable record on non-proliferation… [was] a leading advocate of the elimination of all nuclear weapons… [and was an adherent] to the values of peace and non-violence’. India’s ‘impeccable track-record on non-proliferation’ was a catch phrase coined by President Bush in 2005,38 and reiterated by both PM Modi and PM Abbott in 2014. Treating India as an exceptional case and a de facto nuclear weapons state makes even more conspicuous the selective imposition of sanctions or favour upon other non-NPT signatory nuclear weapons states such as Pakistan and Israel, or NPT signatory non-nuclear weapons states such as Iran.39 But the self-interested and strategically motivated application of the NPT was not new, nor was it limited to the US and its allies. The Soviet Union supplied China with the necessary technologies and skills to develop its own nuclear weapons capabilities, as China then supplied Pakistan. In turn, Pakistan also supplied other states that aspire to obtain nuclear capabilities. All were in a chain reaction, however, to U.S. threats to China and ultimately to the Soviet Union, in the early decades of the Cold War. While it is debatable that uranium and nuclear technology supply to India by others might serve to deter contemporary Chinese or Pakistani nuclear aggression, it has not served to prevent Indian conflicts with either of those two nations in the past. In any case, the use of nuclear trade as a strategic instrument does not ensure greater security or stability of the international community broadly defined, and this sort of leverage is not a valid use of the NPT. So despite PM Abbott’s assurances that ‘suitable safeguards’ were in place to guarantee that Australian uranium would be used for ‘peaceful purposes’ and for ‘civilian use only’, as the former Director General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office John Carlson points out, the Agreement departs from two principles of Australia’s 1987 Safeguards Act (section 51):40 the acquirement of ‘consent to reprocessing’ from the Australian government prior to the separation of plutonium from spent fuel; and the ‘right of return’ of nuclear materials supplied in the event of a breach of the agreement.41 Instead, the Agreement defers to the US-India nuclear cooperation agreement in which India would reprocess in facilities built with the assistance of US companies, and leaves open the question of how separated plutonium would be used or how arbitration would apply to settle disputes. Ten of India’s twenty nuclear facilities are beyond the regulatory authority of the IAEA and India only selectively recognises IAEA safeguards for specific foreign supplied reactors and facilities. India also refuses to submit to suppliers inventory reports and accounting processes for nuclear material flowing through the nuclear cycle. As the IAEA is not able to fully inspect India’s dual-purpose (civilian and military) indigenous reactors and facilities for reprocessing, enrichment, retransfers to third countries, research and development or the production of tritium (used as a trigger for weapons), India is not fully accountable to either the IAEA or the supplier nation with which it has a bilateral agreement with in-built IAEA norms. So even if India adheres to Australia’s requirements that its uranium be used solely to supply civil nuclear reactors for electricity generation that may be inspected by IAEA as per the nuclear safeguards agreement, Australia’s (or any other NPT members’) uranium export to India effectively supplements or liberates limited supplies of Indian uranium for military uses.42 Nor could, in the unlikely discovery of the ‘misallocation’ of some Australian origin uranium toward military use, the IAEA force compliance. In fact, whether or not India accounts for the flows of Australian material in its nuclear fuel cycle, it is impossible to verify whether it has actually adhered to the safeguards. Australian Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson, Adani group founder Gautam Adani, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman in India in 2012. As has been recommended by the United Nations (UN), World Health Organisation (WHO), International Energy Agency (IEA), Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), and recognised by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, the rapid phase out of coal-fired power stations is essential if the world is to meet the now seemingly optimistic carbon emissions reductions necessary to keep planetary warming below 2 percent of pre-industrialisation levels.46 While two hundred licenses for coal-fired power stations have been revoked by the Supreme Court of India recently, many Indian overseas coal projects are still underway. There are a number of flaws underpinning the logic of this activity between political leaders and nuclear industry executives. PM Abbott insisted at the time of signing the nuclear deal with India that the Agreement would be safe. In fact, the Abbott government has committed to selling uranium to an ambitious nation that barely conceals its intentions to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal and has refused to become a full signatory to the NPT and, along with the US, China and Pakistan, has not ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Prime Minister Modi is a pro-business politician and hardliner on Pakistan and Muslim populations in India and favours a security policy based on nuclear deterrence. The BJP holds a commanding majority in the lower house of Parliament. There is little reason to assume that Indian relations with Pakistan – or indeed with China – will soften by furnishing India with greater means to project its military power in the region. The surge of fundamentalist and jingoist forces in South Asia and rising military budgets and tensions between India and Pakistan on the one hand and China and the US, Japan and its allies on the other, aggravate the security situation in the region. Further, India has been waging an on-going long-term campaign against an insurgency within its borders, and it cannot guarantee against theft of nuclear-related materials. Fourth, the option of nuclear power as the ‘clean’ alternative is nothing of the sort. Although the fission operation of nuclear power stations may be ‘cleaner’ than coal-fired power stations in terms of carbon emissions, and although the heat from fission may produce more energy and less waste per volume of uranium than coal, many problems remain unresolved. These include the safe storage of long-lived nuclear waste, long build time of reactors in proportion to rapidly accelerating effects of climate change, enormous financial costs, use and contamination of vital resources required across the nuclear cycle from mining to waste production (including water and fossil fuels),55centralised monopolisation of power management necessitated by nuclear power generation, excess heating of the atmosphere through the discharge of excess heat through water and air, danger to ecologies downwind or downstream from venting while refueling reactors, and increased potential for large-scale and long-term damage from accidents. Given the advances of wind, solar, tidal and geothermal energy production which have become cheaper and more productive, as field-tested in China, Germany,56 Spain and other countries, and the abundance of these sources of energy in countries like Australia, the myth of base-load power is less sustainable than it was in the heady renaissance days. India’s pitch to rapidly increase economic growth has been embraced by the transnational nuclear industry as it represents an opportunity to expand the nuclear industry, and an opportunity to diversify from reliance on the Chinese market. But when typical cost-benefit analyses are extended to include the actual costs of the above-mentioned scenarios (nuclear weapons exchange, public health effects from industrial pollution from uranium mining and nuclear reactors, nuclear reactor disasters, nuclear waste storage, renewable energy alternatives), in an already fragile ecology in India, India’s nuclear energy plan reflects neither deep commitment to climate change mitigation nor serious concern for India’s impoverished populations. Why does the Australian, Indian, the United States and Japanese governments (among others) and their affiliated transnational corporations, continue to accelerate nuclear related operations despite these significant obstacles? It is unlikely that the Japan-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement went unsigned because of any putative scruple Japan may have about selling nuclear technologies to India as a non-NPT nuclear weapons state. As the Modi and NPCIL accommodation of American supplier demands demonstrates, the liability clause can be flexible. It remains unlikely, however, that India will consent to opening all of its reactors for inspection.60 Rather, it is likely that Japan is awaiting an American executive decision on the liability issue and the possible inclusion of India into the NPT as a nuclear weapons state, since prior agreement would appear to abrogate Japan’s NPT obligations. That PM Modi reasserted India’s customary ‘no first use’ policy does not mean that he does not intend to stockpile and bolster India’s nuclear arsenal. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates that India possesses 90 to 110 nuclear weapons.61 In June 2014, the IHS (Information Handling Service) Jane’s military research group identified what they believe to be a new uranium hexafluoride (enrichment) facility at the Indian Rare Metals Plant near Mysore. As with its other military plants, this plant is not within IAEA safeguards. Estimated to be operational by mid-2015, it would produce roughly double the amount of enriched fuel (160 kilos a year enriched to 90 percent purity) required for India’s ballistic missile nuclear submarine fleet.62 The IHS analysts surmise that the surplus could be used for thermonuclear weapons (mixing enriched uranium and plutonium stockpiles).63 It could also be used to fuel nuclear submarines, space satellites, tactical and intermediate ballistic missiles, and multiple warhead Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (Agni V ICBM MIRVs) with the ability to reach cities in China and Pakistan. India joins the US, Russia, UK, France and China in possessing the ICBM with MIRV, leaving Pakistan further behind in terms of weapons parity, particularly in navy, air and ground forces, and missile capabilities.64 As India seeks to rival China, it could further destabilize relations with Pakistan by intensifying the ongoing arms race between the two. Regional tensions could be further exacerbated by Pakistan’s border skirmishes with Afghanistan and Iran over its support of the Taliban in Afghanistan.65 Along with increasing tensions involving US-Japan-India and China, this is precisely the scenario that NPT members have tried to avoid by subscribing to IAEA safeguards. Since the late 1950s, there have been elements in the Japanese government (led by Abe’s grandfather and former Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke) who have advocated the procurement of tactical nuclear weapons as an entitlement under the nation’s right to self-defence as stipulated in the UN Charter. Although the US has long discouraged Japan’s nuclear weaponisation with assurances of extended nuclear deterrence, in 2003 US Vice-President Cheney stated that Japan’s possession of nuclear weapons could be tenable if it were aligned to US strategic deterrence policy.68 As an NPT signatory, Japan has accumulated the fourth largest stockpile of ‘civilian’ plutonium, the largest stockpile of any non-nuclear weapons state.69 Despite reprocessing programs having been closed down by many other countries, Japan claims that its significant nuclear reprocessing and fuel fabrication program is for ‘energy autonomy’ by which it means ‘closing the nuclear fuel cycle’. This relies upon the ability to separate plutonium from spent fuel and reprocess and fabricate it ‘upwards’ so as to produce more plutonium than is consumed, thereby facilitating an endless loop of fuel production and consumption. In this scenario, the Japanese government regards spent nuclear fuel and stockpiled plutonium as an ‘asset’ rather than a ‘debt’. This ability should not be understood as solely for the reduction of reliance on foreign fuel imports or even of nuclear waste. In 2009, Ernest J. Moniz, an MIT professor and United States Secretary of Energy in 2014, admitted that uranium, once thought to be scarce, was now so abundant as to raise doubt over the necessity for nuclear fuel reprocessing.70 As of March 2011, despite the recommendations by the Japan Atomic Energy Commission and the Science Council of Japan of both direct disposal and limited surface storage of spent nuclear fuel in dry casks over fuel pool storage and reprocessing, the Japanese government would not rule out the reprocessing option. If the closed fuel cycle ever did eventuate, it would negate Japan’s dependence on the import of vital energy resources (uranium, oil, natural gas) so as to achieve ‘energy autonomy’. This would drastically reduce fuel costs and would also reduce vulnerability to sanctions should Japan breach the NPT (or other international agreements) in its decision to ‘go nuclear’. Japan’s long-term investment in co-developing this high-level technical capability has made it the second most powerful missile power in the world, and the only nation outside the US with both low and upper-tier defences reputedly capable of intercepting missiles beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.72 Given this long-term commitment, it was not surprising that the Abe government in 2013 decided to declare the constitutional right to participate in ‘collective security’ operations with the US and other allies. This technology, and Japan’s ambiguous intentions concerning nuclear and space weaponisation, means that the US and Japan, in collaboration with partners such as Australia and India (in sea-going operations in particular), could potentially integrate not only their BMD systems but also their nuclearized capabilities. As South Korea and Taiwan have also expressed interest in reprocessing their spent nuclear fuel (as have other states such as Saudi Arabia), these developments carry strong potential for proliferation. One of the major implications of this distributed form of ‘self-defence’ is that US Pacific Command would further extend the pre-emptive strike capacity of its global nuclear strike force. With Japan’s recent release of space assets for military use (reconnaissance, communications, navigation, early warning) in collaboration with the US, this further augments the current period of US ‘nuclear primacy’ and a return to the conditions prior to 1963 when the Soviets had developed long-range bombers to deliver their nuclear payloads over US territory. Nuclear primacy transcends the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction in its ability to win a nuclear war, which the US is proposing to do by eliminating retaliatory capability with a single massive attack called ‘Prompt Global Strike’. Under the Australia–India uranium trade agreement, India will use Australian yellow cake to diversify its nuclear program. If and when the Japan–India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement is concluded, it will supply the nuclear technology India requires to build its industrial capacity and indirectly enhance its nuclear arsenal. Negotiated almost simultaneously and in coordination, both of these Agreements, together with and following the US–India nuclear agreement, tacitly legitimise India’s nuclear status and assist in its ambitions for greater international influence. Australia and Japan, both NPT and NSG members, have become complicit in India’s nuclear weapons program and partially responsible for increasing the risk of nuclear accident in India, and for potentially aggravating nuclear rivalry in Asia. India claims to need more electricity for domestic and industrial growth as well as to lift a significant population out of poverty. Yet there are many factors which create the conditions for the advance of India’s poor, just as there are many forms of alternative energy generation beyond nuclear and coal which would be safer, more reliable and powerful if given comparable investment and with smart power grid distribution networks.76 To the extent that governments and corporations continue to invest in nuclear power construction and reprocessing as a source of ‘renewable energy’, they diminish the potential to stem the destructive and exponentially increasing effects of climate change.77 China, Germany, the United States, India and even Japan are presently leading the world in investing in renewable energy technology. Yet, with the exception of Germany, this is being done in parallel with plans to expand nuclear power production. The ongoing contamination from radiation dispersed from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant came, in part, from Australian uranium.78 When the benefits of uranium trade are weighed against the potential and actual costs and damages from uranium mining, the actual risks of nuclear reactor accidents and mismanagement, the decline in costs and advances in renewable technologies, potential nuclear weapons use (broadly defined) and proliferation, and the steady production of nuclear waste, it becomes clear that state-corporate policies to expand the industry are ill-conceived. In 2014, as in 1945 and throughout the intervening decades, uranium mining, nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons remain ineluctably tied to the formation of a global power structure of nation-states and transnational corporations and instrumental in their overarching ambitions. Adam Broinowski is an ARC postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Pacific and Asian History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University. His recent work includes a chapter, ‘Sovereign Power Ambition and the Realities of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster’ in Nadesan/Boys/McKillop/Wilcox (eds.), Fukushima: Dispossession or Denuclearization?, The Dispossesion Publishing Group, 2014, and a forthcoming article, ‘Conflicting Immunities: Priorities of Life and Sovereignty amid the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster’, European Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, December 2014. His book, Cultural Responses to Occupation in Japan: The Performing Body during and after the Cold War is forthcoming in 2015. Recommended citation: Adam Broinowski, “Undermining Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Energy and Security Politics in the Australia–India–Japan–U.S. Nuclear Nexus,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 46, No. 2, November 1, 2014. 1 R. A. Paulsen, The Role of Nuclear Weapons in the Post-Cold War Era, Maxwell Airforce Base: Alabama Air University Press, 1994, pp. 1–11. 2 William Burr (ed.), ‘The Creation of SioP-62: More Evidence of the Origins of Overkill’, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing book No. 130, 13 July 2004. 3 Government of United States of America, Joint Chiefs of Staff, ‘Berlin Contingency Planning’, June 1961, National Security Archives. 4 F. Kaplan, The Wizards of Armageddon, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 269. To what extent they calculated the ‘bonus kills’, as General LeMay put it, from radiation exposure is unclear, but it was likely a very conservative estimate. 5 For example, Uranerz Energy Corporation announced a net loss in the second quarter of 2013. See, ‘Uranerz Records Q2 Net Loss of $4.45 million’, 11 August 2014. 6 See Suzuki Tatsujiro in Mycle Schnyder and Anthony Froggat (eds.), World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2014, 18 August 2014, pp. 4, 76, 155; Aaron Sheldrick, ‘Global nuclear power contribution falls to lowest since 1980s’,Reuters, 29 July 2014; Jim Green, ‘Uranium – how low can it go’, Business Spectator, 29 May 2014. 7 Schneider and Froggatt, ‘Executive summary and conclusions’, World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013, July. 8 David von Hippel, James H. Williams, ‘Nuclear safety concers with China’s growing reactor fleet’, NAPSNet Policy Forum, 28 October 2014. 9 John Mathews and Hao Tan, ‘China shows there is more to renewable energy than fighting climate change’, The Conversation, 11 September 2014. 10 Daniel Cusick, ‘Power companies in Japan move to restrict solar’, Scientific American, 2 October 2014. 11 Aaron Sheldrick, ‘Global nuclear power contribution falls to lowest since 1980s’, Reuters, 29 July 2014. 12 Paddy Manning, ‘Producers bullish on Japanese demand’, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 December 2012. 13 Andrew Picone, ‘Mining companies now have more rights than the community in Newman’s Queensland’, SBS News, 1 October 14. Between 2013–14 and 2017–18 Australia’s uranium production is projected to increase by 32 per cent to total 9590 tonnes, as supported by the Alliance Resources’ Four Mile mine in South Australia, ore extraction at Ranger uranium mine and Toro Energy’s Wiluna mine in Western Australia. Other additional mining operations such as Cameco’s Kintyre and Yeelirrie projects as well as potential projects in Queensland are not projected to begin until 2017–18. Government of Australia, BREE, Resources and Energy Quarterly, October 2013, p. 26. 14 ‘Toro signs NT deal with AREVA’, The West Australian, 29 September 2014. 15 The World Bank estimates that nearly 400 million Indians have no access to electricity. World Bank, ‘Energy’. 16 At the recent opening of a coal mine, Prime Minister Abbott was quoted as declaring ‘Coal is good for humanity, coal is good for prosperity, coal is an essential part of our economic future, here in Australia, and right around the world.’ Editors, ‘Coal is good for humanity’, The Australian, 15 October 2014. 17 ‘Nuclear power in the USA’, World Nuclear Report, 23 October 2014. 18 Mitsubishi CEO Kojima Yorihiko quoted by Rick Wallace, ‘ Billions to flow from Shinzo Abe visit, says Mitsubishi chairman’, The Australian , 7 July 2014. 19 Editor, ‘Exports that defy reason’, Japan Times, 20 April 2014. 20 The Defense Ministry of the Abe government has sought a 3.5 percent increase to ¥5.05 trillion for the fiscal year of 2015, an unprecedented military budget for the nation. Takenaka Kiyoshi, Reuters, 29 August 2014. 21 P. Kallender-Umezu, ‘Japan Quietly Builds Limited Counter-A2/AD Capabilities’, 17 September 2013, Defense News. 22 The Howard government proposed the expansion of uranium mining and uranium exports, establishment of a uranium enrichment industry, and construction of 25 power reactors. Others in Australia propose 20 nuclear by 2050. See Government of Australia, Prime Minister and Cabinet, 29 December 2006, ‘Uranium mining, processing and nuclear energy – opportunities for Australia’. 23 United Nations, UN Security Council Resolution 1172. 24 For more discussion on this, see C. Rovere and K. Robertson, ‘Australia’s Uranium and India: Linking Exports to CTBT Ratification’, Security Challenges, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2013), pp. 51–61. 25 ‘China wants Australia’s uranium’, ABC, 17 October 2005. 26 ‘Reliance Arm paid $3.45 million to UXA for uranium exploration’, The Hindu Business Line, 28 May 2008. 27 Later, it was admitted that Indian projections are overly ambitious, and they would scale down from 20,000 MWe of new nuclear capacity to 11,080 MWe by the year 2020. 29 IAEA, Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, International Atomic Energy Agency. 30 Government of India, ‘The Civil Liability For Nuclear Damage Act’, 2010. 31 Editors, ‘U.S.-India Business Council Statement on Nuclear Liability Law’, Reuters, 30 August 2010. 32 Government of India, ‘Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Rules 2011’. 33 Indrani Bagchi, ‘India gives US insurance plan for nuclear plants’, The Times of India, 13 March 2014; Kapil Patil, ‘Untying the Civil Nuclear Liability Knot in the Indo-US Nuclear Deal’, Nautilus Institute, 30 September 2014. 34 Kapil Patil, ‘Untying the civil nuclear liability knot in the Indo-US nuclear deal’, NAPSnet policy forum, 30 September 2014. 35 Paul Meyer, ‘India and the meltdown of Canada’s nuclear non-proliferation policy: Ottawa abandons principled position for greater access to India’s economy’, Reuters. 36 Editors, ‘Yellow cake fever: Exposing the Uranium industry’s economic myths’, Australian Conservation Foundation, April 2013, p. 27. 37 Editors, ‘India dismisses NPT as ‘flawed’ treaty’, The Times of India, 23 March 2007. 38 Demetri Sevastopulo, Caroline Daniel, Jo Johnson, ‘India nuclear deal takes Congress by surprise’, Financial Times, 19 July 2005. 39 Yusra Mushtaq, ‘A Blatant Violation Of NPT’, 26 September 2014, Eurasia Review. See also, IAEA, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, ‘IAEA Topic 2: The Implementation of the NPT for the Non-Supporters of this Treaty’. 40 Government of Australia, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ‘Australia’s uranium export policy’. 41 John Carlson, ‘Is the Abbott Government abandoning Australia’s nuclear safeguards standards for India?’, The Interpreter, 1 October 2014 (part 1) and (part 2). 42 K. Subrahmanyam, ‘India and the nuclear deal’, The Times of India, 12 December 2005. 43 Crispin Rovere, ‘Australia–India nuclear treaty: a non-proliferation disaster’, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 14 October 2014. 44 Comprising six open-cut pits and five underground mines, the Carmichael mine will cover an area seven times that of Sydney Harbour. Despite warnings from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and UNESCO that this will place it ‘in danger’, plans to dredge and dump about 3 million cubic metres of the Reef into a wetlands sanctuary to make way for port expansions for 480 additional ships to access 330 million tonnes of coal per year from this mega-mine will use 12 billion litres of fresh water per year and will affect the habitat of humpback whales, sea turtles and dugongs. With 130 million tonnes of carbon dioxide produced every year for ninety years, this will cancel out the Queensland Direct Action target of 131 million tonnes of carbon dioxide reduction. Adani Enterprises has a dubious track record including illegal large-scale exports of iron ore at its port and numerous cases of environmental pollution. It has also been a significant supporter of the Bharatiya Janta Party. Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Citi, Morgan Stanley and possible JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have refused to fund the project while the ‘big four’ Australian banks seem to be giving their approval. India is the third largest producer, consumer and importer of coal in the world and the fourth largest energy consumer in the world. See, Mary McCarthy, ‘Darwin and Adelaide likely export hubs for Queensland uranium’, ABC Rural; Ben Pearson, ‘ Carmichael coal mine impacts will be felt for generations,’ ABC Environment , 28Jul2014, William Rollo, ‘Carmichael Coal and Rail Project: Queensland mine gets Federal Government approval’, ABC News, 29 July 2014; Candace Dunn, ‘India falls back on imported fossil fuels’, Business Spectator, 15 August 2014. 45 ‘Indian activists take on Adani coal mine’, Geelong Advertiser, 9 October 2014; ‘Ramping up against coal’, Beyond Zero Emissions, September – August 2012. 46 In support of the claim for the rapid shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and energy savings, the United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated ‘We need to limit global temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This is what the international community has recognised as the upper limit of safety. Beyond 2 degrees, the consequences will be unpredictable, highly dangerous and perhaps irreversible’. See, United Nations, ‘Secretary-General’s remarks at Climate Leaders Summit’, 11 April 2014. It is estimated that at least two thirds of proven fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground and that carbon utilities and infrastructure must be developed beyond 2017 as 80 percent of cumulative emissions allowable between 2010 and 2035 are already locked into existing power plants, factories, buildings and services. In addition this will result in significant positive in health effects, job production, biodiversity conservation, energy independence and stronger sovereignty and resilience. Although several countries have moved to end public finance for coal and other fossil fuels, Australia has yet to do so in a significant manner. See WHO – 7 million premature deaths linked to air pollution and Climate Change – IPCC Response Strategies. 47 Editors, ‘A new engagement: The Indo-Australian nuclear deal signals a paradigm shift in the quality of the relationship between the two nations’, The Hindu Business Line, 8 September 2014. 48 Neeta Lal, ‘India’s Nuclear Energy Imperative’, The Diplomat, 8 October 2014. 50 Joby Warrick, ‘Obama and Modi announce agreement on U.S.-India efforts to fight global warming’, Washington Post, 30 September 2014. 51 Government of the United States, The White House, ‘U.S.-India Joint Statement’, 30 September 2014. 52 M. V. Ramana, ‘Indian activists detained for protesting against India-Australia uranium agreement,’ Dianuke, 5 September 2014. 53 While there are conflicting reports, in contrast to studies based on dose estimates in accordance with institutional levels (such as the ICRP), an Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) epidemiological study found in 2007 that living within 2.5kms of the mining operations increased rates of illness (2118 households) and was upheld by the Jharkhand High Court in 2007. This was supported by a study in 2004 by Koide Hiroaki who found the level to be 10mSv/y around the mine and over 1 mSv/y in the villages. The UCIL managers have used the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle to set permissible radiation exposure limits and precautionary measures and have shown disregard for the conditions of indigenous peoples living in the area. See, Shakeel ur Rahman, ‘Study on Health status of Indigenous people around Jadugoda uranium mines in India’, IDPD. UCIL Chairman Diwakar Acharya denied any correlation and blamed ordinary socio-economic factors (malnutrition). Stephanie March, ‘Australia to sell uranium to India but at what cost to its people?’, ABC 7:30 Report, 3 September 2014; Uranium Corporation of India hopes to get renewal of Jaduguda mine lease soon PTI, 6 October 2014; Rakteem Katakey, Tom Lasseter, ‘India’s Uranium Boss Says Deformed Children May Be ‘Imported’,’Bloomberg, 24 July 2014. 54 Mari Yamaguchi, ‘Sendai reactors vulnerable to eruptions, state-picked volcanologist says’, The Japan Times, 18 October 2014. 55 France, which until recently has drawn roughly three quarters of its energy supply from nuclear power stations, uses 40-50 percent of the nation’s mostly fresh water supply to cool its plants. 56 Germany, for example, prior to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 was heavily reliant on nuclear and fossil fuels. Over the past decade, however, its use of renewable energy mainly from solar and wind, has tripled. In 2013, however, renewable energy accounted for 24 percent of the nation’s total electricity supply. Despite government subsidies of roughly EU 16 billion, the Government claims to have created new businesses worth 40 billion euros per year and created additional employment to 400,000 people. Emily Steward, ABC, 29 October 2014. 57 See for example, Jeremy Rifkin, ‘No nukes!’, Los Angeles Times, 29 September 2006. 58 Nagao Shigeru, ‘Why Japan needs India as a Strategic Power’, Defence and Security Alert, 26 October 2014. 59 Vince Scappatura, ‘The U.S. “Pivot to Asia”, the China Specter and the Australian-American Alliance’, Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 36, No. 3, September 9, 2014. 60 Bhattacharjee, S., A. Sasi, ‘Japan wants slice of the nuclear pie, warms up to liability law’, Indian Express, 12 June 2014. 61 Editors, SIPRI Yearbook 2014. 62 Along with the P-5 states, India and Pakistan also continue to develop new systems capable of delivering nuclear weapons and are expanding their capacities to produce fissile material for military purposes. India conducted successful tests of the 5,000-km Agni-V, India’s first ICBM. Along with its shorter-range Prithvi missiles, India’s 2,000-km K-4 SLBM and its Agni-I (700-km), Agni-II (2,000-km) and Agni-III (3,000-km) missiles were tested under Strategic Forces Command in March 2014. It is still to test the 750-km K-15 SLBM in India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine the INS Arihant in sea trials in late 2014. Rajat Pandit, ‘Pakistan surges ahead of India in nuclear stockpile: Report’, The Times of India, 17 June 2014. 64 Pakistan possesses roughly the equivalent nuclear weapons as India, which serves as a cheap deterrent in the face of India’s overwhelming conventional superiority. Nevertheless, Pakistan is developing shorter-range cruise missiles to evade ballistic missile defence and is planning a long-term build-up of its nuclear arsenal and delivery systems, including tactical short-range missiles, as a ‘full spectrum deterrent’. See for example, Tim Craig and Karen DeYoung, ‘Pakistan is eyeing sea-based and short-range nuclear missiles, analysts say’, Washington Post, 21 September 2014; Kyle Mizokami, ‘If Pakistan and India clash: 5 Pakistani weapons of war India should fear’, The National Interest, 24 August 2014; Kyle Mizokami, ‘If Pakistan and India went to war: 5 Indian weapons of war Pakistan should fear’, The National Interest, 16 August 2014; Amin Saikal, ‘Pakistan must de-escalate conflicts with three of its neighbours’, Canberra Times, 4 November 2014. 65 Amin Saikal, ‘Pakistan must de-escalate conflicts with three of its neighbours’, Canberra Times, 4 November 2014. 66 Kageyama Yuri, ‘Japan pro-bomb voices grow louder amid nuke debate’, Associated Press, 31 July 2012. 67 Adam Westlake, ‘Surprisingly Japan declines 16 UN outlawing nuclear weapons’, Japan Daily Press, 23 October 2012. 68 M. Mochizuki, ‘Japan tests the nuclear taboo’, Non-Proliferation Review, vol. 14, no. 2, July 2007. 69 M. Pomper and M. Toki, ‘Time to stop reprocessing in Japan’, Arms Control Today, January/February 2013. 70 Matthew Wald, ‘U.S. Panel shifts focus to reusing nuclear fuel’, New York Times, 23 September 2009. 71 Missile shield deployments are currently in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, Greenland, Britain, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Poland, the Czech republic, Turkey, Georgia and potentially in Ukraine. 72 Chester Dawson, ‘Japan shows-off its missile defense system’, Wall Street Journal, 9 November 2012. 73 While Japan may have a powerful missile system integrated with the US, one should not overlook the US-initiated NATO interceptor missile system that incorporated the U.S.–Germany-Italy Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) and NATO’s Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) program and is being deployed in the ongoing military build-up in Eastern Europe. See for example, ‘SM-3 BMD, in from the sea: EPAA & Aegis Ashore’, Defense Industry Daily, 13 October 2014. 74 Government of the United States, Department of Defense, ‘Nuclear Posture Review Report’, April 2010. 75 K. Lieber and D. Press (2006), ‘US Primacy in Foreign Policy’, Foreign Affairs, March/April, pp. 42–54. 76 Andrew Picone,‘Queenslanders have more reason than ever to be concerned about uranium mining in the sunshine stateMining companies now have more rights than the community in Newman’s Queensland’, SBS News, 1 October 2014. 77 Yusra Mushtaq, ‘A Blatant Violation Of NPT’, Eurasia Review, 26 September 2014. 78 Dave Sweeney, ‘Fukushima: Australia’s Radioactive Rocks And Responsibility’, New Matilda, 29 August 2014.

2019-04-23T12:36:28Z

https://www.globalresearch.ca/nuclear-proliferation-in-the-australia-india-japan-u-s-nuclear-nexus/5415955

"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). As these precious words of Christ are pondered by the mind and treasured in the heart, they cannot but produce joy. A rejoicing heart comes from an increasing knowledge of and love for the truth as it is in Jesus. "Your words were found, and I did eat them; and your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart" (Jer. 15:16). Yes, it is by feeding and feasting upon the words of the Lord that the soul is made fat, and we are made to sing and make melody in our hearts unto Him. "Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy" (Ps. 43:4). As Spurgeon well said, "With what exultation should believers draw near unto Christ, who is the antitype of the altar! Clearer light should give greater intensity of desire. It was not the altar as such that the Psalmist cared for, for he was no believer in the heathenism of ritualism: his soul desired spiritual fellowship, fellowship with God Himself in very deed. What are all the rites of worship unless the Lord be in them; what, indeed, but empty shells and dry husks? Note the holy rapture with which David regards his Lord! He is not his joy alone, but his exceeding joy; not the fountain of joy, the giver of joy, or the maintainer of joy, but that joy itself. The margin has it, "The gladness of my joy"; that is, the soul, the essence, the very affections of my joy." "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. 3:17,18). That is something of which the worldling knows nothing; alas, that it is an experience to which so many professing Christians are strangers! It is in God that the fount of spiritual and everlasting joy originates; from Him it all flows forth. This was acknowledged of old by the Church when she said, "All my springs are in you" (Ps. 87:7). Happy the soul who has been truly taught this secret! 3. We profit from the Word when we are taught the great value of joy. Joy is to the soul what wings are to the bird, enabling us to soar above the things of earth. This is brought out plainly in Nehemiah 8:10: "The joy of the Lord is your strength." The days of Nehemiah marked a turning-point in the history of Israel. A remnant had been freed from Babylon and returned to Palestine. The Law, long ignored by the captives, was now to be established again as the rule of the newly-formed commonwealth. There had come a remembrance of the many sins of the past, and tears not unnaturally mingled with the thankfulness that they were again a nation, having a Divine worship and a Divine Law in their midst. Their leader, knowing full well that if the spirit of the people began to flag they could not face and conquer the difficulties of their position, said to them: "This day is holy unto the Lord: (this feast we are keeping is a day of devout worship; therefore, mourn not), neither be you sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Confession of sin and mourning over the same have their place, and communion with God cannot be maintained without them. Nevertheless, when true repentance has been exercised, and things put right with God, we must forget "those things which are behind" and reach forth unto "those things which are before" (Phil. 3:13). And we can only press forward with alacrity as our hearts are joyful. How heavy the steps of him who approaches the place where a loved one lies cold in death! How energetic his movements as he goes forth to meet his bride! Lamentation unfits for the battles of life. Where there is despair there is no longer power for obedience. If there be no joy, there can be no worship. My dear readers, there are tasks needing to be performed, service to others requiring to be rendered, temptations to be overcome, battles to be fought; and we are only experimentally fitted for them as our hearts are rejoicing in the Lord. If our souls are resting in Christ, if our hearts are filled with a tranquil gladness, work will be easy, duties pleasant, sorrow bearable, endurance possible. Neither contrite remembrance of past failures nor vehement resolutions will carry us through. If the arm is to smite with vigor, it must smite at the bidding of a light heart. Of the Savior Himself it is recorded, "Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb. 12:2). 4. We profit from the Word when we attend to the root of joy. The spring of joy is faith: "Now the God of hope fill you with all peace and joy in believing" (Rom. 15:13). There is a wondrous provision in the Gospel, both by what it takes from us and what it brings to us, to give a calm and settled glow to the Christian’s heart. It takes away the load of guilt by speaking peace to the stricken conscience. It removes the dread of God and the terror of death which weighs on the soul while it is under condemnation. It gives us God Himself as the portion of our hearts, as the object of our communion. The Gospel works joy, because the soul is at rest in God. But these blessings become our own only by personal appropriation. Faith must receive them, and when it does so the heart is filled with peace and joy. And the secret of sustained joy is to keep the channel open, to continue as we began. It is unbelief which clogs the channel. If there be but little heat around the bulb of the thermometer, no wonder that the mercury marks so low a degree. If there is a weak faith, joy cannot be strong. Daily do we need to pray for a fresh realization of the preciousness of the Gospel, a fresh appropriation of its blessed contents; and then there will be a renewing of our joy. 5. We profit from the Word when we are careful to maintain our joy. "Joy in the Holy Spirit" is altogether different from a natural buoyancy of Spirit. It is the product of the Comforter dwelling in our hearts and bodies, revealing Christ to us, answering all our need for pardon and cleansing, and so Setting us at peace with God; and forming Christ in us, so that He reigns in our souls, subduing us to His control. There are no circumstances of trial and temptation in which we may refrain from it, for the command is, "Rejoice in the Lord aways." He who gave this command knows all about the dark side of our lives, the sins and sorrows which beset us, the "much tribulation" through which we must enter the kingdom of God. Natural hilarity leaves the woes of our earthly lot out of its reckoning. It soon relaxes in the presence of life’s hard-ships: it cannot survive the loss of friends or health. But the joy to which we are exhorted is not limited to any set of circumstances or type of temperament; nor does it fluctuate with our varying moods and fortunes. The ungodly are ever seeking after joy, but they do not find it: they busy and weary themselves in the pursuit of it, yet all in vain. Their hearts being turned from the Lord, they look downward for joy, where it is not; rejecting the substance, they diligently run after the shadow, only to be mocked by it. It is the sovereign decree of heaven that nothing can make sinners truly happy but God in Christ; but this they will not believe, and therefore they go from creature to creature, from one broken cistern to another, inquiring where the best joy is to be found. Each worldly thing which attracts them says, It is found in me; but soon it disappoints. Nevertheless, they go on seeking it afresh today in the very thing which deceived them yesterday. If after many trials they discover the emptiness of one creature comfort, then they turn to another, only to verify our Lord’s word, "Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again" (John 4:13). Going now to the other extreme: there are some Christians who suppose it to be sinful to rejoice. No doubt many of our readers will be surprised to hear this but let them be thankful they have been brought up in sunnier surroundings, and bear with us while we labor with those less favored. Some have been taught—largely by implication and example, rather than by plain inculcation—that it is their duty to be gloomy. They imagine that feelings of joy are produced by the Devil appearing as an angel of light. They conclude that it is well-near a species of wickedness to be happy in such a world of sin as we are in. They think it presumptuous to rejoice in the knowledge of sins forgiven, and if they see young Christians so doing they tell them it will not be long before they are floundering in the Slough of Despond. To all such we tenderly urge the prayerful pondering of the remainder of this chapter. 1. We profit from the Word when we perceive that joy is a duty. "Rejoice in the Lord aways: and again I say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4). The Holy Spirit here speaks of rejoicing as a personal, present and permanent duty for the people of God to carry out. The Lord has not left it to our option whether we should be glad or sad, but has made happiness an obligation. Not to rejoice is a sin of omission. Next time you meet with a radiant Christian, do not chide him, you dwellers in Doubting Castle, but chide yourselves; instead of being ready to call into question the Divine spring of his mirth, judge yourself for your doleful state. It is not a carnal joy which we are here urging, by which we mean a joy which comes from carnal sources. It is useless to seek joy in earthly riches, for frequently they take to themselves wings and fly away. Some seek their joy in the family circle, but that remains entire for only a few years at most. No, if we are to "rejoice evermore" it must be in an object that lasts for evermore. Nor is it a fanatical joy we have reference to. There are some with an excitable nature who are happy only when they are half out of their minds; but terrible is the reaction. No, it is an intelligent, steady, heart delight in God Himself. Every attribute of God, when contemplated by faith, will make the heart sing. Every doctrine of the Gospel, when truly apprehended, will call forth gladness and praise. Joy is a matter of Christian duty. Perhaps the reader is ready to exclaim, My emotions of joy and sorrow are not under my control; I cannot help being glad or sad as circumstances dictate. But we repeat, "Rejoice in the Lord" is a Divine command, and to a large extent obedience to it lies in one’s own power. I am responsible to control my emotions. True I cannot help being sorrowful in the presence of sorrowful thoughts, but I can refuse to let my mind dwell upon them. I can pour out my heart for relief unto the Lord, and cast my burden upon Him. I can seek grace to meditate upon His goodness, His promises, the glorious future awaiting me. I have to decide whether I will go and stand in the light or hide among the shadows. Not to rejoice in the Lord is more than a misfortune, it is a fault which needs to be confessed and forsaken. 2. We profit from the Word when we learn the secret of true joy. That secret is revealed in I John 1 :3,4: Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." When we consider the littleness of our fellowship with God, the shallowness of it, it is not to be wondered at that so many Christians are comparatively joyless. We sometimes sing, "Oh happy day that fixed my choice on You, my Savior and my God! Well may this glowing heart rejoice and tell its raptures all abroad." Yes, but if that happiness is to be maintained there must be a continued steadfast occupation of the heart and mind with Christ. It is only where there is much faith and consequent love that there is much joy. "Rejoice in the Lord aways." There is no other object in which we can rejoice "aways." Everything else varies and is inconstant. What pleases us today may pall on us tomorrow. But the Lord is always the same, to be enjoyed in seasons of adversity as much as in seasons of prosperity. As an aid to this, the very next verse says, "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand" (Phil. 4:5). Be temperate in connection with all external things; do not be taken with them when they seem most pleasing, nor troubled when displeasing. Do not be exalted when the world smiles upon you, nor dejected when it scowls. Maintain a stoical indifference to outward comforts: why be so occupied with them when the Lord Himself "is at hand"? If persecution be violent, if temporal losses be heavy, the Lord is "a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1)—ready to support and support those who cast themselves upon Him. He will care for you, so "be anxious for nothing" (Phil. 4:6). Worldlings are haunted with carking cares, but the Christian should not be. "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thes. 1:1). In 2 Thessalonians 1:1, it's interesting to note that unlike other letters of Paul, he adds nothing to his name. He doesn’t say, "Paul, called to be an apostle"; "Paul, an apostle...by the will of God"; "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ." Those familiar things by which he designates himself are omitted here. "For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office." Paul is the apostle of the nations, the Gentiles. Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, magnifies his office. We are to do the same. Paul was called by the will of God for this dispensation of grace. He was called to be an apostle for Christ to reveal to him the revelation of the mystery, the body of truth for this age, and for God to reveal His Son in him according to Christ's heavenly ministry today. Paul is the one apostle of this dispensation. He is our apostle. Christ has revealed His will through Paul's thirteen letters for us to know what is Christ's mind, will, and heart for His Church, the Body of Christ, under grace. Is there confusion about Paul's role in your church? Perhaps your church knows Paul is our apostle, but makes no mention of it? If Paul wrote a letter to your church, how would he address it? Though there is but one way to come into the world--yet there are thousands of ways to be sent out of the world! We carry about in our bodies the material for a thousand deaths--and may die a thousand different ways in several hours. As many senses, as many members, nay, as many pores as there are in the body--so many windows there are for death to enter in at! Death needs not spend all his arrows upon us. A worm, a gnat, a fly, a hair, a raisin, a skin of a grape, the stumbling of a horse, the trip of a foot, the pick of a pin, the cutting of a fingernail, the cutting out of a corn; all these have been to others, and any of them may be to us--the means of our death within the space of a few days; nay, of a few hours; nay, of a few moments! from mixed and mutable enjoyments--to the pure and everlasting enjoyments of God! Daily Features: More Analysis2, Columnists3, Headlines4, Opinion in Brief5, Short Cuts6, Memes7, and Cartoons8. Attorney General William Barr held a press conference this morning to discuss the release of a slightly redacted version of Robert Mueller’s 400-page report on his two-year investigation into “Russian collusion.” In a Friday afternoon news dump on March 22, Mueller sent his report to the Justice Department. Two days later, Barr issued his four-page executive summary10 of it, showing that Mueller concluded two things: First, Donald Trump did not collude with Russia as Democrats have alleged for more than two years, and, second, it was inconclusive whether Trump had obstructed justice in the process of the investigation. The latter provided Democrats all the opening they needed to move into Phase Two — obstructing the MAGA agenda11. Naturally, Democrats and their Leftmedia outlets also spent the intervening time insisting that Barr is hiding something and that Mueller’s report is actually incriminating against the president. Heads they win, tails Trump loses. Their goal is painfully obvious: Keep Trump on the political ropes with churned fake news through the 2020 election. After all, this collusion narrative propelled Democrats to victory in the 2018 election — ensuring that Vladimir Putin did interfere with American elections. Even before Barr’s press conference, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it “pre-damage control” from Barr, who “is acting more like a Trump campaign spokesman than an independent agent of the law.” In a joint statement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chuck and Nancy complained about Barr’s “regrettably partisan handling of the Mueller report.” And they’re just objective bystanders. Let’s emphasize one line: “The White House fully cooperated with the special counsel’s investigation, providing unfettered access to campaign and White House documents, directing senior aides to testify freely, and asserting no privilege claims.” That utterly undercuts the Left’s obstruction claims. Finally, addressing the question of what was redacted and by whom, Barr asserted that only DOJ attorneys working with the Special Counsel’s Office determined all redactions under four categories — grand-jury information, classified information, information related to ongoing investigations, and information that would violate privacy of individuals. President Trump and his lawyers did not request redactions or claim executive privilege in seeking to block the release of any part of the report. That release, by the way, is not the norm. These reports are not created for release. Barr emphasized, “We will make available to a bipartisan group of leaders from several Congressional committees a version of the report with all redactions removed except those relating to grand-jury information.” The more redacted version has been released to the public12. Now, stay tuned for the foreseeable future as pundits and armchair lawyers comb through Mueller’s report looking for something — anything — to support their presuppositions. Indeed, the questions Barr fielded were largely demanding that he answer for Democrat talking points designed to cast doubt upon Barr or Trump. What else would anyone expect from the real collusion partners13 — Democrats and their propagandists in the Leftmedia? Barr: No Bail for Asylum Seekers14 — AG orders DHS to enforce the law as written, which means no bond for illegals crossing the border. Google’s Blatant Bias15 — From search results to advanced technology, Silicon Valley is bent hard left. Trump Veto — The Best Choice for America and Yemen16 — Foreign policy rarely consists of easy choices, and aiding Saudi Arabia is complicated. Speech and Trademarks on Trial17 — Justices consider constitutionality of a law prohibiting “scandalous” and “immoral” trademarks. American Spirit: Teens Go Above and Beyond With Elderly Man Who Fell18 — Unbeknownst to them, the teens’ act of kindness was witnessed and posted online. Video: Mainstream Media Really, Really Like Mayor Pete19 — A hilarious — or sickening — montage of the love affair sweeping the media. Video: 3D-Printed Guns20 — John Stossel says the media often scare us about 3D-printed guns without reason. 6. We profit from the Word when we patiently await the fulfillment of God’s promises. God promised Abraham a son, but he waited many years for the performance of it. Simeon had a promise that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2:26), yet it was not made good until he had one foot in the grave. There is often a long and hard winter between the sowing-time of prayer and the reaping of the answer. The Lord Jesus Himself has not yet received a full answer to the prayer He made in John chapter Seventeen, nineteen hundred years ago. Many of the best of God’s promises to His people will not receive their richest accomplishment until they are in glory. He who has all eternity at His disposal needs not to hurry. God often makes us tarry so that patience may have "her perfect work," yet let us not distrust Him. "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come" (Hab. 2:3). "These all died in faith, not having received the [fulfillment of the] promises but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them" (Heb. 11:13). Here is comprehended the whole work of faith: knowledge, trust, loving adherence. The "afar off" refers to the things promised; those they "saw" with the mind, discerning the substance behind the shadow, discovering in them the wisdom and goodness of God. They were "persuaded": they doubted not, but were assured of their participation in them and knew they would not disappoint them. "Embraced them" expresses their delight and veneration, the heart cleaving to them with love and cordially welcoming and entertaining them. The promises were the comfort and the stay of their souls in all their wanderings, temptations and sufferings. Various ends are accomplished by God in delaying His execution of the promises. Not only is faith put to the proof, so that its genuineness may the more clearly appear; not only is patience developed, and hope given opportunity for exercise; but submission to the Divine will is fostered. "The weaning process is not accomplished: we are still hankering after the comforts which the Lord intends us forever to outgrow. Abraham made a great feast when his son Isaac was weaned; and, peradventure, our heavenly Father will do the same with us. Lie down, proud heart. Quit your idols; forsake your fond doings; and the promised peace will come unto you" (Christian. H. Spurgeon). 7. We profit from the Word when we make a right use of the promises. First, in our dealings with God Himself. When we approach unto His throne, it should be to plead one of His promises. They are to form not only the foundation for our faith to rest upon, but also the substance of our requests. We must ask according to God’s will if we are to be heard, and His will is revealed in those good things which He has declared He will bestow upon us. Thus we are to lay hold of His pledged assurances, spread them before Him, and say, "Do as you have said" (2 Samuel 7:25). Observe how Jacob pleaded the promise in Genesis 32:12; Moses in Exodus 32:13; David in Psalm 119:58; Solomon in 1 Kings 8:25; and do you, my Christian reader, like-wise. Second, in the life we live in the world. In Hebrews 11:13, we not only read of the patriarchs discerning, trusting, and embracing the Divine promises, but we are also informed of the effects which they produced upon them: "and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth," which means they made a public avowal of their faith. They acknowledged (and by their conduct demonstrated) that their interests were not in the things of this world; they had a satisfying portion in the promises they had appropriated. Their hearts were set upon things above; for where a man’s heart is, there will his treasure be also. "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1); that is the effect they should produce in us, and will if faith really lays hold of them. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Pet. 1:4). Now the Gospel and the precious promises, being graciously bestowed and powerfully applied, have an influence on purity of heart and behavior, and teach men to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly. Such are the powerful effects of gospel promises under the Divine influence as to make men inwardly partakers of the Divine nature and outwardly to abstain from and avoid the prevailing corruptions and vices of the times. 3. We profit from the Word when we recognize the blessed scope of God’s promises. "A sort of affectation prevents some Christians from seeking religion, as if its sphere lay among the commonplaces of daily life. It is to them transcendental and dreamy; rather a creation of pious fiction than a matter of fact. They believe in God, after a fashion, for things spiritual, and for the life which is to be; but they totally forget that true godliness has the promise of the life which now is, as well as that which is to come. To them it would seem almost profanation to pray about the small matters of which daily life is made up. Perhaps they will be startled if I venture to suggest that this should make them question the reality of their faith. If it cannot bring them help in the little troubles of life, will it support them in the greater trials of death?" (C. H. Spurgeon). "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" (1 Tim. 4:8). Reader, do you really believe this, that the promises of God cover every aspect and particular of your daily life? Or have the "Dispensationalists" deluded you into supposing that the Old Testament belongs only to fleshly Jews, and that "our promises" respect spiritual and not material blessings? How many a Christian has derived comfort from "I will never leave you, nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5); well, that is a quotation from Joshua 1:5! So, too, 2 Corinthians 7:1 speaks of "having these promises," yet one of them, referred to in 6:18, is taken from the book of Leviticus! Perhaps someone asks, "But where am I to draw the line? Which of the Old Testament promises rightfully belong to me?" We answer that Psalm 84:11 declares, "The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly". If you are really walking "uprightly" you are entitled to appropriate that blessed promise and count upon the Lord giving you whatever "good thing" is truly required by you. "My God shall supply all your need" (Phil. 4:19). If then there is a promise anywhere in His Word which just fits your present case and situation, make it your own as suited to your need." Steadfastly resist every attempt of Satan to rob you of any portion of your Father’s Word. 4. We profit from the Word when we make a proper discrimination between the promises of God. Many of the Lord’s people are frequently guilty of spiritual theft, by which we mean that they appropriate to themselves something to which they are not entitled, but which belongs to another. "Certain covenant engagements, made with the Lord Jesus Christ, as to His elect and redeemed ones, are altogether without condition so far as we are concerned; but many other wealthy words of the Lord contain stipulations which must be carefully regarded, or we shall not obtain the blessing. One part of my reader’s diligent search must be directed toward this most important point. God will keep His promise to you; only see you to it that the way in which He conditions His engagement is carefully observed by you. Only when we fulfill the requirements of a conditional promise can we expect that promise to be fulfilled to us" (Christian. H. Spurgeon). Many of the Divine promises are addressed to particular characters, or, more correctly speaking, to particular graces. For example, in Psalm 25:9, the Lord declares that He will "guide in judgment" the meek; but if I am out of communion with Him, if I am following a course of self-will, if my heart is haughty, then I am not justified in taking to myself the comfort of this verse. Again, in John 15:7, the Lord tells us, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." But if I am not in experimental communion with Him, if His commands are not regulating my conduct, then my prayers will remain unanswered. While God’s promises proceed from pure grace, yet it ever needs to be remembered that grace reigns "through righteousness" (Rom. 5:21) and never sets aside human responsibility. If I ignore the laws of health I must not be surprised that sickness prevents me enjoying many of God’s temporal mercies: in like manner, if I neglect His precepts I have myself to blame if I fail to receive the fulfillment of many of His promises. Let none suppose that by His promises God has obligated Himself to ignore the requirements of His holiness: He never exercises any one of His perfections at the expense of another. And let none imagine that God would be magnifying the sacrificial work of Christ were He to bestow its fruits upon impenitent and careless souls. There is a balance of truth to be preserved here; alas, that it is now so frequently lost, and that under the pretense of exalting Divine grace men are really "turning it into lasciviousness." How often one hears quoted, "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you" (Ps. 50:15). But that verse begins with "And," and the preceding clause is "Pay your vows unto the most High!" Again, how frequently is "I will guide you with mine eye" (Ps. 32:8) seized by people who pay no attention to the context! But that is God’s promise to one who has confessed his "transgression" unto the Lord (verse 5). If, then, I have unconfessed sin on my conscience, and have leaned on an arm of flesh or sought help from my fellows, instead of waiting only on God (Ps. 62:5), then I have no right to count upon the Lord’s guiding me with His eye—which necessarily presupposes that I am walking in close communion with Him, for I cannot see the eye of another while at a distance from him. 5. We profit from the Word when we are enabled to make God’s promises our support and stay. This is one reason why God has given them to us; not only to manifest His love by making known His benevolent designs, but also to comfort our hearts and develop our faith. Had God so pleased He could have bestowed His blessings without giving us notice of His purpose. The Lord might have given us all the mercies we need without pledging Himself to do so. But in that case we could not have been believers; faith without a promise would be a foot without ground to stand upon. Our tender Father planned that we should enjoy His gifts twice over: first by faith, and then by fruition. By this means He wisely weans our hearts away from things seen and perishing and draws them onward and upward to those things which are spiritual and eternal. If there were no promises there would not only be no faith, but no hope either. For what is hope but the expectation of the things which God has declared He will give us? Faith looks to the Word promising, hope looks to the performance thereof. Thus it was with Abraham; "Who against hope believed in hope. . .and being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb; he staggered not. . .through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God" (Rom. 4:18, 20). Thus it was with Moses: "Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward" (Heb. 11:26). Thus it was with Paul; "I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:25). Is it so with you, dear reader? Are the promises of Him who cannot lie the resting-place of your poor heart? The Divine promises make known the good pleasure of God’s will to His people, to bestow upon them the riches of His grace. They are the outward testimonies of His heart, who from all eternity loves them and fore-appointed all things for them and concerning them. In the person and work of His Son, God has made an all-sufficient provision for their complete salvation, both for time and for eternity. To the intent that they might have a true, clear and spiritual knowledge of the same, it has pleased the Lord to set it before them in the exceeding great and precious promises which are scattered up and down in the Scriptures as so many stars in the glorious firmament of grace; by which they may be assured of the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning them, and take sanctuary in Him accordingly, and through this medium have real communion with Him in His grace and mercy at all times, no matter what their case or circumstances may be. The Divine promises are so many declarations to bestow some good or remove some ill. As such they are a most blessed making known and manifesting of God’s love to His people. There are three steps in connection with God’s love: first, His inward purpose to exercise it; the last, the real execution of that purpose; but in between there is the gracious making known of that purpose to the beneficiaries not only show His love fully to them in due time, but in the interim He will have us informed of His benevolent designs, that we may sweetly rest in His love, and stretch ourselves comfortably upon His sure promises. There we are able to say, "How precious also are your thoughts unto me, 0 God! how great is the sum of them" (Ps. 139:17). In 2 Peter 1:4, the Divine promises are spoken of as "exceeding great and precious." As Spurgeon pointed out, "greatness and preciousness seldom go together, but in this instance they are united in an exceeding degree". When Jehovah is pleased to open His mouth and reveal His heart He does so in a manner worthy of Himself, in words of superlative power and richness. To quote again the beloved London pastor: "They come from a great God, they come to great sinners, they work for us great results, and deal with great matters." While the natural intellect is capable of perceiving much of their greatness, only the renewed heart can taste their ineffable preciousness, and say with David, "How sweet are your words unto my taste! yes, sweeter then honey to my mouth" (Ps. 119:103). 1. We profit from the Word when we perceive to whom the promises belong. They are available Only to those who are in Christ. "For all the promises of God in him [the Lord Jesus] are yes, and in him Amen" (2 Cor. I :20). There can be no communion between the thrice holy God and sinful creatures except through a Mediator who has satisfied Him on their behalf. Therefore must that Mediator receive from God all good for His people, and they must have it at second hand through Him. A sinner might just as well petition a tree as call upon God for mercy while he despises and rejects Christ. Both the promises and the things promised are made over to the Lord Jesus and conveyed unto the saints from Him. "This is the [chief and grandest] promise that he has promised us, even eternal life" (1 John 2:25), and as the same epistle tells us, "This life is in his Son" (5:11). This being so, what good can they who are not yet in Christ have by the promises? None at all. A man out of Christ is out of the favor of God, yes, he is under His wrath; the Divine threatenings and not the promises are his portion. Solemn, solemn consideration is it that those who are "without Christ" are "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12). Only "the children of God" are "the children of the promise" (Rom. 9:8). Make sure, my reader, that you are one of them. How terrible, then, is the blindness and how great is the sin of those preachers who indiscriminately apply the Divine promises to the saved and unsaved alike! They are not only taking "the children’s bread" and casting it to the "dogs," but they are "handling the word of God deceitfully" (2 Cor. 4:2), and beguiling immortal souls. And they who listen to and heed them are little less guilty, for God holds all responsible to search the Scriptures for themselves, and test whatever they read or hear by that unerring standard. If they are too lazy to do so, and prefer blindly to follow their blind guides, then their blood is on their own heads. Truth has to be "bought" (Prov. 23:23), and those who are unwilling to pay the price must go without it. 2. We profit from the Word when we labor to make the promises of God our own. To do this we must first take the trouble to become really acquainted with them. It is surprising how many promises there are in Scripture which the saints know nothing about, the more so seeing that they are the peculiar treasure of believers, the substance of faith’s heritage lying in them. True, Christians are already the recipients of wondrous blessings, yet the capital of their wealth, the bulk of their estate, is only prospective. They have already received an "earnest," but the better part of what Christ has purchased for them lies yet in the promise of God. How diligent, then, should they be in studying His testamentary will, familiarizing themselves with the good things which the Spirit "has revealed" (1 Cor. 2:10), and seeking to take an inventory of their spiritual treasures! Not only must I search the Scriptures to find out what has been made over to me by the everlasting covenant, but I need also to meditate upon the promises, to turn them over and over in my mind, and cry unto the Lord for spiritual understanding of them. The bee would not extract honey from the flowers as long as he only gazed upon them. Nor will the Christian derive any real comfort and strength from the Divine promises until his faith lays hold of and penetrates to the heart of them. God has given no assurance that the dilatory shall be fed, but He has declared, "the soul of the diligent shall be made fat" (Prov. 13:4). Therefore did Christ say, "Labor not for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures unto everlasting life" (John 6:27). It is only as the promises are stored up in our minds that the Spirit brings them to remembrance at those seasons of fainting when we most need them.

2019-04-21T20:06:06Z

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Below, the exciting lineup for TEDWomen 2018! Simona Abdallah plays Arabic percussion, primarily the Darbuka, a goblet-shaped drum. She has broken through traditional expectations to enjoy international success. Simona Abdallah is lauded as the first female percussionist from an Arabic background. She plays the Darbouka, an instrument that is traditionally played by men. Her passion and talent drive her forwards to break barriers and escape oppressive surroundings. Her music combines traditional sounds with modern beats. Abdallah identifies herself as Palestinian Danish. Her parents fled from to Lebanon to Germany, where she was born in 1979. The family subsequently moved to Denmark, where Abdallah spent her childhood in Denmark's second largest city, the windy port town of Aarhus. Former Georgia House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams made history in 2018 when she earned the Democratic nomination for governor of Georgia. Stacey Abrams's 2018 campaign for governor of Georgia turned more voters than any Democrat in Georgia history, including former President Barack Obama, and invested in critical infrastructure to build progress in the state. After witnessing the gross mismanagement of the election by the Secretary of State's office, Abrams launched Fair Fight to ensure every Georgian has a voice in our election system. Abrams received degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and Yale Law School. Dedicated to civic engagement, she founded the New Georgia Project, which submitted more than 200,000 registrations from voters of color between 2014 and 2016. Under the pen name Selena Montgomery, Abrams is the award-winning author of eight romantic suspense novels, which have sold more than 100,000 copies. As co-founder of NOW Account, a financial services firm that helps small businesses grow, Abrams has helped create and retain jobs in Georgia. And through her various business ventures, she has helped employ even more Georgians, including hundreds of young people starting out. As House Minority Leader, she has worked strategically to recruit, train, elect and defend Democrats to prevent a Republican supermajority in the House, and she has worked across the aisle on behalf of all Georgians. During her tenure, she has stopped legislation to raise taxes on the poor and middle class and to roll back reproductive healthcare. She has brokered compromises that led to progress on transportation, infrastructure, and education. In the legislature, she passed legislation to improve the welfare of grandparents and other kin raising children and secured increased funding to support these families. Abrams and her five siblings grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi with three tenets: go to school, go to church, and take care of each other. Despite struggling to make ends meet for their family, her parents made service a way of life for their children -- if someone was less fortunate, it was their job to serve that person. This ethic led the family to Georgia. Abrams's parents attended Emory University to pursue graduate studies in divinity and become United Methodist ministers. Abrams and her younger siblings attended DeKalb County Schools, and she graduated from Avondale High School. Galit Ariel explores how technology and humans interact with and influence each other, focusing on how mixing the digital and the physical creates a new/hybrid experiential space. Galit Ariel is a transdisciplinary creative and strategic thinker. She defines herself as a "digital hippie" since she's passionate about a future that will integrate technology into our everyday lives but not control it. Her book Augmenting Alice: The Future of Identity, Experience and Reality explores the manner in which augmented reality's application will shift cultural and functional paradigms and redefine core concepts related to culture, space, experience and ethics. Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is president of Repairers of the Breach, national co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and the leader of Moral Monday, an alliance of more than 200 progressive organizations. As the architect of the Moral Monday, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II stands for a multi-racial, multi-faith movement fighting for voting rights, public education, universal health care, environmental protection as well as the rights of women, labor, immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community. In 2013, thousands joined weekly protests at the North Carolina state legislature; more than a thousand were arrested in civil disobedience. Monday coalition continues to draw tens of thousands each year. For the past two years, Dr. Barber has led a national organizing tour called The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values, working alongside Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Rev. Dr. Traci Blackmon and Sister Simone Campbell to redefine public morality and support state coalitions to address poverty, injustice and inequality. Rev. Dr. Barber headed the state NAACP from 2006 to 2017 and serves on the NAACP National Board of Directors. With Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Theoharis, he co-chairs the Poor People's Campaign, A National Call For A Moral Revival, which focuses on systemic racism, poverty and inequality, ecological devastation, the war economy and militarism, and national morality. Rev. Dr. Barber is visiting professor of public theology and activism at Union Theological Seminary and the author of Forward Together: A Moral Vision for the Nation and The Third Reconstruction. He is a member of the College of Affirming Bishops and lives in Goldsboro, NC, where he has pastored Greenleaf Christian Church for 25 years. Deeply influenced by the social inequalities around her and inspired by her father's social work in her early years, Shad Begum has become a nationally and internationally known figure because of her determined struggle to improve the conditions of the marginalized segments, especially women, of her community in the northwest of Pakistan -- a deeply religious and conservative area where Taliban publicly execute men and women for nonconformity to their version of Islam. Begum is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Association for Behaviour & Knowledge Transformation (ABKT), an organization working toward the economic and political empowerment of communities in underserved areas of Pakistan. Her organization was uprooted during the Taliban takeover in Swat due to massive displacement of people in 2009-2010. Against enormous odds, her resilience kept ABKT alive. Begum previously worked with the UN Human Settlements Program as a consultant for the Building Gender Ladder Project as well as with UNDP's Women Political Participation Program. To encourage women at the grassroots level, she contested local elections in 2001 as an independent candidate and served as councilor for five years in Dir Lower. Begum is an Ashoka fellow, a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at National Endowment for Democracy and an Acumen Fellow. She won the US Department of State's International Woman of Courage Award in 2012. Kate Brandt leads sustainability across Google's worldwide operations, products and supply chain. At Google, Kate Brandt coordinates with data centers, real estate, supply chain and product teams to ensure the company is capitalizing on opportunities to advance sustainability and the circular economy. Previously, Brandt served as the nation's first Federal Chief Sustainability Officer. In this capacity, she was responsible for promoting sustainability across federal government operations including 360,000 buildings, 650,000 vehicles and $445 billion annually in purchased goods and services. Prior to the White House, she held several senior roles in the US government including senior advisor at the Department of Energy, director for energy and environment in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and energy advisor to the Secretary of the Navy. With her liquid-silver voice, Ane Brun is famed for soulful covers and intimate original songs. Singer and songwriter Ane Brun possesses one of Scandinavia's most distinctive voices, which she's employed on a dozen albums since her debut, 2003’s Spending Time with Morgan. Since then, she's been awarded three Norwegian Grammy prizes, with her albums topping the charts and going platinum in Scandinavia while picking up widespread acclaim internationally. She's toured the world repeatedly and is also famed for her interpretations -- her latest album, Leave Me Breathless, is entirely comprised of covers. In 2010, she joined Peter Gabriel on his "New Blood" tour, taking Kate Bush's role for "Don't Give Up," and she also featured on Dr. Kucho! & Gregor Salto’s "Can't Stop Playing (Makes Me High)," which topped the UK charts in 2015. In addition, she runs her own label, Balloon Ranger Recordings. For more than 25 years, activist and advocate Tarana J. Burke has worked at the intersection of racial justice and sexual violence. Tarana Burke's passion for community organizing began in the late 1980s, when she joined a youth development organization called 21st Century and led campaigns around issues like racial discrimination, housing inequality and economic justice. Her career took a turn toward supporting survivors of sexual violence upon moving to Selma, Alabama, to work for 21st Century. She encountered dozens of black girls who were sharing stories of sexual violence and abuse, stories she identified with very well. She realized too many girls were suffering through abuse without access to resources, safe spaces and support, so in 2007 she created Justbe Inc., an organization committed to the empowerment and wellness of black girls. The impacts of Justbe Inc. are widespread, as the program, which was adopted by every public school in Selma, has hundreds of alumni who have gone on to thrive and succeed in various ways. Burke's role as the senior director at Girls for Gender Equity in Brooklyn, NY, an intergenerational nonprofit dedicated to strengthening local communities by creating opportunities for young women and girls to live self-determined lives, is a continuation of what she considers her life's work. Since #MeToo, the movement she created more than ten years ago, became a viral hashtag, she has emerged as a global leader in the evolving conversation around sexual violence and the need for survivor-centered solutions. Her theory of using empathy to empower survivors is changing the way the nation and the world think about and engage with survivors. Her belief that healing isn't a destination but a journey has touched and inspired millions of survivors who previously lived with the pain, shame and trauma of their assaults in isolation. Climbing PoeTree harnesses creativity as the antidote to destruction through their spoken word, hip-hop and world music. Co-creators Alixa Garcia and Naima Penniman have organized more than 30 national and international tours as Climbing PoeTree, taking their work from South Africa to Cuba, the UK to Mexico, Scotland to India, and throughout the US -- including 11,000 miles toured on a bus converted to run on recycled vegetable oil. Climbing PoeTree has stirred crowds at diverse venues from the United Nations to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, featured alongside powerhouses such as Alicia Keys, Janelle Monáe, Erykah Badu, Little Dragon, Talib Kweli, Maxwell, Madonna, Rising Appalachia, T.I., Nahko and Angela Davis, who writes: "Each time I have the pleasure of attending a performance by Climbing PoeTree, I feel enriched, renewed, and inspired. Alixa and Naima insist that poetry can change the world -- and it is true that the urgency, power and beauty of their words impel us to keep striving for the radical futures toward which they gesture." shares unexpected truths about animals. Lucy Cooke is a New York Times best-selling author, award-winning documentary producer, presenter and National Geographic explorer with a master's in zoology from Oxford University. She is a passionate conservationist and champion of animal species that are often misunderstood. Her style is immersive, journalistic and unashamedly populist, mixing expert storytelling with a dash of humor to reach the widest possible audience. She began her presenting career hosting Freaks and Creeps for National Geographic, a show about strange species that get overlooked in favor of charismatic megafauna, and has hosted numerous shows for the BBC. Cooke has a particular soft spot for sloths and founded the Sloth Appreciation Society to promote a greater understanding of their lazy lifestyle. She has produced a number of iconic viral sloth videos, Meet the Sloths, an award-winning international series for Animal Planet, two best-selling books -- A Little Book of Sloth and Life in the Sloth Lane -- and an annual calendar featuring her sloth photographs. Cooke's latest book, The Truth About Animals, was shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society prize and the AAAS young adult science prize. Nature calls it a "deeply researched, sassily written history of the biggest misconceptions, mistakes and myths we've concocted about the animal kingdom, spread by figures from Aristotle to Walt Disney." Ariana A. Curtis gets to research, collect, interpret and display objects and stories that help tell the history of all of us and our connections to each other. An African American educator and a Black Panamanian engineering research technician raised Dr. Ariana Curtis, the youngest of their four kids, in an Afro-Latinx affirming household. Government forms and ill-informed publics have wanted her to be either African American or Latina, but Curtis has always advocated for full and accurate representation of self above all. The yearning to see lives represented whole led Curtis to travel and study the complex overlap of Blackness, identity, gender, diaspora and belonging. After earning a doctorate in anthropology, Curtis, a Fulbright scholar, joined the curatorial staff of the Smithsonian Institution. She currently serves as the first curator for Latinx Studies at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In this role, she researches, collects, exhibits and promotes Latinx- and Black-centered narratives to more accurately represent the history and culture of the Americas. She also serves on multiple committees for the Smithsonian's American Women History Initiative. She's the author of the paper "Afro-Latinidad in the Smithsonian’s African American Museum Spaces" and the chapter "Identity as Profession: on Becoming an African American Panamanian Afro-Latina Anthropologist Curator" in Pan African Spaces: Essays on Black Transnationalism. She's is passionate about Afro-Latinidad, her Omega Phi Beta sisterhood, social justice, radical love, the Duke Blue Devils and hoop earrings. Like the legendary love potion that the Toloache flower is used for in Mexico, the ladies of Flor de Toloache cast a spell over their audiences with soaring vocals and physical elegance. Latin Grammy-winning, New York-based all-female ensemble Flor de Toloache win the hearts of both progressive and traditional mariachi music fans alike through their distinct artistic vision and sophisticated, enlightened interpretation of traditional mariachi instruments. The female quartet’s diverse ethnicities and musical backgrounds transcend culture and gender by forging new paths. The group is led by co-band directors Mireya I. Ramos on violin and Shae Fiol on vihuela. Together, they have graced international stages from Chenai, India, to Paris and have extensively toured the US as a supporting act for The Arcs, a new project from Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, as well as Cafe Tacvba, La Santa Cecilia and Natalia Lafourcade. Shohini Ghose explores the strange quantum world of atoms and photons to understand the fundamental laws of the universe and harness them for quantum computing and communication -- and works to make science accessible and inclusive for people of all genders and backgrounds. At Morgan Stanley, Carla Harris is responsible for improving the access to capital for female and multicultural founders, as well as increasing client connectivity to enhance revenue generation. In her 30-year career, Carla Harris has had extensive industry experiences in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial and healthcare sectors. In August 2013, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women's Business Council. Harris was named to Fortune Magazine's list of "The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America," US Banker's "Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance" (2009, 2010, 2011), Black Enterprise's "Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business" (2017) and "Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street," Essence Magazine's list of "The 50 Women Who Are Shaping the World" and Ebony's list of the "Power 100" and "15 Corporate Women at the Top." She is the past chair of the board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and of The Executive Leadership Council, and she is a member of the board of overseers of Harvard University and the board of directors of the Walmart Corporation. She's the author of the books Strategize to Win and Expect to Win. In her other life, Harris is a singer and has released three gospel CDs, including Unceasing Praise, Joy Is Waiting, and Carla's First Christmas, which was featured on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. She has performed five sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall. Katharine Hayhoe studies what climate change means to us in the places where we live. As Katharine Hayhoe writes: "I'm a climate scientist: I crunch the data, I analyze the models, and I help people like engineers and city managers and water planners prepare for the ways climate change affects all of us. I'm a professor in political science at Texas Tech University, where I direct the Climate Science Center. I'm also a lead author for the US National Climate Assessment; I host the PBS Digital Series Global Weirding; and I spend a lot of time talking to people about climate science, impacts, solutions and how they connect to our values. I've been named one of TIME's "100 Most Influential People," Fortune's "50 Greatest Leaders" and Foreign Policy's "100 Leading Global Thinkers." "These are all tremendous honors, for which I'm enormously grateful. What means the most, though, is when just one person tells me sincerely that they had never cared about climate change before, or even thought it was real: but now, because of something they heard me say, they've changed their mind. That's what makes it all worthwhile." Maeve Higgins started off as a standup comedian, but eventually started to write things down to help her make sense of the world. Maeve Higgins is the host of the hit podcast Maeve in America: Immigration IRL. She has performed all over the world and is now based in New York, where she co-hosts Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk on National Geographic and has appeared in Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer. Her new book is Maeve in America: Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else. As Higgins writes: "I am extremely curious and am constantly finding out things I didn't even know I didn't know. I get a kick out of making people laugh, but I also worry a lot, so my head is an odd place to be, but I like it. These days I follow my curiosity, so if I suddenly wonder why most of the nannies in my neighborhood are women of color, and most of the children they take care of are white, I make it my job to figure out how it got to be that way. I research and ask questions and write about that. People are surprised to hear that I ended up here after starting out as a comedian, but I know that for me, comedy was always a way to figure things out, and as I grew up, my questions just got a little more expansive. I moved to the US five years ago and being an immigrant has also opened my eyes to a lot." Ayanna Howard designs and builds robots that learn from and interact with people, in order to help improve quality of life. As an educator, researcher and innovator, Dr. Ayana Howard focuses on designing intelligent robots to enhance our daily lives. She is professor and chair of the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. Her published works, currently numbering more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, have been widely disseminated in international journals and conference proceedings. She continues to produce novel research and ideas focused on applications that span from assistive robots in the home to AI-powered STEM apps for children with diverse learning needs. Howard began her career working as a roboticist at NASA in the early '90s and then transitioned into academia in the early 2000s. In 2013, she also founded Zyrobotics, which is focused on developing STEM educational products to engage children of all abilities. Her accomplishments have received numerous recognitions, including highlights in USA Today, Upscale and TIME Magazine. She was named a top young innovator by MIT Technology Review and was recognized as one of the 23 most powerful women engineers in the world by Business Insider. Dolores Huerta is inspired by a passion to spend most of her time pursuing social justice and civil rights. Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist and community organizer. She has worked for labor rights and social justice for more than 50 years. In 1962, she and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers union. She served as vice president and played a critical role in many of the union's accomplishments for four decades. In 2002, she received the Puffin/Nation $100,000 prize for Creative Citizenship, which she used to establish the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF). DHF is connecting groundbreaking community-based organizing to state and national movements to register and educate voters, advocate for education reform, bring about infrastructure improvements in low-income communities, advocate for greater equality for the LGBT community and create strong leadership development. She has received numerous awards including The Eleanor Roosevelt Humans Rights Award from President Clinton in 1998. In 2012, President Obama bestowed Huerta with The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Lindy Lou Isonhood served as Juror No. 2 on a capital murder trial in 1994 -- an experience that changed her life. As Lindy Lou Isonhood writes: "I was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in December 1951 and was raised by my grandmother, a widow with nine children. She was my salvation. From her nurturing I acquired my integrity, independence and strength. She impacted the lives of all around her. I was employed for over half my life: as a federal police officer in the 1970s, then I went on to be the first female letter carrier with the US Postal Service in Jackson for seven years, followed by 18 years in the MS Army National Guard. I ended my working career as an office manager after 13 years with an architectural firm. "A strong Christian, I am married to a retired colonel who is a very staunch conservative, like me. I'm the mother of two children, a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren -- all girls! The hearts of my life! There is nothing extraordinary about me. I have never achieved fame or any outstanding records or recognition. Never received a college degree although I have many accumulated hours. But my life reached a turning point when I served as a juror in the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial in 1994. This experience changed me from the inside out." Eldra Jackson III works daily to connect to his most authentic self -- and his calling is to support others in doing the same. Eldra Jackson III is a spiritual warrior who lives a passion of "saving lives one circle at a time." After living most of his life devoid of emotions and coming face-to-face with the reality of dying behind bars, he came to a point of self-inquiry, seeking answers as to how his life had spiraled into a mass of destruction set upon self and others. From this point, the space was made to save his life. Today, Jackson works to bring his spiritual medicine into the world while simultaneously guiding others to tap into their own internal salve and help identify wounds. Through his intensive awareness work, he is on a mission to show the world what's possible as each person does their own internal examination to begin the path towards emotional and psychic health. Learn more about him in the documentary The Work. Award-winning journalist Neha Madhira fights for press freedom for high school students. Neha Madhira is 17 years old and a senior at Prosper High School in Texas. She was accidentally moved into journalism two years ago, and started competing in UIL Academic competitions because of the passion her former adviser, Lori Oglesbee, showed for writing. She won 19 journalism awards over two years, achieving All-State journalism both years and a National Quill and Scroll Gold Key last year. Currently, she is Editor-in-Chief of her high school’s paper, Eagle Nation Online. After her principal prior-reviewed and censored the paper, banned editorials and fired Ms. Oglesbee last year, Madhira spoke out, along with fellow journalist Haley Stack. For their advocacy, the two were nominated for the National Courage in Journalism award and honored by the Women's Media Center. Madhira is a student leader of the New Voices movement in Texas and speaks about the importance of students’ and teachers’ rights across the country. Helen Marriage cofounded a company that specializes in creating disruptive, whole-city arts events that surprise and delight everyone who comes across them. Helen Marriage writes: "I am a producer of large-scale disruptive moments that place an artist's ideas in the heart of a city. I started life unsure of how to find a job and began helping a street theater company perform at the Edinburgh Festival. Only then did I realize that this could be a career. That was forty years ago. Since then, I've gone on to shut down central London and other cities with ephemeral events that transform people’s understanding of what a city is for and who controls it. "I don't believe that cities are exclusively about shopping and traffic. Over the years I've developed a real sense of how artists can change the world, if only we make space for their vision. I guess that's my job -- to create a context in which the normal routines of daily life are disrupted for a moment to allow the public, especially those who know they’re not interested in anything the arts might have to say, to discover a new world we’d all like to live in." Majd Mashharawi leads a startup that makes bricks from recycled local materials -- and employs women in the Gaza Strip. Nora McInerny makes a living talking to people about life's hardest moments. Nora McInerny speaks from experience and empathy, having lost her second baby, her father and her husband over the course of six weeks at age 31. She is the best-selling author of the memoir It’s Okay To Laugh, Crying Is Cool Too, the host of the award-winning podcast "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" and the founder of the nonprofit Still Kickin. She contributes words to Elle, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, Time, Slate and Vox, where she's often tapped for her essays highlighting the emotional landscape and humor in complex topics, like the financial impacts of healthcare and grief in a digital age. McInerny is a master storyteller known for her dedication to bringing heart and levity to the difficult and uncomfortable conversations most of us try to avoid, and also for being very tall. She was voted "Most Humorous" by the Annunciation Catholic School Class of 1998. Aja Monet is a Caribbean American poet, performer and educator born in Brooklyn, New York. Aja Monet started actively reading and reciting poetry in the New York City youth poetry/slam community in high school with an organization called Urban Word NYC. Her poems are lyrical, wise and courageous. She received her BA in liberal arts from Sarah Lawrence College in 2009 and her MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011. While at Sarah Lawrence College, Monet was awarded the legendary Nuyorican Poet's Café Grand Slam title in 2007. She has been internationally recognized for combining her spellbound voice and vivid poetic imagery on stage. While in college, she used music and poetry to help organize urgent responses to natural disasters in New Orleans and later on in Haiti as well as local community issues. In 2015, she was invited by the Dream Defenders to be a part of a movement delegation to Palestine, and she has continued to work in collaboration with cultural workers and organizers to demonstrate radical solidarity. In 2018, Monet’s first full collection of poetry, my mother was a freedom fighter, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. She read the title poem of her collection at the national Women’s March on Washington DC in 2017 to commemorate women of the Diaspora. In 2012, she collaborated with poet/musician Saul Williams on the book Chorus, an anthem of a new generation of poets. Monet currently lives in Little Haiti, Miami, where she is cofounder of Smoke Signals Studio, a collective dedicated to music, art, culture and organizing. In collaboration with Community Justice Project and inspired by poet June Jordan's revolutionary blueprint, Monet facilitates "Voices: Poetry for the People," a grassroots workshop for organizers and community leaders. In 2018, the workshop created the first annual Maroon Poetry Festival in Liberty City, Miami, to honor artists and cultural workers for their commitment to radical truth-telling. A lover of art, music, and poetry, Monet has continued to collaborate with artists across all genres including musicians Vijay Iyer, Samora Pinderhughes, Gerald Clayton and visual artists Carrie Mae Weems, Mike Schreiber and countless more. She volunteers at Dade Correctional Facility teaching "Poetry for the People" with an organization called Exchange for Change. As Monique W. Morris writes: "I believe in a justice not associated with any form of oppression. I work for it and I write about it." Monique W. Morris, EdD, founded and leads the National Black Women's Justice Institute, an organization that works to transform public discourses on the criminalization of Black women, girls and their families. For three decades, she has been involved in social justice advocacy and scholarship, working with research and academic institutions, civil rights organizations, nonprofits, public agencies and activists to advance policies and practices that promote racial and gender equity. She's the author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools and other books, publications and articles. As Morris writes: "My work is ultimately about using research and narratives to challenge actions and structures of oppression. I do this using the tools I have available to me as a researcher, educator, public intellectual, visual artist, writer -- and most recently, filmmaker. I am the author of several academic publications and four books, each of them very different. From a street novel about prostitution to a statistical narrative about African Americans in the 21st century to a book about the criminalization of Black girls in schools, I try to meet people where they are on this journey toward freedom. My latest project, a dive into the pedagogical practices that make education freedom work, explores how schools might become locations of healing for Black and Brown girls. And I love Prince. Always have, always will." Beth Mortimer is a scientific researcher interested in how animals use vibrations along surfaces and through materials for information. As Beth Mortimer writes: "I believe that through studying nature we can gain useful insights for new technologies. I am pioneering this approach for an overlooked form of information transfer: vibrations that travel along surfaces and through materials. I study how animals use this information source, which is widespread from spiders and worms to humans and elephants. My research enables me to gain insights for potential new technologies, for example monitoring elephant behavior in remote locations or developing vibration sensors for robots to monitor dangerous machinery. "I am a biologist by training and have collaborated across scientific disciplines throughout my research career. I have worked with engineers, material scientists, seismologists and computer scientists to learn cutting-edge techniques that I can use to study information transfer with animals. My goal for the next five to seven years is to develop usable technologies for remote monitoring, learning from the biological systems I study." Danielle R. Moss is chief executive officer of Oliver Scholars, helping it prepare high-potential Black and Latinx students from underserved New York City communities for success. Dr. Danielle R. Moss is Chief Executive Officer of Oliver Scholars, an organization committed to preparing high-potential Black and Latinx students from underserved New York City communities for success at top independent schools, prestigious colleges and careers. She is also a member of The New York Women's Foundation board of directors and serves as an NYC Commissioner of Gender Equity. She began her career as a middle school teacher in the Bronx and Brooklyn, building a distinguished career as an academic and a leader in the education and the social sector. Dr. Moss's contributions to education and the social sector have been recognized by the New York State Education Department, The New York Women's Foundation, The New York Coalition for 100 Black Women, The College Board, The Network Journal's 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business and The Council of Urban Professionals. Moss has been featured in the New York Times "Corner Office" and in Crain's New York for her leadership in the movement toward intersectional gender equity. Her writing has been featured by The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Edutopia, The Amsterdam News, City Limits Magazine, Ms. Magazine online and the Feminist Wire. She's appeared on WABC-TV's Here and Now and New York Viewpoint, on WNBC's Positively Black, Fox 5's Street Talk, Bronx Net's Perspectives and NY1's Inside City Hall. Stanley Crouch, formerly of the New York Daily News, once dubbed her one of the most important players in public education for her ability to respectfully meet young people and families where they are and to give them the tools and agency to transform their own lives. Farida Nabourema is a key voice in Togo’s pro-democracy movement. A political activist and writer, Farida Nabourema has been a fearless advocate for democracy and human rights in Togo since she was a teenager. Through more than 400 articles on her blog and other sites, she denounces corruption and dictatorship and promotes a form of progressive pan-Africanism. In 2014, she published La Pression de l'Oppression (The Pressure of Oppression), in which she discussed the different forms of oppression that people face throughout Africa and highlighted the need for oppressed people to fight back. Nabourema is also the engagement and collaboration coordinator of Africans Rising, a pan-African movement that fights for justice, peace and dignity through grassroots organizing, civic education and advocacy. She cofounded and is the executive director of the Togolese Civil League, an NGO that promotes democracy through civil resistance. In 2001, at age 20, Nabourema founded the "Faure Must Go" movement, where she supported and organized with Togolese youths to stand against the dictatorial regime of Faure Gnassingbé. "Faure Must Go" has become the slogan for the civil resistance movement in Togo, of which Nabourema is one of the most well-known leaders. Nabourema was awarded the "Young Advocate of the Year" and the "Female African Youth of the Year" in 2018 by Africa Youth Award for her contribution to raising awareness on the oldest military regime in Africa. Driven by curiosity and appreciation for the complex, beautiful, diverse and dynamic world around us, Tarje Nissen-Meyer is trying to decipher this vibrating planet by analyzing data from human and biological interaction with our precious environment and modern technology. As Tarje Nissen-Meyer writes: "Much like gazing at the sky, I wonder how our pristine planet functions. Where does hot magma come from, why can't we predict earthquakes, what is the link between climate and Earth, where does life come from and how does it end, and can we find extraterrestrial life? Society depends on the environment: how can we provide clean energy for ten billion people, deal with water scarcity, sea level rise, natural hazards? These are research themes in geophysics, and they require quantitative reasoning. "In my own research, I develop methods for earthquake waves for free use, work on mapping Earth's interior, earthquake hazard, cyclones and elephant communication. I believe education and science play an ever larger role in extracting useful information from the ever-increasing amount of data to deliver critical decision-making skills and evaluating uncertainties, especially in times of fake news." Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya is the founder and president of Kakenya's Dream, an international nonprofit organization leveraging education to empower girls, end harmful traditional practices and transform communities in rural Kenya. Engaged at age five, Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) as a young teenager in preparation for marriage. Her life was set to follow the traditional Maasai path of ending school to become a wife and mother, but Ntaiya had a different dream. She negotiated with her father to return to school after surviving FGM. When she was accepted to college in the United States, she promised to use her education to help the village in exchange for their support. She went on to earn her PhD in education at the University of Pittsburgh, and returned to her community to fulfill her promise. In 2009, the Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE) boarding school opened its doors, serving 30 vulnerable Maasai girls in rural Kenya. Today, Kakenya's Dream reaches thousands of girls, boys and community members each year through three visionary, girl-centered programs. Ntaiya is a CNN Hero and National Geographic Emerging Explorer. She received the Feminist Majority Global Women's Rights Award and the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award. Ntaiya was also named one of Newsweek's "150 Women Who Shake the World." Ai-jen Poo is the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the co-director of Caring Across Generations. Under her leadership, domestic workers won eight state Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and federal overtime and minimum wage protections for more than two million home care workers. She is also an influential voice in the Me Too and women's movements, including participating in the Times Up action at the 2018 Golden Globes. She is a 2014 MacArthur "genius" Fellow and a TIME 100 alumna and has been a featured speaker at the United State of Women Summits, Aspen Ideas Festivals, the Obama Foundation Summit and the 2018 Women’s Convention. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, TIME and CNN.com. She is the author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. Emily Quinn describes herself as "a ballsy intersex activist who uses humor and storytelling to create a more welcoming world for people who don’t fit in a box." At age 10, Emily Quinn learned she was intersex. As she writes: "Doctors said not to tell anyone, poking and prodding at me like I was a science experiment. It was lonely, shameful, and I had nowhere to turn. I needed someone to tell me that it would be OK, but no one was there. "Fourteen years later, I discovered an intersex support group, meeting hundreds of intersex people who endured trauma like mine. I knew it had to stop. I was working at Cartoon Network and decided to help create the first intersex main character on television: Lauren on MTV's 'Faking It.' I publicly came out as intersex alongside her debut, and suddenly I was bombarded with interviews, appearing in content across the web. The impact was so great that I quit my job, created a YouTube channel, began speaking globally about intersex experiences, and am now writing a YA novel. In ways I could have never imagined, I became the person I needed as a kid -- showing myself that one day it would be OK." Jan Rader is a firefighter and a nurse. Jan Rader joined the Huntington, West Virginia, Fire Department in August 1994. Rader is the first woman to reach the rank of chief for a career department in the State of West Virginia. She holds a Regents bachelor of arts degree from Marshall University and an associate's degree of science in nursing from Ohio University. She holds many fire service certifications and is also a fire and EMS instructor in the State of West Virginia. Since November 2014, Rader has been serving as a member of the Mayor's Office of Drug Control Policy. The purpose of this task force is to address drug addiction in Huntington and the surrounding communities and create a holistic approach involving prevention, treatment and law enforcement. Rader recently came to national prominence after the release of the short documentary Heroin(e) by Netflix in September 2017. In April 2018, she was chosen as one of TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World." Nivruti Rai is vice president in the data center group and country head for India at Intel Corporation. At Intel, Nivruti Rai provides engineering and business unit leadership, driving innovation, cross-group efficiencies and execution for engineering teams delivering global products and roadmaps. She also leads engagements with national and local governments and policymakers as well as collaboration with ecosystem players to enable innovation and entrepreneurship. Rai joined Intel in 1995 and subsequently worked in the CPU development organization in Oregon. She led the effort to conserve chip power in microprocessors by selectively using high-performance devices and pioneered the use of error-correcting codes to reduce operating voltages and memories, becoming a principal engineer in 2003. She moved to India in 2005 to manage R&D of mobile platform technologies used for handheld and laptop computers. In 2013, her team was awarded an Intel Achievement Award for contributing to the development of the Minute Intel architecture core. In her most recent role as vice president in Intel's platform engineering group, Rai led teams across the United States, Costa Rica, Israel, Malaysia and India charged with developing innovative analog and mixed-signal intellectual property (IP) blocks and IP subsystems for Intel's system-on-chip products. She also managed the emerging technologies group in India, developing machine learning and computer vision soft IP. As the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund for 12 years, Cecile Richards worked to increase affordable access to reproductive health care and to build a healthier and safer world for women and young people. In 2018, she stepped down from leadership and published the book Make Trouble. After starting her career as a labor organizer working with women earning the minimum wage, Richards went on to start her own grassroots organizations and later served as deputy chief of staff to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. In 2011 and 2012, she was named one of TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World." Richards is a frequent speaker and commentator on politics and progressive issues. Karissa Sanbonmatsu investigates how DNA allows cells in our body to remember events that take place. Dr. Karissa Sanbonmatsu is a principal investigator at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the New Mexico Consortium, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. As a principal investigator, Sanbonmatsu has advanced our understanding of the mechanism of the ribosome, antibiotics and riboswitches. She published some of the first structural studies of epigenetic long non-coding RNAs and is currently studying the mechanism of epigenetic effects involving chromatin architecture. She uses a combination of wetlab biochemistry, supercomputers and cryogenic electron microscopy to investigate mechanism in atomistic detail. She is on the board of Equality New Mexico and the Gender Identity Center and is an advocate for LGBT people in the sciences. Through her nonprofit, Bodhi Tree Foundation, Ashweetha Shetty supports first-generation college students in rural India to explore their potential through education, life skills and opportunities. As a girl in a poor orthodox community in a south Indian village, Ashweetha Shetty was constantly told that her birth was not celebrated and that she would be a liability to her family. The social norms prescribed for her identity silenced her dreams, thoughts and aspirations. But through the power of education, she became a first-generation college graduate and had a chance to rewrite the possibilities for her life. As she says: "I always wanted to add my bit to their inspiring journey." As a high school student, Haley Stack fights for freedom of the press. Haley Stack is 16 years old and a junior at Prosper High School in Texas. She is Assistant Editor of the school’s newspaper, Eagle Nation Online. She started journalism her freshman year and has been on staff since. She's on the UIL Academic Journalism team and has won numerous awards, including an award for Excellence in Commentary Writing at the Journalism Educators Association. She was honored at the Women's Media Center gala in November 2018, where she won the Young Journalist award. In February 2018, Stack wrote an editorial over the removal of A Separate Peace by John Knowles from the 10th grade curriculum. The article was censored by her principal because he claimed Stack’s story was negative, used the word ‘banned’ instead of ‘removed’, and contained grammatical errors. (The errors were an extra period and a missing apostrophe.) This was one out of three articles that were censored at the paper leading to Stack, fellow student journalist Neha Madhira, and her staff speaking out with the help of the Student Press Law Center. Several news outlets covered their story, including NBC 5, The Dallas Morning News and The New York Times. Stack continues to fight for student press rights through New Voices, a student-led legislative movement attempting to protect students from censorship and protect advisers from being pushed out. Stack hopes to continue her fight and further her journalistic education in college. In her work, the Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis makes a theological case for ending poverty. The Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis is an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church, the director of the Kairos Center for Rights, Religions, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary and the co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. She has spent the past two decades organizing amongst the poor and dispossessed in the United States. She has led hundreds of trainings and bible studies and recently published Always with Us?: What Jesus Really Said about the Poor. In 2018, alongside the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber, Theoharis helped to launch the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Over the coming years, the campaign will organize poor people across race, religion, geography, political party and other so-called lines of division to fuel a moral revolution of values in the country. Amanda Williams blurs the distinction between art and architecture through works that employ color as a way to draw attention to the political complexities of race, place and value in cities. The landscapes in which Amanda Williams operates are the visual residue of the invisible policies and forces that have misshapen most inner cities. Her installations, paintings, video and works on paper seek to inspire new ways of looking at the familiar -- and raise questions about the state of urban space in America in the process. Williams has exhibited widely, including the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, a solo exhibition at the MCA Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis. She is a 2018 United States Artists Fellow, a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors grantee, an Efroymson Family Arts Fellow, a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and a member of the multidisciplinary Museum Design team for the Obama Presidential Center. She is this year's Bill and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of the Art Institute Chicago and has previously served as a visiting assistant professor of architecture at Cornell University and Washington University in St. Louis. She lives and works on Chicago's south side. Paula Stone Williams is a pastor, counselor, speaker, LGBTQ ambassador and gender equity advocate. The Reverend Dr. Paula Stone Williams knows the truth will set you free, but only after it upends your carefully constructed narrative. Her devotion to authenticity caused her to leave her comfort zone as a nationally known religious leader and follow her heart to transition from Paul to Paula. She lost all of her jobs and most of her friends. Williams also discovered the massive differences between life as a male and as a female in America. Williams is the pastor of preaching and worship at Left Hand Church in Longmont, Colorado, a pastoral counselor with RLT Pathways and a sought-after speaker to corporations, government agencies, universities and religious institutions on issues of gender equity and LGBTQ advocacy. She has been featured in the New York Times, the Denver Post, New Scientist, Radio New Zealand, Colorado Public Radio and The Huffington Post. Her TEDxMileHigh talk on gender equity has had more than one million views. Jonathan Williams likes to tell stories and throw parties, so he started a church that allowed him to do both. After teaching fifth grade in West Philadelphia for seven years, Jonathan Williams decided to join the family business and become a pastor like his father. He started a church in Brooklyn, NY, and just three months later faced a religious and personal reckoning when his father announced her transition from male to female. Williams decided that his church would become an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, forever shifting the landscape in his personal and professional life. Williams continues to lead Forefront Church in Brooklyn. In January 2019, he released his book, She's My Dad: A Father’s Transition and a Son's Redemption, published by Westminster John Knox Press. Williams has told his story to the New York Times, Huffington Post, Christian Standard Magazine, Faithfully Magazine and Rebel Storytellers. Marian Wright Edelman fights for a level playing field for all children, so their chances to succeed don't have to depend on the lottery of birth. Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation's strongest voice for children and families. The CDF's "Leave No Child Behind" mission is "to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities." Edelman, a graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, began her career in the mid-'60s when, as the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1968, she moved to Washington, DC as counsel for the Poor People's Campaign that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began organizing before his death. She founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of the CDF. For two years she served as the director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University and in 1973 began CDF. Edelman served on the Board of Trustees of Spelman College, which she chaired from 1976 to 1987, and was the first woman elected by alumni as a member of the Yale University Corporation, on which she served from 1971 to 1977. She has received more than 100 honorary degrees and many awards, including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship, the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the nation's highest civilian award -- and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings. The cofounder of Smoke Signals Studio, phillip agnew is a nationally recognized educator, strategist, trainer, speaker and cultural critic. phillip agnew cofounded the Dream Defenders in 2012 after the murder of Trayvon Martin and has been dubbed "one of this generation’s leading voices" and recognized by both EBONY magazine and The Root as one of the 100 most influential African Americans in the nation. He emerged as a national activist when he helped to organize students from FAMU, Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College in the creation of the Student Coalition for Justice, which was formed in response to the Martin Lee Anderson case. agnew is the cofounder of Miami's Smoke Signals Studio -- a community based radical artistic space -- with his partner, poet Aja Monet. Smoke Signals Studio is a space where those invested in using art, sound and music as a meeting place for transformation and liberation can come to create together. In 2018, agnew transitioned from his role as codirector of the Dream Defenders and now travels the country teaching and organizing outside of the movement bubble. He has spoken at colleges and conferences around the country and was a featured speaker at TEDWomen 2018 and SXSW in 2019. agnew is member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and a Board Member for Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Yvonne van Amerongen is an occupational therapist and a social worker. Before 1983, when Yvonne van Amerongen started working for the nursing home Hogewey, she worked in a hospital for psychiatric diseases and in a rehabilitation center. In 1992 she was the care manager of the traditional nursing home Hogewey when the management team started thinking about the vision of care for people living with severe dementia. In 1993, this vision was the basis for the development of what now is the neighborhood The Hogeweyk, with 27 houses for more than 170 seniors with severe dementia. Van Amerongen was the project leader and one of the founders of the vision for excellent care, living and well-being for people with severe dementia and of neighborhood The Hogeweyk. Van Amerongen now works as a consultant for Be, supporting and advising healthcare organizations, governments, architects and project starters around the world to improve the quality of life of people living with dementia. Be is part of the Vivium Care group (non-profit), also the owner of The Hogeweyk.

2019-04-20T01:35:15Z

https://tedwomen2018.ted.com/speakers

Many years ago, Sony introduced a product named the Walkman which had revolutionized the way on how the public listened to music. After this, Apple created the iPod which was the next big invention of the century since it transformed the realm of portable music machines. Due to all the inventions that were created decades ago along with the advancements made in technology contemporarily; we are now breathing the age of the best Bluetooth speakers or rather, the best Bluetooth speakers priced under 5000. For most of us, experiencing a high sound quality is mandatory in order to savor the tunes of our most favorable music. These days, tablets and smartphones are convenient to carry and play music wherever we go, although, in several scenarios, they are not proficient in delivering the sound quality we desire. Therefore, we look towards stand-alone speakers since they offer superb audio quality. But, there are certain limitations that come with it. In a nutshell, they are bulky, wired, weighty and require a power source. Because of this concern, the revolution of Bluetooth portable speakers has made it so much easier and seamless to listen to the music we desire. The Bluetooth speakers provide a reliable and effective answer to this issue since they are extremely portable and you don’t need to carry multiple cables wherever you go. Moreover, a portable Bluetooth speaker is an accessory that is certainly beneficial to own for both your laptop and smartphone but selecting one can often be challenging. With the multitude of options found in the market, it’s difficult to choose the best one. There are models that range from different sizes and shapes. The best method when it comes to selecting a speaker that’s ideal for you is not only testing the sound but to see how suitable a speaker is by just reading through the specifications. Nevertheless, in contrast to smartphones, users don’t have the liberty always to try the product out before purchasing it in grand shopping malls. The solution to this problem is to pre-plan and know what to search for in a Bluetooth speaker. This will help you figure out all your needs and requirements before you make the final choice. Fortunately for you, we’ve put together a small review buying guide which will help you checklist features, aspects and review the best Bluetooth speakers under 5000 in India before purchasing the next best Bluetooth speaker. These products are affordable for all the users and come with stunning features. Why Should I Pick A Bluetooth Speaker? Before we move ahead with the product reviews, we need to understand (briefly) on what a wireless speaker does and why you should select a Bluetooth speaker so that you have a better grasp on the fundamentals before making an informed decision. Wireless speakers have the capability to enable users to link their music players without requiring the need for many cables. In order to perform this feature, users will need to connect their devices such as a tablet, mobile, computer etc with a loudspeaker by utilizing any of the current connection technologies i.e Wi-Fi, personal wireless network, NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth. Wifi speakers (a type of wireless speakers) require the wifi internet network in order to set up a connection. This connection offers authentic sound quality than compared to Bluetooth, however, when it comes to mini portable speakers, this is not a huge concern. In contrast, they have multiple drawbacks. For instance, they require an initial configuration which can be quite complex for those users who are not knowledgeable with the technology. Or, if a user’s domestic connection is not effective or strong, he/she may need to endure frequent connectivity issues. Apart from this, the main disadvantage for a Wi-Fi speaker is to always be situated near a plug in order to use it. This can be quite cumbersome for you on a regular basis. Moreover, there are quite a few wireless speakers such as Apple and Sonos machines that resolve connectivity issues by generating their own wireless network via an external device. Nonetheless, they still have the downside of requiring a connection to the electricity network. So far, we have seen how a Wi-Fi speaker (as an example) seems to be quite complicated especially when it comes to integrating speakers with the wireless network. Therefore, if you’re a user who is searching for easement of a super-simple speaker that can be easy to configure and carry around at the same time, we recommend opting for a portable Bluetooth speaker since it is, without a doubt, the best option. Regardless of where you are i.e at the pool, beach or maybe driving with friends, watching a show on your device, making a barbecue or in the patio of your household having dinner, a portable Bluetooth speaker will bring you amazing sound quality in the most soothing way possible. As stated before, it’s not suitable to construct your buying decision solely on specifications alone but it’s the right place to begin, especially if you don’t have the opportunity to obtain an audition test in order to test out the speaker yourself. When it comes to Bluetooth technology, you can analyze the audio transmission quality by measuring the distance kept between your smartphone and the speaker. Ideally, it’s suggested to search for a Bluetooth 4 version or something more advanced since this version (minimum) includes a better battery life expectancy, assistance for Low Energy profile, and is about 60 meters. On the other hand, Bluetooth 5 is the advanced and latest standard these days. It enhances the data transmission range and rate tremendously, however, not a lot of speakers adopt this standard. Response from a frequency level is measured in hertz is usually outlined within a range of 100Hz – 20,000Hz. The typical theory for frequency response is that – the wider the range, the better the speaker’s ability to generate audio as it was expected. Although, implementing a wide range only doesn’t deliver an appropriate sound quality since it all depends on how the ear discerns sound and this can differ significantly from one user to another. There are other factors such as the listener’s age since the ability to listen to particular frequencies tend to decrease over time. For example, in an audio file, the bass is generally heard at an approximate frequency range of 20Hz to 250Hz. Vocals along with other musical instruments such as piano and guitar tend to dwell in the range of 250Hz to 4000Hz. This range is usually identified as the mid-range. Treble is formed from the remaining frequencies that range up to 20,000Hz. Apart from wireless connectivity, it’s always great to have the choice open for a wired connection as well so you should look into an auxiliary connector. Generally, this is known as ‘Aux-In’ and is found in a speaker’s specifications page. A wired connection is always beneficial for those users to aim to conserve a bit of their phone’s battery or speaker and it definitely assists in obtaining better sound quality sometimes. A majority of speakers these days integrate NFC, which provides instant pairing with multiple devices. A microphone is also a fantastic feature to experience since it allows you to answer calls through the speaker directly which is quite similar to a speakerphone. With this, you don’t have to keep searching for your phone whenever you receive a call because you can answer directly via the speaker. Using a microphone even enables you to interact with the virtual assistant embedded into your phone. Therefore, you can easily inquire about the weather update and schedule appointments without touching your phone. As CPU is the heart of a computer, the driver is the heart and soul of the best Bluetooth speakers under 5000 or any other speakers in general. This is why it’s crucial to check out a driver that’s decently sized. A majority of portable speakers will generally integrate a 40mm driver which is a recommendable size, to begin with. If you expect bigger drivers, then you should anticipate the fact that the overall speaker size will increase too. The number of drivers along with their placements creates a huge impact on how the speaker will sound. Bluetooth speakers that are small in size usually come with an independent, full-range driver and are faced either upwards or downwards so that the oust sound is better. A lot of speakers even incorporate a twin driver setup which performs on a louder basis than compared to its counterparts. Due to insufficient space inside a portable Bluetooth speaker, a woofer can’t be implemented. Therefore, many manufacturers install in passive radiators that vibrate in order to produce bass. It’s quite common to have a conventional USB charging port since it is an additional convenience for the user. This is true for those who regularly go outdoors or spend time at a relative/friends place but often forget to bring the bundled cables with them. Many speakers, currently, are interested in a Micro-USB port. This port opens the possibility to charge speakers with power banks thereby you don’t need to be near a wall socket whenever you need to charge it. 6) Where Will You Utilize A Bluetooth Speaker The Most? Apart from its charging capabilities, you need to ponder upon how and where you’ll be using the Bluetooth speaker. If the speaker is mostly for home use, then we recommend you to consider options that will combine well with your home interiors. The Bose SoundLink Revolve, for instance, is built with an aluminum body and includes a modern design. This is suitable and brilliant for any urban living room. However, if you aim to use the speaker outdoor or in the shower mostly, then we suggest you search for a sturdy, waterproof speaker. The best Bluetooth speakers under 5000 in India offer decent options within an affordable price range. As mentioned before, battery life is important to evaluate. If you go out camping or commute for long periods of time, you need a good battery source since it is highly unlikely to gain access to a power source unless you’re in a shop. A great number of Bluetooth speakers today can perform a lot more than streaming music in general. Intelligent speakers are now the latest trend in the industry and it’s quite obvious to see how some of these models are paving their path into India. For example, ALEXA – Amazon’s virtual assistant is now integrated into Echo’s line of wireless and wired speakers in India whereas Google has its own dedicated smart speakers. Other than sound, there are a plethora of features to try out and you should check to see whether or not it has companion app support. This is convenient if you desire to check the battery life of a speaker, control several speakers, or just simply update the firmware of a speaker. If you’re that user who hears high-resolution audio files most of the time, then it’s exceptionally useful to obtain high-resolution audio profile support such as LDAC or aptX HD. These profiles make a whole lot of if only you use it with a compatible device and the right audio source. Finally, one other reliable feature we like to mention is the capability to pair several speakers together in order to generate a bigger sound. Often times, a single speaker isn’t enough when it comes to loudness or rather ‘fill’ a huge room or when you’re outdoors. This is why pairing two or more speakers of the same type is a perk you need to take advantage off. Many brands include this feature in their Bluetooth models and certain brands such as JBL allow you to link up 100 speakers and more together even though it’s not necessary for you to utilize that many. Actually, users will only use the option to link two speakers in stereo mode, thus delivering them a much advanced audio experience. With a few simple guidelines like these, it should now be less-challenging to narrow down your options when it comes to selecting a Bluetooth speaker that fits your hearing interest the best. As we have seen some of the pivotal factors when it comes to deciding a worthy Bluetooth speaker, let’s take a look at some tips on how to choose the best Bluetooth speaker under 5000 in India. Checking out the sound quality is without a doubt one of the most crucial parameters. Ultimately, if you are going to purchase a loudspeaker, then you should search for a model that will allow you to listen to music on an advanced standard than compared to listening to music on mobile. But to be clear, how do I figure out which device outputs a good or decent sound quality? Technically, there are 4 parameters that’ll make you realize which Bluetooth speaker will sound best, despite not hearing it before: sound system, output power, impedance, and frequency range. The first point to evaluate is the type of sound system employed. Each of these systems comprises a particular amount of channels. Speakers can be integrated with a certain channel, therefore, allowing it to emit sounds. You might have heard about 2.1, 5.1 and many more versions. 5.1, for example, consists of a single subwoofer for bass and 5 full range speakers. Many Bluetooth speakers these days implement either 2.0 system which contains two full-range speakers or a 2.1 system (including subwoofer) which is known to behave the highest quality in terms of sound performance. The second parameter is the output power (measured in watts). This value basically relates to the watts outputted by the loudspeaker. Moreover, it will cause sound pressures in decibels which is none other than the volume. Most of the Bluetooth speakers mentioned in this article are small in size thereby cannot generate a lot of power. Typically, you can expect power to range between 15 and 20 watts which should sufficient enough to get about 80 dB. This volume is loud enough in order to hear well in environments that are either outdoors or large in size. However, it’s still recommended to not crank up the loudspeaker to its maximum power because it can lead to distortions. Usually, it’s recommended to use an optimal power of 80%. One another parameter that dictates the quality of sound is the resistance (measured in ohms). This parameter is connected to the power parameter and is linked with the passage of electric currents. The golden rule is the higher the resistance, the lesser the power of which a speaker produces. To put it in simple terms, just note that the lower the impedance level, the superior the sound quality. The last parameter to ponder about is the frequency range of which the machine is potent in emitting. The common audible spectrum, or the sounds that can be heard by the human ear, range on an estimate between 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. If a Bluetooth wireless speaker is not competent of producing within the whole range of the audible spectrum, then there will be multiple sounds that will be missed. Thereby, by having a substantial range of frequencies that are engulfed by the Bluetooth speaker, users can experience and perceive a much better sound. Imagine a scenario where you need to get away for the weekend or go camping with your friends but your bag is too tight to fit into a huge speaker. Well, with a compact and lightweight Bluetooth speaker, this will not be such a problem. A lot of manufacturers have created a line of extremely compact and lightweight Bluetooth speaker models that can be placed anywhere in your luggage. The best Bluetooth speakers under 5000 in India can be carried anywhere without you worrying about the load. If your aim is to own a portable speaker which allows you to take it wherever you commute, then pick a model that does not exceed more than 15 cm in terms of size. Many contemporary speakers in the market are packed with advanced Bluetooth versions such as Bluetooth 4.0 or 5.0. If your transmitting device of which you are going to use to connect is a ‘dinosaur’ version, then it is quite possible of you experiencing a connecting problem. That is why we should make sure whether or not the speaker is compatible with older versions of Bluetooth (up to the A2DP) in order to prevent dismay. A lot of brands integrate their speakers with either a micro USB or USB output connection so that it is capable of charging the machine when needed. In addition, there are some instances where a user would need to install in the latest updates, therefore, prevent further compatibility issues. There are few models that include batteries and enable up to 10 hours (maximum) of music playback – within a direct, single charge. Generally, a Bluetooth speaker should offer music playback for at least 6 hours. The charging period is another point to consider. There are few models that promote a quick charging feature whereas some models don’t. Have you planned out where you’re going to place the Bluetooth speaker at home? Fortunately, the best Bluetooth speakers under 5000 don’t require a royal seat for showcasing. Nevertheless, it is a compact and small device which tends to take up space as little as possible. If you wish to leave it in an area such as a table or a bookcase, then we suggest you pick a model that’s equipped with a suitable design. Although, if you like to take it outdoors such as to a party or maybe to a beach, then you need a model that’s covered with appealing colors in order to suit the mood and draw attention. Mostly all brands deliver beautiful color combinations and you should pick one that fits your taste and personality. This feature can’t be seen in all Bluetooth wireless speakers but are much popular in Wi-Fi home speakers. If you wish to generate a better surrounding sound in a room, then a single speaker cannot do the trick since the source of the emitting sounds is discharged only from a single point. To combat this, you can add in additional speakers at multiple points. In order to gain this versatility, there are a few Bluetooth units which have an app that enables you to manage the links and pairs between multiple speakers. Apart from Bluetooth connectivity, you should give NFC a try. NFC makes the job of connecting devices much easier than expected. All you need to do is to basically bring the units closer, keep them at a range for a second or so and they will pair up automatically. But of course, you would need both your units to include an NFC system (both the tablet or phone along with the speaker). In order to pair up your previous drives which don’t have Bluetooth as an option, use a 3.5 mm auxiliary input since it will enable you to link devices by utilizing a cable. Sadly, all of us live our lives in a hurry. Daily activities and tasks strive us to perform jobs instantly and we certainly don’t find time for ourselves. Thus, if your speaker is easy to use and manage, you will find your hands filled with more time which can be used for other important tasks. Having an easy-to-use speaker will not let you spend more than 5 minutes or so in reading instructions and understanding how to operate it. All you need to do is to switch it on, pair it and enjoy yourselves. Moreover, you just need to know a few controls found on the speaker because it will assist you in performing some simple functions. For instance, the volume control, the power button, a button to answer calls (if available), the play/pause button, and the Bluetooth pairing switch is all you need to know in order to obtain complete control of the device. If you are hearing music on your speaker which is linked to your smartphone but surprisingly receive a call. What happens next? Well, if this speaker incorporates a microphone that’s built-in, then you can easily speak in front of it as if it were a hands-free approach. The music is paused, and you can answer your call by tapping on the speaker’s button. Furthermore, once you’re done with the call, the music continues to play. This can come in handy for most of the users. When it comes to durability, it’s best to research and read through online reviews, forums before purchasing the product. If you are one of those users who frequently drop their belongings (phone, tablet etc), it will be beneficial to obtain a speaker that’s sturdy and strong enough to withstand potential damage. Additionally, few Bluetooth speaker models are constructed with aluminum housings which are practically more resistant than compared to the typical plastic material. If you drop it, by chance, it will still not break due to its aluminum housing construction. This is the final tip we can give you folks. You should carefully think about why you should purchase a Bluetooth speaker. Do you wish to position it in places at home, is it for parties and outdoor adventures or rather do you wish for something that’s waterproof? Fortunately, there are multiple models out there that serve different purposes so you should choose smartly. You should make it clear on where you’ll be using the speaker. If you take it with you for camping adventures or to a barbecue then you should be prepared for it. On the other hand, if you’re going to utilize it for mainly exterior purposes then pick a model that provides a high sound and emits remarkable output power. This will allow you to listen to music with clarity even though the environments are noisy. Even so, the model should not produce less than 85 decibels optimal power. Another aspect you should consider, especially in this case, is the battery capacity. We mentioned this before, but you need to have at least 6-10 hours of music playback. If suppose the speaker is massive, the unit will come with a sturdy yet comfortable handle. This is helpful since you can carry it anywhere comfortably in your hand for long periods of time. Lastly, search for a model that’s water resistant since an accident can occur when you’re in a party, at the beach or any environment that’s wet. The all-new Creative Sound portable speaker allows you to roam freely outdoors while listening to your favorite tunes. If you’re that user who is in life with adventure and spontaneity, we recommend you to opt for this sound device. You can carry this compact machine with you anywhere you go and drive freely with music. What we like about this speaker is that it features a 360 degrees sound which is equipped with deep bass. Due to this, you can start your very own party and position the speaker at a suitable place in order to appreciate the 360 degree sounds all around you. Moreover, it comes with dual radiators (passive) which are designed on both sides of the unit, therefore, giving your music adequate ‘oomph’ and making your music sound so much better than compared to playing it on a smartphone. Even so, the model adjusts the EQ automatically in order to obtain optimal results. Other than that, the machine includes a Loud mode feature. If you wish to boost up the volume then you can simply push the loud button and enjoy the music with your friends or family. Also, this model integrates a 10-hour battery life capacity. Thereby, you can expect this model to play powerful sounds – all within a portable unit for 10 hours directly without worrying about charging it in between. Lastly, the model is ‘splash proof certified (IPX4)’. This means that it is water resistant and if water spills or splashes in any given direction, it will not damage your device. You should note that the speaker needs to be charged initially and then later switched on (after purchase). Afterward, you need to push and hold the Bluetooth button till the white color turns blue and the light continuously flickers so that it can scan any Bluetooth devices nearby. With a brand new makeover in terms of design and specifications, the Echo Dot smart speaker sweeps the whole market off its feet. The Echo Dot is widely popular for its voice-controlled speaker and even comes with an enhanced design and sound system which amplifies your music playlist to a whole new level. In addition, it pairs up with Alexa (a voice service that’s cloud-based. in order to answer your questions, play music, check the weather update, view news sources, control smart home devices that are compatible, set alarms, and many more. You can even stream music from internet services such as Saavn, Amazon Prime Music, and TuneIn wherein all you need to do is to ask for an artist, a song or maybe the genre. Due to this, you can create a phenomenal music environment at your own home by connecting several Echo devices together but place them in different rooms. It features a hands-free control mechanism which means that it has the capability to listen to what you say despite being so far away due to its integrated, advanced 4 far-field microphones. This is even possible in environments that are extremely noisy or even when you play music. You have the privilege to message or even call up friends and family who already have an Alexa App or an Echo device in order to conduct Skype calls. Additionally, you can make announcements i.e one-way intercom in order to publish messages to all the Echo devices you own. By just using your voice, you can control compatible smart plugs, lights, and remotes from Syska, Philips,, and TP-Link. Apart from Bluetooth connectivity, this unit implements 15,000 and more skills such as ordering food for you, booking a cab, play games etc. It keeps getting smarter due to all the latest upcoming features. The UE Roll2 is a Bluetooth speaker which you must have since it’s engineered to pump out astounding sounds. It outputs music in every direction and certainly guarantees clarity. It does this by emitting sounds through the air with bass that’s deep enough to be heard in noisy environments. This speaker is small, compact and lightweight which makes it effortless to utilize and carry it around anywhere you go. Although, regardless of its minute size, this model has the capacity to blast out loud music anywhere (indoors and outdoors). It also features deep bass with a stunning 360-degree sound feature. You can play your favorite music list and expect it to be heard from all directions due to its 360 degree sound feature. It’s engineered to be waterproof (IPX7 rated) as the shell or housing for this speaker is life-resistant. Therefore, this model is built for outdoors/adventure purposes. However, you should note that it is only waterproof for 30 minutes max. and can only sustain its performance up to a water depth of 1 meter. Another feature that’s worth reading about is its 65 feet wireless range (Bluetooth) and offers up to 9 hours of battery life. This means that you can play continuous music up to 9 hours however this varies with use, environmental factors, and settings. In terms of battery, this model offers 3 batteries that are nonstandard. By using the UE Roll2 companion app, you can set alarms, tune it, and even enhance the sound by linking it up with another UE speaker. This unit works well both Apple and Android smartphones thus making it extremely compatible. The Zoook Rocker Torpedo speaker is an award-winning speaker unit that comes with a sturdy body construction along with a fine masculine build. You can add this unit to your collection of the popular Zoook rocker series. Apart from the regular speaker you see in every electronic shop, the Zoook rocker speaker is developed to amplify both high and low bass frequencies. This is made possible due to the powerful blend of a passive subwoofer and a magnificent stereo sound. This model brings you multi-connectivity options such as Bluetooth, AUX and even a hands-free approach that allows you to take calls without touching your phone. What we like about this model is that it integrates both durability and portability. Moreover, it features a water-resistant housing material so you can take it to the beach or to the pool without worrying about dropping it. In addition, it provides an 8-hour battery life expectancy. With this, you can listen to your tunes without having to charge it in between. By utilizing massive bass diaphragm drivers that are huge sized, you can expect loud music to be played like never before. The UE Roll 2 Bluetooth speaker represents the bold, big, and beautiful sounds that are never witnessed before. With this beast, you can say bye to mumbling, muddy noises and say hello to clarity sounds that’ll make you scream in order to be heard. This model is a compact yet ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker that can be taken anywhere since its wireless and extremely lightweight. Moreover, you can attach this unit to a kayak without worrying about water damage since it’s completely waterproof. You can take this model to a pool party or even to a beach with your family or friends. Apart from a kayak, you can even it attach it to your board, bike, backpack or anywhere else you wish to take your music. Even if you’re hiking, biking, or running trails, this speaker won’t hold you down since it’s not as heavy as compared to other Bluetooth speakers. To be precise, this model weighs a little more than half a pound i.e 330 grams. Surprisingly, this is much lighter than compared to a soda can. Additionally, the wireless range for this unit has been upgraded to 100 feet which are 50 percent more than the initial UE Roll speaker version. Lastly, the battery implemented in this speaker is rechargeable and can carry out 9 hours of nonstop music playback. The Philips BT122/94 speaker is an all-in-one wireless speaker that’s built to ensure portability and has the capability to make calls since it implements a microphone that’s in-built. It also offers a rechargeable battery of 20W and operates well with any device that’s Bluetooth enables. Since Bluetooth allows wireless communication in a short range, it makes the whole process energy-efficient and robust. As mentioned, this contemporary technology enables a flawless wireless connection between other Bluetooth units, therefore, you have the advantage to play your favorite music from devices such as tablets, smartphones, or even laptops. When we talk about RMS, it basically refers to the root mean square which is a usual calculation taken into consideration whenever measuring the electrical or audio power that’s transmitted to a loudspeaker (measured in watts) from an audio amplifier. In fact, the electrical power is transferred to the loudspeaker, therefore, its sensitivity decides the amount of sound power it should produce. Ultimately, having higher the wattage would mean better sound power that’s generated by the speaker. This model even features an effortless mp3 music playback system that enables continuous music operation. In the end, this device offers listeners with a variety of options along with information which is produced in clear, muddle-free sound quality. The Denon Enyaya speaker is an upgraded version of the popular Denon speaker model. Nevertheless, this new sharply styled Envaya provides similar sound quality but is more vibrant, compact, suave and water resistant. It’s certainly a must-have product. This model is your ideal travel buddy since it features a solid 10-hour battery life and even integrates a speakerphone that’s noise, therefore, it’s not necessary for you to pick between music and chats. Enyaya has introduced an appealing yet user-friendly design wherein you have the luxury to place the unit either horizontally or vertically and even have the option to pick between a soft blue cloth grille with a smart black finish or an orange cloth grille with a fresh white finish. hat we like about this model is its build quality. For instance, it’s produced using high-quality, sturdy materials thereby ensuring durability. When it comes to sound quality, Denon carries a 100-year hi-fi legacy. This unit incorporates Maxxaudio technology along with double drivers that are oversized. This allows the device to function above the common threshold in a discreet manner. With the all new Philips BT114, you can now appreciate listening to your tunes even more due to its size and portability features. It combines all the necessary elements within this speaker thus allows you to play your music playlist via USB, Bluetooth, and Audio-In connectivity. The Bluetooth speaker is extremely compact and even includes a rechargeable battery. Moreover, it blends well with the contemporary lifestyle and is certainly appealing to the eye. In terms of Audio-in connectivity, this model offers instant, direct audio playback in content from external devices such as portable media players i.e tablets, smartphones etc. You will love the convenience aspect for this model since all you’re required to do is to insert your smartphone or other music player device to the audio system. If you’re interested in listening to radio tunes, the machine has an FM tuner that’s in-built and lets you listen to radio broadcasts, early morning news channels or listen to popular songs every day. It’s simple to operate since you just need to basically tune into the radio station you wish to listen to. Whenever you receive a call, the device is engineered to pause immediately and grant you the advantage to communicate via the speaker. This technology enables users to wirelessly connect to Bluetooth devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. When it comes to the Oontz Angle 3 Plus, this machine is actually Oontz’s fourth-generation model and still carries on the tradition of producing great sounds for a decent price. As a matter of fact, it generates really great sounds and provides justice for its price. This model can be placed either horizontally or vertically. Even though this design is not award-winning material, it’s functionally appealing and friendly. In addition, the battery life for this unit is remarkable since it can deliver up to 30 hours of music playback at moderate volume levels. Also, the speaker is splash proof i.e water resistant therefore you can use it while you shower. This model has the capability to link up to any TV system due to its 3.5mm audio cable port and includes an in-built microphone thereby you can utilize it as a personal, hands-free speakerphone. It implements Dual 1.7 inch precision drivers that are designed with neodymium thus helps in offering premium HD sounds. Moreover, it’s equipped with a bass radiator in order to offer sharp, clear sounds which are free from distortion. The Sony XB10 speaker moves things at a fantastic pace due to its additional bass feature. Additionally, this model incorporates a passive radiator that operates with the internal speaker in order to upgrade the low-end reaction. This gives the bass a lift regardless of its compact size. With that being said, you can pair up your smartphone device within a single NFC touch. NFC helps you connect devices instantly without going through the manual process of connecting them wirelessly. This helps in getting the beats going quickly. If your device doesn’t support NFC technology, then there’s no need to worry since you can always link via Bluetooth and you’re completely ready to go. All you need to do is to connect two speakers (wireless) in order to access stereo sound. Despite listening to music indoors or outdoors, you can chill out without fretting since this wireless speaker is water-resistant. Furthermore, you have the advantage to listen to music and content up to 16 hours without having to recharge the unit in between. Due to its compact size, users can always pick up the speaker, keep it in a bag and carry it anywhere they go. For more stereo sound, you can also connect another speaker. Choosing a Bluetooth speaker can be quite challenging at first, but once you narrow down your options by confirming your purpose of using such a machine along with reading this clear-cut guide, then making the decision becomes far more easier. By picking one of the best Bluetooth speakers under 5000 listed above, you can have access to all the cool features at a very low price.

2019-04-24T10:37:50Z

https://www.nidm.net/electronics/audio/best-bluetooth-speakers-under-5000/

Surgery affects people in a variety of ways, but as you begin to emerge from anesthesia, you’re likely to want to alert your nurse to any issues you may have. LASIK eye surgery is done in offices all over the country by experienced eye surgeons and you need to be in a position to discover a great surgeon to work with. It has turned into a popular technique for the intent of correcting all types of eye issues. When you’re considering LASIK eye surgery you have to make certain you have all of the info you want to create an educated decision. When you’re considering LASIK eye surgery you should receive all the facts so as to make an educated choice. LASIK surgery is merely among the most popular eye surgeries today. LASIK eye surgery has gotten an enormous amount of favorable publicity. It can be less stressful if you are familiar with the process. Lasik is an outpatient procedure, but your physician may supply you medicine that will allow you to relax. Before you choose whether or not LASIK is best for you, you want to select the opportunity to speak with an eye surgeon about all of the info involved with LASIK. LASIK is almost universally regarded as one of the most significant investments a person can make in their wellness and higher quality of life. Although LASIK is a kind of surgery, it’s done at our center with a minimally invasive technique, resulting in rapid healing, and a high degree of succeeding. LASIK is performed while the person is under local anesthesia in the kind of eye drops and usually takes about ten minutes to complete. Custom made Lasik employs a distinctive scanner to yield an extremely detailed, virtual map of your eye. Customized LASIK It is also called the customized wave front LASIK. The treatment may expose the man to numerous symptoms. You could also conclude that such treatment isn’t easy to do, not enjoyable and not pleasant. Complications While getting laser treatment seems like the best solution for vision troubles, it is necessary to know it’s not without certain risks. Definition Many people decide to have laser eye therapy, also referred to as refractive surgery, to increase their sight so that they no longer have to wear glasses or contact lenses. My surgery is now scheduled for the exact first week in September! Rather than relying on Internet reviews when you’re interested in LASIK surgery, use reliable resources to come across surgeons that are qualified to supply you with the highest degree of care. If you’ve heard a good deal about Lasik Singapore vision surgery but are already a small tentative inside taking step one, it’s vital to point out not everybody is going to be suitable to have the surgical procedure. In most instances, the process will take under a quarter hour. You have to enquire about the other laser-assisted procedures too and learn which one would suit the very best for you. One of the absolute most well-known procedures is named Laser Assisted in-situ Keratomileusis or LASIK. To assist you better understand the sorts of laser vision correction procedures readily available today, below are some brief descriptions of every one of the most frequent vision troubles. Talking with Your Surgeon Prior to the Surgery The surgeon you’re working with should make a bid to go over the whole procedure. You and your refractive surgeon will discuss the treatment options that are correct for you. Your LASIK surgeon can provide you more specific details about your specific risks during your LASIK consultation. The LASIK surgeon utilizes a computer to fix the laser for your precise prescription. The surgeon is going to have to take more time completing the LASIK surgery procedure to make sure that the optimum eyesight is accomplished. He will then reshape your cornea with the help of the laser. An excellent eye surgeon will also speak to you about possible financing choices. A great eye surgeon will give you references and all the information that you need to create an educated decision about the process and the way you believe you will recover afterward. Doctors find it impossible to pay to get listed. The physician might also have prescribed few medications and likewise some eye drops. Nonetheless in case you experience bleeding you always need to get an examination form your physician. At your consultation, your physician can tell you all about the surgery and what it is you’re ready to anticipate. Most doctors can offer you with a mild sedative that might be taken before the LASIK surgery commences. Many LASIK doctors offer you free, no-obligation consultations so you may get to understand them and decide if LASIK is best for you. Therefore, it’s crucial that you find the appropriate Los Angeles Lasik doctor. If you are thinking about Lasik at the current time then now would definitely be a very good time to pay a visit to a laser eye surgery center. LASIK with IntraLase is considerably more costly than LASIK with Microkeratome. Wavefront lasik involves the intralase which basically means the flap is made using a laser rather than a blade. Wavefront LASIK is presently one of the most well-known options as it can increase the truth of laser guided surgery. Lasik is really a surgical procedure whereby the surgeon utilizes laser beams to fix the unevenness of your cornea. LASIK has a rather substantial success rate and luckily complications are astoundingly rare. If you are searching for LASIK in Boston, there are quite a lot of clinics offering many different eye services. Make sure that you get to understand your surgeon. At exactly the same time, the surgeon ought to be highly skilled in order to use such advanced equipment. So the ideal collection of your surgeon has become the most significant factor in your eye operation. During a pre-operative evaluation, the eye surgeon will provide you with an eye exam used to determine if you’re an excellent candidate for the process. Well, eye surgeons are operating a business enterprise. Laser surgery is much more popular today and the prices have a tendency to be only a little greater. Laser eye surgery is an amazingly secure and efficient procedure that could get rid of the need to wear glasses or contact lenses. It can be quite pricey, so it pays to do your research to find an affordable and experienced surgeon you can trust with your eyes. It is one of the most advanced procedures performed today to correct vision problems. In the start of the surgery, your surgeon is going to have you lie back on a reclining chair. The Lasik surgeon will inform you that it’s forbidden to drive your vehicle shortly after the surgery. To conclude, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily wish to employ the least expensive LASIK surgeon out there. You come back home a few days following the lasik surgery. LASIK eye surgery is very good for men and women who are bored with wearing eye glasses and contacts everyday. Before you are accepted for Lasik eye surgery, your health care provider is going to have to execute several test. Prior to getting LASIK eye surgery, however, you want to understand a few things so that your LASIK experience is a good one. If you wish to try out lasik eye surgery Minneapolis, then it is preferable to look at the reviews online before you choose the surgeon. Much like any profession, some surgeons are somewhat more skilled than others which includes not just surgical expertise, but in addition diagnostic expertise also. Should your surgeon uses a laser throughout the surgery, the computer is suitably set so the laser will acquire rid of the accurate quantity of corneal tissue. Fully investigate before selecting your surgeon, because it’s also possible that the absolute most expensive surgeon would not be as skilled and professional. So it is recommended to prefer the most experience surgeons It’s also possible that the absolute most experienced surgeon demands more than the above mentioned maximum prices. A great Lasik doctor also continually tests her or his healthcare equipment to make sure they are working correctly. The Lasik eye doctors could also consist of extra costs for brand-new systems they use within the surgery. Now you must visit the lasik eye surgery doctor to see whether you’re a candidate for lasik. Try to remember, the typical price of LASIK surgery a vary based on your geographical area and the precise provider you select. LASIK eye surgery is performed to correct farsightedness, nearsightedness, in addition to other eye disorders like astigmatism and presbyopia that’s a state that describes the impaired ability to focus because of aging. It can be performed for $1500 at a reasonable eye clinic. It is a minor surgical process that is offered across the world. It is a good choice to enhance your vision. If you’re interested in having Lasik eye surgery, and are an acceptable candidate, you should be in a position to spend money on the procedure. Since LASIK surgery is a very competitive market you might even be in a position to negotiate your own discount. LASIK eye surgery is among the most popular elective procedures done today. It continues to gain popularity in the US and Canada because it is effective and affordable. Lots of people wish to go for lasik eye surgery since they are tired of wearing glasses, and don’t have enough time for contact lenses. When you choose the surgery don’t expect to get it done for many weeks. Lasik eye surgery is the most frequently suggested treatment for myopia in the USA. It is among the safest in the world. Denver LASIK Eye Surgery isn’t a new practice. With corrective vision surgery, regardless of what the results of the surgery is, is just what you are likely to live with. LASIK surgery can at times under-correct or over-correct the issue of myopia or, rarely, can help it become worse. The Lasik eye surgery was initially executed in 1991 in the usa and since that time it has come to be remarkably popular. From time to time, surgery might need to be redone in order to supply additional corrections. Laser surgery is for men and women who cannot tolerate medications. Additionally, you might have to delay having surgery if you’re pregnant or are nursing. You wouldn’t would like to find out that you cannot see after the surgery, as it would defeat its own intent. One other great thing about Lasik surgery is that it’s an outpatient procedure. Deciding whether you would like to undergo Lasik eye surgery is a really important choice. You don’t need to have LASIK surgery and consequently, you should have a very in depth discussion with your ophthalmologist before you opt to have the procedure. The very first step to carry out before selecting a LASIK surgery is to research intensively on the benefits and disadvantages of the process. It will only provide a temporarily improved vision. It has a very high success rate. If you have made the decision to undergo a LASIK surgery, the next step to take into account is choosing the correct surgery centre to ensure the operation is going to be carried out smoothly. Once you’ve had your LASIK surgery, you will possibly wish to recommence your regular activities almost instantly, but you should be cautious. You always ought to remind yourself that Lasik surgery is intended to aid in improving your vision. LASIK surgery may be used for those with mild, moderate or severe myopia. Of the different forms of refractive surgery, it is probably the most popular. It is the most well-liked method for correcting visualization difficulties caused by refractive error, in which the eyes fail to focus light appropriately. When you choose to have Lasik surgery, the following thing you need to consider is choosing the ideal Lasik surgery clinic. It’s not cheap to get Lasik eye surgery, but another part is comparatively cheap for something which may have a dramatic influence on their everyday lives. No surgery, no matter how common or simple, is absolutely free from risk. In some instances, refractive surgery may be required. Plastic surgery cares for the reconstructive aspect whereas cosmetic surgery addresses the aesthetic aspect. It has become increasingly popular not only among celebrities, but also among the average people who are either looking for treatment that can halt the signs of aging or can help you get that flat belly that you always wanted. It’s also advisable to keep in mind that surgery isn’t risk-free. Eye surgery may be an alarming prospect. LASIK eye surgery isn’t an exception. Because of the unobstructed view of the cornea, surgeons are somewhat more comfortable in achieving the degree of customization they want which results in better vision. Some surgeons might mislead you with claims that they’ve been doing such surgery for at least 15 decades. You have the ability to pick a LASIK surgeon by adopting some steps like ascertaining credentials. You need to talk to your Lasik eye surgeon to understand the length of time your recovery time will be. There are lots of lasik eye surgeons you can select from. For certain, you will regret later if you select an incompetent Denver Lasik Eye Surgeon. The expense of a strabismus surgery would vary based on many factors. You would need to understand that LASIK surgery costs is nothing like purchasing a physical item at a department shop. The price of LASIK will change from surgeon to surgeon too. Fortunately, LASIK costs in the last two years have stabilized somewhat, but the complete out-of-pocket cost still varies dependent on what treatment you’ve done. If you were told LASIK is your only option you may require another opinion. By speaking to your health care provider and making certain you’re qualified for LASIK, you’ll have a greater possibility of getting the best outcomes. Lasik, nevertheless, is generally an extremely safe procedure. Lasik is definitely the most preferred corrective eye surgery for quite a few, and so it’s critical that you decide on an eye surgeon with a good deal of expertise and who’s using the very best medical equipment available. LASIK is the simplest and safest approach to knock out your bulky spectacles. LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) is among the most popular and powerful elective medical procedures out there. Even the very best lasik md desires some simple details about the patient’s medical history so as to carry out the surgery properly. If your physician won’t tell you, find a different one. After the process is done most individuals are advised by their doctors to return to work three days later. The physician will ask the patient to lie back on the operating table and set the eye beneath the laser. Following your exam, the physician or his staff can help you choose frames. Some doctors will need you to wear an eye patch over the eye that had surgery although others will just prescribe a great deal of rest. Now if you’re not a physician or nurse or have had problems with your elbows you might not understand what your ulnar nerve is. Bear in mind, you’ll need to use a doctor in your network if you wish to be covered. Your doctor needs to order several tests to find out whether your gallstones are symptomatic (causing symptoms) ahead of making a recommendation for surgery. To completely eliminate risks, you will need to locate a dependable doctor for the operation and you want to do constant care of your eyes after the process is completed. Exactly like with any sort of medical procedure there are things to think about before undergoing any form of surgery and LASIK is just the same. Cataract surgery is a sort of corrective eye surgery, which is utilised to clear the vision of someone. Furthermore, the secondary surgery isn’t a guarantee that you will reach your preferred appearance. Non invasive surgery is performed by employing laser beams to correct the issue. Lastly, you might demand a revision surgery with a different surgeon if your initial surgery ends in a lopsided, unnatural or simply unflattering appearance. Should you do an extremely thorough pre surgery consolation with your surgeon you should have the ability to rule out any potential risk factors that would turn you into a terrible candidate for LASIK eye surgery. Also, on rare occasions special surgery may be done in order to replace the fluid within the eye. Corrective eye surgery might not be a big surgery that expects you to stay in the hospital, but you ought to plan on taking at the very least a day off of work to let your eye or eyes recover. Conclusion While it may seem to be the miracle you’re looking for, it’s important to be able to make an informed decision on both the best option and the potential temporary (or permanent) side-effects. There are various sorts of laser eye surgery and so you need to speak to your eye doctor to discuss what is appropriate for you as well as your ailment. Simply take a while and research the LASIK center you are thinking about for laser eye surgery. If you’re considering having laser eye surgery to correct your vision, you will need to likewise be conscious of all of the potential side effects and outcomes connected with the surgery. As to whether you are appropriate for LASIK surgery, leave this to your physician. There are many sorts of Lasik surgery too. It is nothing new and has been around for quite some time now. You may also learn what kind of LASIK surgery is going to be performed since there are a number of distinct techniques currently being utilized to enhance the eyes of folks wanting laser surgery. There are things that you’ll need to get before you leave for your surgery so that they are prepared for you once you come home. Be certain to research a bit before you’ve got your surgery, so you can better understand the procedure. Discount surgery is like a discount parachute. Other people aren’t wild about surgery just because of how the procedure scares them. If you are thinking about vision correction surgery, you should talk to your ophthalmologist to find out whether the surgery is best for you. Laser vision correction surgery also works best for those who fear blood as a result of an important procedure. Thus, a laser vision correction surgery stipulates the fastest approach to your eyes’ healing procedure. 1 quick trick is to go for LASIK, and you’ll be able to go without bifocals then. LASIK is different for everybody. LASIK, on the flip side, does so. A lot of people often wonder if Raleigh LASIK is perfect for them. Some people decide to have one eye operated on at one time, although other men and women prefer to find both eyes done during the identical appointment. To put it differently, if your eye is damaged in a car crash and you require the assistance of an eye doctor, it’ll be covered. A vital part of the eye is the cornea. Just one eye will be treated at a moment. The other eye needs to be treated with another Lasik after a couple of days. LASIK can be a good alternative for many athletes and non-athletes too. however, it needs to be an informed option, Dr. Everett states. Because LASIK is performed on the cornea, we will perform measurements to make sure your cornea is healthy, the corneal surface is absolutely free from irregularities, and confirm that there is sufficient corneal tissue readily available to take care of your prescription. LASIK has evolved in the past several decades, Dr. Everett states. All lasers LASIK reduces the danger of particular complications caused because of the use of microkeratome. LASIK has evolved in the past several years, Dr. Everett states. LASIK is almost universally regarded as one of the most significant investments a person can make in their wellness and higher quality of life. For quite a while, LASIK is getting more complex as it can certainly now accommodate many kinds of patients with different eye issues and requirements. LASIK demands the invention of a lamellar flap by microkeratome. LASIK One of the most frequent procedure to fix the vision is LASIK. At the end, you will want to learn how to decide on the ideal procedure for you. Nevertheless, don’t be worried if you’re not acceptable for the LASIK procedure. Deciding to have vision correction procedures like LASIK and PRK is a substantial step. Deciding to get vision correction procedures like LASIK and PRK is a huge step. Our lasik eye surgery group of doctors are the best experts to provide a thorough assessment and a tailor a treatment plan to suit your requirements. Our lasik eye surgery team are definitely the most skilled specialists to evaluate your eyesight and provide a prescribed therapy. Our lasik eye surgery group and our staff are top notch experts to rate your vision and supply a treatment protocol. Accuracy There are a few of the best doctors who provide the Lasik treatments to their patients so they can attain an excellent and far better vision. There are a few of the best doctors who provide the Lasik treatments to their patients so they can reach a good and much better vision. Your Midwest Eye Consultants doctor together with your eyewear consultant will also suggest a high definition lens that will supply you with the finest visual clarity. Today if you’re interested in vision correction surgery you can decide on a bladeless LASIK. Laser eye surgery is the most recent innovation in eye surgery therapy. It Now is dedicated to providing the best vision correction expertise and customer care in Brooklyn Park. Though Lasik treatment may sound risky, with the newest technology used at our facility, our group of professionals are ready to supply a safe surgery to ensure no harmful side effects could impact your vision. Not only does it restore your vision to the fullest, it can also prevent you from getting the constant headaches that you have been getting for which you have started to use spectacles. There are some who opt for the LASIK treatment for receiving their vision. The most critical part of LASIK surgery is a great preoperative evaluation. It is performed on approximately one million eyes every year in the world and it is no different than any other surgery, but its drawbacks may be a little different than others. It is no different than any other surgery, but its drawbacks may be a little different than others. Lasik Laser Eye Surgery has caused a good deal of hope andexcitement to a lot of men and women. Lasik surgery treatment Laser eye surgeries in Los Angeles are commonly utilised to take care of shorts and close to sightedness along with astigmatism. The entire surgery is completed in one step utilizing single laser, thereby, taking only few seconds to complete the surgery. Additional surgery or’ enhancement’ may be asked to take pleasure in the most effective possible outcome of a LASIK. For Femto-lasik surgery that is additionally a bladeless surgery, we use the exact same Visumax machine and a different type of software for producing femto lasik flap. When it has to do with corrective vision eye surgery, there are many choices to select from. As soon as you have located a surgeon you’re interested in contacting from our directory of LASIK and cataract surgeons, we welcome you to critique the surgeon’s profile and compare their qualifications with different doctors you’re contemplating. Your surgeon will work with you to help determine when you are able to go back to your sport whilst ensuring the very best possible outcome. Surgeons generally advise that the very best alternative for eye surgery is Lasik. With The Blend Zone, your surgeon can ablate the surface that is equivalent to your pupil size in dim light, reducing the chance of post-surgery vision difficulties. You want the very best surgeon you’ll be able to find, the most innovative equipment available and a team you may trust. Very best lasik surgeons have struggled to consider lasik surgery procedure which is not just bladeless but flapless. Lasik eye surgeons in Los Angeles usually elect for the procedure as it’s quick together with safe for everybody. If you’re contemplating LASIK surgery, among the most crucial points to think about is the very best approach to come across the perfect LASIK surgeon. LASIK surgery is just one of the most frequent forms for vision correction available today. Lasik Laser Eye Surgery has caused a great deal of hope andexcitement to numerous women and men. The surgery shouldn’t be painful, but there’s a little smell of burning during using the laser, which can allow it to be an unpleasant experience for the individual. All surgeries have their advantages and disadvantages, and Lasik eye surgery is the same. When you opt to have Lasik surgery, the following thing you need to consider is choosing the very best Lasik surgery clinic. Now, Lasik eye surgery is extremely common. It is a relatively new ocular procedure designed specifically for people who are nearsighted. It is a very complex operation involving the most delicate part of the eye, the cornea. Much like any profession, some surgeons are somewhat more skilled than others which includes not just surgical expertise, but in addition diagnostic expertise also. They might mislead you with claims that they have been doing such surgery for more than 15 years. Third, to discover certified and expert eye surgeon is critically vital for Lasik eye surgery. When you have chosen the eye surgeon you will work with it’s important to get a very long conversation about just what the procedure will consist of, which means you understand just what to expect prior to, during and following the procedure. You must discover an expert eye surgeon, with a superior experience and success rate in LASIK surgery. Surgery is done at Umhlanga. Furthermore, the surgery isn’t fit for every individual. Over three million cataract surgeries are finished in the US itself. Cataract surgery is just one of the most regularly done surgical procedures in the global world of health science. Cataract eye surgery isn’t an exception. When you’re considering LASIK you will want to speak to your present eye doctor to learn if you’re an excellent candidate and receive a referral to an eye surgeon. In years past the very first step in LASIK consisted of developing a flap in the cornea working with a metallic blade (microkeratome). For example, Wavefront LASIK is quite costly. LASIK has a rather large success rate and luckily complications are astoundingly rare. The term Lasik implies using laser rays underneath the corneal flap to enhance the form of the cornea in order to correct defects in eyesight. When you’re considering LASIK for your vision correction requirements, you ought to take the opportunity to find a LASIK evaluation to make certain you are a superb candidate for the process. Lasik can be a complicated procedure based on the level of your vision impairment, but always a procedure that may be accomplished. People today consider LASIK for an assortment of explanations. What Is So Fascinating About Lasik Eye Surgery Reviews? Laser surgery is the most commonly used methods among them. Laser eye surgery is an amazingly secure and efficient procedure that could get rid of the need to wear glasses or contact lenses. In case you’re contemplating undergoing laser eye surgery, here’s a rundown on the fundamental facts that you want to know prior to deciding to have one. Laser eye surgery is easily the most successful type of eye corrective surgery. It truly is one of the wonders of modern medicine. When you’re planning to undergo laser eye surgery, ensure you have selected the proper surgeon. The surgeon will ask an assortment of questions regarding the health care history of the individual. When you satisfy the eye surgeon personally, you should ask some questions in order to find a notion about his expertise in refractive surgery. You may also speak with your eye surgeon about the financing choices available so that you don’t need to be concerned about the total price tag of the process. Laser therapy and plastic surgery is able to help you remove them permanently. If you are searching for a treatment for pink eye, we’ve got a list of the greatest treatments. Natural treatment for pink eye may also be used. Plan A Visit To Your Surgeon In order to choose whether eye laser treatment is the perfect selection for you the first thing which you’ve got to do is to seek the advice of your surgeon. Immediately after surgery patients are usually provided with antibiotic eye medication and lubricating eye drops to be utilized in these days, and might also have to put on a protective eye patch. In the majority of cases, it’s much better to finance or put off the procedure until the money may be procured for greater technology and attention instead of settle for cheaper inferior technology or level of service. Additionally, there are other distinct kinds of laser-based procedures like CK, LASEK, and PRK. Nowadays, it’s not unusual to hear people are choosing surgical procedures for correcting various vision difficulties. By now it must be apparent that all LASIK procedures and surgeons aren’t equal. LASIK procedure is most appropriate for astigmatism, nearsighted, farsighted and several different difficulties. Procedure of Laser Eye Surgery Laser eye surgery, also called blade-free LASIK, is a surgery which uses excimer laser to fix the vision of someone. Remember that LASIK isn’t always the ideal procedure for everybody. You should make certain the surgeon is well qualified if you would like to get the ideal eye doctor. To provide you with a prosperous lasik surgery outcome, you must pick the best surgeon that will help you achieve better and clearer eyesight. Bear in mind you should also be searching for the very best LASIK surgeons in your region. Even in the event that you can’t appear to get any of the greatest Lasik surgeons around, there are directories accessible to aid you in your search. When you’re searching for the ideal Lasik surgeons to help improve and fix your vision, it seems sensible you don’t wish to compromise. Tell your optometrist or ophthalmologist that you wish to understand who the ideal lasik surgeons. If you’re looking for the very best LASIK surgeons in Lee County, think about the skilled physicians at Elmquist Eye Group who are qualified to offer you the highest degree of care. LASIK surgery has gotten highly popular over the previous 5-10 decades. Finding the ideal Lasik doctor is essential in deciding where and when to have the surgery. Picking A Surgeon You should select a surgeon that specializes in refractive correction if you wish to have laser eye surgery. Although it may appear simple, in addition, it requires a surgeon with amazing expertise in lasik procedure since there is no room for any minor error. If you’re thinking about LASIK surgery, among the main facts to think about is the way to come across the perfect LASIK surgeon. Lasik Surgery is among the most recent and most advance vision treatments, available in the industry today. It is just one of the most well-known procedures out there today. If it comes to LASIK eye surgery, there aren’t any right answers. Lasik surgery was designed within IBM. It is considered an elective surgery and is one of the most common eye surgery procedures performed because it is quick, simple, and affordable with amazing results. Only for instance, it might not be able to give to perfect vision but it will definitely provide you a better one. Lasik eye surgery is now a regular procedure that huge quantities of people have already undergone. If you’re looking for a capable Lasik eye surgery in Rochester. Eye surgery may be an alarming prospect. There is going to be many more fees and extras you will need if you would like the ideal eye surgery. Laser eye surgery is not appropriate for everybody and there are likewise some non laser vision correction choices available. You’ve decided you are prepared to have LASIK. Itas important to consult with your ophthalmologist in depth to learn whether LASIK or any other refractive procedure is most suitable for you. LASIK can be a good choice for many athletes and non-athletes too. Driving at night might be an issue for any number of those who get LASIK. LASIK has grown into one of the most popular elective surgery procedures in the States. LASIK, surgery to reduce or eliminate the demand for eye glasses, has become quite popular over the previous 5-10 decades. The usefulness of advertising for the role of picking a surgeon is restricted, however. Eye surgeons that are affiliated with teaching hospitals generally stay current on all the most recent procedures and breakthroughs in their field, instead of private practice eye doctors who might see a great deal of clients but don’t keep on top of the greatest new procedures. When you satisfy the eye surgeon personally, you should ask some questions in order to find a notion about his expertise in refractive surgery. If you are searching for a LASIK surgeon, the very best eye doctor is a person who has performed several thousand eye operations already. To begin with, the LASIK surgeon will produce a flap from the cornea. The best method to discover the perfect Boulder lasik surgeon for you is to visit and speak to lots of eye surgeons and after that go for the best one. There are a number of Boulder lasik surgeons which will flood you with a great deal of information during and following the operation. Our surgeons have other selections like PRK as a replacement for correcting your vision. You shouldn’t feel that if you consulted a surgeon, you’re obligated to find the expert services of that surgeon. A superb surgeon will have further understanding of the most up-to-date and advanced technology is normally the ideal choice for you to think about. In the modern Internet-centric world, locating a very good surgeon has turned into much easier. Following are a couple of aspects to consider before selecting a superior refractive surgeon. You’re fortunate to get many great surgeons in San Antonio so you’re seeking the ideal LASIK surgeon with the very best value. Unfortunately, not everybody is a candidate for Lasik. Speak to Your Ophthalmologist About LASIK You might be a candidate for LASIK if you’ve got good general health and don’t have any eye diseases. If you’re curious in the event that you will earn a fantastic LASIK candidate, there are a few considerations which should weigh into your choice. Typically, if all the following apply to you, you ought to be a very good candidate for LASIK. Suitable LASIK candidates need to have a prescription that has remained stable for more or less a year. Keep reading to see whether you’re a possible candidate for LASIK surgery. If you’re a candidate, he can coordinate with surgeons in the region to ensure your eyes are taken care of so you may have a prosperous outcome that satisfies your expectations. It is critical that you discern whether you’re a possible candidate for LASIK surgery or not. What’s more, potential candidates have to be well educated about the advantages and dangers of the procedure and have realistic expectations about the possible outcome. Ask your surgeon to check out when you’re a possible candidate for monovision. Lasik surgery isn’t as complicated as many folks think. If you aren’t qualified for LASIK surgery, our surgeons can assist you in finding an alternate procedure that’s ideal for your personal needs. LASIK surgery is accustomed to the treat refractive errors brought on by a misshapen cornea. Lasik eye surgery has been invented in many forms. It can be a very rewarding procedure, but is not an optimal solution for everyone. Now it can be performed within a span of a few minutes with help of laser. It can put a quick end to all that. The surgery is most suitable for healthy patients that are at least 18 decades old. Before it can take place, potential candidates need to undergo various tests to determine lasik surgery compatibility. There are several suitable alternative eye surgeries available for patients of all of the needs. If you’re considering LASIK, you can wonder if you’re a candidate for the process. If you’re not a candidate for LASIK, you’ve got many different choices. Don’t forget that even if you’re not a candidate for LASIK, there’s another procedure like PRK, which can help treat your refractive errors and supply you with the vision you’ve always desired. As one of the quickest and best vision correction treatments currently available, LASIK is now an extremely popular alternative for people trying to correct refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. LASIK provides an exciting chance for folks who depend on glasses or contact lenses to better their vision. LASIK has come to be the alternative of choice for more than two million eyes each year. If you’re prepared to take the next step and figure out if LASIK is best for you, first, we have to determine your candidacy. LASIK can be accomplished with monovision. LASIK has turned out to be a secure and efficient procedure. LASIK is a fine-tuned procedure which has been utilized for more than 20 decades now. LASIK can be a risky operation. LASIK is a delicate procedure and just a seasoned ophthalmologist can figure out if you’re a perfect candidate for LASIK, dependent on your general wellbeing, the status of your eyes and your distinct condition. LASIK has turned out to be a secure and efficient procedure for clearer vision. LASIK employs an instrument commonly referred to as a micokeratome. LASIK is a health procedure. Additionally, LASIK can take care of a greater array of vision errors. Before LASIK is performed you will have to undergo a string of diagnostic tests to establish the stability of your vision. Lasik can help people with bad vision. Lasik is the greatest thing in their opinion. In the same way, LASIK isn’t advised for extreme farsightedness, since the form of the eye makes it hard to correct. While LASIK is easily the most popular kind of laser eye surgery, it isn’t for everybody. Then LASIK just could be the thing for you. Although Lasik is among the simplest surgeries in medicine, patients ought to know of its expectations before undergoing the surgery. Make certain to ask your doctor all questions concerning the surgery if you’re thinking about moving toward the next step. Cataract surgery is just one of safest and most prosperous surgeries that may be done. It’s essential to be conscious that the surgery isn’t a guarantee of perfect vision, and a few patients may require extra surgery to further increase their vision. In truth, it’s the most frequently selected vision correction surgery available. Consult a TLC-affiliated eye doctor for a completely free LASIK consultation to decide on if you’re a LASIK candidate. If you’ve been told that you’re not a candidate for LASIK, we welcome you to come in for a totally free VIP exam. To schedule a complimentary consultation to decide whether you’re a suitable candidate for LASIK, please contact Laser Eye Center. Pay a visit to your eye doctor for a comprehensive consultation to find out when you’re a perfect LASIK candidate. Not everybody is a great candidate for LASIK. It is possible to learn more about whether you’re a very good LASIK candidate in a consultation at our Toronto practice. In the event you decided to have the LASIK surgery, you must learn if you’re a LASIK candidate in a visit to an ophthalmologist. LASIK surgery is accustomed to the treat refractive errors due to a misshapen cornea. LASIK eye surgery contains 3 steps. It has been performed on more than one million of people in the world. It may dramatically improve your life and the way you see it. You’re not a great candidate when you have degenerative or autoimmune diseases, if you’re pregnant or nursing, or when you own a condition that deters or slows healing. A lot of people are regarded as good LASIK candidate, but some people don’t meet the criteria. 1 thing you ought to be conscious of is only a skilled ophthalmologist can tell you when you’re even an excellent candidate for Lasik surgery. Keep reading to see whether you’re a prospective candidate for LASIK surgery. It is very important that you discern whether you’re a prospective candidate for LASIK surgery or not. Also a perfect candidate has to be a quick healer and don’t have any disease that may impact wound healing like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV. Ask your surgeon to check out when you’re a possible candidate for monovision. Just like with any surgical procedure, however, it’s important to make certain that LASIK is the proper fit for your distinctive vision requirements. Lasik is the best thing in their opinion. Then LASIK just may be the thing for you. Because LASIK isn’t right for everybody, we screen potential candidates very carefully to guarantee they meet the correct qualifications. You also can’t get LASIK should you have dry eye syndrome, since the surgery can help it become worse. Over 30 million procedures are performed worldwide, and increasing numbers of people are considering LASIK everyday! Lasik Candidate – Is it a Scam? Speak to your LASIK surgeon to learn if you’re able to get LASIK at your present age. LASIK has been shown to have long lasting benefits, with a high level of safety. Before LASIK is performed you will have to undergo a string of diagnostic tests to figure out the stability of your vision. LASIK is a health procedure. LASIK is not advised for everyone that has a systemic wellness problem or an autoimmune disorder, which can impact the healing process after LASIK. While LASIK might not be a possibility for everybody, there are still plenty of means to increase your vision! Customized LASIK is intended to treat both lower order abnormalities such as far sightedness and astigmatism in addition to higher order abnormalities that can result in blurriness, halos, and other kinds of vision troubles. Experience matters in regards to performing LASIK. At present, LASIK is among the most frequently performed healthcare procedures in the nation, and it has a fantastic record of succeeding. While LASIK has become the most popular kind of laser eye surgery, it isn’t for everybody. While Custom LASIK is utilized to take care of an extensive variety of refractive errors, not everybody is going to be a perfect Custom LASIK candidate. LASIK enables people to perform the majority of their everyday tasks without corrective lenses. LASIK takes around 15 minutes to finish, with minimum discomfort, and yields incredible outcomes. For obvious reasons LASIK has many advantages over the conventional prescription glasses and contact lenses to repair your eyesight. The only means to decide if LASIK is best for you is to come in and go over your choices with our LASIK Optometrist. LASIK is the most frequent eye procedure, and is thought to be among the safest elective procedures in modern medication. In the same way, LASIK isn’t suggested for extreme farsightedness, since the form of the eye makes it hard to correct. Before Custom LASIK is performed you will have to undergo a set of diagnostic tests to ascertain the stability of your vision. Deciding on A Surgeon You ought to choose a surgeon that specializes in refractive correction if you would like to have laser eye surgery. The best surgeons will have the newest technology, a pleasant staff, and great bedside manner. Even in the event you can’t appear to find any of the ideal Lasik surgeons around, there are directories accessible to aid you in your search. If you’re searching for the best LASIK surgeons in Lee County, consider the skilled physicians at Elmquist Eye Group who are qualified to provide you with the maximum level of care. Surgeons should be prepared to analyze the facts of your procedure and answer any questions which you may have. Your surgeon and your principal care physician may need to consult with one another as a way to guarantee you’re fine for LASIK. Some surgeons might mislead you with claims which they have been doing such surgery for over 15 decades. Picking out the ideal surgeon can be done through an assortment of processes. Most surgeons acknowledge that the main security issues in laser vision correction are associated by means of the mechanical device used to create the corneal flap. Even in case you can’t seem to acquire any of the best Lasik surgeons around, there are directories accessible to assist you in your search. There are a great deal of other great LASIK surgeons in the country. You should make certain the surgeon is well qualified if you would like to locate the ideal eye doctor. You prefer to go for an eye surgeon who focuses on safety and the proper upkeep of the person. The eye surgeon will assess the form and thickness of your cornea, refractive errors, pupil dimensions and your general general health to find out if you’re candidate for LASIK. It’s very simple nowadays once you receive the best Lasik eye surgeons. If you’re looking for a LASIK surgeon, the very best eye doctor is a person who has performed several thousand eye operations already. 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Lasik Surgery is the most frequent term employed for the process. Lasik eyes surgery shows affect inside a few minutes alone and is utilised to treat near sightedness in addition to farsightedness. Lasik is thought to be a cosmetic or elective surgery so might not be addressed by the insurance policy policy policy company. Lasik is thought to be a cosmetic or elective surgery so might not be covered by the insurance policy policy company. LASIK has been a benefit for the bulk of individuals trying to find a safe, convenient approach to make the most of their vision. The number of LASIK varies. Call to learn how much you are able to save on LASIK with one of the very best rated LASIK surgeons on earth! If you would like to find out more about our Orange County LASIK results, we are going to be delighted to provide them to you. Lasik is a relatively easy and quick procedure. LASIK is a kind of refractive eye surgery. Lasik is considered to be a cosmetic or elective surgery so might not be covered by the insurance policy policy company. Lasik is a very skilled procedure and demands an extremely skilled Lasik Surgery doctor. If you’re thinking about getting LASIK or PRK, here is what you have to know. LASIK is a surgical procedure, it’s essential to follow together with instructions from your wellbeing care provider. LASIK is almost universally regarded among the most vital investments an individual can make in their wellness and greater quality of life. Lasik is an outpatient procedure, but your doctor may supply you medicine to help you relax. If you’re contemplating getting LASIK or PRK, here’s what you need to find out.

2019-04-20T04:18:00Z

https://www.eyesr.us/2018/07/page/2/

brand MARINE CONSULTANTS GmbH | Salvage Experts, Casualty Management and more. 24/7. brand MARINE CONSULTANTS GmbH is a fast-growing, global Marine Consultancy. Since the company was founded in 2014, bMC has completed over 200 projects on behalf of shipowners, law firms, P&I clubs, offshore contractors, shipyards and insurance companies. Our services include carrying out Survey, Casualty Investigation and Expert Witness work throughout the Maritime & Offshore sectors. Our staff have a wide range of training and qualifications as well as significant experience in many sectors of the Marine industry. Our current team have backgrounds as Master Mariner, Chief Engineer, Naval Architect, Ship Broker, Ship Manager & Spill Response Specialist. As experienced marine surveyors our Consultants have performed inspections on vessels of all types including passenger vessels, tugboats, barges, dredges, ferries, cargo ships and warships for the purpose of pre-purchase evaluation, insurance eligibility, insurance claim resolution and regulation compliance. We are specialised in inspecting marine cargo, marine engines and offshore and facilities such as drydocks, loading docks and more. Thanks to our many international projects in the past, our Consultants have significant experience in ensuring compliance with international guidelines dealing with issues such as pollution, international security and safety management schemes. We are happy to examine cargo gear to ensure that all requirements, regulations and standards are met. At bMC we pride ourselves on providing clear, concise and independent reports. We base ourselves on the surveys as well as other relevant documents to present the most accurate possible document. Over the years we have developed of presenting factual written elements, strengthened with 3D drawings, calculations at the hand of our own in-house software, self-evident graphs and illustrations. Casualty Investigation is the process of establishing the root cause and extent of a damage resulting from e.g. collision, grounding, fire, engine failure, sinking etc. Our wide range of techniques for acquiring the necessary information and data includes surveys, inspections, 3D simulations, diving, ROV and side scans. We also interview the crew and analyse VDR’s in order to support the investigation process. We maintain our commitment to providing clear, independent reports which are based on our findings and on further relevant documents. Our reports aim to outline an accurate sequence of events, which we present with our own unique style and back up at the hand of 3D drawings, calculations, graphs and illustrations. As Marine Consultants we have an excellent track record, proving our qualifications and expertise in the field of Marine and Offshore. We boast a combined experience that spans over decades and have been hired as independent experts several times to provide expert evaluations and reports for a variety of cases in the past. We understand the importance of our role as educators of the court and fully comprehend our duties as Expert Witness. In terms of Casualty Management, our single objective is to prevent an incident from turning into a full-blown crisis. We understand the importance of effective planning and the need for integrated crisis and emergency response organisation. Our Consultants pay special attention to identifying and prioritising the interests of the main shareholders, organising resources accordingly and mitigating the risks and costs of the whole operation. We are familiar and have worked with most of the prominent contractors in this field and are skilled in negotiating with them, as well as keeping them focused on the project at hand. Click the flags below to see a brief description of bMC’s previous projects. In 2014 bMC was hired to carry out a root cause investigation and a damage survey on a container vessel. bMC was later sent on site to negotiate an alleged cargo claim for the same vessel in 2016. In May 2016 bMC was hired to carry out a root cause investigation and a damage survey after a multi-purpose ship suffered damage to its propeller. bMC were mandated as consultants to support the owners of a car carrier with substantial fire damage during a tender process for repairs. bMC was mandated to carry out a condition survey on a reefer ship in September 2014. When a jack-up vessel’s leg got stuck in the seabed in February 2016, the vessel grounded and eventually capsized. bMC dispatched consultants on site and were later appointed SCR. In 2015 bMC was mandated to carry out a damage survey on a bulker with significant damage to its rudder. After the grounding of a bulker off the coast of Greece in August 2015, bMC acted as SCR during the salvage operation. 36 - 38 Großer Burstah in the centre of Hamburg. In June 2015 bMC was assigned the role of SCR during the salvage operation of a container vessel which suffered a dangerously list after a severe storm. In 2014 bMC was mandated to carry out a damage survey on a reefer vessel after it had suffered an engine failure and had to be towed to the port of Busan, Korea. In September 2016 bMC opened its London office, located in The Leadenhall Building. After the grounding of a bulk carrier in March 2016, the bMC team was mobilised to Madagascar as SCR to support the salvage operations. When a bulk carrier got caught in a hurricane in October 2015 it veered off course and was stranded against a cliff. The bMC team was dispatched to manage the salvage operations. In 2014 bMC has carried out various projects for the Offshore Wind sector including an analysis of a vessel’s jacking system, Expert Witness work and a damage survey of Offshore Substations. bMC’s Consultants have excellent courtroom skills and have frequently been involved as Expert Witnesses in the resolution of claims disputes. In April 2016 bMC was contracted to investigate an offshore claim on behalf of a vessel’s owners. In May 2016 bMC opened its first overseas office in Singapore: brand MARINE CONSULTANTS (SG) Pte. Ltd. In late 2015 bMC was contracted for the investigation and handling of a flooded engine room for a general cargo ship. bMC was contracted to carry out a Casualty Investigation. This project later led to bMC providing technical services to the vessel’s owners. In December 2014, bMC’s Consultants were contracted to manage in the salvage of a barge off the coast of Qatar. The bMC team was hired to act as Towage Consultants for the tow of a fully laden bulk carrier with a damage propeller and rudder from Suez to Singapore via India. In March 2014, bMC was assigned the role of SCR during the salvage operation of a bulk carrier. In May 2014, bMC was assigned the role of SCR during the salvage operation of a RoRo carrier off the coast of Angola. Subsequently, bMC supported Owners and Underwriters in preparing the tender for the wreck removal. In June 2016, bMC was given an Expert Witness assignment. In February 2014, bMC was assigned to negotiate an alleged cargo claim. In May 2015, bMC was assigned as salvage consultant during the salvage operation of a jack-up rig. In June 2015, bMC was assigned as salvage consultants to advise on the salvage operation of a container ship on fire. In May 2016 bMC was contracted as Owner’s Representative during the salvage of a grounded bulk carrier in the Rio de la Plata. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad has been appointed as consultant for the removal of two wrecks. During the fire on board of a bulk carrier in November 2016, bMC was mobilised to Colombia as SCR to support the salvage operations. bMC associate office in Mumbai. Please contact bMC Singapore to get in touch. Our Consultants are recognised experts in their field and can lend support across projects of all shapes and size around the globe. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly for further information. bMC feel very lucky to have secured the highly regarded and experienced Mark Hoddinott on to their ever growing team. It’s difficult to give a fitting title to such an experienced and knowledgeable individual but Mark will be joining bMC as a Senior Advisor. When it comes to Salvage and Wreck removal there is little that Mark doesn’t know and few people that don’t know Mark. bMC are therefore very pleased indeed to announce that Mark is now part of the bMC team. bMC welcomed Mark Hoddinott to the bMC Group at an informal gathering in Hamburg at the start of April. We’re all excited about the latest development and looking forward to tapping in to some of the wealth of knowledge that Mark brings with him. Welcome Mark! bMC’s Captain Lars Tesmar remained in attendance of a grounded container vessel off the coast of Tripoli, Libya as P&I Club Representative. bMC’s Giacomo Pison was engaged by P&I underwriters to attend the site of the sinking of a general cargo vessel in Turkish waters. The vessel’s fuel was promptly and effectively removed under bMC’s oversight. bMC’s Heiko Foerster was engaged by insurance interests to attend and survey a bulk carrier in a north German port following loss of an anchor. Heiko was requested to report on the loss, including route cause analysis. bMC Singapore continued to work with Owners and insurance interests in respect of the salvage and subsequent disposal of a tanker in Malaysia. bMC’s Thomas Baer was engaged by Charterer’s via their insurance interests to attend and survey a tanker on German inland waterways, following an alleged cargo contamination. bMC’s Captain Ajay Prasad was appointed as Special Casualty Representative (SCR) following the grounding and partial sinking of a tanker off Johor, Malaysia. bMC’s Captain Lars Tesmar has continued to give to give professional advices to the responsible German authorities, following the appearance of several shipping containers in German waters thought to have been lost overboard from a passing vessel. bMC’s Heiko Foerster was engaged by insurance interests to attend and survey a river cruise vessel in southern Germany following damage to a propulsion unit. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand was engaged by legal representatives to give professional opinion and expert witness report relating to a collision case in German waters. bMC are very excited to announce the opening of a site office in Koblenz, Germany. Opened on the 1st January 2019, the main purpose of the office is to service our important client base with attendance to vessels and incidents on the inland waterways of the surrounding region. After careful consideration, bMC selected Koblenz as it gives ready access to the Cologne, Dusseldorf & Duisburg area to the North and Mainz area to the South. bMC have engaged an experienced former Chief Engineer to be available for the requirements of our clients, present and future. It is expected that the team in Koblenz will grow in the months to come. Please contact us for further details. We welcome any enquiries for the Koblenz office. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand was engaged by the German responsible authorities to give professional advices following the appearance of several shipping containers in German waters thought to have been lost overboard from a passing vessel. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand was engaged to attend a grounded container vessel off the coast of Tripoli, Libya as the appointed Special Casualty Representative (SCR). bMC’s Captain Lars Tesmar was appointed by the German responsible authority to give professional advices following the grounding of a tanker in German waters. The vessel was re-floated in a safe and timely manner. bMC’s Captain Lars Tesmar attended the site of a vessel collision on the River Rhine. This was an interesting job that was particularly satisfying as it was the first case for the bMC Koblenz office. Capt. Tesmar was requested to make an initial investigation and to provide expert opinion in relation to possible route cause. bMC’s Captain Ajay Prasad was engaged by insurance interests to attend a semi-submersible drilling rig off the east coast of India following a severe listing incident. Capt. Prasad was requested to survey and carry out an initial investigation in respect of the incident and subsequent attendance of a contractor to correct the list. bMC’s Alex Leonard was engaged by P&I Interests to oversee the removal of bunker fuels and other potential pollutants from a grounded vessel in south east India. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand attended an inland water cruise vessel at Cologne following a grounding incident resulting in damage to the propulsion system. BIG news for bMC in November! We look forward to serving new and existing clients in this major shipping centre. We welcome new enquiries. bMC are also pleased to announce that Captain Lars Tesmar has been formally notified that he will be appointed to the Lloyds Special Casualty Representative (SCR) panel effective as of 1st January 2019. We give our hearty congratulations to Lars and wish him every success with this added role carrying significant responsibility. bMC is confident that Lars has all the attributes and experience to make an excellent SCR. Equally the bMC team will be on hand to support Lars throughout any SCR appointments. Congratulations Lars! At the same time. bMC is happy to advise that Capt. Dennis Brand has been re-appointed following the latest round of biennial re-applications. Well done Dennis! bMC was appointed by Owners and insurance interests to survey and make an assessment of route cause following a stern tube leakage and change of stern tube parts during a vessel call to Tenerife. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad and Per Tyrsted remained present on site as representatives for P&I interests in respect of a grounded container vessel in the Northern part of the Bay of Bengal. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad was requested by P&I interests to attend the site of a grounded vessel in south east India and provide an initial assessment as well as recommendations for future actions. bMC were engaged by Owners of a Ro-Ro terminal in India to give professional advice in respect of an engineering project. bMC’s Alex Leonard attended the site to make an assessment and provide initial advices. bMC Singapore were engaged by vessel owners in the Philippines to conduct a review of office based procedures and provide an assessment of Management practices with a focus on maintenance procedures. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad and Capt. Lars Tesmar remained present on site as representatives for P&I interests in respect of a grounded container vessel in the Northern part of the Bay of Bengal. bMC were requested by Insurance interests to review pertinent information and give expert opinion in respect of a main engine damage case. bMC are also pleased to announce that on the 1st October Alex Leonard joined the bMC Team in London, UK as a Senior Consultant. Alex brings some new and different experience with him to contribute to the bMC knowledge base. As a response specialist and duty manager with Oil Spill Response Ltd Alex has spent the last eight years planning and training for, responding to and managing oil spill across the oil and gas and maritime sectors. As a technical advisor Alex has worked as a consultant embedded in the largest oil majors supporting crisis management teams in the development of emergency plans and designing and delivering response organisations from Africa to the Arctic. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand was engaged to give preliminary expert witness advice to insurance interests in respect of a cargo damage claim following damages to motor vehicles loaded on a vehicle carrier. bMC’s Capt Lars Tesmar was instructed by Charterer’s insurance interests to conduct a survey and report on the findings in respect of cargo hatch cover damages on a vessel at a Port in Northern Germany. bMC was requested by insurance interests to review pertinent information and give professional opinion following an instance of main engine breakdown as a result of failure of the piston rings from a main engine of a Bulk Carrier. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand was requested by Insurance interests via their appointed Legal representatives to give professional advice regarding salvage costs following a collision between a vessel and a berth. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad and Naval Architect Ms Yu Ling Mok have maintained a presence on site as representatives for P&I interests in respect of a grounded container vessel in the Northern part of the Bay of Bengal. bMC was engaged by insurance interests to survey an offshore vessel in Bremerhaven with bow thruster damages and to report on the likely causes of the damages found. bMC Singapore were engaged to give professional advice to insurance interests in respect of repair options and likely costs following a collision between a tanker and a barge in Indonesian waters. bMC staff were on site in the Azores over the summer months to oversee a wreck removal project on behalf of P&I interests. The project was successfully concluded and approval given by the relevant authorities in late July. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad and Capt. Lars Tesmar remained present on site as representatives for P&I interests in respect of a grounded container vessel in the Northern part of the Bay of Bengal. bMC is very happy to announce that Capt. Per Tyrsted Jorgensen has joined the bMC Team based in Singapore. We are excited by his arrival and looking forward to working with him. Per has significant experience in the marine industry, specifically in tanker management and business development which we certainly expect to be of benefit to bMC and consequently to our growing client base. Per started his career at sea in 1980 and completed his Master’s Examination at Copenhagen School of Navigation in 1989. He continued his career at sea on various type of vessels as 2nd officer to Master before commencing his shore based career in 2000. Since then Per has held several senior management positions, with the last being Vice President of Commercial Operations in a Chemical Tanker company involved with development of Company Strategy and Business Development. Per has vast experience in marine operations including Demurrage, Claims, Insurance, P&I, Bunker Procurement, Port Captaincy, Vessel inspections, Vetting as well as having been involved with Salvage and General Average. We welcome Per to our team. Per will take on the role of V.P. Operations and Strategy. At the same time, Kieran Hopkins will take on the role of V.P. Operations for our Hamburg office. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad was engaged by underwriters to survey two vessels in the Singapore area following a collision. bMC’s C/E Heiko Förster was requested by insurance interests to survey and report on damages to components following a machinery breakdown on a Platform Supply Vessel. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand and Capt. Konstantin Boroffka remain engaged on project relating to a container vessel grounded in the Northern part of the Bay of Bengal. bMC’s C/E Heiko Förster was engaged by owners to survey planned modification works to a Ro-Ro Vessel in Bremerhaven, Germany and give professional advice. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand and Capt. Ajay Prasad attended a container vessel in the Northern part of Bay of Bengal that had suffered a fire and subsequently grounded. bMC were requested to attend by the P&I Underwriters of the vessel. Captain Dennis Brand is appointed as the Special Casualty Representative. bMC’s Captain Konstantin Boroffka is currently also attending in support. bMC Singapore were requested by vessel’s P&I Underwriter to give professional advice in respect of the damages caused following a collision between a tanker and a towed barge off Indonesia. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand was engaged by insurance interests to give professional advice and opinion in respect of a vessel wreck off the coast of Norway. bMC were requested by insurance brokers to survey and give opinion on the root cause in respect of a vessel generator breakdown in a Dutch Port. bMC is very pleased to announce that Capt. Lars Tesmar has joined the bMC Team based in Germany. We are all looking forward to working with Lars and we value the high level of marine experience that he brings. We are certain that Lars’ experience will be a great addition to our growing company and that it will serve to benefit our increasing client base. After a technical apprenticeship in 1994 and experience as an engineer on offshore dredgers and barges Lars went on to study Nautical Sciences at the University of Applied Sciences Oldenburg/ Ostfriesland/ Wilhelmshaven from 2004, finishing with a degree as Dipl.-Ing and the Certificate of Competency for Watch Officer. Lars started as his bridge career as watch officer on large Anchor Handling Tugs gaining his unlimited Master Mariner license and Dynamic Positioning Operator licence. Inspired through the work with FPSOs and Oil Rigs Lars completed a Diploma in Marine Surveying, specializing in Mobile Offshore and Drilling Units (MODUs) by correspondence course as at Lancaster University. This course was followed by a job as Staff Surveyor in 2011, specialized in Towing and Salvage, at a leading claims management organisation. Following this, Lars joined Svitzer Salvage in 2014 later becoming Ardent, where he carried out several Salvage Projects as Salvage Master. We welcome Lars to our team. bMC’s Heiko Förster was dispatched by P&I Insurance interests to attend Tug in the Hamburg area which has suffered an engine malfunction leading to a crew injury. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand was engaged by P&I Insurance Interests to conduct a survey relating to damage of lock gate walls allegedly caused by a vessel collision. bMC Hamburg office & Team enjoyed a well-attended “House Warming” party at our new office on the 26th April. Many thanks to those that made it along for the evening to help us celebrate! bMC’s Heiko Förster was engaged by P&I Insurance interests to attend an oil production facility in Northern Germany where product received ashore from a tanker was found to be incorrect. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand was engaged by Owners and their Legal representatives to provide further expert witness statement & advice in respect of an earlier case involving loading of project cargo in the Far East. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster was appointed by P&I interests to attend a wreck removal in Eastern Germany on the Baltic coast. The client required a route cause analysis and report in this case. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) and bMC’s Naval Architect Giacomo Pison were engaged by P&I insurance interests to attend a capsized vessel in Guayaquil, Ecuador. bMC have been requested by the underwriters to assess the situation and arrange removal of the vessel. In addition bMC have been requested to carry out root cause analysis. This will involve the skills and expertise of brand ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS to provide computer modelling of the incident. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed by insurance interests to make a technical analysis following a machinery breakdown on a vessel in the port of Bremen, Germany. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster was instructed by P&I Underwriters to carry out a survey of damage to a jetty, allegedly caused by a bulk carrier in Nordenham, Germany. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) spoke at an event of BDO – 10. Schifffahrtsforum – about “Economies of Scale vs. Salvage”. The event took place on 27.02.2018 in Hamburg. A previously reported wreck removal project of a grounded tug and barge off Zhuhai, China has been concluded to the satisfaction of the local authorities and the client. The wreck of the tug and barge was successfully removed in February. A previously reported wreck removal project of a sunken fishing vessel off Dalian, China has been concluded to the satisfaction of the local authorities and the client. The wreck of the vessel was recovered in February. bMC’s C/E Heiko Förster was appointed by insurance interests to attend a vessel following main engine damage. bMC is engaged to provide a survey report and route cause analysis. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) was appointed as P&I Club representative to attend a ferry following a grounding in the Azores. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad was appointed to act as SCR and attend a vessel following a grounding in Israel. bMC was engaged by P&I interests to attend the site of a bunker spill, during bunkering operations on the Kiel Canal. The Client looked to bMC to provide assistance and support with appointment of clean-up contractors as well as intervention with the local authorities and report covering the event. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) was appointed to advise P&I interests with respect to a possible wreck removal case off the coast of Uruguay. bMC’s Peter Wölk, CEO, spoke at an event of the Nautischer Verein zu Bremen about Casualty Management. The event took place on 09.01.2018 in Bremen. bMC proudly announce that YuLing Mok has joined the team as Consultant in Singapore. YuLing is a qualified Naval Architect and holds a Diploma in Marine & Offshore Technology from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore and a degree in Naval Architecture with Offshore Engineering from Newcastle (UK). She has broad experience in 3D and 2D modelling of ships and casualties. Prior joining bMC YuLing has worked as a Naval Architect and Consultant with LOC and several Shipyards and Marine companies in Singapore. YuLing has experience in ship inspections and collision investigations and is well versed with HSE requirements onboard vessels. We welcome YuLing in our team. bMC are pleased to advise that owing to expansion we have moved to a larger office. However, no need to amend your address book as we have moved just across the hall to a far larger office. In doing so we have sufficient space for the Captain Klaus Förster Unabhängige Schiffahrtsexperten team to join us in the same space as well as PANDI SERVICES J. & K. Brons and the rest of the bMC team. We also have enough space for some further planned expansion of the bMC Group as well as a separate meeting room. We look forward to a small “housewarming” party in our new premises soon! bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) and C/E Heiko Förster were simultaneously engaged by insurance interests in relation to a general cargo vessel that suffered a flooded engine room of the coast of West Africa. Whilst Capt. Brand gave the client advice in respect of the urgent salvage efforts, C/E Förster was engaged to carry out a route cause analysis in Sierra Leone. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) was appointed as Consultant to support owners and P&I Underwriters with the wreck removal of a fishing vessel off Dalian in in China. bMC’s Yuling Mok has been appointed to carry out a collision investigation between two vessels off Singapore. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) was appointed as Consultant to support owners and P&I Underwriters with the casualty management of a capsized barge off the South Indian Coast. bMC’s C/E Heiko Förster was engaged by insurance interests to review a historical claim relating to Vessel’s machinery damage. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) was appointed by legal representatives to review and offer expert opinion in relation to a claim for repair costs on an off-shore installation. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) was appointed as Consultant to support owners and P&I Underwriters with the casualty management of a grounded barge off the East Malaysian coast. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) was appointed as consultant to assist P&I Underwriters with the wreck removal operation of a crew transfer vessel, which sank in the port of Pula, Croatia. bMC’s Oliver Fowke was instructed by Charterers to carry out a survey on board of a container vessel in the port of Hamburg, which lost containers during the sea passage. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster was instructed by P&I Underwriters to carry out a survey of the side shell damages of a vessel caused by a bunker barge. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) was appointed as Consultant to support owners and P&I Underwriters with the wreck removal of a grounded tug and barge off Zhuhai in China. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed to carry out a contact investigation between a vessel and a pier off Indonesia. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster was instructed by Owners and Underwriters to carry out a fire safety assessment on board a cruise ship dry docked in Bremerhaven. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed to carry out a collision investigation between a vessel and a pier off Singapore. bMC is proud to announce that Kieran Hopkins has joined the team, based in Hamburg on 1st November 2017. We look forward to working with Kieran and we value the shipping experience and knowledge he brings to our growing international team. As we continue on our exciting path of expansion in to new areas of the marine industry, we are confident that he will bring further value to our clients. Kieran completed a degree in Marine Technology and Maritime Law at the University of Plymouth, UK. Thereafter, he went on to work on the Technical Maintenance team for the British America's Cup Challenge in New Zealand 2002 – 2003. Following a number of years as a professional yachtsman, Kieran joined Samuel Stewart & Co as a Towage and Salvage Broker in 2007. He recently concluded a tenure of 10 years with The Stewart Group / RS Platou / Clarksons Platou Offshore, where he was involved with a significant number of towage and salvage projects, gaining significant experience of commercial and contractual aspects. We welcome Kieran to our team. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster was instructed by P&I Underwriters to carry out a damage survey and subsequent root cause analysis relating to a collision in a German port leading to the collapse of a shore crane. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed to carry out a commercial and technical review relating to a container vessel which grounded in German waters. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed to carry out a collision investigation between two vessels off Singapore. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster was appointed by P&I Underwriters to undertake a damage survey of a vessel in the port of Bremen following an alleged collision in the Indian Ocean. bMC’s Oliver Fowke was instructed by owners to carry out a condition survey onboard a container vessel in a German port, following a cargo discharge incident. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed as Consultant to support owners and P&I Underwriters with the handling of a casualty off Malaysia. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) was instructed by the German Coast Guard to attend, as their representative, a bulk carrier grounded on the German coast in the North Sea. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) was appointed by the German Coast Guard to give advice relating to a grounded bulk carrier on a German Waterway. “The last few days have been extremely busy, but I am very satisfied to have assisted with the safe and controlled re-floating of two vessels within 10 hours. The bMC team has once again shown, that we are ready to mobilise on short notice. We are proud to assist our clients whenever and wherever they need us”. The first stage of a previously reported wreck removal operation of a bulk carrier sunk in Greek waters which bMC has been managing on behalf of P&I underwriters was safely and successfully concluded in October. A previously reported wreck removal operation of a submerged General Cargo vessel in Chinese waters which bMC has been monitoring on behalf of P&I Underwriters, was safely and successfully concluded in October. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) and Naval Architect Adeline Goh have been instructed to carry out an investigation of a collision involving two vessels off Singapore. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed by P&I Underwriters with regard to an alleged wash damage suffered by a megayacht (Berne, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as an expert to advise Underwriters regarding a hull damage (Democratic Republic of the Congo). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been contracted as expert on behalf of Underwriters for the evaluation of jetty damages allegedly caused by a tanker during berthing (Brake, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed as an expert on behalf of Charterer’s P&I to survey and investigate a collision damage to a ship's crane (Bremerhaven, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been instructed to provide an expert opinion on a salvage operation (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed as an expert witness regarding a collision (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Peter Wölk, CEO, spoke at an event of the Shipping Professional Network in Hamburg (SPNH) about Mergers & Acquisitions. The event took place on 19 September in Hamburg, Germany. bMC proudly announce that in addition to brand MARINE CONSULTANTS GmbH now also brand MARINE CONSULTANTS (SG) Pte. Ltd. in Singapore and brand MARINE CONSULTANTS (UK) Ltd. in London have been successfully approved by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance to the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Standards. The Quality Management System is applicable to Specialist Services to the Marine and Offshore Industries, Surveys, Salvage and Wreck Removals, Casualty Management, Expert Witness Services. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed by P&I Underwriters to carry out a root cause analysis in regard of a collision between two container ships as well as to quantify the sustained damages (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been contracted as expert on behalf of P&I Underwriters for the evaluation of jetty damages allegedly caused by a bulk carrier (Bremen, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as expert to carry out a survey of the aft stern tube seal of a bulk carrier inclusive a root cause analyses (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed by P&I Underwriters to carry out an investigation of alleged personal injuries to stevedores on board of a container ship (Bremerhaven, Germany). bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed as expert to advise P&I Underwriters regarding a collision of a bulk carrier with a ferry boat (Berne, Germany). bMC joined the 35. Peter Gast Schiffahrtsregatta and sponsored this fantastic maritime event, which took place end of August. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed to carry out a collision investigation and damage assessment (Singapore). bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed by German Authorities as consultant during a salvage operation of a grounded freighter (Cuxhaven, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as expert to advise P&I Underwriters regarding a collision of a vessel with a shore crane (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as expert to advise H&M Underwriters regarding an engine damage of a megayacht. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as expert to advise P&I Underwriters regarding damages of a gantry crane caused by a vessel (Emden, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been contracted as expert on behalf of P&I Underwriters to carry out an investigation of a main engine breakdown (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been contracted as expert on behalf of P&I Underwriters for the evaluation of the damage a river cruise vessel sustained during a fire on board (Linz, Austria). bMC has taken over the leading German P&I correspondent PANDI SERVICES J. & K. Brons (PANDI). Thomas Kühl, the main shareholder behind PANDI SERVICES for many years, has transferred the business to brand MARINE CONSULTANTS GmbH (bMC) with effect as of 1st July 2017. The history of PANDI goes back to the year 1865 and already 1902 the company has been appointed to act as P&I Correspondent. The transition process is being led by bMC's CEO Capt. Peter Wölk. Peter Wölk has previously worked with PANDI for almost six years. bMC is glad to announce that the PANDI team will remain on board. Rolf-Jürgen Hermes who joined the company back in 1985 will continue as Managing Director. PANDI will continue as a separate and independent entity. But the cooperation with the bMC group of companies will offer PANDI direct access to wider technical and engineering expertise as well as to experts and surveyors which will increase our service capability. In addition, this acquisition increases the footprints of both companies. On the one hand bMC will have associated offices in Bremen, Wilhelmshaven and Rostock (beside the HQ in Hamburg). And on the other hand PANDI will be put on a global scale via the bMC companies in the UK and Singapore. bMC’s clients will directly benefit from this new set-up. bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed by P&I Underwriters as consultant to investigate a collision (Rostock, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as expert to advise H&M Underwriters regarding an engine damage of a river cruise vessel (Tolkamer, The Netherlands). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as consultant to advise H&M Underwriters regarding stern tube repairs (Antwerp, Belgium). bMC’s Oliver Fowke has been appointed as consultant attending a capsized floating dock and a chemical tanker (Gdynia, Poland). bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed as consultant for the investigation and handling of a cargo claim (France). bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed as consultant to advise P&I Underwriters during a salvage operation (Burullus, Egypt). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as Court Surveyor (Hamburg, Germany). bMC has been appointed as consultant to advise Owners regarding a cargo claim (Valencia, Spain). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been contracted as Consultant to carry out an investigation of a main engine damage. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been contracted as Consultant to carry out an investigation of a propeller shaft damage. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been contracted as Consultant to advise on a damage to intermediate shaft bearing and possible damages to the vessel’s stern tube. bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed as Consultant to advise on an a major cargo damage. bMC proudly announce that Giacomo Pison joined the team as Consultant in London. Giacomo has a background in naval architecture, ship construction, propulsion, stability and subdivision, ship behaviour at sea and shipboard electrical power systems. He studied in Italy and holds a Bachelor`s and a Master`s degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. We welcome Giacomo in our team. bMC proudly announce that Adeline Goh joined the team as Consultant in Singapore. Adeline is a qualified Naval architect and has studied in Singapore Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She holds a diploma in Marine & Offshore Technology and has broad experience in 3D and 2D modelling of ships and casualties. She has been involved in numerous salvage projects while with her former employer TITAN SALVAGE / Ardent Maritime . Adeline has experience in ship inspections and is well versed with HSE requirements onboard vessels. We welcome Adeline in our team. bMC proudly announce that Capt. Jonas Alphonso joined the team as Associate Consultant in Mumbai. Jonas is a Master Mariner with years of command experience on foreign going vessels. Thereafter he has worked with ship brokering and commercial operations gaining invaluable experience in dealing with Contracts and Charter parties. He has worked with surveying firms and has extensive experience with accident and incident investigations, condition surveys, cargo surveys, project cargo operations and damage assessment surveys. He has been involved with several salvage cases off the coast of India. We welcome Jonas in our team. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR) and Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) have been appointed as Consultants to assist Owners, H&M Underwriters and P&I Underwriters with the handling of a casualty (Singapore). bMC’s Capt Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed as Consultant to support Owners, H&M Underwriters as well as P&I Underwriters with the handling of a grounded tug and barge combination (Maldives). bMC’s Capt Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed as Salvage Master handling a casualty (Chennai, India). On 14 March 2017 brand MARINE CONSULTANTS (UK) Ltd. has been incorporated in London. On 30 March 2017 bMC celebrated the 3rd anniversary party with approximately 150 clients, friends and guests in their office premises Hamburg. bMC proudly announce that Brit Brand joined the team as Head of Finance based in Hamburg in February 2017. Brit has a broad experience in Finance and has been with Axel Springer SE (one of the largest publishing houses in Europe) for the last 15 years, her last role was Director of Sales Controlling. She holds a degree in Finance and currently takes learning courses to become a VBA programmer. We welcome Brit Brand in our team. bMC’s Oliver Fowke has been appointed as SCR attending a salvage operation of a general cargo vessel (Lesbos, Greece). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been contracted as salvage consultant attending a fire on board of a car carrier (Southampton, UK). bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR) has been appointed as Expert Witness (London, UK). bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad (SCR) has been appointed as consultant supporting underwriters and owners with the handling of a cargo damage (Mumbai, India). bMC has been appointed as GA surveyors (Bremerhaven, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as Court Surveyor for an engine damage (Stade, Germany). We are proud to announce that Captain Ajay Prasad of bMC Singapore, has been appointed as a member of the Lloyd’s Panel of Special Casualty Representatives. Ajay joined bMC in June 2016 after a career at sea and ashore both in commercial shipping and salvage. Since starting up our Singapore Operation, Ajay has been instructed by various parties on no less than four salvage and wreck removal projects - most recently acting as a representative for underwriters on a fuel removal and subsequent ITT process for a wreck removal in China. This appointment strengthens our ability to respond rapidly on a global scale and is a testament to our experience and in-depth knowledge of the SCOPIC clause; since 2014 bMC has had an SCR appointed on ten SCOPIC cases and numerous other high profile casualties. bMC proudly announce that Peter Wölk joined the team as CEO based in Hamburg on 1st January 2017. As a member of the company’s management, he will shape strategic, operational and commercial business activities and initiatives for bMC around the world, as we successfully continue our exciting path of international expansion and growth. Peter Wölk is a fully qualified German lawyer and member of the Hamburg bar association but also an engineer for maritime transport, who studied Nautical Sciences. Peter Wölk has gained considerable industry insight throughout his career. First nautical experiences he collected on board of the "GORCH FOCK" of the German Navy, later also on commercial vessels. Prior joining bMC, he has been for nearly five years the Claims Director of Hanseatic Underwriters, a leading fixed premium P&I and FD&D provider. Prior to this he gained deep experience in maritime law as well as large casualty handling while first working as a maritime lawyer in a law office followed by more than six years working for a leading P&I correspondent. That followed he worked as Senior Operations Manager and Legal Consultant for a major international Flag State Administration. Apart from his office duties, Peter Wölk regularly acts as lecturer e.g. at the Bucerius Education GmbH and the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen. He also acts as an arbitrator at the German Maritime Arbitration Association (GMAA) and is a member of the German Association for International Maritime Law (DVIS) and the German Society of Travel Law (DGfR). Peter Wölk’s core competences include the combination of legal and nautical expert knowledge, large casualty handling, process and organisational development, risk assessment and analysis. We welcome Peter Wölk in our team. bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad has been appointed as consultant for the removal of two wrecks (India). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand has been appointed as SCR during the salvage operation of a bulk carrier (Cartagena, Colombia). bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad has been appointed as consultant for the removal of a wreck (China). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed for the investigation of a crane damage (Brake, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been publicly appointed and sworn by the Chamber of Commerce, Hamburg as expert for hull and machinery damages and ships valuations. bMC’s Oliver Fowke has been appointed as Owner’s Rep. in order to prepare the ocean-going towage of laden LPG tanker (Buenos Aires, Argentina). bMC’s has been appointed as consultants for a fuel removal operation off Yingkou (China). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand has been appointed as SCR during the salvage operation of laden LPG tanker (Buenos Aires, Argentina). bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad has been appointed as consultant for the removal of two wrecks (Taiwan). bMC’s Capt. Ajay Prasad has been appointed as consultant for the investigation of the root cause leading to the sinking of a barge and to attend the respective salvage operation (Singapore). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster has been appointed as Port Engineer on behalf of Owners to oversee the docking and repairs of a Ro/Ro ship (Dansk, Poland). bMC has been appointed by Time Charterers as casualty consultants during a cargo fire on board of a container ship (Hamburg, Germany). bMC has been appointed by H&M Underwriters as technical consultants during the tow of a disabled tankers (Mediterranean). bMC(Sg)’s Capt. Ajay Prasad is appointed as expert by underwriters to investigate the origin of the contamination of oil products at the discharge port of a tanker (Thailand). bMC has been appointed as technical consultants to investigate the main engine break down of a reefer ship (Turkey). bMC is delighted to announce that Capt. Olaf Linnemann has joined the team and will fill in the role as Senior Consultant Marine & Offshore. Thanks to his many years’ experience in the heavy lift industry and in the salvage industry, Capt. Linnemann brings a wealth of knowledge. He has successfully carried out high-profile heavy lifts and salvage operations as project manager as well as salvage master including the wreck removal of the SMART off South Africa. He holds degrees in mechanical engineering and nautical science. bMC has been appointed as experts to review and verify the cost of a salvage claim (Hamburg). bMC has been appointed as technical consultants to review and verify the cost of engine repairs of a container ship (Hamburg). bMC has been contracted to investigate the loss of an anchor (The Netherlands). bMC has been appointed as experts to investigate the cause of a main engine break down of a container ship (Turkey). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner, is mandated as Arbitrator in a Marine claims dispute (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Oliver Fowke, Consultant, is appointed as Owner’s Representative during the salvage operation of a grounded bulker (Rio de la Plata, Argentina). bMC is delighted to announce it has founded its first overseas office in Singapore. Capt. Ajay Prasad has joined the team and will take over the management of the Singapore branch as Managing Director & Partner. Thanks to his many years’ experience in the Salvage industry, Capt. Prasad brings a wealth of knowledge and has successfully carried out high-profile operations as Salvage Master and Project Manager. He holds and MBA from INSEAD and his keen commercial expertise and understanding of the Far Eastern Shipping market is sure to strengthen the global bMC team. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner, is contracted as a consultant to carry out an investigation on a bulker (Berneo, Spain). bMC’s Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Director, is appointed as Expert Witness to carry out an expert evaluation of a Wreck Removal operation (Fortaleza, Brazil). bMC’S C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner, is contracted is contracted to investigate the collision of a vessel with a flood barrier (Greifswald, Germany). The bMC Team is contracted as Expert Witnesses for the investigation of an offshore claim on behalf of a vessel’s owners (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner, is contracted as consultant to carry out a damage survey and to advise on repair costs for an offshore vessel (Hamburg, Germany). The bMC Team is contracted as Consultants to investigate the lost tow and sinking of barges. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Director, is appointed as SCR during the salvage operation of a bulk carrier (Faux Cap, Madagascar). bMC’s Oliver Fowke, Consultant, is appointed as Owner’s Representative to advise during the salvage operation of a bulk carrier (Faux Cap, Madagascar). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner, is contracted as consultant to run a root cause analysis for a main engine damage of a general cargo ship (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner, is contracted as consultant to carry out a damage survey and to advice on repair costs for an offshore vessel (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Director, is appointed as Salvage Consultant during a salvage operation of a jack-up barge (Hvide Sande, Denmark). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner, is contracted as consultant to carry out a root cause analysis for a main engine damage of a bulk carrier (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Partner, is appointed as SCR during a salvage operation of a jack-up barge (Hvide Sande, Denmark). The bMC Team is contracted as Consultants to investigate the capsizing of a ferry. bMC signs an agreement to provide technical management services to a ship owner. bMC’s Dennis Brand, Managing Director, is contracted as consultant to negotiate an alleged cargo claim (Chittagong, Bangladesh). bMC’s Oliver Fowke, Consultant, is appointed to advise during an emergency response operation (offshore UK). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a damage of reefer ship in (Busan, Korea). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Partner is appointed as Senior Salvage Master during a salvage operation (Manzanillo, Mexico). bMC’s Oliver Fowke, Consultant is appointed as Assistant Salvage Master during a salvage operation (Manzanillo, Mexico). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a damage of container ship (Algeciras, Spain). bMC’s team is contracted as Expert Witnesses for the investigation of a cargo claim on behalf of vessel’s owners (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s team is contracted as Towage Consultants on behalf of H&M (London, UK). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner contracted as Engineer during sea trials of an LNG powered ship in the North Sea (Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Partner is appointed as SCR during a salvage operation (Kythira Island, Greece). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Partner is appointed as SCR during a salvage operation (Hodeida, Yemen). bMC’s team is contracted to develop a mooring/anchoring plan for an offshore project (Hamburg, Germany). bMC proudly announce that Chief Eng. Else de Jong has joined its team as Associate Member. Else de Jong is domiciled near Rotterdam, the Netherlands and will work via our Hamburg office. Else de Jong holds a Degree as MBA and a BSc in Naval Sciences and Marine Engineering. He gained considerable industry insight throughout his career. Most recently he was employed as Salvage Master, Commercial Manager and Project Manager for a leading salvage organization. He has broad knowledge and experience in salvage and wreck removal, surveying and repairs as well as project and commercial management. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Partner is appointed as SCR during a salvage operation off Mumbai, India. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as a consultant for the investigation of a main engine failure of a container vessel (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Partner is contracted as a salvage consultant responding to a casualty of a jack-up rig in an oil field on behalf of H&M Underwriters (Gulf of Mexico). bMC’s Capt. Claas-Heye Diekmann, Director Operations is contracted as consultant for an ISM gap analysis for a Mega Yacht (Mediterranean). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand (SCR), Managing Partner is contracted as a salvage consultant responding to a casualty of a MPP vessel on behalf of H&M Underwriters and the P&I Club (North Sea). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as a consultant for the investigation and handling of a collision damage (Hamburg, Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as a consultant for the investigation of heavy whether damages to a MPP Vessel (Mediterranean). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as a consultant for the condition survey and valuation of an offshore construction vessel (Barth, Germany). bMC proudly announce that Capt. Claas-Heye Diekmann will join its team as Director Operations based in Hamburg on 1st April. As a member of the company’s management, he will shape strategic, operational and commercial business activities and initiatives for bMC around the world. Further he is tasked with transforming bMC from being a start-up company to a sustainable growing enterprise as we continue our exciting path of international expansion and growth. Capt. Diekmann has gained considerable industry insight throughout his career. Prior joining bMC, he has been heading the Quality Assurance & HSSE department at E.R. Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie. KG, a leading bulk and container ship owner and manager. Capt. Diekmann also has extensive sailing experience, having worked for major ship owners and managers such as NSB, Hapag-Lloyd and Peter Döhle. After having completed his apprenticeship as ship mechanic, Capt. Diekmann studied Nautical Sciences at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen, leading to his qualification as an industrial engineer and master mariner. In addition, he completed a two year’s full study master program in business psychology. Capt. Diekmann’s core competences include process and organisational development, risk assessment and analysis, auditing and quality management. We welcome Claas-Heye Diekmann to our team. After a successful start in 2014 with 22 projects, bMC is proud to announce of having hit the 10 project mark within the first two months of 2015. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand, Partner is contracted as an Expert Witness dealing with an offshore claim, Edinburgh (Scotland). bMC supported its clients in successfully refloating a 100m barge fully laden with rocks off Doha (Qatar). The scope of work included investigation, contract negotiations, supervision during the project including liaising with the relevant authorities and dealing with the aftermaths. bMC has been contracted to carry out a feasibility study for an Offshore-Supply-Ship. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation of an offshore construction claim. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as Expert for the purchase survey of an Offshore-Supply-Ship. bMC proudly announced today that Capt. Jean-Gabriel Tridon has joined its team as Associate Member. The mariner is domiciled near Sant-Nazaire (France) and will work via our Hamburg office. Capt. Tridon holds a degree in Nautical Science as well as a degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering. He has gained considerable industry insight throughout his career. He has worked as staff expert for a leading claims handling organization as well as construction manager and dock operation coordinator for a ship yard. Capt. Tridon has broad knowledge in ship construction, repair, claims investigation as well as in surveying. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a damage of an inland water tanker in Minden (Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR is appointed as consultant for the handling of a major marine casualty. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR is appointed as Consultant during a salvage operation in Doha (Qatar). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a damage of an inland water tanker in Hamburg (Germany). bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner was contracted as Engineer during sea trials of an offshore construction ship in the North Sea (Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR provided expert advice during a cargo recovery operation in the North Sea (The Netherlands). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR was appointed as SCR during a salvage operation in The Netherlands. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a damage of an offshore construction claim (Germany). We are proud to announce that approximately 70 guest have attend our housewarming party. It was great fun meeting so many good friends, clients and partners! bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a damage of an inland water tanker in Bremerhaven (Germany). bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR is contracted as Expert for the purchase survey of an Offshore-Supply-Ship. bMC proudly announced today that Capt. Konstantin Boroffka has joined its team as Associate Member. The veteran mariner is domiciled in Kiel (Germany) and will work in our Hamburg office. Capt. Boroffka has gained considerable industry insight throughout his career. He has worked as warranty surveyor for all type of ocean going transports and heavy lift operations (on- and offshore) as well as staff expert for a leading claims handling organization. Furthermore, he was the Marine Risk Control Manager Europe for a leading insurance company. Capt. Boroffka has broad knowledge in offshore operations, cargo surveying, claims investigation as well as in salvage operations. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a marine claim in Shidao (P.R. of China). The crew at brand MARINE CONSULTANTS is pleased to announce that bMC has been allowed to sponsor the Peter Gast Schiffahrtsregatta 2014. Please visit us at our bar during this exciting event! bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the investigation and handling of a marine claim in Chittagong (Bangladesh). bMC’s Capt. Cornelius Bockermann, Associate Member has been contracted to support its clients during a salvage operation in the Baltic Sea. bMC’s C/E Heiko Förster, Partner has been contracted to carry out an investigation of a casualty in the Baltic Sea. bMC’s C/E Heiko Foerster, Partner is contracted as consultant for the handling of an offshore claim in the North Sea. bMC’s Capt. Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR is contracted as Expert Witness during a court case in Germany. bMC has proudly announced today that C/E Heiko Förster has joined its team as partner. Heiko is a leading casualty expert. He holds a degree in marine engineering as well as in mechanical engineering. Furthermore, he is an unlimited Chief Engineer with ocean going experience and has spent the last 7 years as staff consultant with a global operating claims management organization where he was involved in hundreds of surveys, claims and casualties on a global basis. In addition, he has worked as Site Manager during new building projects in South Korea. Heiko is based in Hamburg (Germany) and will travel and work globally. bMC announced today that Capt. Cornelius Bockermann has joined its team as associate member, Australia and Asia. The veteran mariner, who started his career at sea over 30 years ago, is domiciled in Cairns Australia and will oversee the company’s business and operational activities in Australia and Southeast Asia. Capt. Bockermann has gained considerable industry insight throughout his career. He has worked over 20 years in West Africa running offshore, salvage and diving companies and was involved in dealings with serious maritime disasters and vessel casualties. In addition Capt. Bockermann brings wide knowledge and experience in heavy lift operations both on- and offshore. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR was recently interviewed by MunichRe’s magazine TOPICS/SCHADENSPIEGEL (issue 01/2014) about wreck removal operations. The magazine can be found online. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner has been appointed as Owner’s Representative in order to respond to a casualty in Angola. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner has been appointed as SCR in order to respond to a casualty in Angola. bMC was contracted as technical consultant on a wreck removal, in Germany. brand MARINE CONSULTANTS GmbH is now an Associate Member of the International Salvage Union. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR, is scheduled to speak on a panel about salvage operations at the Aon Risk Solutions’ in-house seminar. The event is scheduled for May 2014, in Hamburg. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR, is scheduled to speak on a panel about salvage operations at the Reederei Thomas Schulte in-house training. The event is scheduled for May 2014, in Hamburg. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner has been appointed as Owner’s Representative in order to respond to a casualty in Newfoundland, Canada. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner has been appointed as SCR in order to respond to a casualty in Newfoundland, Canada. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR, is scheduled to speak on a panel about barge operations at the GDV Loss Prevention Conference 2014. The event is scheduled for 01 till 04 June 2014, in Hamburg. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR, is scheduled to speak on a panel about wreck removal operations at the Lion’s Club monthly meeting. The event is scheduled for May 2014, in Uelzen. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR, spoke on a panel about mega carrier salvage at the NVzB (Nautical Association Bremen) monthly meeting. The event took place on 12 March, in Bremen. bMC was contracted as technical consultant on a marine collision case in March, in Germany. bMC supported its clients in handling of a marine claim in February, in Mozambique. bMC gave technical support and advice on an offshore project in February, in Germany. bMC gave technical support to its clients during an insurance project in January/February, in The Netherlands. bMC supported its clients in handling of an offshore claim in January, in the Netherlands. bMC’s Captain Dennis Brand, Managing Partner / SCR, spoke on a panel about salvage operations at the AGRO (Association of Reserve Officers) monthly meeting 2014. The event took place on 10 January, in Lueneburg. Specialist Services to the Marine and Offshore lndustries, Surveys, Salvage and Wreck Removals, Casualty Management, Expert Witness Services. The copyright for any material created by the author Capt. Dennis Brand is reserved. Any duplication or use of objects such as graphics or texts in other electronic or printed publications is not permitted without the author´s agreement. Our website and the information provided are carefully examined and regularly updated. The author reserves the right not to be responsible for completeness, correctness or topicality of the information. This includes especially direct or indirect links to other websites. The respective authors of linked sites are exclusively responsible for their contents. The author is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any linked websites. With the court decision of September 12, 1999 (312 0 85/98, "Liability for links"), the regional court of Hamburg took the decision that when providing a link, the provider is in part responsible for the contents of the given website. According to the regional court decision, this responsibility can be averted by an explicit dissociation from the website contents. Free Country Flags by Gang of the Coconuts is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

2019-04-25T10:44:01Z

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Many secure systems rely on a �human in the loop� to perform security-critical functions. However, humans often fail in their security roles. Whenever possible, secure system designers should find ways of keeping humans out of the loop. However, there are some tasks for which feasible or cost effective alternatives to humans are not available. In these cases secure system designers should engineer their systems to support the humans in the loop and maximize their chances of performing their security-critical functions successfully. We propose a framework for reasoning about the human in the loop that provides a systematic approach to identifying potential causes for human failure. This framework can be used by system designers to identify problem areas before a system is built and proactively address deficiencies. System operators can also use this framework to analyze the root cause of security failures that have been attributed to �human error.� We provide examples to illustrate the applicability of this framework to a variety of secure systems design problems, including anti-phishing warnings and password policies. It is becoming increasingly apparent that humans are a major cause of computer security failures. In the context of secure systems, humans are often thought of as �the weakest link in the chain� . In 2006 the SANS Top 20 Internet Security Vulnerabilities report began listing human vulnerabilities along with software vulnerabilities . A 2006 Computing Technology Industry Association survey found that security managers attribute approximately 60 percent of security breaches to human error, up from 47% the previous year . Social engineering attacks and lack of compliance with organizational security policies are increasingly cited as security concerns. With so many security failures attributed to humans, secure systems that do not rely on a �human in the loop� to perform security-critical functions are attractive. Automated components are generally more accurate and predictable than humans, and automated components don�t get tired or bored . Indeed, in some areas we have seen significant progress towards secure systems that �just work� without human intervention. For example, while early anti-virus programs prompted users to make a decision about every detected virus, today many anti-virus programs automatically repair or quarantine infected files in their default mode of operation. Thus, anti-virus software no longer relies on inexperienced users to make security-critical judgments. When software is likely to be able to make a better security decision than a human, removing the human from the loop may be wise. Likewise, when a user is unlikely to have relevant insights into which configuration options to choose, well-chosen default settings may result in better security-configurations than most humans would achieve on their own. In some cases we don�t seem to be able to avoid relying on humans to perform security-critical functions. There are a number of reasons why it may not be feasible or desirable to automate these functions completely , . Some tasks rely on human knowledge that is currently difficult for a computer to reason about or process. For example, today humans tend to be better than computers at recognizing faces in crowds or noticing other humans who are acting suspiciously . When tasks rely on human knowledge about context, it may be difficult to capture the entire necessary context in a way that a computer can reason about it. For example, a human may be a better judge than a computer about whether an email attachment is suspicious in a particular context. We also rely on humans to make some security-related configuration decisions and to apply policies when it is difficult to encode all of the nuances of a policy or program a computer to handle special cases. In some cases a completely automated system might be too restrictive, inconvenient, expensive, or slow. Some secure systems rely on humans to manipulate or protect physical components, for example, insert a smartcard into a reader and remove it before walking away from the computer. When secure systems rely on the use of secrets, humans must typically store and protect the secrets, and produce them when needed. In addition, most systems that restrict access to only certain humans rely on those humans to participate in the authentication process. When secure systems rely on humans in the loop to perform security-critical functions, threats to system security include not only malicious attackers, but also non-malicious humans who don�t understand when or how to perform security-related tasks, humans who are unmotivated to perform security-related tasks or comply with security policies, and humans who are not capable of making sound security decisions. To protect against these threats, we must systematically analyze the human role in a secure system to identify potential failure modes and find ways to reduce the likelihood of failure. In this paper we propose a framework for reasoning about the human in the loop in a secure system. In Section 2 we provide an overview of the framework and describe its components. In Section 3 we explain how to apply the framework, and show how it can be applied to make recommendations in two different settings. We discuss related work in Section 4 and discuss our conclusions and future work in Section 5. The human-in-the-loop security framework is designed to help us understand the behavior of humans whom we expect to perform security-critical functions. We are primarily interested in understanding the behavior of non-malicious humans—those who intend to maintain the security of a system as well as those who are indifferent to system security, but do not intend to attack the system. While this framework provides some insights into the behavior of attackers, traditional computer security threat modeling techniques may be better suited to identifying vulnerabilities that attackers may exploit. The human-in-the-loop security framework is based on a simple communication-processing model in which a communication is sent to a receiver (the human user), triggering some behavior, as shown in Figure 1. What behavior occurs is dependent on the outcome of several information processing steps taken by the receiver, as well as the personal characteristics of the receiver and the influence of communication impediments. Our framework is built on the Communication-Human Information Processing (C-HIP) model from the warnings science literature . More general transmission models of communication are discussed in the communication theory literature . We discuss the ways our framework differs from the C-HIP model and explain the rationale behind developing a new framework in Section 4. We based our framework on a communication processing model because security-related actions by non-experts are generally triggered by a security-related communication—for example an on-screen alert, software manual, or security tutorial. Indeed, if a human security failure occurs and there is no associated communication that should have triggered a security-critical action, the lack of communication is likely at least partially responsible for the failure. In such situations, if it is not feasible to automate the security-critical action, a good starting point for analysis would be to consider possible communications that might be added to the system and determine whether they would have been likely to prevent the failure. Experts may initiate security-related actions on their own, based on their past training (a communication), or a self-discovered security technique. In the latter case, an individual�s decision to carry out a security plan might be modeled as a communication to oneself. For example, an expert may notice that emails containing hyperlinks in them seem rather suspicious and might decide to adopt the strategy of examining these links before clicking on them. We can consider the decision to adopt this strategy as the relevant communication as we apply our framework. The framework facilitates the analysis of a wide range of secure systems that rely on humans. For example, the warnings provided by anti-phishing toolbars or other security tools are communications that may or may not result in the user heeding the warning, and password policies are communications that may or may not result in users selecting strong passwords. The human-in-the-loop security framework is not intended as a precise model of human information processing, but rather it is a conceptual framework that can be used much like a checklist to systematically analyze the human role in secure systems. The framework, summarized in Appendix A and described in detail below, includes factors and information processing stages that will impact security-related behaviors. However, the relationships between the various components are intentionally vague. While Figure 1 depicts a temporal flow from communication delivery, through communication processing, through application, this should not be interpreted as a strictly linear process. In practice, some of these steps may be omitted or repeated. The first component of the human-in-the-loop framework is the communication, which if all goes well will trigger an appropriate behavior. We distinguish five types of communications that are relevant to security tasks: warnings, notices, status indicators, training, and policies. Warnings are communications that alert users to take immediate action to avoid a hazard. For example, web browsers provide a variety of active pop-up warnings as well as passive warning indicators in the browser chrome to alert users to phishing web sites, expired SSL certificates, and other hazards. While some warnings merely alert users about the presence of a hazard, the most effective warnings generally provide clear instructions about how to avoid the hazard. Effective warnings must get the users� attention and convince them to take an action to avoid or mitigate a hazard. Warnings experts emphasize that warnings should be used only as a last resort when it is not feasible to design a system that fully protects against a hazard . Thus, in cases where we can use software to accurately identify and thwart security threats without user involvement, that is generally preferable to the use of warnings. Notices inform users about characteristics of an entity or object. For example privacy policies and SSL certificates are examples of frequently-encountered notices. Notices may be used by users to evaluate an entity and determine whether interacting with it would be hazardous or consistent with their security or privacy needs. However, generally notices are not intended to be used when an automated tool has determined that a hazard is imminent. Effective notices provide users with the information they need to make judgments. Status indicators inform users about system status information. Generally they have a small number of possible states. Examples of status indicators include taskbar and menu bar indicators that show whether Bluetooth has been enabled or whether anti-virus software is up to date. File permissions information can also be thought of as a status indicator. Training communications are intended to teach users about security threats and how to respond to them. They may take a variety of forms including tutorials, games, instruction manuals, web sites, emails, seminars, courses, and videos. When training is effective, users will not only learn concepts and procedures, but also remember what they learned and recognize situations where they need to apply what they have learned. Policy communications are documents that inform users about system or organizational policies that they are expected to comply with. For example, many organizations have policies about the types of passwords people may use and what types of documents must be encrypted. Policy documents are frequently part of employee handbooks and ISP terms of service documents. Policies may also be conveyed as part of memos or training communications. If policies are to be effective, users must recognize situations where the policy is applicable, understand how to apply the policy, and have the capability and motivation to comply. Some communications fall into more than one of the above categories. For example, notices and status indicators provide objective information for users to interpret as they wish or to consider as part of a trouble-shooting process; however, some might also function as warnings when they provide information that may enable users to make risk-reducing decisions . Another way to classify security communications is to put them on a scale from passive to active. The active communications are designed to interrupt the user�s primary task and force them to pay attention, while the passive communications are available to the user, but easily ignored. At the most extreme active end of the spectrum, the user cannot proceed with the primary task until the user has taken an action related to the communication. For example, the Firefox anti-phishing tool prevents Firefox from loading suspected Phishing web sites unless a user clicks on a link to override the tool�s recommendation. Other active indicators might play sounds or animations to get a user�s attention, without blocking the primary task. Passive communications, on the other hand, may simply change the color of an icon without doing anything to attract the user�s attention. Secure systems designers should consider which type of communication will be most effective in a particular system, as well as where to place it on the active-passive spectrum. They should consider the severity of the hazards that the system is attempting to avoid, the frequency with which the hazard is encountered, and the extent to which appropriate user action is necessary to avoid the hazard. For example, frequent, active warnings about relatively low-risk hazards or hazards that ordinary users are unable to take action to avoid may lead users to start ignoring not only these warnings, but also similar warnings about more severe hazards. A more passive notice or status indicator might be a better choice than a warning in such situations, as it will provide information that may be of use to expert users without interrupting ordinary users for whom it is of minimal use. On the other hand, when hazards are severe and user action is critical, active warnings may be most appropriate, perhaps with links to relevant training. Both environmental stimuli and interference may cause a partial or full communication failure. In the most extreme cases, the receiver might not even be aware that a communication was sent. Environmental stimuli are communications and activities that may divert the user�s attention away from the security communication. These include other related and unrelated communications, ambient light and noise, and the user�s primary task (which the security communication may interrupt). The more passive the communication, the more likely environmental stimuli will prevent users from noticing it. Passive indicators may also compete with each other for the user�s attention. For example, a number of security-related Firefox extensions add passive indicators that clutter the browser chrome, making it difficult for users to focus on any particular one. Interference is anything that may prevent a communication from being received as the sender intended. Interference may be caused by malicious attackers, technology failures, or environmental stimuli that obscure the communication (for example, ambient noise that prevents a user from hearing an audio alert). Traditional secure systems analysis typically focuses on interference, examining whether a critical communication might be blocked or manipulated. In the case of security indicators, the analysis first examines whether the indicator behaves correctly when not under attack, and then whether it behaves correctly when under attack. Does the correct indicator appear at the correct time without false positives or false negatives? Is the indicator resistant to attacks designed to deceive the software into displaying an inappropriate indicator? Can the indicator be spoofed, obscured, or otherwise manipulated so that users are deceived into relying on an indicator provided by an attacker rather than one provided by their system? For example, Ye, et al demonstrated how malicious web servers could cause browsers to display SSL lock icons and certificates, even when no SSL session has been established . The first information-processing step is communication delivery, which includes both attention switch and attention maintenance. The communication will not succeed unless users notice (attention switch) the communication or are made aware of rules, procedures or training messages. They must also pay attention to the communication long enough to process it (attention maintenance). In the case of symbolic indicators, this may mean simply focusing their attention on the indicator long enough to recognize it. For other communications this may mean spending time reading, watching, or listening to it fully. Environmental stimuli and interference, as well as characteristics of the communication (format, font size, length, delivery channel) will impact attention switch and maintenance . In addition, communication delivery may also be impacted by habituation, the tendency for the impact of a stimulus to decrease over time as people become more accustomed to it. In practice this means that over time users may ignore security indicators that they observe frequently. It can be easy for a system designer to overlook communication delivery failures as a potential underlying cause of human security failures, especially when the communication is properly displayed and the user simply fails to notice it. However, there is evidence that many users don�t notice a variety of security indicators in software they use regularly. For example, user studies indicate that some users have never noticed the presence of the SSL lock icon in their web browser , . A study that used an eye tracker to observe participants� behaviors when visiting SSL-enabled websites found that most users do not even attempt to look for the lock icon . The next information-processing step is communication processing, which includes comprehension and knowledge acquisition. Comprehension refers to the user�s ability to understand the communication. The user�s familiarity with indicator symbols and their similarity to related symbols, the conceptual complexity of the communication, and the vocabulary and sentence structure will all impact comprehension. Short, jargon-free sentences, use of familiar symbols, and unambiguous statements about risk will aid comprehension . Knowledge acquisition refers to the user�s ability to not only understand a communication, but also to learn what to do in response to it. A user may comprehend a security warning and understand that they must take action to avoid a hazard, yet be unsure about what specific steps to take to avoid that hazard. Knowledge acquisition depends on the extent of training provided to the user and their involvement during the training. In many cases warnings are accompanied by little or no training in hazard avoidance, and thus unless users have received previous training they are unlikely to know what they are supposed to do when they see the warning. Thus, a good warning will include specific instructions on how to avoid the hazard. Communicating clearly to non-experts about computer security is challenging, and communication-processing failures are common. It is difficult to write about computer security concepts without using technical jargon, and security-related concepts are difficult to represent clearly with icons. For example, most users do not understand the meaning of web browser security symbols and pop-up warnings , . Anecdotal evidence suggests that the lock icon variations used by Firefox 2 to indicate certificate problems and the eyeball icons used by IE and Netscape Navigator to indicate blocked cookies are meaningless to the vast majority of users, including security experts. The final information-processing step is application, which consists of knowledge retention and knowledge transfer. Knowledge retention refers to the user�s ability to remember the communication when a situation arises in which they need to apply it, and to recognize and recall the meaning of symbols or instructions. Knowledge retention is impacted by the frequency and familiarity of the communication, the user�s long-term memory abilities, and the level of interactivity of training activities. Knowledge transfer refers to the ability of users to recognize situations where the communication is applicable and figure out how to apply it. Knowledge transfer is impacted by the level of interactivity of training activities as well as the degree of similarity between training examples and situations where knowledge should be applied. For example, users may retain knowledge from anti-phishing training, and use it to analyze email messages similar to those shown in the training materials. If they can apply this knowledge to other types of email messages, or even to suspicious messages sent through other channels then they have also transferred this knowledge. In the case of security warnings that appear automatically whenever the system detects a hazard, knowledge transfer may be unnecessary, as there is no need for the user to figure out on their own when a warning is applicable. Personal variables include demographics and personal characteristics, as well as knowledge and experience. Demographics and personal characteristics that impact the receiver may include age, gender, culture, education, occupation, and disabilities. When designing a secure system that relies on humans, it is important to consider who these humans are likely to be and what their personal characteristics suggest about how they are likely to behave. It is also important to consider what relevant knowledge and experience these humans are likely to have. The users� education, occupation, and prior experience will impact this. Personal variables may impact a user�s ability to comprehend and apply communications, and their intention and capability to take appropriate actions. For example, expert users with computer-security-related training and experience may be more likely to understand complicated instructions than novice users. On the other hand, experts may also be more likely to second-guess security warnings and, perhaps erroneously, conclude that the situation is less risky than it actually is. Intentions includes attitudes and beliefs, as well as motivation – factors that will influence whether a user decides that a communication is worth paying attention to and acting upon. A number of theories and models of behavioral compliance are useful for understanding why users may receive and comprehend a communication, yet decide not to bother complying with it . Relevant attitudes and beliefs include beliefs about the accuracy of the communication, whether they should pay attention to it, their ability to complete recommended actions successfully (self-efficacy), whether recommended actions will be effective (response-efficacy), how long it will take to complete recommended actions, and their general attitude towards the communication (trust, annoyance, etc.) . Motivation addresses the incentives users have to take the appropriate action and to do it carefully or properly. Since security communications often distract users from their primary tasks, security goals may be in conflict with a user�s primary goals and their attitudes and motivation may be colored by their perception of security risk and importance they place on the security communication versus the primary task. If users tend to view delays in completing the primary task as more important to avoid than security risks, then they will tend to ignore the security communication. Attitudes and beliefs might be further influenced by a user�s past experience with a particular security indicator. For example, if the indicator has displayed erroneous warnings (false positives) in the past, users may be less inclined to take it seriously. Organizations might create incentives for complying (or disincentives for not complying) with security policies that serve as additional motivation. There are a number of approaches that can be taken to motivate users to take security-related actions. Whenever possible, security tasks should be designed so that they are easy to perform and minimize disruption to a user�s workflow so that users do not perceive these tasks as overly burdensome. Users should also be taught about the security risks involved so they can appreciate the consequences of security failures and that their actions might lead to security failures or hazard avoidance. Any relevant cultural norms that might serve as disincentives to good security practice should also be identified and addressed. Finally, within an organization, rewards and punishments may be useful motivational tools. Finally, even if receivers comprehend a communication, understand how to apply it, and recognize a situation where they should apply it, a failure may still occur if they do not have the capability to take the appropriate actions. Depending on what these actions are, specific knowledge, or cognitive or physical skills may be necessary to complete the action. In some cases specific software or devices may also be required. For example, the ability to remember random-looking strings is a capability demanded by many password policies. Many users fail to comply with these policies because they are not capable of performing this memory task. The goal of a security communication is to produce the desired behavior. The receiver�s information processing steps, personal variables, intention, and capability, interact with any environmental stimuli and interference to influence the human receiver�s behavior. In the best case, the receiver properly understands what action needs to be taken and proceeds to take that action. However, failures may still occur at this stage when users are unable to actually complete the action successfully or determine whether they have carried out the action properly. Norman describes the gap between a person�s intentions to carry out an action and the mechanisms provided by a system to facilitate that action as a Gulf of Execution . For example, a user may be aware that anti-virus software is out of date and that they need to take action to update this software. However, they may be unable to find the menu item in their anti-virus software that facilitates this update. On the other hand, a user may complete an action, but may be unable to interpret the results of the action to determine whether it was successful. Norman refers to this as a Gulf of Evaluation . The Gulf of Evaluation is large when it is difficult for users to determine what state a system is in. For example, Maxion and Reeder found that users have trouble determining effective file permissions in Windows XP . Thus, when users change file permissions settings, it is difficult for them to determine whether they have achieved the desired outcome. The gulf of execution and gulf of evaluation can be minimized through good design. To minimize the gulf of execution, designers should make sure security communications include clear instructions about how to execute the desired actions. They should also examine the interface components or hardware that must be manipulated to make sure the proper use of these components is readily apparent. To minimize the gulf of evaluation, designers should make sure that software and devices provide relevant feedback so that users can determine whether their actions have resulted in the desired outcome. For example, after a usability study of cryptographic smart cards revealed that users have trouble figuring out how to insert these cards into card readers, Piazzalunga et al. recommended that visual cues be printed on the cards themselves (reducing the gulf of execution) and that the card readers provide feedback to indicate when a card has been properly inserted (reducing the gulf of evaluation) . James Reason developed the Generic Error-Modeling System (GEMS), a theory of human error that distinguishes three types of errors: mistakes, lapses, and slips. Mistakes occur when people formulate action plans that will not achieve the desired goal. For example, a na�ve user may decide to evaluate an email message before opening an attachment by checking to see whether the message was sent by someone the user knows. However, this plan will result in a mistake when a friend�s computer is infected with a worm that propagates by email messages to everyone in her address book. Lapses occur when people formulate suitable action plans, but then forget to perform a planned action, for example skipping a step in a sequence of actions. Slips occur when people perform an action incorrectly, for example press the wrong button or select the wrong menu item . Good design can reduce the chance of mistakes, lapses, and slips. Designers should develop clear communications that convey specific instructions so as to reduce the chance that users will make mistakes while completing security-critical tasks. They should minimize the number of steps necessary to complete the task and, whenever possible, provide cues to guide users through the sequence of steps and prevent lapses. To prevent slips, designers should locate the necessary controls where they are accessible and arrange and label them so that they will not be mistaken for one another. Secure systems often rely on randomness to prevent attackers from exploiting predictable patterns to breach system security. Thus, failure can also occur at the behavior stage when users successfully perform the desired actions, but do so in a manner that follows predictable patterns that an attacker might exploit. For example, a number of studies on graphical passwords have found that users select these passwords according to predictable patterns. Davis et al. found that students using a graphical password system based on images of faces tended to select attractive faces from their own race. They demonstrated that an attacker who knows the race and gender of a user can use that knowledge to substantially reduce the number of guesses required to guess a password. Thorpe and van Oorschot found that many background images used in click-based graphical password schemes have a small number of popular �hot spots� from which users tend to select their password click points. They demonstrate techniques an attacker can use to learn what these hot spots are and substantially reduce the number of guesses required to guess a password . Designers should consider whether an attacker might be able to exploit predictable user behavior, and if so, find ways to encourage less predictable behavior or prevent users from behaving in ways that fit known patterns (e.g. prohibit passwords that contain dictionary words). We designed the human-in-the-loop security framework to be used as part of a four-step iterative process in which human threats to system security are identified and mitigated. This process is illustrated in Figure 2. The human threat identification and mitigation process can be conducted at the design phase to proactively reduce opportunities for human security failures. It can also be conducted after a system has been implemented and deployed to identify the cause of observed failures and find ways of mitigating them. In the task identification step the secure system designer identifies all of the points where the system relies on humans to perform security-critical functions. This can be done by enumerating the points of human interaction with a secure system and considering which of these interactions are critical to security. In the task automation step, the designer attempts to find ways to partially or fully automate some of the security-critical human tasks. This may or may not be possible or desirable, depending on the type of task. One way of automating tasks is to replace user decision steps with well-chosen defaults or automated decision making. Whenever software developers build systems in which end users are asked to make security configuration decisions or answer questions posed by pop-up security alerts, they should consider whether the anticipated users will have expertise or information that will allow them to make a better decision than the software developer can implement through an automated process or a default setting . Edwards et al. describe the limits of security automation in detail and propose a set of guidelines for appropriate security automation . In the failure identification step, the designer identifies potential failure modes for the remaining security-critical human tasks. The human-in-the-loop security framework offers a systematic approach to identifying these failure modes. User studies can provide empirical evidence as to which failures occur in practice and additional insights into the reasons for these failures. If empirical data is not available, the framework can suggest areas where user studies are needed. In the failure mitigation step, the designer tries to find ways to prevent failures by determining how humans might be better supported in performing these tasks . For example, context-sensitive help and decision-support tools might assist humans as they perform security tasks. Automated error checking tools might warn users if they appear to be making mistakes. Alerts might remind them that a task remains to be done. Visualizations might make it easier for them to spot anomalies or understand the overall system state. Training materials might help them better understand the tasks they must perform. Warnings might be better designed to communicate more effectively. In many cases it may be possible to reduce the burden on humans, even if it can�t be completely eliminated. User studies can help designers evaluate the effectiveness of their failure mitigation efforts. After completing a first pass through the four-step process, designers may revisit some or all of the steps to try to further reduce the risk of human security failures. For example, if after completing the mitigation step designers are unable to reduce human failure rates to an acceptable level, they might return to the automation step and explore whether it is feasible to develop an automated approach that would perform more reliably than humans. An automated approach known to be imperfect might have been considered and dismissed during the first pass through the process, but might be reconsidered during a second pass once it is discovered that human performance on a given task is even less reliable than the automated tool. In Appendix B we present two case studies to illustrate how to apply the human-in-the-loop security framework in the human threat identification and mitigation process. Security researchers often evaluate the effectiveness of systems as measured by their ability to resist various forms of attack. They typically envision a threat model in which a determined attacker will attempt to �fool the software� by disabling the security software, performing a malicious action in an undetectable manner, or deceiving the security software into interpreting a malicious action as an innocuous one. More recently security researchers have expanded their threat models to include semantic attacks , in which attackers attempt to �fool the humans� by obscuring or visually spoofing the indicators provided by their security software. However, this work tends to focus on how to prevent sophisticated semantic attacks by developing unspoofable indicators , . But humans are often fooled by much simpler attacks and may even ignore the (usually correct) warnings provided by their security software . Cranor proposed a series of questions that can be used to analyze the human factors criteria associated with security indicators and identify areas of potential failure. These questions can be mapped to models of warning processing from the warning science literature, for example the C-HIP model on which the human-in-the-loop framework is based . Research on how to create the most effective warnings goes back at least 100 years—for example, research was performed at Yale University between 1904 and 1906 to determine the most effective colors for railroad signals, and the results were subsequently field tested before red, yellow, and green were adopted as standards in 1908. However, most warnings have been introduced to address industry needs, with little or no scientific evaluation of their effectiveness , . In the past two decades, interest in warnings research has increased, and peer-reviewed studies are now being published in this area. Wogalter proposed the C-HIP model to identify reasons that a particular warning is ineffective . Similar to the human-in-the-loop framework, the C-HIP model begins with a source delivering a warning to a receiver, who receives it along with other environmental stimuli that may distract from the message. The receiver goes through several information processing steps, which ultimately determine whether the warning results in any change in behavior. This model is directly applicable to computer security warnings. However, we have added some components to address failures that are typical in a computer security context. We have added a capabilities component because we have observed that human security failures are sometimes attributed to humans being asked to complete tasks that they are not capable of completing. We have also added an interference component because computer security communications may be impeded by an active attacker or technology failures. We have modified C-HIP to apply more generally to the five types of computer security communications outlined in Section 2.1. The knowledge acquisition, knowledge retention, and knowledge transfer steps are especially applicable to training and policy communications. Finally, we have explicitly called out two types of personal variables and restructured the human receiver representation to emphasize related concepts over temporal flow. In his seminal book, The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman proposed a seven-stage �action cycle� to describe how humans proceed from formulating a goal, through executing an action, to evaluating whether or not the action achieved the intended goal. He described how the action cycle can be used as a check-list for design so as to avoid the gulfs of execution and evaluation . Norman�s focus was on the design of physical objects such as radios and film projectors, but his seven stages of action are applicable to software user interfaces as well. The human-in-the-loop framework incorporates concepts from Norman�s action cycle, as well as James Reasons� Generic-Error Modeling System (GEMS) . Brostoff and Sasse have also applied concepts from GEMS to systematically identify and address human security failures. They focus on the distinction between the active failures described by GEMS and latent failures that predispose a system to failures. They propose a model that represents errors in five areas: decision-makers, line managers, preconditions, productive activities, and defenses . Brostoff and Sasse�s approach is more organization-centric, while the human-in-the-loop framework is more user-centric. There are three high-level strategies for building secure systems that humans can use. The first strategy is to find ways to get humans out of the loop and build systems that �just work� without involving humans in security-critical functions. Secure systems designers should consider what functions performed by humans might be automated, and what configuration choices might be replaced by default settings that are generally appropriate. The second strategy is to build systems that are intuitive and find ways of making them easy to use. Secure systems designers should engineer human tasks to maximize the chances that humans will perform them successfully. The third strategy is to teach humans how to perform security-critical tasks. Here we must find effective ways of teaching complicated concepts to humans who may not be all that receptive to learning them. In most cases we are unable to rely on just one of these strategies and must adopt a multi-pronged approach to secure system usability. We have proposed a framework for reasoning about the human in the loop in secure systems that is intended to help secure systems designers and operators reduce the occurrence of human security failures. Whenever it is not possible to get humans completely out of the loop in a secure system, it is important that the human�s role in performing security-critical functions be considered in any security analysis, and that potential failure modes be identified. The human-in-the loop security framework provides a systematic approach to identifying these failure modes and identifying their root causes. It can be applied as part of a human threat identification and mitigation process during system design to identify potential problem areas so that they can be addressed prior to implementation. The framework can also be used to analyze deployed systems to gain insights into why they are failing and to determine where corrective actions should be taken. Future work is needed to validate the usefulness of the human-in-the-loop framework to security engineers, and to provide more concrete guidance on how to operationalize the human threat identification and mitigation process. So far we have focused on the identification of failure modes. Future work should develop more specific guidelines and design patterns for mitigating human threats by automating security-critical human tasks and better supporting humans as they perform these tasks. Thanks to Serge Egelman, Jason Hong, Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, Rob Reeder and the other members of the CMU Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory for providing feedback on this framework. A. Adams and M. A. Sasse, 1999 Users are not the enemy: why users compromise security mechanisms and how to take remedial measures. Communicaitons of the ACM 42(12), 40-46. A. Adelsbach, S. Gajek, and J. Schwenk. Visual spoofing of SSL protected web sites and effective countermeasures. In Proceedings of the 1st Information Security Practice and Experience Conference (Singapore, 11-14 April, 2005). ISPEC2005. LNCS, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. S. Brostaff and M. A. Sasse. Safe and sound: a safety-critical approach to security. In Proceedings of the 2001 Workshop on New Security Paradigms (Cloudcroft, New Mexico, September 10 - 13, 2001). NSPW '01. ACM, New York, NY, 41-50. K. Cameron and D. DeJoy, 2006. The Persuasive Functions of Warnings: Theory and Models. In M. S. Wogalter, ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 301-312. R. M. Conlan and P. Tarasewich. 2006. Improving interface designs to help users choose better passwords. In CHI '06 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Montr�al, Qu�bec, Canada, April 22 - 27, 2006). CHI '06. ACM, New York, NY, 652-657. D. Davis, F. Monrose, and M. K. Reiter, On User Choice in Graphical Password Schemes, Proceedings of the 13th USENIX Security Symposium (Aug. 2004), 151-164. D. DeJoy, K. Cameron, and L. Della, 2006. Postexposure Evaluation of Warning Effectiveness: A Review of Field Studies and Population-based research. In M. S. Wogalter, ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 35-48. R. Dhamija, J. D. Tygar, and M. Hearst, 2006. Why phishing works. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Montr�al, Qu�bec, Canada, April 22 - 27, 2006). R. Grinter, T. Rodden, P. Aoki, E. Cutrell, R. Jeffries, and G. Olson, Eds. CHI '06. ACM Press, New York, NY, 581-590. J. S. Downs, M. B. Holbrook, and L. F. Cranor, 2006. Decision strategies and susceptibility to phishing. In Proceedings of the Second Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 12 - 14, 2006). SOUPS '06, vol. 149. ACM Press, New York, NY, 79-90. W. K. Edwards, E. S. Poole, and J. Stoll, 2007. Security Automation Considered Harmful? Proceedings of the IEEE New Security Paradigms Workshop (NSPW 2007). White Mountain, New Hampshire. September 18-21, 2007. S. Egelman, L. Cranor, and J. Hong. You�ve Been Warned: An Empirical Study of the Effectiveness of Web Browser Phishing Warnings. ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '08). 2008. D. Egilman and S. Bohme, 2006. A Brief History of Warnings. In Wogalter, M., ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ,35-48. I. Flechais, J. Riegelsberger, and M. A. Sasse, 2005. Divide and conquer: the role of trust and assurance in the design of secure socio-technical systems. In Proceedings of the 2005 Workshop on New Security Paradigms (Lake Arrowhead, California, September 20 - 23, 2005). NSPW '05. ACM, New York, NY, 33-41. B. Friedman, P. Lin, and J. K. Miller, 2005. Informed consent by design. In L. Cranor and S. Garfinkel, eds. Security and Usability. O�Reilly, 477-504. S. Gaw and E. W. Felten, 2006. Password management strategies for online accounts. In Proceedings of the Second Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 12 - 14, 2006). SOUPS '06, vol. 149. ACM, New York, NY, 44-55. J. B. Gross and M. B. Rosson, 2007. Looking for trouble: understanding end-user security management. In Proceedings of the 2007 Symposium on Computer Human interaction For the Management of information Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 30 - 31, 2007). CHIMIT '07. ACM, New York, NY, 10. H. E. Hancock, C. T. Bowles, W. A. Rogers, and A. D. Fisk. 2006. Comprehension and Retention of Warning Information. In M. S. Wogalter, ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 267-277. R. L. Heath and J. Bryant. Human Communication Theory and Research: Concepts, Contexts, and Challenges. 2nd edition. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000. C. Kaufman, R. Perlman, and M. Speciner. Network Security: PRIVATE Communication in a PUBLIC World. 2nd edition. Prentice Hall, page 237, 2002. M. J. Kalsher and K. J. Williams. Behavioral Compliance: Theory, Methodology, and Results. 2006. In M. S. Wogalter, ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 313-331. C. Kuo, S. Romanosky, and L. F. Cranor, 2006. Human selection of mnemonic phrase-based passwords. In Proceedings of the Second Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 12 - 14, 2006). SOUPS '06, vol. 149. ACM, New York, NY, 67-78. R. A. Maxion and R. W. Reeder. Improving User-Interface Dependability through Mitigation of Human Error. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 63 (1-2):25-50. 2005. D. A. Norman. The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, 1988. U. Piazzalunga, P. Salvaneschi, and P. Coffetti. The Usability of Security Devices. In Security and Usability: Designing Secure Systems that People Can use, L. Cranor and S. Garfinkel, eds., O�Reilly, pages 221-242, 2005. J. Reason. Human Error. Cambridge University Press, 1990. B. Ross. Firefox and the Worry-Free Web. In Security and Usability: Designing Secure Systems that People Can use, L. Cranor and S. Garfinkel, eds., O�Reilly, pages 577-587, 2005. B. Schneier. Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World. Springer-Verlag, 2003. B. Schneier. Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World. John Wiley and Sons, 2000. B. Schneier, 2000. Semantic Attacks: The Third Wave of Network Attacks. Cryptogram Newsletter (October 15). http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0010.html#1. S. Sheng, B. Magnien, P. Kumaraguru, A. Acquisti, L. Cranor, J. Hong, and E. Nunge. Anti-Phishing Phil: The Design and Evaluation of a Game That Teaches People Not to Fall for Phish. In Proceedings of the 2007 Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security, Pittsburgh, PA, July 18-20, 2007. J. Thorpe and P.C. van Oorschot. Human-Seeded Attacks and Exploiting Hot-Spots in Graphical Passwords. In Proceedings of the 16th USENIX Security Symposium, August 6-10, 2007, Boston, MA, USA. T. Whalen and K. M. Inkpen, 2005. Gathering evidence: use of visual security cues in web browsers. In Proceedings of the 2005 Conference on Graphics interface (Victoria, British Columbia, May 09 - 11, 2005). ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, vol. 112. Canadian Human-Computer Communications Society, School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, 137-144. M. S. Wogalter, 2006. Purposes and Scope of Warnings. In M. S. Wogalter, ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 3-9. M. S. Wogalter, 2006. Communication-Human Information Processing (C-HIP) Model. In M. S.Wogalter, ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 51-61. M. S. Wogalter and W. J. Vigilate, Jr., 2006. Attention Switch and Maintenance. In M. S.Wogalter, ed., Handbook of Warnings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 245-265. M. Wu, R. C. Miller, and S. L. Garfinkel, 2006. Do security toolbars actually prevent phishing attacks?. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Montr�al, Qu�bec, Canada, April 22 - 27, 2006). R. Grinter, T. Rodden, P. Aoki, E. Cutrell, R. Jeffries, and G. Olson, Eds. CHI '06. ACM Press, New York, NY, 601-610. M. Wu, R. C. Miller, and G. Little, 2006. Web wallet: preventing phishing attacks by revealing user intentions. In Proceedings of the Second Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 12 - 14, 2006). SOUPS '06, vol. 149. ACM, New York, NY, 102-113. Z. Ye, S. Smith, and D. Anthony, 2005. Trusted paths for browsers. ACM Trans. Inf. Syst. Secur. 8, 2 (May 2005), 153-186. What type of communication is it (warning, notice, status indicator, policy, training)? Is communication active or passive? Is this the best type of communication for this situation? What other environmental stimuli are likely to be present? Will anything interfere with the communication being delivered as intended? Who are the users? What do their personal characteristics suggest about how they are likely to behave? What relevant knowledge or experience do the users or recipients have? Do users believe the communication is accurate? Do they believe they should pay attention to it? Do they have a positive attitude about it? Are users motivated to take the appropriate action? Are thy motivated to do it carefully or properly? Are users capable of taking the appropriate action? Do users notice the communication? Are they aware of rules, procedures, or training messages? Do users pay attention to the communication long enough to process it? Do they read, watch, or listen to it fully? Do users understand what the communication means? Have users learned how to apply it in practice? Do they know what they are supposed to do? Do users remember the communication when a situation arises in which they need to apply it? Do they recognize and recall the meaning of symbols or instructions? Can users recognize situations where the communication is applicable and figure out how to apply it? Does behavior result in successful completion of desired action? Does behavior follow predictable patterns that an attacker might exploit? Anti-phishing tools that provide passive warning indicators in web browser toolbars have been found to be largely ineffective at preventing users from accessing phishing web sites . Recent versions of Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox browsers include more active anti-phishing warnings that block access to suspicious web sites unless a user explicitly chooses to override the warning. When Firefox suspects a site is fraudulent it greys out the page and displays a pop-up warning that does not look similar to other browser warnings. When IE suspects a site is fraudulent it can either load the page and display a passive warning that will be dismissed if the user types anything into the browser, or it can display an active warning instead of loading the page. Users can choose to ignore any of these warnings and proceed to the suspicious site. We will apply the human threat identification and mitigation process and the human-in-the-loop security framework to help us determine whether the new anti-phishing warnings effectively protect users from phishing attacks and how they can be improved. Empirical evidence from user studies provides insights into the failure modes. Task identification. The IE and Firefox anti-phishing tools rely on human users to decide whether to heed the warning and leave a suspicious site or ignore the warning and proceed to visit that site. Task automation. This human decision could be eliminated by blocking access to suspicious sites without offering an override option. Arguably, if the false positive rate associated with the automated phishing detection tool is sufficiently low and the risk associated with visiting a phishing site is significant, it would be better to completely block users from visiting suspicious sites rather than presenting them with warnings and letting them decide what to do. However, for the time being browser vendors believe they must offer users the override option. � Communication impediments: Environmental stimuli can include other browser warnings, the user�s email client and/or other applications related to the user�s primary task, and other ambient conditions that may distract the user. We are not aware of attacks that interfere with the display of IE and Firefox anti-phishing warnings; however, the IE passive warning usually loads a few seconds after the page loads, and if users start filling out a web form they can inadvertently dismiss the passive warning before they notice it is there . � Personal variables: Web browser anti-phishing tools are used by people with a wide range of knowledge, abilities, and other personal characteristics, many of whom have little or no knowledge about phishing. � Intentions: A user study found that most users who read the warnings believed they should heed them and were motivated to heed them. However, a few users did not believe the warnings were important, generally because they confused them with other warnings, they did not trust them, or they did not believe the risk was severe. One user commented �since it gave me the option of still proceeding to the website, I figured it couldn�t be that bad� . � Capabilities: A user study found that users are capable of taking the appropriate action, closing the browser window or navigating to a different web site. However, those with inaccurate mental models may be incapable of making an informed decision about whether to take this action . � Communication delivery: A user study found that users noticed the Firefox warning and active IE warning. Many users did not notice the passive IE warning. Some users in the study did not fully read the warnings. Some users erroneously believed that the IE warning was one of the frequently-encountered browser warnings such as a 404 page not found warning . In another user study of three simulated passive anti-phishing warnings that displayed symbols in a browser toolbar, 25% of participants claimed they had not noticed the warnings, even after being explicitly instructed to look for them . � Communication processing: Most of the users in the Egelman et al study understood the warnings and knew what they were supposed to do. Firefox users were more likely to correctly understand the warnings than IE users. Some users who were not previously aware of phishing attacks appeared to have erroneous mental models of the situation and thus misinterpreted the warnings. These users assumed that the email containing the link to the suspicious web site was legitimate and that the warning indicated that there was a transient problem with the web site. They clicked on the link in the email repeatedly in an attempt to reach the web site without triggering the warning . � Behavior: All users in the study who understood the warnings and decided to heed them were able to do so successfully. Although users who clicked on the link in the email repeatedly were actually making a mistake, it ultimately resulted in the users not accessing the suspicious web sites, which was the desired outcome. Thus it appears that the Firefox and active IE warnings tend to fail safely . Predictability of behavior is not relevant to this situation. Failure mitigation. This analysis suggests that the Firefox and active IE warning are much more effective than the passive IE warning, and that the passive IE warning should be replaced with an active warning. The active IE warning could be made more effective by making it look less similar to non-critical warnings. A number of studies suggest that many users have formed inaccurate mental models related to phishing, and that these faulty models lead to mistakes , , , . The warnings include links to educational materials about phishing, but we don�t have empirical evidence about how frequently users consult this material and whether they understand it (the human-in-the-loop framework could be applied to analyze the effectiveness of these educational materials). Additional anti-phishing training delivered through other channels might be helpful for educating users with inaccurate mental models , . It might also be useful to provide users with information they can use to decide whether to heed or ignore the warning, as the IE and Firefox warnings did not explain to users why they were being presented with this choice. The warning might provide additional explanations about why the site is suspicious and offer users the option of visiting the real site that the suspicious site appears to be spoofing . The human threat identification and mitigation process suggested a possible approach to getting the human out of the loop altogether in this case, and a number of ways anti-phishing warnings could be improved. The failure identification step highlighted the need to find ways to correct users� inaccurate mental models about phishing and suggested that it would be useful to study the use and effectiveness of links to educational materials in anti-phishing warnings. Many organizations have policies that specify how users should select their passwords. Typical password policies specify minimum password lengths, mandate a combination of different types of characters, and require that users select different passwords for each system they use and remember these passwords without writing them down. Some policies also require users to change their password frequently. Password policies generally prohibit users from sharing their passwords with other people. In practice, people tend not to comply fully with password policies . For example, Gaw and Felten found evidence of widespread password reuse . We will apply the human threat identification and mitigation process and the human-in-the-loop security framework to help us determine how an organization might improve compliance with their password policy. Task identification. Users must select passwords that comply with the policy, remember them without writing them down, recall them when needed, and refrain from sharing them. Task automation. To simplify the password creation task, the system might generate random passwords and assign them to users. However, these passwords are likely to be too difficult for users to remember. Alternatively, tools might provide feedback to users on the quality of their passwords and suggest improvements . Single sign-on systems or secure password vaults might be deployed to reduce the number of passwords that must be remembered. Alternative authentication mechanisms might also be considered . � Communication impediments: Environmental stimuli combined with the desire of users to create their password quickly so they can access a system may interfere with policy communication. � Personal variables: Most organizations have users with a wide range of demographics, knowledge, and experience (complete novice through security expert); however, this will depend on the organization. � Intentions: Users tend to find password policies inconvenient and may not appreciate the importance of protecting their password, especially if they do not believe it protects a resource that an attacker would value. Thus, they may have little motivation to comply with a password policy. The policy may also conflict with users� goals when users view password sharing as necessary to facilitate tasks that require multiple people to edit a document. � Capabilities: User studies suggest that people are capable of following typical password security guidance to create compliant passwords [Kuo et al]. However, people are not good at remembering random-looking passwords. Most people are incapable of memorizing the numerous passwords they must typically use . This problem is exacerbated when people are required to change their passwords frequently . � Communication delivery: Most computer users appear to be aware of the typical password security guidance, indicating they have read it at least once, and likely multiple times. � Communication processing: Recent user studies suggest that most people now understand typical password security guidance and know what they are supposed to do to apply it . � Application: Users appear to be generally familiar with password security policies and know how to apply them. It is likely that they are fully aware of when they are violating these policies, although this should be verified with a user study. � Behavior: Users who intend to follow policies on password creation are generally able to do so without error. However, the passwords users create may still be somewhat predictable, despite adherence to policy. For example, Kuo et al found that users advised to select passwords based on mnemonic phrases often selected well-known phrases on which to base their passwords . Failure mitigation. The most critical failure appears to be a capabilities failure: people are not capable of remembering large numbers of policy-compliant passwords. This can be addressed by reducing the number of passwords people must remember through single sign-on and alternative authentication mechanisms. Organizations should also consider whether the security benefits associated with frequent, mandatory password changes make up for the tendency of users to violate other parts of the password policy because they cannot remember frequently-changed passwords. Motivation failures may become less of an issue if the capability failure can be addressed in a way that is consistent with employee workflows. Training communications that explain the rationale behind password policies may also mitigate motivation failures. Finally, the problem of users creating passwords that are not random enough can be addressed through better guidance at password creation time and software tools that support users in the password creation process.

2019-04-24T22:14:54Z

https://www.usenix.org/legacy/events/upsec08/tech/full_papers/cranor/cranor_html/

Only American Institute of Aeronautics. Operated 28 years, experiments conducted. Instructions and professional advice given. sizes from smallest models to largest Captives or long voyage vessels with or without motors. 150 gas balloons for U. S. Government. Patent, portable, hydrogen generators, lightest gas and gas works made. Machine-varnished balloon fabrics, hydrogen-proof, acid-proof, weather and spontaneous combustion proof, manufactured exclusively under basic patents for process, fabric, and machine. Bargains :—4-man captive balloon outfit, complete with power windlass and gas plant for $1200 cash. New, tested, 7-I1. p., 2-cyl., 1-man airship complete with gas works, $1300, cash. Second-hand airship frame, shaft, 10 ft. propeller and rudder, with or without gas bag and motor. 4-h. p., 1-cyl. stationary kerosene motor; 2-cyl., 12-h. p. and 2-cyl., 10-h. p. Gas balloons and airships, bought, sold or exchanged. New i-man gas balloon outfit complete. Address with stamp. Dear Sir:-- Last year you furnished me with an instrument which I used on the "Mudlark" in ray tour from New York to Florida, and it gave us such good satisfaction that I would like to have one of your clock and light instruments for a model "M" Olds in which I will make a similar run this coming week from New York to New Orleans by way of Syracuse, Buffalo, Cleveland, Louisville and Birmingham. Trusting that you will give this order your personal attention, and that I may receive the instrument in time, as other speed Indicator companies have offered to furnish me free of charge an_instrument for this occasion. However! I would rather buy a Warner than accent their offers as the Auto-Keter has always given me complete satisfaction^ " 136 Wheeler Ave., Beloit, Wis. AMERICAN MAGAZINE OF AERONAUTICS CO. Ernest L-aRue Jones, Editor and Owner Thoroughfare Building, 1777 Broadway, New York, U. S. A. Aeronautics is issued on the tenth of each month. It furnishes the latest and most authoritative information on all matters relating to Aeronautics. Contributions are solicited. AN AVIATION PRIZE IN AMERICA? With the announcement abroad almost daily of a new prize for the encouragement of the study of aeronautical science it does seem as though some one in America should at least be "willing," if not anxious, to contribute a sum suitably large in comparison with those offered abroad. Not a money prize im America for dynamic flight! We have an Aero Club whose members are worth $50,000,000—or more and an attempt to raise a thousandth part of that sum, $50,000, failed of accomplishment. In this land of big projects, it would seem almost likely that a goodly prize would be offered merely for the honor of the country, not to mention an interest in the subject. But up to date there has been no apparent "run" on honor's bank. We have either no wish to fly through the air, no money, or no desire to aid. The first is not the case; the second cannot be true, for we daily hear reports of the well filled pocketbook of the public; it must be, then, though most preposterous, that we do not want to aid. On reflection, however, this latter cannot be correct, for have we not an Aero Club "to advance the development of the science of aeronautics, * * * * * to encourage ***** aerial navigation" and to "do everything necessary, suitable and proper for the accomplishment of any of the purposes hereinbefore set forth?" In what way can the science be furthered more than by offering prizes? Judging from the results accomplished by offering prizes in France, this seems to be the best way to "advance the development." In France, at the end of his resources, Farman wins $io,ooo(. Result—the first machine improved, the distance capable of being flown tripled, and a new machine under construction! In America, no prizes and no flights. If the offering of prizes is the quickest way to success, are not Aero Club members bound by their constitution to offer prizes? Messrs. Michelin, the well known tire manufacturers, have offered $52,000. Thiè amount is divided into two sections. It was first announced that a $2000 cup and a cash sum of $3000 would be given annually for ten years to the aviator who, between January 31 and December 31 in each year, would cover the greatest distance, either in France or in one of the countries whose aero club is affiliated with the Aero Club of France. The distance was to have been at least double that of the previous year. That is, the winner for 1908 must cover twice the distance made by Farman on January 13 last. The cup to be handed by one club to another as won, the cash going to the aviator. This has now been changed. $4000 is offered annually for eight years, beginning in 1908. This sum will reward the aviator who makes the greatest distance during the year, the minimum to be 20 kilometers. Of course, the apparatus will not be allowed to touch the ground while flying and the aviator will have to be officially controlled. The prize is open for competition, beginning April 10. For 1909 to 1915 the official regulations may be modified yearly by the Aero Club of France to conform to the progress of aviation, without, however, making too difficult conditions. If during one year the prize is not won the sum will be added to the one of the following year. The flight must be from any place in the Departments of the Seine or Seine-et-Oisc, a turn being made around the Arch de Triomphe, at Paris, another turn around the cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand and then a landing on top of the Puy-de-Dome, which has an altitude of 1456 meters (4777 feet), in the total time from the Arch of Triumph to Puy-de-Dome of 6 hours. The distance from Paris to Puy-de-Dome in a straight line is about 350 kilometers (217 miles). The speed would have to be, therefore, a little over 36 miles an hour. M. Archdeacon calls attention to the possible difficulty on account of the drop in pressure from 760 to 620 mm. at the altitude to which Puy-de-Dome rises. Theoretically the motor would give slightly less efficiency. The sum of $20,000 has been offered by Prince Roland Bonaparte as the nucleus of a fund for scholars and inventors, some of which money will be devoted to the progress of aviation and dirigible balloons. Karl Lanz, a merchant of Mannheim, has offered $10,000 to found an aviation prize. $2500 will also be devoted to the aid of indigent German inventors. A prize of $1000 is offered by the A. C. F. for a flight of s kilometers. A prize (no sum yet mentioned) has been offered by Georges Dubois and Omet-Decugis and others, for a flight of 50 meters at a height of 25 meters. On February 28 M. Charron paid Ernest Archdeacon $200 toward a prize for the encouragement of aviation. Following this came a contribution from Mme. Heriot, owner of the Louvre. * $50,000, London, Daily Mail, to the flying machine, preferably aeroplane, starting within five miles of Daily Mail Office, London, and landing within five miles of Daily Mail Office at Manchester. Distance, 160 miles. $10,000, Adams Mfg. Co., if the motor and apparatus winning the Daily Mail prize be entirely constructed in Great Britain. $2,500, Autocar, to the maker of the motor, if English, above competition. * Also a gold medal offered by Santos-Dumont in connection with the above competition. * $2,500, Lord Montagu, to the machine which makes the longest flight in any one year. Contest must be in England. $25.00 a mile in addition for every mile flown up to 25 miles. * $12,500, Brooklands Racing Club, to the first machine which makes a flight of three miles above the (egg-shaped) Brooklands course, at a height of three to fifty feet. Speed must be at least ten miles per hour. * $2,500, Ruinart Pere et Fils, to the first aviator to fly from France to England or vice versa before 1910. This contest is international. The shortest distance is from Cape Gris Nez to Dover, 30 kilometers. * $2,000, M. Armengaud, Jr., to the first aviator who remains in the air fifteen minutes. * $1,000, Aero Club of France, for a flight of five kilometers. * $200, M. Pepin, to the first aviator to fly across the Garonne. * $4,000 in cash to be won by aeroplanes at Vichy in the Fall of 1908, conditions to be announced later. * $52,000, MM. Michclin, consisting of $4,000 to be won each year for 8 years, the last holder to become owner; also $20,000 for a flight from Paris to Clermont, 217 miles, in 6 hours. *$I20 in three prizes of $40 each and three silver plaques offered by Aviation Commission of Aero Club of France for flights of 200 meters. One of these has just been won by Farman. Various prizes for aeroplane contests at Bordeaux in July. * $11,100 in cash in aeroplane races at Spa, in July, 1908. The largest prize is for a flight of 23 kilometers. * $2,500, Dr. Ganz, at Munich Exposition. Aviator must stay in air 10 minutes over a specified course. $10,000, Karl Lanz, of Mannheim. Machines must be constructed in Germany of German material. Also $2,500 to aid poor German inventors. *$ioo, A. C. Triaca, for the longest flight during 1908. Open to members of Aero Club of France and Aero Club of America. * $5,000 for an international aeroplane contest at Venice in October. The only prize for dirigibles is that of M. Archdeacon. $4,000 cash and a $2,000 trophy, both annually during 1908-9, open from March 1 to October 31, for a flight of 200 kilometers, passing above St. Germain, Senlis, Meaux, Melun and St. Germain. This is international, open to any affiliated F. A. 1. club. Landings for gasolene, etc.. permitted. THE ADVANTAGES OF THE HELICOPTER OVER THE AEROPLANE. The helicopter type of flying machine has been comparatively neglected. Although suggested several centuries ago, supposedly by Leonardo da Vinci in 1500, much less work has been done on it than on other types of flying machines. Not even one man-carrying helicopter has ever been flown in free flight. This neglect of the helicopter-type appears to have been due to a general impression that it does not offer :a likelihood of success equal to that of the aeroplane or even of the ornithopter! It "has, in fact, frequently been contended that even if one of large size could actually be constructed, and- should be found convenient in operation,, it would still be found very low in efficiency. 4. Hovering 10. Lift per square foot. 1. The starting of a helicoper is comparatively simple, especially if it be of the vertically ascending type. It is merely a matter of starting up the propellers without requiring a special launching device or a long run on a smooth ground, as required by the aeroplane. This is important because such launching devices will not always be available and because large smooth open spaces are uncommon. 2. A helicopter can ascend nearly vertically. It can therefore arise from small starting places such as a small field surrounded by large trees. In actual use flying machines will encounter many obstacles such as high houses or steep hillsides. Such obstacles a helicopter will be able to surmount by simply rising at a steep angle whereas an aeroplane will be compelled to turn completely around and ascend in a large spiral. It is evident that the ability to fly at any angle with the horizontal will be of great advantage to the helicopter. 3. The balance of a helicopter may be made practically automatic. It is evident that the simplest way to secure equilibrium is by using a very low centre of gravity. The known objection to this construction is that it causes excessive pitching and rolling. Now in an aeroplane, violent pitching absolutely destroys its power to fly as it spoils the all-important angle of incidence of the supporting planes. But in a helicopter the essential angle of incidence is the angle of the blades with the shaft, which remains practically constant whether the machine as a whole pitches or not. Therefore a helicopter can be arranged to have a more pronounced pendular stability than is possible with an aeroplane. The helicopter, furthermore may readily be designed to have gyroscopic stability, without requiring as much special apparatus for this purpose as would be required by an aeroplane. 4. A practical helicopter will be able to hover over a selected point, whereas an aeroplane must continually move horizontally in order to retain its elevation. The ability to hover should prove a great advantage, for instance in taking observations and in selecting a suitable landing place. 5. A helicopter under good control could descend at any desired speed and at any angle, or vertically if preferred. It could, in an emergency, descend in a contracted space much too small for the flight of an aeroplane. 6. Landing will always be difficult. It is particularly dangerous in an aeroplane owing to the high horizontal velocity. At present aeroplanes can only land safely on smooth ground in large open spaces. It may be found possible in later models, to suddenly check the horizontal velocity at the exact moment of landing, but the general nature of the difficulty will still remain the same. A practical helicopter would be able to descend slowly in any open space of moderate size and land safely whether the ground be smooth or not. If under perfect control it could land without any horizontal velocity either in a calm or in any moderate wind. The above described favorable characteristics of a practical helicopter have been pointed out by other writers and are here repeated only for convenience. With one or two possible exceptions they have been described by Penaud, Chanute and Hastings. The mechanical efficiency of the helicopter, however, has apparently not been so carefully studied nor so correctly judged, so that it merits further examination and discussion. 7. The helicopter can be constructed more simply than the aeroplane. In the former, the power is applied directly to the inclined surfaces, whereas in the latter the power is transmitted to a propelling device, and the resultant thrust applied to the planes. It will be clear, without elaborate explanation, that simplicity is especially desirable in flying machines, as weight and power are both limited, and as simplicity in these fragile structures favors reliability and safety. As this article is intended to deal only with general principles, details of structure will not be here discussed. 8. The achievement of reasonable safety is essential to practical flight. Special provision must be made against the occurrence of an unretarded fall and consequent complete destruction. Of course all hcavier-than-air flying devices must fall in case of serious accident to their means of sustentation. In this contingency, however, they should not drop too rapidly nor upset in falling. upon the continuance of its motive force. Stoppage of the motor means a sudden drop and a sudden backward shift of the centre of pressure. This is liable to cause a complete somersault particularly as the centre of gravity in an aeroplane is necessarily high and as curved surfaces such as are usually employed are in themselves unstable with the concave side downwards. An expert operator may occasionally, if the motor stops, be able to glide to the ground in an aeroplane as if with a gliding machine, but the actual landing is then likely to occur at a dangerous horizontal velocity. Of course a helicopter will also drop if its motor stops but its stability need not be seriously affected. The drop may be made vertical if preferred, or given a slight horizontal component. The speed of falling will depend largely upon the weight per square foot, so that the advantage of large areas in this contingency is apparent. The low centre of gravity will tend to keep the machine right side up. In addition to this, the supporting surfaces may be arranged to have a slow reverse rotation about their shafts, thus forming an efficient and stable rotatory parachute. The rate of fall probably need not exceed 20 to 30 miles per hour with weights of one or two pounds per square foot, or about the landing speed of a man jumping from a height of 15 to 25 feet. An emergency descent at this rate would not generally seriously endanger the life of the operator. 9. The helicopter has a considerable advantage over the aeroplane in the matter of head resistance. Considering only the forward progress of the machine as a whole it will be clear without explanation that a helicopter Hying with about three quarters of the horizontal velocity of an aeroplane will have approximately half its head resistance if the bulks are about equal. In order to analyze the matter, however, we may divide the total head resistance into two parts, namely the back pressure of the supporting surfaces, sometimes called the drift, and the head resistance of the car and body of the machine. The back pressure of the supporting planes may be divided into three parts, the head resistance of the front edges, the skin friction, and the horizontal component of the normal pressure. Now as far as the head resistance of the car and body is concerned, the helicopter has the advantage of a slower horizontal speed. At the time of starting this advantage is most pronounced as the aeroplane has to overcome its full head resistance when first leaving the ground, whereas the car and body of the helicopter offer no horizontal head resistance at all during the difficult period of starting. The head resistance of the supporting surfaces has heretofore generally been higher on models of helicopters than on aeroplanes. This is, however, entirely unnecessary as it is only a question of using proper areas, speeds, and angles to get the same ratio of lift to drift in a helicopter blade as in an aeroplane surface, provided that proper allowance be made for the helicopter blades working in disturbed air. We may reasonably conclude that the head resistance of the supporting surfaces of a properly designed helicopter will be about the same as that of an aeroplane, and that the head resistance' of the car and body will generally be less, principally owing to the slower horizontal velocity. to. In the matter of lift per square foot the helicopter has this advantage over the aeroplane, that it may be designed with any desired lift per square foot within wide limits without materially affecting the horizontal velocity of the whole machine or the head resistance of the car and body. It has been urged in favor of the helicopter that this fact will permit of the use of very small areas thereby reducing the weight of the supporting surfaces. The writer does not recommend this construction, particularly not for use during the present early stage of the art, as it is dangerous in case of a sudden fall, and as it' requires very light construction and inordinately powerful motors. It should also be observed that the use of high speed and very small areas reduces the lift per horsepower and consequently the efficiency of the helicopter as a lifting device. Nevertheless, the fact that the lift is practically independent of the horizontal velocity of the machine as a whole is a great advantage of the helicopter over the aeroplane and itself accounts for the majority of the advantages in operation referred to earlier in this article. 11. In the matter of lift per horsepower the helicopter has heretofore been stated to compare unfavorably with the aeroplane. A number of authorities including Chanute * give the lift per horsepower of a helicopter as about half that of an aeroplane. As this question is of considerable importance and as the author believes his deductions to be original the matter will be discussed in some detail. helicopter provides a simple and efficient method of direct drive for the supporting surfaces. The lifting force of a helicopter will be the full thrust of the shaft or in other words, the full lift of the supporting surfaces directly driven by the motor. The error lies in the assumption that this same propeller would actually be used in this way, whereas propellers intended for use as helicopters can actually be constructed to give a thrust of over 50 pounds per horsepower. The reader may wonder why, if this be correct, propellers giving such a large thrust are not used on aeroplanes thus obtaining a still larger lift and preserving the supposed advantage of the aeroplane. It should be remembered that the screw propeller is simply a mechanical device for exerting thrust or pressure. As soon as this pressure is exerted over a giA'en distance the work done can be expres>cd in foot pounds or horsepower. For any given efficiency, therefore, the thrust that can be obtained per horsepower will vary inversely as the distance through which it is exerted. A propeller of perfect efficiency for instance could give a thrust of 8 pounds per horsepower at a velocity of 69 feet a second or about 46 miles an hour. Another propeller also of perfect efficiency might give a thrust of 50 pounds through a distance of 11 feet per second or about 7}4 miles per hour. These are the theoretical maxima for the given speeds, the distances per second through which these thrusts could actually be exerted being much less, owing to the yielding of the air, skin friction, etc. Now it is well known that the yielding of the air is relatively larger for propellers progressing slowly along their axes, but even so, the largest thrusts can be exerted at the slowest speeds if the propellers are properly designed for their work. If the slip in the cases suggested above be assumed as 8 miles per hour in one instance, and 5 miles in the other, being about 17 per cent, in one case and 67 per cent, in the other, the first propeller will give a thrust per horsepower of 8 pounds at 38 miles an hour, the second a thrust per horsepower of 50 pounds at 2^2 miles. These figures are fair examples that might occur in actual construction. As aeroplanes require a considerable horizontal velocity in order to fly at all, it is evident that they will always be limited to the use of propellers giving only moderate thrusts per horsepower. It is the contention of the author that this more than balances the advantage of the favorable ratio of lift to drift of the supporting surfaces. The aeroplane, considered as a supporting device, also has in its propelling mechanism a source of inefficiency not occuring in the helicopter. The helicopter is handicapped by having its blades work in disturbed air. This ֤isadvantage is a serious one but is not quite as great as generally supposed, because the drift is reduced at the same time as the lift and nearly in the same proportion. As soon as the helicopter moves horizontally its blades act on fresh air and the lift is slightly increased. The helicopter is sometimes stated to lose in efficiency owing to the action of ֣entrifugal force. It is assumed that air is thrown outwards requiring power without giving an adequate supporting reaction. Now as a matter of fact the centrifugal action must be very small if it occurs at all, because it is shown by experiment that there is an actual inrush of air around the circumference of a helicopter and even for a short distance below its blades. In any case, as centrifugal force depends largely upon the angular velocity it may be reduced by using large diameters and low speeds and by adopting an efficient form of blade. Considering both types of machines in a general way the incidental head resis tance will also reduce the lifting efficiency, but as the helicopter at its usual slower speeds will have a smaller head resistance of car and body than the aeroplane, it will lose power from this source. The writer is inclined to believe that the advantage of reduced head resistance will balance the disadvantage of working in disturbed air, but this can be definitely determined only by actual experiment on a large scale. As far as theory is concerned the author holds that the direct drive of the helicopter is more effective than the indirect drive of the aeroplane, and that with suitable construction the helicopter will actually give a larger lift per horsepower. cosine of the angle of inclination of the main shaft with the horizontal. This would make the maximum attainable horizontal speed equal to the maximum theoretical pitch velocity times the cosine of the angle. The actual horizontal speed would naturally be estimated at less than this owing to the head resistance of the car and body. But the author contends that the horizontal speed will exceed this supposed theoretical maximum and may even exceed the full theoretical pitch velocity. This is a striking paradox, but if correct is important and therefore worthy of careful analysis. Let us consider the thrust along the inclined shaft to be divided into two components, the one vertical, the other horizontal. Let us assume the vertical component to be balanced bv the weight. Let us further assume the effective pitch angl* of the blades to be for example 12 degrees and the angle of the main shaft with the horizontal 78 degrees. The currently accepted computation would then give a maximum horizontal speed of about one-fifth of the pitch velocity. Let us now analyze the action of the blades. In the assumed case they will make no angle with the horizontal on the forward stroke and double the pitch angle with the horizontal on the back stroke. Then the forward stroke will have a lifting effect but practically no horizontal component. This is because the pressure on an inclined plane is always perpendicular to the surface.* Of course there may be a slight backward horizontal pressure due to skin friction, or a slight forward horizontal component, if the surface be slightly curved, due to the tangential force described by Lilienthal,** but for practical purposes the pressure on the forward stroke may be considered vertical. The back stroke will give a strong forward thrust on account of the pronounced angle of the blades with the horizontal. This will continue as long as the blades move backwards faster than the whole machine moves forwards. This forward thrust, at least during the central part of the back stroke, will not disappear entirely until the horizontal velocity of the whole machine equals the linear rotational velocity of the blades. But the linear velocity exceeds the pitch velocity if the pitch be less than unity. Therefore the attainable horizontal velocity exceeds the pitch velocity times the cosine of the angle and may even exceed the full theoretical pitch velocity. It is thus a fact that a slightly inclined helicopter may travel horizontally faster than it would if used directly as a horizontal propeller. It immediately follows from the above that the horsepower required for horizontal motion will not be as high as might otherwise be the case, the power for vertical support being separately considered. The efficiency of a helicopter as a vehicle for horizontal transit will also be fairly good if driven by a special horizontal propeller intended to increase the horizontal velocity, provided that the main shaft be inclined forward at a suitable angle in order to take advantage of the above described peculiar feathering action of the main blades. It thus appears that the maximum horizontal velocity and transit efficiency of the helicopter although lower than those of the aeroplane will be sufficiently high for practical use and very much higher than heretofore supposed. It will always be an advantage that the horizontal velocity can be regulated, and especially that it can be reduced to practically nothing whenever desired. In summarizing our conclusions we may say that the helicopter can be made superior to the aeroplane in the first nine points considered, namely: starting, ascending, balancing, hovering, descending, landing, simplicity, safety and head-resistance. The author also contends that the helicopter may be designed to have a very large lift per square foot, or a very large lift per horsepower, and that its horizontal velocity, although less than that of the aeroplane, will be considerable, variable and sufficient. As this article is limited to a theoretical discussion the desirability of testing the conclusion in practice is evident. The author is engaged in experiments along this line and expects soon to publish the results of some tests of a large helicopter. The important questions of lift per horsepower and of horizontal velocity appear to be especially worthy of discussion and experiment. The author hopes that this article may serve to arouse greater interest in the comparatively neglected helicopter-type of flying machine and that the merits here asserted and discussed may be fully confirmed in actual practice. Baltimore, Aid., March, 1908. *See "Aeronautics," Vol. I, No. 3; Page 11, Sept., 1907. **See Moedebeck's Handbook, English Edition, p. 289. In an aerial voyage the aeronaut and his assistants usually have certain special objects in view that demand their full attention—but still, it is easily possible for an earnest man to make every voyage tell along the special lines in avhich students of the atmosphere are interested. No generous minded navigator of the ocean omits to keep a full record of wind and weather, barometer and thermometer, ocean currents and temperatures, and whatever can be considered as appertaining to navigation. He does this partly for his own information, partly as the habit of a cautious man— principally because he knows that the pilot chart of the ocean that he uses daily is compiled from thousands of such records gratuitously contributed for many years to the. central national hydrographic offices at London, Paris, Hamburg and Washington where the charts are published. Those who contribute this observational data receive the "pilot charts" in return, or a thousandfold more than they give. Precisely analogous arrangements should be made by the aeronauts with their central meteorological offices. They can hardly expect the meteorologist to tell them beforehand what upper winds and temperatures to expect on a given day unless they furnish from past voyages the material that is needed for such predictions. The students of the atmosphere who are employed in Government weather bureaus get daily reports as to conditions at the earth's surface and as to the clouds, if any are visible, and they have these many years asked for regular reports from balloons and kites as to upper air conditions—but asked in vain, because this branch of meteorological work has been expensive and has only lately been developed. An aeronaut is but helping himself when he sends us copies of his records, since he is sure to receive in return items of valuable knowledge generalized from numerous other corresponding reports. For instance, in December, 1871, the veteran aeronaut, Prof. Samuel A. King, who is still living and active in Philadelphia, communicated to me the records that he had saved up relative to his early voyages. From these I compiled a table and deduced a law that was at once published by the Philosophical Society of Washington, showing that in general, with scarcely a single exception, the higher he ascended so much the more did the direction of the movement of the balloon and the air deviate from that near the ground, the deviation being always toward the right, and frequently amounting to a semi-circle by the time that he reached the highest current flowing eastward. Of course, such a law as this when once well established would become most important for all long voyages in North America and equally important when one has to calculate for his descent and choose a landing spot on the shore of lake or ocean. I was at that time wholly absorbed in the study of the daily weather maps and the practical forecasting of the winds and weather (telegrams and forecasts were made daily at 10 a. m., 5 p. m. and midnight). The same law had just been revealed by the comparison of these telegraphic reports of the motions of the winds, lower clouds and upper clouds, but the continuous records of balloon voyages, when the sky was cloudless, now extended this local rule into a generalization of the broadest character. Subsequently I found that Clement Ley, from cloud observations in England, had arrived at the same result and eventually I found that Henry Allan Broun had announced it at Edinburgh in 1845. The international cloud work of i8q6-'97 has served to reveal the universality of the law that the upper winds deviate from the lower winds toward the right in the northern but toward the left in the southern hemisphere. It will be a fine contribution to our knowledge if some aeronaut following Professor King's habit of keeping careful records of his voyages shall show us when and why exceptions to this rule occur—as their probably do occasionally. The records of the recent long distance competition of 1907 in which the balloon "Pommern" exceeded by a few miles the long voyage of 791 miles by John Wise on 1st and 2nd, 1859, show that some of the aeronauts took advantage of this law. In order to get a good record of the varying directions of travel the aeronaut has only to keep his map at hand and mark thereon by numbers within circles (1), (2), etc., the position immediately below him as often as he can possibly identify it. But he doubles the value of his record if he also adds the minute and second (or minute and tenth of a minute if his watch has no second hand), for thus he gives the meteorologist the one datum that we can only get from free balloons, namely, the true velocity of the movement of the free air. The heat that we get from the sun starts the atmosphere in motion. From these movements when actually known we may reason back to the heat that caused them or forward to the results that must follow. The movement of each part of the atmosphere is the fundamental need of meteorology. The chart and watch, the barograph and thermograph of the aeronaut can alone give us what we so sorely need. for data of value to the Bureau. These will be distributed gratis to balloonists. The forms will be reproduced, with the instructions, in the May number of Aeronautics. On the first Thursday of each month at a number of institutions of learning, aeronautical experiments are carried on^to^ determine various questions regarding the atmospheric conditions, to a certain extent; they include free ballooning, captive ballooning, and balloon ascensions with registering instruments, etc. As before, the free balloon continues to be the one to help these experiments more than any other, gives results that can be depended upon, and is independent of the weather which gives the scientists so many opportunities to carry on important experiments. The following described trip, which was made from the Observatory at Linden-berg, should have begun without fail on the evening of Wednesday, April 4th, 1906, so as to enable the companion, my brother, Dr. Alfred Wegener, who had made many observations by day, to likewise make observations by night. We desired on the following day to ascertain the meteorological conditions at a high altitude. At the inflation, which, as usual, was made by the balloon battalion at Reinickendorf, the net of our balloon "Brandenburg" became damaged, and w7e were able to only make our ascension at 9 o'clock in the morning of April 5th in another balloon hurriedly made ready. night, and then the following day be able to take the balloon to a higher altitude. As the balloon started to rise in a thick fog, although above the sky was quite clear, it acted very restless, and directly after we had begun to ascend it settled again on the ground and again rose and settled before we could do anything to remedy the evil. The mid-day heat made a considerable change in the atmosphere, and we noticed that the partly warmed air rose while the colder air sank away from it. This vertical downward current is the principal enemy of long balloon trips, for it always means a sacrifice of ballast when a balloon is suddenly caught by one of these downward currents. The balloon flew rapidly over the Tegeler Sea, Neu-Ruppin and Wittstock, and toward noon sailed east from Wismar toward the ocean (Baltic Sea). Soon the ocean became visible in all its greatness below us, and the smoke we could see in the distance showed that we had the same wind as we had before. Cities, forests and water flew past under us. It was by much hard work that we succeeded in putting the basket in order, and in doing this work we discovered many defects in our equipment which we did not notice in our hurried departure. For provisions we had only for each man one pound of chocolate, two cutlets, one orange and one flask of seltzer. We also discovered we had forgotten something even of more importance. In our hurry to get away we had forgotten to take our heavier coats, and we only wore light Summer jackets. Soon Fehmarn lay under us; we just cut across its west corner, and we flew further toward Langeland and Funen (a peninsula of Denmark). At this time the sun began to sink. The lessening of the sun's rays cooled the balloon, the gas contracted, and we began to sink. After the sun began to sink we had to sacrifice four bags of ballast. When over the north coast of Funen it became dark; and when shortly afterward we approached the east coast of Jutland (Denmark) by Fridericia, the earth could only be seen by dim moonlight. We had lived fairly well the first day; almost three-quarters of a pound of chocolate and one cutlet were used. In spite of this, as a result of our heavy work with the ballast bags and because of the extreme smallness of our basket (i m. x 1.20), we had many pains, which were very noticeable at each movement of the basket. During the night we had another queer experience. The aeronaut knows that the basket begins to shake slightly when the drag rope drags on the earth. We had decided to remain at 2-300 m. altitude because the current below us travelled too much toward the west, directly toward the North Sea. The basket began to shake slightly while I lay rolled up in the bottom of the basket vainly trying to sleep. I imagined that my brother, who had assumed command of the balloon, had fallen asleep, and that the balloon had sunk so that it was resting on the guide rope. I called to him: "The guide rope is dragging." But he answered, "No, I am only shivering from the cold." It was he, shaking from the frost, which did not leave him until after we had landed. The course changed slowly to the north while our speed slackened. We were a little puzzled as to our whereabouts, but determined our position after investigating our charts. Slowly the balloon, continually turning toward the right, approached a long Fjord (we believed this at first to be the Limfjord, but later it proved to be the Manager Fjord). We then changed our course entirely to the east and approached the Kattegat. Soon the rising sun began to warm us and the balloon continually rose until twelve o'clock noon without using any ballast. When at an altitude of 2500 m. we saw the country we had passed over without knowing our whereabouts stretched out below us like a chart. During the time the balloon was rising, we stood practically still. Only after noon time, when the balloon again began to fall, we found more wind, and drove with increasing speed toward the south, over Funen and Aero, where we crossed our path of the day before toward Kiel, which we passed over at six o'clock in the evening. Our rations on the second day were cut down some. Six chocolate bonbons, one cutlet and a half orange per person. The sun when it set on this day also cost us four bags of ballast, so we had left, only 12 bags out of 38 we started with. The first part of the night we passed very restless. After passing Kiel our course began to turn sharply toward the right, so that we feared we would be driven over the North Sea, and we prepared to land. While we were considering the question of landing, our balloon rose to an altitude of 2400 m., where we suffered considerably from the cold and exposure. It must have been 10 dcg. C. up there, and we could hardly endure it. Soon, however, the course again changed toward the south, and we again got control of our balloon. During the night the balloon drifted over the Elbe and Hamburg; and over the Luneburger Heide. altitude, and we gained an altitude of 3700 m'. and continued to fly over cities and towns. The cold at this altitude—16 deg. C.—combined with our cramped quarters and insufficient nourishment, made it unbearable. After we had been at this altitude about two hours, at 11:30 o'clock we again began to descend, although we still had six bags of ballast. When we came nearer to the earth we drifted under a heavy cloud and into a strong downward current, and we had to use four bags of ballast in two hours, and were compelled to land near Laufach in Spessart after a trip of 52l/> hours' duration. We had in fact broken the record for duration. We gained many important points for science on this trip. De La Vaulx in his record trip of 3s hours to Kiew, in southern Russia, was exhausted when he landed. He had a balloon of 2000 m. capacity, well equipped, and with plenty of clothing, etc. We, however, had a balloon of only 1200 cu. m. capacity, with a miserable equipment and insufficient food and clothing. We account for this now that De La Vaulx remained at too high altitudes. During his second night he was at an altitude of 5000 m. According to our records on the third day we did not once reach an altitude of 3700 m. The lesson learned by our long trip was: "Keep your balloon as near the earth as possible all the time." We probably had an advantage over many others, as I did not spend 2V2 years at the Royal Aeronautical Observatory for nothing, testing the atmospheric conditions day after day. During our trip, understanding these conditions as well as we did, we did not once think about any danger. THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL TRIAL OF THE NEW AEROPLANE "RED WING" OF THE AERIAL EXPERIMENT ASSOCIATION, AT HAMMONDSPORT, N. Y. By First Lieut. T. Selfridge, First Field Artillery, Secretary. The motor driven aeroplane "Red Wing" was completed and ready for trial March 9, 1908, in slightly less than seven weeks after she was started. This was the virgin attempt of the Aerial Experiment Association to construct a motor driven aeroplane of this type, and hence we were not over-sanguine of success at the first trials. Completed, the dimensions of the apparatus are as follows: two superposed aero-curves of a mean depth of 5' 3" (6.3' front to rear at the center and 4' at the extremities) and the same mean distance apart. The front edge of the upper plane extends out 4' beyond the last vertical connecting posts at each end and the silk surface tapers back from this point to the last verticals at each end of the rear edge. The total spread of the upper plane is 43 feet. The total spread of lower plane is 36' 8". The total area of surfaces of the cell is 385.7 sq. ft. down to those at the end., which are 1.5" front to rear, with a thickness of .5". The surfaces are of silk with transverse pockets in which are inclosed the bent laminated wood strips extending from the front to the rear edges of the surfaces to give the surfaces their curved form. Above each strut a T-shaped wood strip extends from front to rear and helps to strengthen the structure. The spacing of the vertical struts decreases from the center toward the lateral extremities. The two center struts at the front and rear edges are about 22" apart; the first strut on either side of these two is 6.5' distant, the next 5.5' and then 5' to the outer struts. The framework is still further strengthened by steel cable gu3rs 1-32" diameter. The tail consists of a single surface 14' 10" by 3', whose front edge is 10' in the rear of the rear edge of the main surfaces. In the center of the tail, and above, is placed a balanced vertical rudder 4' by 4'. The tail is set at a fixed angle of 7.5 degrees with the front surfaces. A horizontal rudder 8' by 2' is supported at the end of a pointed bow of rectangular cross-section (22" by 22"), which projects from the front of the middle panel. The rear edge of the rudder is 5' in Iront of the front edge of the main planes, making the maximum longitudinal dimensions of the machine 26' 3". 145 pounds. The ignition is by jump spark from a single coil and distributor. The intake valves are automatic. The crank shaft is of Vanadium steel i^",-in diameter, made hollow. The cylinders, pistons and rings are cast from a specially treated pattern and are ground carefully to fit. The crank case is cast from the new light aluminum alloy "McAdamite." The total weight of the engine, batteries and coil, gas and oil tank, fuel and propeller, is 200 pounds. The engine is mounted between the main surfaces and drives direct a 6' 2" propeller of two blades having approximately a 4' pitch. The operator sits inside the bow, which is covered with silk, about 6" in front of the front edge of the planes. The total weight of the apparatus, without engine or operator, is 185 pounds. The operator weighs 1S5 pounds. The total weight complete with motor and operator is 570 pounds, to an effective area of 385.7 square feet. On March 9 the machine, which was fitted with runners for the purpose, was put on the ice with a view to ascertaining the effect of the vertical rudder. The area of ice available was so restricted that it was out of the question to attempt a flight, and no runs of over 100 feet or so were made with the engine running. These trials were quite satisfactory and no alterations were made. win, M. E., of Toronto, Can., mounted it and G. II. Curtiss, of Hammondsport, N. Y.,. its maker, started the engine. It was hardly expected that the machine would rise at the first attempt. The motor was running with the spark retarded and no effort was made to have it develop its full power. The apparatus gathered momentum very quickly, and, much to the surprise of everyone, left the ice after travelling only 200 feet from the start. She arose to a height varying between 10' and 20', and had flown but a short distance when the right half of the tail buckled up, causing the right wing of the machine to lower and the apparatus to turn to the right, at the same time descending. The right auxiliary runner struck first, breaking the strut above it. while the machine pivoted about this runner and settled on the ice facing the starting point. The switch was then thrown out and the "Red Wing'" came to a stop not far from where she left the ice. her momentum carrying her some distance after the power had been shut oft. Measured in a direct line from the point where the runners left the ice to the point where they first touched on descending, the distance was exactly 318' 11". The actual distance travelled was somewhat greater than this, as the machine described a curve while in the air. Twenty-five onlookers witnessed the flight. As it was impossible to make the necessary repairs on the spot, the machine was brought back to her shed, thus terminating the trials for the da}7. The experiments will be resumed at the earliest opportunity, and upon the disappearance of the ice, the apparatus will be placed on wheels. The actual thrust of the propeller was probabl}- in the neighborhood of 130 pounds, but this was not definitely known, as it had not been measured, and the engine at the time of the flight was certain!}' not developing over 20 horse-power. MARCH AEROPLANE FLIGHTS AT ISSY. The first two weeks were miserable, wet and cold. The field at Issy was a veritable lake. Work has been pushed on the machines in the shops of Chauviere and Voisin, and several new ones will be out soon. Kapferer and others are merely waiting for good weather. ՠOn March 14th Delegrange was out and made 300 meters with an Antoinette 40 h. p. motor, his personal record up to this time. The average height was 6 meters. Farman on the remodeled No. 1 accomplished several flights of 500 to 600 meters, using a 40 h. p. Renault air-cooled motor. The speed made was superior to that heretofore accomplished, as he made a curved flight of 600 meters in 19 seconds, which is equivalent to a speed of 100 kilometers an hour. Several very fortunate improvements have been made in the machine, and he hoped with an automatic process for air cooling, doing away with water, to outdo the results he has already obtained. He has replaced the silk covering of the planes with Continental caoutchouc, which, among other advantages, otters less resistance to the air and has complete impermeability. The extra light Renault motor used gave "the best satisfaction and gives good hopes for the future." General Kovanko, of the Russian Army, who was present, has just given a very important order to Voisin Brothers. On the 16th Delegrange made five flights, covering in the first three distances between 200 and 500 meters. In the last flight of 700 meters at a height of 5-6 meters he was limited by the fence. The Antoinette 40 h. p. motor worked perfectly, and it is evident that the aviator is now thoroughly acquainted with his machine. Farman was also out, but did not fly, for which the motor might have blamed had it not been deprived of its "demultiplicateur." The monoplane Gastambide-Mengin did not quit its garage at Bagatelle. on October 26, 1907; and that Santos Dumont made 220 meters on November 12, 1906, winning two prizes, and 25 meters on October 23, 1906. officials of the club. Farman made two complete circuits of the course. The time was 3 minutes 31 seconds for a distance calculated to be 2004.8 meters. Taking into account the curve of the turnt ing, the real course must have been nearly 4 kilometers in that short space of time. Farman had thus beaten his own record by tripling it. superb loop, which measured 1500 meters, in 2^2 minutes. Delegrange had beaten his own record also, but was unfortunately too late to win the Deutsch-Archdeacon. Then Delegrange offered Farman a seat on the machine The two men stuck very close, one behind the other, and left at good speed. They covered 50 meters close to the ground. This was the first time that two men had ever flown in one machine; and the first that two machines had ever competed together and covered between them 5 kilometers in France. The two machines are exactly the same model. The sustaining surfaces are made of two superposed slightly curved planes, of oiled canvas for Delegrange and of caoutchouc for Farman. They measure 10 meters in width by 2 meters front to rear. In front is a horizontal rudder for steering vertically, with a movable cell in the rear for guidance to left or right. The total length is 10.5 meters. Behind the aviator is a 40 h. p. Antoinette 8-cylinder water-cooled motor, driving a single 2-bladed aluminum propellor. The whole is mounted on a 4-wheeled chassis. The aeroplane leaves the ground at a speed of 40 kilometers an hour, or at the end of about 50 meters of rolling The wheels are mounted with springs which diminish the shock of landing. The second annual banquet was held at the St. Regis on March 14th. The guests of honor were: Hudson Maxim; Gen. George Moore Smith; Major George O. Squier, Signal Corps; Colgate Hoyt, President Automobile Club of America; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell; Cortlandt Field Bishop, President Aero Club of America; Prof. Willis L. Moore, Chief U. S. Weather Bureau; McCready Sykes; Johnson Sherrick, President Aero Club of Ohio; Lieut. Frank P. Lahm, Signal Corps; J. W. Kearney, Secretary Aero Club of St. Louis. Dr. Bell and the Aerial Experiment Association. Dr. Bell in his speech told of standing with Prof. Langley and seeing the "flight of his prophetic aerodrome. He proved that navigating the air was a practical thing and within the control of man. The flying machine prophesied by Langley is no longer in the future—it is here. We have no longer to produce a heavier than air flying machine; we have only to perfect it as we have perfected the automobile. bit to me. The 'Red Wing' was constructed under the direction of Lieut. Selfridge and generally on plans laid down by him and carried out by the engineers, Messrs. F. W. Baldwin and J. A. D. McCurdy. "One great success has been worked by Mr. G. H. Curtiss, who has produced a 40 h.p. motor weighing 145 pounds. "The aeroplane took a circular course, but the distance was taken in a straight line, 318 feet, 11 inches. This was the first public exhibition of the flight of a heavier than air machine in America. "I think that we have a new agency of great importance in this Aerial Experiment Association, and it was suggested and has been carried out by a lady. It may be interesting, just for a moment, to speak of its origin, as I think it is destined to be productive of great things. In trying to construct my tetrahedral kite into an aerodrome I felt I had reached the limit of my own powers. I was afraid to put a man in the air without more knowledge of engineering. I wanted to be quite sure my structures were sound and so I associated with me two engineers, Messrs. Baldwin and McCurdy. Even with their assistance I didn't feel confidence, for I didn't know anything about motors, and so I associated with the moto'r expert of America, Mr. G. H. Curtiss. "Along came Lieut. Selfridge from the War Department to see what we were doing. In conversation with this gentleman I found he had made a special study of heavier than air machines and knew everything being done abroad. A powerful combination if we could get together: two engineers, one military expert, one motor expert! M3' wife made the suggestion, 'Why don't you organize yourselves into a scientific association?' Mrs. Bell made the proposition to us that she would supply the capital necessary to carry on the experiments—all go in together to carry on scientific experiments until we got a machine into the air. "This association started simply to help me to carry out my notion in regard to tetrahedral structures but the men composing it were of independent minds. The association came into existence so that we could help each other. It helped me to complete the tetrahedral structures and advance so far as to put a man into the air. The prediction that the structure had all the stability necessary was verified. "The Association has established headquarters at Ffammondsport. Here we follow in the footsteps of others. Selfridge, Baldwin, McCurdy and Curtiss have all made numerous gliding flights. They have gone to work to make this aerodrome "Red Wing," have applied a motor to it and have succeeded in putting it into the air." better than I can fly" was the reply, "and I disrobed. Donaldson was in tights— on a trapeze bar. But a breeze came along and we drifted over to land. That was my only experience in a balloon." "The Chinese have been flying kites for a thousand years but have never made an aeroplane. They make no advance. They do what they do because their ancestors did. There is no Alexander Graham Bell of the Chinese to send the human voice over the metallic circuit, no Caesar, no Nopoleon. There is contentment and stagnation of thought." He spoke of the high kite flights made at Mt. Weather ever}- day since last September; that on no day was there a variation of temperature; that the air at the six mile level is above the effect of the lower currents. "We know very well that the temperature that causes storms ceases at 6000 feet." "Now that the flying machine has become an actuality, and as all that now remains to be done is to perfect already existing means and apparatus in order to complete the conquest of the air, it is well for us to forecast some of the adjustments that will be necessary to meet the changed conditions when we shall have our aerial navies of commerce and of war. "That the flying machine will find very wide application in future warfare, there can be no doubt. Furthermore, it will be the demand as an engine of war that will give to the flying machine industry its greatest stimulus. "Inventors will have to delve in the depths of their genius in order to develop, perfect and bring the flying machine to the very high efficiency necessary to meet the requirements of government specifications. "There is no other incentive to invention so great as that which impels to the development and perfection of implements of war, for the very security of property. country, home and life itself often depends upon a little lead over an enemy in war inventions. "The result will be that in the not distant future we shall have our aerial battleships, cruisers, torpedo boats, and torpedo boat destroyers, although they will be far different," of course, than those that sail the seas. "Some terrible things have been predicted for the flying machine as a war engine. Many a sanguine inventor has claimed that with the advent of his flying machine, battleships, coast fortifications and cities coidd be utterly destroyed by dropping dynamite from the air. "It is comforting to know that no very great loss of life or property would result from dynamite dropped from flying machines for the reason that dynamite requires confinement to work very wide destruction. "Dynamite must penetrate and explode inside battleships, earthworks and buildings in order to do very great damage. Half a ton of dynamite dropped upon the four-inch deck of a battle ship might kill a few men, wreck some of the superstructure and dent the deck a bit, but the destruction would not be widespread and the crew below would be uninjured. Dropped on coast fortifications the damage would be negligible. Half-ton bombs dropped into the streets of a large city, or on top of the great buildings, would shake a few foundations, break a lot of glass and kill a few people, for the blast of the dynamite not being confined, would rebound up into the air in the form of an inverted cone and the effect in a horizontal plane would be small. "But the fb'ing machine will have very great use in war as a scouting craft for the purpose of locating an enemy and inspecting his position; but the enemy will have his aerial pickets out, and there will be many a tilt in the air between the warring craft. Then it will be that speed will count for much and there will be intense rivalry between the nations in the production of flying machines that will fly fast and fly high, for those able to fly the highest will have a tremendous advantage over their enemies. It will be the high flyers who will win. "Do not let the inventor think that the employment of the flying machine as a war engine is an ignoble one, for it is not. It is the most noble use of all." On Monday, March 4, Mr. Stanley Y. Beach gave a lecture on the machines abroad. The meeting was very well attended. The following addition to the By-Laws has been proposed: "No member shall take part in-any contest in the United States which is not organized by the club, without the consent of the committee in writing." The name of the "committee" is not given. Conditions of competition for the Scientific American cup will be made more strict on August 1st, and prospective contestants are urged to "get their machines incondition as soon as possible." AVIATION SECTION OF THE AERO CLUB OF AMERICA. The Aero Club of America, at a general meeting on April 6, formed an Aviation Section for the purpose of particularly encouraging experiments and providing opportunities for carrying 011 experiments with gliding machines and all types of gasless apparatus. A committee, consisting of A. C. Triaca, S. Y. Beach, Lee S. Burridge, Wilbur R. Kimball and D. L. Braine, has been appointed to locate suitable grounds for demonstrations, to provide motors for the use of experimenters, a repair shop for small repairs, etc. It is expected to enlarge this shop to such proportions that entire machines can be constructed at cost price for members of the Section. A meeting room will be provided as soon as possible for members of the Section at the experimental grounds. The members of the Aero Club of America will, of course, be entitled to visit the grounds, but will not participate in the active privileges of the members of the Section except by joining the Section. A large membership is earnestly solicited in order to enable the rather extensive program to be carried out. The membership has been decided at $10 annually, to include all privileges of the Section. Every endeavor will be made to secure offers of prizes to reward creditable flights and enable the successful aviators to further prosecute their researches. Monthly lectures, illustrated with slides and motion pictures of the new machines here and abroad as the}- are tried out. The privilege of competing for the following prizes: Scientific American Trophy; Michelin annual prize of $4000 for a flight of 12 miles; Triaca annual prize of $100 for the longest flight during the year: and others offered abroad which are international in character. Contests for cash prizes will be arranged from time to time. Write for circular and information to Aviation Section, Aero Club of America, 12 East 42(1 St., New York. The third contest for this cup will be held on October 11 at Berlin. Twenty-three entries have been received, as follows: America 3, Belgium 3, England 3, France 3, Italy 3, Spain 3, Switzerland 2, Germany 3. The Italian contestants will be Sr. Usuelli, with the balloon "Ruvensori," of 2250 c.b.m.; Prince Borghese, with the "Aetos," of 2250 c.b.m., and Sr. Frassinetti, with the "Basiliola," 2200 c.b.m. The English contestants will be John Dunville, Prof. A. K. Huntington and Hon. C. S. Rolls. Belgium will be represented by M. Demoor m the "Belgica," of 16S0 c.b.m., M. Leon de Brouckere, in the "Ville de Bruxelles," of 2200 c.b.m, and one other, which will probably be named by the Aero Club des Flandres, an affiliated club of the Aero Club de Belgique. The "Belgica" will be a new Mallet balloon. The Aero Club of St. Louis has made application to enter one balloon in behalf of America. The number of prizes won in contests. The number of kilometers traveled and hours consumed in these contests. The total number of all flights previously made, with total distance and duration. Record flights or especially long ones. The answers to these questions must have been received by the Committee by April 1st. If it is impossible to agree upon the selection of any two particular pilots from considering their past records, an elimination contest is to be held between the two applicants, the time and place for same to be decided by April 15. In referring to the race of 1907 at St. Louis, Major Moedebeck calls attention to the fact that "the French balloon 'Isle de France,' pilot Le Blanc, in the Gordon Bennett 1907, had a capacity of 2400 c.b.m., while the rules place the limit in size at 2200 c.b.m., with an allowance of 5% in excess, or 2310 c.b.m. total." Acting in strict compliance with the rules, the Aero Club of America should have refused the entry of such balloon, which, it will be remembered, made the second best duration record of the world, 44 hours 5 minutes. On Oct. 10 distance contests and contests for a specified objective point will be held. The city of Berlin offers free the gas for the Gordon Bennett race. This is the last year in which a cash prize of $2,500 is offered in addition to the cup, Mr. Gordon Bennett having agreed upon offering the cup to donate $2,500 yearly for three years. Dispatches state that an international aeroplane contest will take place at Venice during October. Prizes amounting to $5,000 will be available. President: Professor Willis L. Moore. Secretary: Dr. Albert Francis Zahm. Chairman Gen'l Committee: Wm. J. Hammer. Chairman Executive Com.: Augustus Post. Sec'y Committees: Ernest La Rue Jones. The eighth and ninth, papers are presented in this issue. EQUILIBRIUM AND CONTROL OF AEROPLANES. There is a certain problem in the theory and practice of aeronautics which has been rather neglected by the majority of recent dynamic experimenters, generally with disastrous results. I refer to the balance and steering of aeroplanes, a subject which must be absolutely mastered by the experimenter who hopes to develop a flying machine of any type. Unfortunately, previous investigators have failed to give any precepts or data concerning this problem, either because they had none to give or because they thought their secrets too valuable to make public. To me, this latter excuse seems unnecessary for it is highly improbable that any experimenter could get ahead by following up the ideas of a man who had the advantage of several years experience. Of course there are exceptions, such as the case of the French aviators who imitate in appearance but not in success, the machines of Professor Langley and the Wright brothers, but even the Frenchmen begin to see that they are on the wrong track. As one close observer has put it, "there are two ways to learn to ride a balky horse: by working out on paper-just what moves a man would have to make to get the best of him (data obtained by observing his antics from a safe distance), or by getting into the saddle and finding out by experience." . Substanially the same thing is true concerning aviation, and a very brief glance at the history of aeronautics reveals which method has given the best results. Laboratory data are valuable only when based on information gained in actual field experiments and mathematicians desiring to contribute their calculations concerning mechanical flight would do well to learn the practical side of the proposition so as to produce more useful material. An aeroplane moving" freely through the air is in a state of equilibrium when its center of pressure coincides with the center of gravity. Unfortunately this state of things exists only when the machine flies in perfectly still air, and even in a calm some defect in the construction or adjustment of the apparatus may cause a disturbance in the equilibrium. Projected forward in a wind, a machine must be cleverly designed and adjusted indeed to preserve inherent stability and beyond certain limits it will not fly at all unless the controlling agent is human intelligence. paper models the investigator becomes acquainted with the merits of variously shaped wings and the travel of the center of pressure under various conditions. GLIDER NO. 2 OF I.. J. I.ESH. the single support type having; the center (or centers) of pressure approximately on the same vertical straight line; and the type having two or more centers of support placed consecutively from front to rear. The Lilienthal. Pilchcr and Channte gliders are examples of the first class of machine and the Pangley, Wright and Dumont flyers will serve as illustrations of the second type. A careful study of the design of these six machines representing the various, types of successful flyer, leads one to some interesting conclusions. The Pilienthal and Pilcher machines possessed very little inherent stability, required remarkable agility on the part of the aviator, who steered and balanced the apparatus bv shifting his .weight, and were unsuited for dvnamic flight. The explanation of these difficulties is found in the arrangement of surfaces, which consisted of two large and wide supporting wings arched from front to rear and tilted laterally at a dihedral angle (forming an unstable craft in a gusty side wind) a tail tilted steeply upward, placed at the rear of the main surfaces, its object being to prevent the wings from tipping over frontwards, and a vertical fin which prevented the apparatus from swerving unduly to one side. This arrangement is about as unstable as one could wish and its management makes one think of that circus feat which consists in riding a one-wheel cycle. Indeed the two devices are quite similar in reference to the principles of equilibrium concerned—for in one the trick consists in keeping the center of gravity over the center of the pressures exerted on two large artificial wings, while in the other success depends on the rider keeping himself directly over the point of contact of his wheel. Chanute's machine, although it was also of the "single support" type, embodied some changes in construction and design which were a distinct improvement over former practice. He ingeniously applied the principles of bridge design to the construction of his gliding machines and overcame, in part, the difficulties of balancing, by the use of semi-flexible or pivoted wings and rudders. The second or "double support" type mentioned in my classification of flyers might be subdivided again into the Langiey type of machine, consisting of two consecutive supporting surfaces with the center of gravity placed between; and the Wright type consisting of a single main support practically coincident with the center of gravity, and a forward rudder which lifts slightly and therefore forms a second center of pressure. Bleriot's recent flights have demonstrated the inherent stability of the Langiey type of machine which, having two centers of support, is more stable than the single support type for the same reason that a conveyance having two wheels is steadier than a monocycle. The arrangement of supporting surfaces used in the Langiey type of machine puts it at a material disadvantage, however, for the front wing cutting the wind into eddies as it passes, interferes with the action of the next following surfaces. This has been termed "interference." Bleriot has effected a considerable improvement over the Langiey design by placing the rudder at the front of the aeroplane instead of at the rear, but the principal defect, "interference," has not been eliminated and the machine is still relatively inefficient. Apparently, experimenters have not yet arrived at the most efficient system of aeroplane surfaces: for in one case "interference" has been practically eliminated (with a resulting loss of stability), while in the other, excellent equilibrium is assured but the surfaces lose their efficiency. It is probable that the best arrangement would be a system of surfaces providing two centers of stipport with the weight of motor, operator, etc., located between them. In order to reduce the "interference" and improve the control of the machine it would be desirable to place the controlling surface in a position where it would support a part of the weight and assure a positive control. This could be made possible only by the use of a rudder placed in advance of the main wings. To obtain this arrangement with the rear supporting surfaces curved to the arc of a circle or with their curvature forward of their center of figure, would necessitate (unless the forward surface be prohibitively small), the weights being placed somewhat in advance of the rear center of pressure and this would introduce new and objectionable complications of construction. After arriving at these conclusions 1 proceeded to undertake a series of -experiments with models, in hopes that some satisfactory arrangement would be evolved. As the work proceeded T became convinced that in order to province a practical "two support" machine it would be necessary to design the main supporting surface in such a way that its center of pressure would be near the rear edge of the wing. The answer to these vexing problems came when it was found that a supporting surface curved slightly downwards at its rear edge possessed ■excellent stability when balanced by a forward rudder, and permitted the placing of the weight between the two centers of support thus formed. My recent experiments with this system applied to a full-sized man-carrying aeroplane have proved it to be practical and efficient. After the working efficiency and inherent stability of a flying machine are satisfactory, the problem of manipulating the surfaces to produce horizontal and vertical changes in the direction of flight may be taken up. Since steering is largely a matter of skill, and skill in managing an aeroplane can only be acquired by actual practice, the problem will require but little treatment here. The efficiency and versatility of the system of control will depend on the balancing of the rudders and arrangement of the controlling ropes or levers. The horizontal rudder should be so balanced that it will return to a horizontal position when not under the control of the operator and the vertical rudder should move freely in its sockets, assuring" positive action. The arrangement of devices for moving the rudders will obviously depend on the position of the aviator in the machine. If the operator assumes a horizontal position in flight, the surfaces may be manipulated to the best advantage by controlling cords passing within easy reach, while if he assumes a sitting posture or hangs suspended by his arms, levers will generally be found most convenient. I have found that an aeroplane ma}- be steered to good advantage by the use of a "Chanute type" rear rudder connected to the main wings by a single spar and universal j6int, the steering being done by controlling lines passing in front of the aviator. 1 found it necessary, however, to shift my weight when quartering into the wind Avith this arrangement, for side gusts caused a lateral oscillation of the surfaces which could not be overcome by the rudders without changing the direction of flight. It occurred to me that these troubles could be overcome by the use of two individual horizontal rudders, and the arrangement was accordingly installed in my experimental machine. The tests demonstrated that with the new device it was possible to quarter into the wind with the wings parallel to the ground, the control being effected by the use of the two horizontal rudders alone. I believe this system of control to be efficient and hope in the near future to install it in a motor aeroplane. Its most valuable feature will be its abilicy to overcome the torque of the propeller if a single screw is used for propulsion. CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT OF WIND-TUNNELS. By Dr. A. F. Zahm. (As Dr. Zahm 7vas unable to write out his paper, he made an impromptu address which is here published from the stenographic reports of the Congress). In determining the atmospheric resistance of bodies there are two general methods that may be followed. One is to propel the bodies against still air, the other is to drive the air in a uniform current against the bodies. By uniform I mean constant in velocity and direction. These two methods should give identical results. I take this as a self-evident proposition. The first method has been quite generally used for several generations. Originally the bodies were dropped from high places. Sir Isaac Newton determined the resistance of a sphere by dropping it from the dome of St. Paul's cathedral. Others later determined the resistance by placing the wind objects on the end of a long arm of a whirling table. And others again on a car running on a rectilinear track. in this building', place the bodies on the car, and have them moved at a regular speed. A method that .has come into use quite generally in recent years is to drive the air against the body. If it were possible to find a uniform current of air out of doors, we will say blowing" over an extended tract of water or a level surface of the earth, these experiments might be made in the natural wind. 1 would ask our meteorological friends what they think of that proposition. What kind of winds can we find in the most favorable localities? How much do they vary during the time necessary to take careful observations? That is to say, one minute. If the velocity be constant for one minute to within one or two or three per cent., such a wind would be very useful for measuring the resistance of many shapes important in engineering. But in the laboratories I speak of winds are generated artificially. A very small wind tunnel was built by Professor Marey in Paris. The tunnel was vertical, had a netting" for fine mesh closing" its top and a suction fan at its bottom. The suction fan drew the air through the screen-closed mouth of the tunnel, then passed it through the tunnel in uniform straight lines. By this simple device he was able both to measure the resistance of the bodies and to determine the action of the air as it flowed about the bodies. For instance, he would place a sphere in this current and observe the streamlines as they flowed around it. This could be done by allowing fine particles, or fine threads, to float in the current, but very much more satisfactorily by means of a great many fine streams of smoke. Across the tunnel he constructed a large comb with hollow teeth. Smoke was admitted into the body of the comb and came out of the ends of the teeth, and these smoke streams moved in parallel lines till they came to the object, and then passed gracefully around, if the shape was "easy," but broke into eddies if the body was blunt. Around the front of a sphere they would bend very smoothly, but towards its rear they would break into eddies and then there would be a long wake below the sphere. In the case of a wing surface, the inclination being comparatively small, the stream-lines would begin to bend a short distance in advance of the forward edge of the wing. Part of the stream-lines would bend gracefully over the top of the wing-surface and smoothly close at the rear of the surface and unite with those which passed underneath. Of those that passed underneath, some were bent smoothly and others were disturbed, broken into eddies. I have observed some of Professor Marev's photographs. I must mention that these stream-lines were photographed by an instantaneous process. The photographs show the stream-lines very clearly, where they bend smoothly, and where they are broken into eddies. In addition to that, the stream-lines will give the actual velocity, because he made the comb vibrate. An electric motor caused the comb to vibrate 10 times a second regularly. That caused all the stream-lines to have a wavy form. Looking at the photographs, you observe the stream-lines beginning at the comb with all the waves parallel. Then, as they approach the wind body, some move more rapidly than others. By counting the number of these waves along each inch of the photograph, you can tell the velocity of each part of the current. a picture to illustrate. Let us suppose that the wind is blowing directly into the mouth of a tube connected with an anemometer. Then the impact of the wind will generate a pressure in this tube. If we know the static pressure in the undisturbed stream, we can immediately compute the velocity of the wind. In order to determine that static pressure, it is necesary to have the air enter another tube undisturbed. The other tube may be co-axial with the first tube mentioned. If a hole is made on the convex surface at some distance from the end of this co-axial outer tube, air will flow into it undisturbed. The stream-lines of the air will be undisturbed as they pass that orifice, and the pressure of the air inside the outer co-axial tube will be the same as in the unchecked, undisturbed stream in the tunnel. Xow, if the pressure in the two tubes is observed in a manometer, and the difference between those two pressures taken, the velocity of the air may be read proportionally to the square root of this differential pressure. Alany engineers have used the Pitot tubes and have applied the impact at the mouth correctly, but have not used the proper precaution in getting the static pressure. For example, one method is to erect a tube at right angles to the wind current and take the pressure that exists at the mouth of such an orifice. The results are unreliable, because the stream of air bends around the mouth, and a partial vacuum is created. The stream-lines are disturbed; therefore, the static pressure inside the tube is not the same as the static pressure in the unchecked stream. Two Italians, Dr. G. Fin zi and Dr. X. Soldati, have investigated this subject, and find that the true static pressure in a current may be determined very accurately by using a thin disc. A thin metal sheet placed over the static orifice will prevent the disturbance of the stream-lines, so that the air will flow in a uniform stream, unbent, undisturbed. And, therefore, the pressure obtained at the static mouth is the true pressure in the unchecked stream. Of course, there are other methods of measuring the wind velocity which are familiar to every one here. Having obtained a wind of uniform velocity and direction, the wind objects are supported inside the wind tunnel on a balance, and the pressures of the air are measured just as one weighs off sugar in a balance. Mr. Herring: You said that the pressure is measured off directly in the tube; but aren't the effects of pressure of a moving stream on any body composed of pressure in the front and suction in the back? That would give a different value from the direct impact of the air itself. Dr. Zahm: .That is a very important consideration when you are determining the wind pressure at a particular point about a model. What I am attempting to do in this case is to measure the velocity of the unchecked wind current in the tunnel before it reaches the body. Mr. Herring: Measure its velocity instead of its wind pressure?" friction. The experiments of Finzi and Soldati bear out Langley's assumption. Lang'ley assumed that a fish-shaped body moving through the air has a resultant pressure, which is zero, the pressure on the rear balancing the pressure on the front. When such a body is placed on the balance in a wind current, it is found to have a finite.resistance. It may be a considerable resistance. I should judge, then, comparing the results of' Finzi and Soldati with the actual total resistance, that this resistance must be largely frictional. Of course, since I have measured the absolute skin-friction in my wind tunnel at Washington, I can state absolutely and positively that there is such a thing as skin-friction, and I can give its law, and the magnitude for any velocity; and so it is possible to explain the existance of a resultant force on a wind object, even if we assume the aggregated pressure all over the surface balanced and neutralized. To answer Mr. Herring's question more fully, I would say that, while the static and impulsive pressures at the nozzle of the Pitot tube are used to compute the wind speed at a point well away from the model, the resultant wind force on the model itself is measured, in my tunnel, by means of a bell-crank balance. The knife edges and horizontal graduated arm of the balance are above the ceiling of the tunnel, on the outside; the vertical arm runs through the ceiling into the tunnel (being protected from the wind by a surrounding tube fastened to the ceiling of the tunnel) and supports the wind model at its lower end. The resultant wind pressure on the model is determined by sliding weights on the horizontal graduated beam outside. Thus by means of the two instruments—the Pitot tube and the bell-crank balance,—the velocity of the undisturbed air, and the resultant wind thrust on the model are measured, but nothing is revealed as to the unit pressure at each point of the model's surface. To determine this latter, one may use the manometric method of Drs. Finzi and Soldati, just referred to. In other words, my balance gives the resultant wind thrust, including skin-friction ; their manometer gives the unit pressure at each part of the model, but ignores the skin-friction. A combination of the two devices would give the unit pressure at every part of the model, the resultant pressure and the resultant skin-friction, but not the unit skin-friction at each point. This latter quantity, so far as I am aware, has never been measured directlv. Gas Bag—Form, ogival; double-wall cemented silk with a breaking strain of 75 x 75 pounds per inch width. Length, 58 feet. Greatest diameter, 16 feet; smallest diameter, 14 feet. Capacity, about 8,000 cubic feet. Envelope with 3 layers of material fore and aft with reinforcements where required. Twelve-inch plunger valve at the top. Ten-inch pressure valve at bottom. Inflating neck, 6 inches. Ripping strip, 5 feet. at all times. The netting is so adjusted that in case of collapse it would form a parachute and permit a safe descent. Attachment of the gas bag and the frame is the "three-way suspension," which holds the gas bag and frame absolutely rigid. Frame—Square cross-section of spruce, x i^-inch, bolted together with ^ x J^-inch strips. Operator's section is 3 x 3 x 6 feet. Frame is built in convenient lengths for shipment. opposite directions on the same shaft at a speed of about 250 r. p. m. The shaft is of Shelby steel tubing mounted on ball and roller bearings. There will be four planes 3 x 3 feet for regulating the ascent and descent, and keeping the ship on an even keel, worked in unison from the operator's section. The rudder, propellers and planes will be of tubing, spruce, bamboo and silk. M>tor—The motor will be a specially-designed Cnrtiss of 20 horsepower, 4-cycle, 4-cylinder (vertical), air-cooled, magneto-ignition, cast-iron cylinders. The crank case will be of McAdamite. The shaft is a four-throw, hollow vanadium steel, with Parsons' "white brass" bearings. The weight is approximately 200 pounds. Enough fuel will be carried for a two hours' flight. HYDROGEN AT LOW COST TO ADVANCE BUILDING OF DIRIGIBLES. By Albert C. Triaca, General Director International School of Aeronautics-. Up to the present time the inflation of spherical balloons with hydrogen has not been practically realized on account of the high cost of this gas, which has never been less than 20 cents, in France, the cubic metre,'while the price of coal gas is 3 cents per cubic metre. If one could produce hydrogen at a moderate price, equal, if possible, to the cost of coal gas, he would render an immense service to aeronauts in giving them a gas lifting from 11 to 12 hundred grams per cubic metre. Using hydrogen we can have smaller balloons. This means the lessening of the expense for fabrics, the cost of the journey back home, and greater facility in handling. Of course, gas holders for hydrogen must be stronger and will be somewhat more expensive, but they will give greater service and by holding the gas for a longer time enable the aeronauts to make longer trips. Cheap hydrogen will aid greatly in the development of dirigibles for pleasure use instead of being used by Governments for war purposes only. Perhaps next Summer we can have a great number of small private dirigibles, with contests between them. It was to the realization of the production of hydrogen at low cost that Mr. Howard Lane applied himself, and these are the results of his researches. Hydrogen is prepared from the decomposition of water through iron in presence of sulphuric acid; from the decomposition of steam through iron or coal at high temperature; and chiefly by electrolysis, which furnishes a gas chemically pure, but at a cost price of nearly 2 francs per cubic metre. It is the industrial application of the decomposition of steam through red hot iron that is the basis of the Lane process, and it is that which has been able to accomplish the manufacture of hydrogen gas at a cost of 1 franc (19.3c.) per 10 cubic metres (353.14 cu. ft.). This apparatus has already proven its excellence, since it has been adopted by the Russian Government, which has successively ordered two plants capable of producing respectively 200 cubic metres (7062.80 cu. ft.) per hour. The English Government has also installed at one of its aerostatic parks, South Farnborough, an apparatus of the same capacity. The officers who have experimented with it there, and who were present at the long trials, are unanimous in declaring that the gas thus obtained is of as good quality as that from the electrolytic process, reaching a degree of purity of 97 per cent. The Royal Batallion of the Prussian aeronauts has asked the Minister of War for a plant of the size above mentioned. The installation realized by Mr. Lane is essentially composed of an oven in which are three series of retorts; of a special generator, high grade (AA); and of a generator of the Wilson type (BB). Besides the oven with retorts and generators, and a small steam boiler, there are also other accessories and mechanical parts of which it i* not necessary here to give a description. In order to well understand the work of this installation we will give some explanation about the two generators just mentioned. The high-grade generator is an apparatus capable of producing, with ordinary combustibles, and even with bituminous coals, a gas of a very high quality and of a high calorific power. This gas, accordiug_to the combustibles used for its production, has a richness in hydrogen varying from 40 to 48 per cent. The Wilson type generator recalls the old Siemens oven, which worked by natural draught without the use of steam and which rendered great service for the heating of ovens. With the Lane apparatus one can use not only ordinary coals and cokes, but also wood and inferior combustibles. The gas produced in this apparatus is sent directly, in a hot state, through special pipes to the parts which arc to be heated. The retorts in the oven mentioned above contain pieces of iron. These are the three principal organs of the installation. We will see now how it works and how one can obtain hydrogen of a good quality. The retorts are heated red hot with the gas produced by the Wilson type generator. Then a draught of steam is made to go through the iron contained in the retorts for each one of the series contained in the oven. The steam is decomposed and hydrogen is formed until the complete oxidation of the iron. When this oxidation is accounted for. the same operation is gone through for the other series of retorts. During this new operation a current of gas coming from the high-grade generator is introduced into the series of retorts where the oxidation is produced. This gas has the virtue of combining itself with the oxygen of the magnetic oxide of iron remaining in the retorts and to revivify the iron, at the same time obtaining some steam and carbonic acid. This iron can again be utilized for producing hydrogen as soon as the iron contained in the series of retorts will be completely exhausted. During the new production of hydrogen the revivification will be made. Finally, it is interesting to establish the cost price. First, 30 kilos of coal at 12 francs a ton (in England) produce 10 cubic meters of gas; second, an apparatus able to produce 200 cubic meters per hour is worked by four men earning each a maximum of 1 franc per hour; third, one can allow a loss of 30 centimes per 10 cubic meters. Coal (30 kilos at 12 fr. a ton).........................0 fr. 36c. Labor - ..................................o fr. 20c. Per 10 cubic meters...............................1 fr. 00c. Such in brief, are the advantages resulting from the use of the Lane system for manufacturing hydrogen at low cost. I believe that because of the geographical position of New York, it is not an easy matter to take balloon trips, by reason of the nearness of the water and the strong winds which frequently prevail. It would be very interesting to have a factory for producing hydrogen at low cost. The time is coming when you can build an airship at a less cost than a 24 horsepower automobile. This is a question of only a few months. In France there was organized two weeks ago a Company especially for the construction of airships. In this company are interested AI. Maurice Mallet, the well-known aeronaut. Count de la Vaulx and M. Schelcher of the Panhard-Lcvavasseur firm. Certainly hydrogen at a low price is the greatest aid to the development of dirigibles. On account of high winds you cannot return with your airship to the starting point. It will be an easy and not very expensive matter to use the ripping cord in your dirigible as in any ordinary spherical balloon. The Aero Club of France will have this Spring the Lane hydrogen system installed at its own park at St. Cloud, Paris. Note: The information about the Lane system is taken from Aerophile of July, 1907. BALLOON SPEED RECORDS. Carl E. Myers. Under this head a recent balloon voyage from Pittstield, Mass., to Hampton Falls, N. H., 130 miles in 3 hours time, or 43 1/3 miles per hour, is thought "possibly better than has been made anywhere," and better than made by the same party last fall from Pittsheld to Short Beach, Conn., a distance of 84 miles, in two and one-half hours, at a rate of 33 1/5 miles per hour. Prof. John Wise exceeded this nearly 49 years ago when in July, 1859, he made a balloon trip from St. Louis, Mo., with three companions, nearly 1200 miles in length of course, and over 8co miles in air line in about 18 hours, or at a rate of about 45 miles per hour. In Sept., 1886, Mrs. Carl Myers of Frankfort, N. Y., made a balloon journey from Franklin, Pa., to Kinzua Bridge, a distance of 90 miles in 90 minutes, at a speed of 60 miles per hour, which so far as known is the world's record. Her balloon arose to over 4 miles elevation, the highest record in America, and is notable also as being the first made with natural gas from the earth. Thus the work of a woman is the aeronautic record today. The natural gas on this occasion arose from the wells at a pressure of 700 pounds to the square inch, and was brought through pipes thirty miles to the place of ascension. Mar. 9.—A. Holland Forbes (A. C. A.) alone from North Adams in the "Stevens 22" (22,500 cu. ft.) at 11:25 <i- landing half-way between Wilbraham and Monson, Mass., at 1:02 p. m. Distance, 58 miles. The ascension was made with the idea of qualifying in this respect for a pilot's license. The start was made in a strong wind which continued throughout the trip. Taking the times noted by observers at various villages, the balloon was travelling 40 miles in 50 minutes during part of the journey. The clouds hung low and the balloon disappeared as it cleared Hoosac Mt. The landing was beautifully made at the exact spot picked out some distance ahead. A very heavy wind was blowing, which necessitated quick work with the rip cord. In checking up the distances on a large scale road map they are found to be as noted on the diagram. Using the time table given by Mr. Whitehouse most surprising speeds result. Even allowing for small inaccuracies in measuring and the indefinite exact spot of landing, which lias been ascertained within about half a mile, the mean speed by path, 49 m.p.h. (adding together the speeds between points and dividing), is indeed curious from a meteorological standpoint. m.p.h. until 8 p. m., and reaching a maximum velocity of 22 miles from the southwest at 5:17 p. m. Low currents were from a northeasterly direction in the forenoon and southwest to west in the afternoon." "C. R. Newcomb, 776 Main St." There can be no doubt of the approximate times as noted by Mr. Whitehouse and the only error is in the mileage. We do not know of any case in which the speed between Haverhill and the landing place has been exceeded. The total distance by path is 131 miles. Mr. Stevens stated that the drag rope at times hung almost horizontal with the car. Mar. 20.—A. Holland Forbes (A. C. A.) and N. H. Arnold (N. A. A. C.) in the "North Adams 1" (35,000 cu. ft.) from North Adams at 11:02 a. m., landing in Wilbra-ham, Mass., at 1:30 p. m., a distance of 55 miles. The highest altitude was 7,800 feet. This makes five trips for Mr. Forbes and two for Mr. Arnold. It was also the initial trip of the "North Adams 1," formerly the "Stevens 21." It is interesting to note that out of the five ascensions made by Mr. Forbes from North Adams, three landings were made within a few miles of the same spot, Palmer, Mass. Mar. 25.—Second ascension under the auspices of the N. A. A. C. A. Holland Forbes (A. C. A.). A. W. Chippendale and N. H. Arnold (N. A. A. C.) in the "North Adams 1" from North Adams at 10:20 a. m., landing in Chesterfield, Mass., about 12 miles northwest of Northampton, at 11:45 a. m. Distance. 27 miles. This was Mr. Chippendale's initial flight. Highest elevation, 6,500 feet. Mar. 31.—A. Holland Forbes (A. C. A.), N. H. Arnold and Roswell Gardner (N. A. A. C.) in the "North Adams 1" from North Adams at 9:25 a. m., landing at Chester, Vt., at 11:50, a distance of 46 miles. ON THE USE OF LIQUID HYDROGEN AND HYDROGEN-CONTAINING-COMPOUNDS IN LONG DISTANCE BALLOON FLIGHTS. The first instalment, published in the March issue, dealt with the various hydrogen compounds and considered the adaptations of such compounds to an aeronautic use. For the benefit of those who are unacquainted with the difficulties met with when we attempt to preserve in the liquid state a fluid with a boiling point of minus 253 deg. Centigrade,* considerable must be said: we will also touch upon the various kinds of flasks and receptacles used for holding such a fluid. Incidentally, a few things will be said concerning its nature, properties and production. Liquid hydrogen is simply hydrogen so cold that it has assumed the liquid state. Matter is usually considered as existing in three forms: the solid, the liquid and the gaseous. Many authorities state that there is a fourth state—the ultra-gaseous or radiant state—and some physicists say that matter in the crystalline form should be considered as a separate "state" of matter. This is rather off the topic in hand, and I state it merely because so many people entertain an erroneous conception as regards the true nature of a gas in the liquid condition. They either think it a certain "preparation" of the gas or a "solution" of the gas in water. It is because of a want of a correct understanding of such things as these that there so often results an obscurity of ideas bordering upon complete bewilderment. * Authorities differ greatly on the boiling point of hydrogen: some stating it to be as high as minus 238 deg. C. (—396 deg. F.), while others state it as low as minus 253 deg. C. (—423 deg. F.). The latter is now considered to be correct, although it is one degree lower than that observed by Dewar in 1899, using a hydrogen thermometer under reduced pressure and held as accurate. The reduction of a gas to the liquid state is, with few exceptions, accompanied by a reduction of volume. A cubic foot of steam condenses to a cubic inch of water—or, in other words—a cubic inch of water will give a cubic foot of steam. A cubic inch of liquid air will give 800 cubic inches of air at ordinary temperatures. At the sea-level with a temperature of 27 deg. C. (80 deg. F.) a cubic inch of liquid hydrogen will give nearly 900 cubic inches of hydrogen gas. The volume of a gas also varies according to the pressure. When the pressure is doubled the. volume is decreased to one-half; and when the pressure is decreased to one-half the volume is doubled. Increase the pressure two, three or four times and the volume becomes one-half, one-third or one-fourth, and vice versa. In other words, the volume of a gas varies inversely as the pressure. By reading the barometer and thermometer, and using the two formulae given above, the aeronaut can always tell the exact volume of hydrogen gas that will be given off by, say, a cubic inch of liquid hydrogen. The ratio of liquid hydrogen and gaseous hydrogen under standard conditions of temperature and pressure is about 1:820. Suppose we wish to measure the volume of gas that will be given off by a cubic inch of liquid hydrogen at the sea level at a temperature of 20 deg. C. (68 deg. F.). At the sea-level the atmosphere exerts a pressure equal to that of a column of mercury 30 inches high; or, in other words, equal to 14.7 pounds per square inch. At a temperature of 20 deg. C. and with the barometer reading 30 inches, we have figured that a cubic inch of liquid hydrogen would yield 880 cubic inches of gas. We have already seen that the volume of a gas varies inversely as the pressure. Thus, at a height of 19,500 feet, the aeronaut would get 1,760 cubic inches of gas from each cubic inch of hydrogen, for at this height the pressure of the atmosphere is just one-half of what it is at the sea-level, the barometer reading only 15 inches. Taking both temperature and pressure into consideration, the most convenient ratio for the aeronaut to use in computing the amount of gas he is going to obtain from his liquid hydrogen, would be 1:1000. * The departure from the law is wider the more nearly the point of liquefaction is approached, the diminution of volume then being more than proportionate to the increase in pressure. hour to hour, and with latitude and longitude, but for our purposes it is near enough. If the atmosphere were everywhere of the same density we would have no difficulty in calculating its height. We would only have to divide the pressure upon one square inch of the earth's surface by the weight of a cubic inch of air, and the quotient would be the height of the atmosphere in inches. Thus a cubic inch of air at o deg. C. at a pressure of 14.7 pounds (235.8 ounces) to the square inch, weighs 0.000749 of an ounce. Dividing 235.8 by 0.000749 we get 314,000, which (were our atmosphere homogenous and of uniform density) would be the height of the atmosphere in inches— 314,000 inches or 4.97 miles. If we turn from this problem to the more important and difficult one of finding the height to which the atmosphere really does extend, we find that no such definite and satisfactory results can be given. We know that at a height of 5 miles, the atmosphere is so attenuated that it barely supports human life; and that at 6 miles it will not support life. We know from the phenomena of twilight that at a height greater than 45 miles it is too attenuated to reflect the light of the sun; but from the combustion of shooting stars we know that an appreciable atmosphere exists as high as 200 miles. As we ascend the strata become rarer and rarer, for the reason that the lower layers are weighed down and compressed by those above, and at increasing heights there is less and less air above to exert this compression. Thus the further we go the more and more attenuated the atmosphere becomes, until at last, by insensible gradations, we reach a perfect vacuum. In the famous balloon ascension of Glaisher and Coxwell, on Sept. 5, 1862, these gentlemen attained a height of almost 5^ miles—a point at which the barometer reads only gj/2 inches. We computed above that at 20 deg. C. and at a height of 3?4 miles, a cubic inch of liquid hydrogen would yield 1760 cubic inches of gas. At the height attained by Glaisher and Coxwell this would have increased to 2589 cubic inches. With the exception of helium, hydrogen is the most difficult of all the gases to liquefy, and was the last to withstand the efforts of James Dewar. Its liquefaction in bulk was unknown ten years ago, and hence our rather incomplete data concerning it. In 189T Professor Ramsay wrote as follows: "It [hydrogen] has never been condensed to the solid or liquid state. Cailletet, and also Pictet, who claim to have condensed it by cooling it to a very low temperature and at the same time strongly compressing it, had in their hands impure gas. Its critical temperature, above which it cannot appear as a liquid, is probably not above minus 230 deg." One of the advantages in the use of liquid hydrogen to the aeronaut is that the gas given off is pure hydrogen—an article almost unknown to balloonists, though many appreciate its value. For it should be borne in mind that air is 14^ times as heavy as hydrogen, and therefore at this rate 7 per cent, of air by volume in hydrogen, means 51.4 per cent, by weight of the mixed gases—over 50 per cent.! If a few drops of water are put in a clean, smooth spoon that has been heated in the fire, they will gather into a globule which will dart around over the spoon's surface. The water has assumed what is known as the "spheroidal state*' and is at a temperature below its boiling point. The globule rests upon a cushion of steam, which prevents it from coming into direct contact with the metal. A liquid so situated that it could touch no other liquid or solid would assume the "spheroidal" state. The importance of the spheroidal state with reference to the liquefaction of gases can hardly be overestimated. But for the spheroidal state not only would it be next to impossible to manipulate liquid gases as we now do, but the dangers in such manipulation would be increased a hundred fold. However, owing to the fact that liquid gases do assume the spheroidal state, we are able to handle them in much the same fashion as we do water, although theoretically it is the same as though we kept the water in red hot vessels. This, as can be proven by experiment, can easily be done, but it is still easier to keep liquid air or hydrogen in vessels at room temperature, for the reason that such a temperature is, as compared with liquid air, "more than red hot," and they are maintained at this "red hot" temperature without having to depend on artificial heat. Thanks to the "spheroidal state," if liquid hydrogen is accidentally spilled on the hand no injury results. In fact, the hand may be immersed in it with safety, for the heat of the hand causes an extremely thin layer of gas to be formed between the surface of the skin and the liquid hydrogen. Thus this layer of gas keeps the liquid gas from coming in direct contact with the skin and protects it for a short time. Should good contact take place, as may happen if the hand is very dry and chapped, the result is a severe sore similar in nature to a burn. The reason liquid air does not immediately "flash into air" when poured into a tin cup is again because of this protecting cushion. If left in the open air in ordinary vessels, liquid gases evaporate rapidly—for our purpose altogether too rapidly. The reason liquefied gases volatilise and disappear is that they receive heat from surrounding matter—from the containing vessel, and from the atmosphere. Early in his scientific work Dewar recognized that it might be possible to make this loss considerably less by utilizing a vacuum as a non-conductor of heat, and that in handling liquid gases the greatest desideratum would be some kind of a vessel that would hold them without the rapid absorption of heat experienced under ordinary conditions. After much labor and many failures he devised the vessel bearing his name. The Dewar vacuum flask, or "Dewar-bulb," as it is more commonly known, consists, in its simplest form, of an inner flask sealed into the neck of a larger one. The space between the two flasks is made as perfect a vacuum as possible. A triple walled flask is still better, as this gives two vacuum spaces. The only ways by which the liquid hydrogen contained in the inner flask can gain heat are, by conduction through the glass where the vessels are joined, and by direct radiation. The first is small; for the walls of the vessels are thin and glass is a poor conductor of heat. The liquid receives practically no heat by conduction from the air above it, for it is protected by a layer or "pad" or gas almost as cold as the liquid itself. The greater part of the heat that is received is imparted by the ether waves as radiant heat. This is further reduced by the device of placing in the vacuum space a small amount of mercury: in the vacuum, this mercury evaporates, and when the flask is filled, the mercury vapor condenses and freezes upon the outer wall of the inner flask. There is thus formed a very perfect mirror which reflects the greater part of the radiant heat striking it. By all these devices the liquid hydrogen is so protected from its heated environment that its boiling is scarcely perceptible: in fact, but for the loss by evaporation, we would not know that it was boiling. As before said, it is only of late that we have been able to manufacture liquid hydrogen in bulk. To calculate its rate of evaporation by comparison with liquid air (though theoretically possible) is difficult, for many things have to be taken into consideration, and at present it is impossible to make any definite statement except as a result of observation on the particular container in question.t Even then a great difference is found depending upon the method used to reduce the convection currents in the gas above the liquid. With the Dewar bulb something depends (for hydrogen we cannot yet say exactly how much) on the degree of exhaustion of the bulb and the perfection of the silvering. A great deal more depends on the shape and size of the flask, since, as before said, with a good vacuum and small convection, the chief source of heat is by conduction through the inner glass wall. This will obviously be smaller when the flask is not agitated and when the neck is kept as cold as possible by the gas that escapes. * This question with a more detailed description of the tin buckets used by Tripler for transporting liquid air, the various kinds of wrappings used, and a comparison of the Tripler buckets with the Dewar bulbs will be treated by Air. Lyon in the May number.—Ed. t This will be more fully discussed in the May number. A Park of Sports at Brussels. There has just been formed a company having a capitalization of 125,000 francs for the purpose of conducting a sporting park in that city. It is expected that aerial contests will be among those held. At a meeting held on March 9th, the North Adams Aero Club was duly organized with Colonel Frank S. Richardson, President; John H. Waterhouse, Vice President; Arthur W. Chippendale, Treasurer and N. FI. Arnold, Secretary. The Executive Committee is composed of Messrs. George A. Macdonald, Roswell A. Gardner and W. H. Pritchard. The other charter members are: Arthur D Potter of Greenfield; E. C. Peebles, R. J. Stratton, Dr. R. D. Randall, I. D. Curtiss, J. D. Hunter, Archer H. Barber, Harry Hewat, Hugh P. Drysdale, all of North Adams; A. Holland Forbes and Aeronaut Leo Stevens, of New York. The new club has purchased the "Stevens 21," which will be known hereafter as the "North Adams No. 1," and will rent the balloon to its members and supply a qualified pilot at a nominal rate. With the two old balloons of the Aero Club of America out of commission, this will be the only club in this country maintaining a balloon for the use of its members—a great credit to the enterprise of North Adams, but rather the opposite for America in general. The Berkshire Club gave a "balloon smoker" in the club rooms Thursday evening, March 19, to members of the North Adams Aero Club and invited guests, who included 20 members of the Massachusetts Legislature, who were in the city, having come a day earlier in order to attend the smoker and ascension, than was their intention. About 200 in all were present, and President A. H. Barber of the Berkshire Club, and also a charter member of the North Adams Aero Club, presided. The speakers included President Frank S. Richardson of the Aero Club; Mr. A. Holland Forbes of the Aero Club of America and the North Adams Aero Club, who piloted the first trip of the "North Adams No. 1" the following morning; President Luke J. Minahan of the Aero Club of Piltsfield; Superintendent E. C. Peebles of the North Adams Gas Light Company, and who is responsible for the excellent quality of gas provided for ballooning purposes at North Adams and is a charter member of the Aero Club; Senator C. Q. Richmond of North Adams; Senator Grimes of Reading and N. H. Arnold, Secretary of the North Adams Aero Club, who was Mr. Forbes' companion on the first trip of the balloon. The aneroid barometer and statoscope were explained and exhibited by Mr. Forbes in the course of his talk to the audience. During the evening-substantial refreshments were served. On Friday morning, March 20, after the balloon had been inflated and was ready for flight, it was christened by Miss Elizabeth B. Chippendale, daughter of Treasurer A. W. Chippendale of the Aero Club, who broke a bottle of champagne on the anchor. A crowd estimated at over 3,000 and including many from other towns and cities, was present. The start was made at 11.02 to the accompaniment of the shrieking of mill and factory whistles and the cheers of the crowd. The balloon traveled slowly first to the south and then to the southeast, attaining a height of 5500 feet in 15 minutes. The winds were light and variable, and the sun and clouds bothered a good deal, so that finally after having crossed the Connecticut River at a height of 6400 feet and ascended soon after to 7800, the highest mark, it was decided to descend. The landing was perfect, on property of Mr. Seymour Holland in Wilbraham at 1.30, about two and one-half hours after the start. Distance traveled, about 60 miles. Owing to the stiff ground breeze it was necessary to use the rip cord to prevent damage to the balloon after effecting the landing. Mr. Arnold proposes to qualify at once as a balloon pilot. He has already made two ascensions. on the steam and electric roads to witness it. In that way the merchants would be benefited and the city would be in the public eye all season. We must not give up the sport under any consideration, as it means too much for the city." At a meeting of the charter members of the Milwaukee Aero Club, held March 16th, at the offices of the Merchants & Manufacturers" Association, the following officers were elected: Directors—Win. Woods Plankinton, John H. Moss, J. H. Kop-meier, Wm. Geo. Bruce, R. B. Watrous, A. O. Smith, Major Henr}r B. Hersey, Sheldon J. Glass, 11. P. Vilas. The following named gentlemen were elected officers to serve one }'ear as follows: President, John H. Moss; First Vice-President, J. PI. Kopmeier; Second Vice-President, Commodore Vilas; Secretary, R. B. Watrous; Treasurer, Oliver Clyde Fuller; Consulting Engineer and Assistant Secretary, Dr. A. Rudolph Silverston. The following named gentlemen comprise the charter members: W. H. Whiteside, President Allis-Chalmers Co.; John 1. Beggs, President The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. and President of the St. Louis Street Car Co.; Col. Gustave Pabst, President Pabst Brewing Co.; Oliver Clyde Fuller, President Wisconsin Trust Co.; E. P. Vilas, Commodore Milwaukee Yacht Club; Sheldon J. Glass, President and Manager Milwaukee Gas Light Co.; Wm. Woods Plankinton, Capitalist; John H. Kopmeier, President Wisconsin Lakes lee Co. and President Citizens' Business League; John H. Moss, President Rockwell Manufacturing Co. and President Merchants & Manufacturers' Association; A. O. Smith, President A. O. Smith Manufacturing Co.; Major Henry B. Hersey, Inspector United States Weather Bureau; Dr. Louis Fuldner, President Milwaukee Automobile Club; Wm. Geo. Bruce, Secretary Merchants & Manufacturers' Association; R. B. Watrous, Secretary Citizens' Business League; Chas. F. Pfister, Capitalist; Dr. A. Rudolph Silverston; the best men of the State, all enthusiastic sportsmen, and willing to give their time and energetic attention to the affairs of the club. Aero Club of the United Kingdom. The English club has made an arrangement with the Hurlingham Club by which a 12-inch pipe will deliver to the grounds 100,000 cubic feet per hour of pure coal gas. Aero Club of St. Louis. An aeronautic "carnival" is planned fur October. A. B. Lambert, a member of the committee on arrangements, is now abroad, and while no report has been rendered the directors, a national or an international balloon race will be one of the features. There will be also, it is expected, a contest for dirigibles. Perhaps we can have aeroplane races by that time! It is reported that the Philadelphia Aeronautical Recreation Society is being formed, and that Samuel A. King is making a 50,000-cubie foot balloon for the society. "The new society will be composed entirely of amateurs and its sole object will be aerial recreation. It is not meant to be a society for the study of the subject of aeronautics or advancement of science, but a social organization entirely. Its organizers are Dr. Thomas E. Eldridge and Dr. George H. Simmerman, both members of the Ben Franklin Aeronautical Society of the United States and the Balloon Association. Women will be admitted to membership, and before long it is expected that a club house will be purchased." The Aero Club of Frankfort has been formed and has ordered a 2200 c. b. m. balloon. It already owns the "Ziegler" for the scientific ascensions of the Physikalischer Verein. The Aero Club de l'Ouest has been formed at Angers. The club already possesses a balloon, l'Ouest, of 800 cubic metres' capacity, built by M. Emile Carton, which recently made its first trip, starting from the enclosure of the present association of the Aero Club de France at Saint-Cloud. The club has leased an enclosure near the Angers gas works, and arrangements will be made for the prompt inflation of balloons. M. Rene Gasnier, who was one of the French competitors at St. Louis, who resides close to Angers, has also promised to give the new club his support and help. An Aeronautic Section of the Automobile Club of Milan has been formed. Among the members are Engineer Forlalili. Captain Frassinetti. Messrs. Usuelli and Crespi, the renowned Italian aeronauts. Prof. Carl E. Myers, of the "Balloon Farm," Frankfort, N. Y., announces "that he is constructing for western parties the largest airship yet built by himself or any one else in this country. It is of his well-known spindle shape, and has a circumference and length of 84 feet, and a buoyancy of 1700 pounds. This will be finished in two weeks, when he will begin the construction of a still larger airship on the lines of the Government specifications, but twice the dimensions of the late accepted bid. Within the past five days he has wholly constructed two captive hydrogen gas balloons and nets for the United States Government. This speed is only made possible by use of ready machine-varnished hydrogen proof fabrics originated by him and in use exclusively during thirty years, and from which he has already built 150 hydrogen balloons for the War and Weather Departments of the United States. Ordinarily by the usual systems it requires from thirty to sixty days to completely varnish a hydrogen tight balloon." France and Her Experimental Field. The Minister of War has given the Aero Club of France the use of a large field adjoining Issy les Moulineaux. Space will be provided for those aviators who will build garages for their apparatus. The field will be surrounded by a fence and properly policed, so that experimentors can make flights at any time whenever the soldiers are not using the held. Bleriot, Farman and Voisin have already applied for their spaces. The prizes have been announced for the aviation contests of the Aero Club de Belgique at Spa, July 12, 19 and 26. $11,100 will be distributed in prizes during the three days: $2400 as first prize the first day, $3000 the second day, and $4000 the third clay. Second prizes of $300 each will be distributed on the three days. On the 12th and 19th there will be duration contests, with two prizes of $600 and $200 respectively. In addition to these, an indemnity of $100 will be granted to all competitors not winning prizes, providing that they compete on all three days and make in one of these three at least 100 metres from the point of departure or that their home club, if affiliated, will certify that flights of that length have been made by them. The competitions are open to any type of aeronefs. The entrance fee is 80 cents for each horsepower. In the contest for duration the one who stays in the air the longest time wins, and an indemnity of $40 will be allowed to any competitor who stays in the air 5 minutes or whose club will certify that he has done so at some other place. The aeroplane of the Danish experimentor, Herr Ellehammer, has made two hundred flights, of which the best was that on February 13th, 1908, when he achieved a flight of 300 meters. The machine has gone through three forms; monoplane, biplane and triplane. As noted in the July, 1907,1 issue of AERONAUTICS, with a biplane machine of the "Wright type" he made a flight in January, 1906, of 162 feet against the wind. The motor was then stopped and an easy descent made. On January 14th, 1908, he progressed to 175 meters at a height of 5 meters from the ground, with remarkable steadiness. The confined space did not admit of a longer flight. He has been practicing curves and has succeeded in executing an "S" at a speed of 11 meters a second. Cost of British Military Airships. According to figures taken from the English Army statistics for 1906-7 the expenditures on "Nulli Secundus" up to March 31, 1907, were, roughly, $33,395. $45,000 represents the "value of articles manufactured and services performed at the balloon factory;" and the United States Government is spending what? The International School of Aeronautics has removed to 2 East 29th Street, directly opposite the "Little Church Around the Corner." Two entire floors are devoted to the school. Models of the "Ville de Paris" and the "Farman I," besides other valuable additions, are expected within the week. Weekly bulletins from abroad will be posted on the bulletin board. The students thus receive the latest detailed news items two weeks or more before it can be printed in the foreign journals and read here. A TABLE FOR FINDING THE ASCENSIONAL FORCE OF GASES. By Charles DeF. Chandler, Captain, Signal Corps, U. S. Army. All persons interested in aerial navigation frequently have occasion to use in computations, figures showing the ascensional force of gases, and, in calculations for dynamic flying machines, it is necessary to know the weight of a certain volume of air. No accurate answer can be given to inquiries concerning the weight of air or the ascensional force of gases, without knowing the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere. A casual inspection of the table shown herewith illustrates the great difference in weight of equal volumes of air when there is a change, either in barometric pressure or temperature. The weight of one thousand cubic feet of air can be found by an inspection of this table, without any computation, when the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit and barometer in inches of mercury are known, by simply following the horizontal line representing degrees Fahrenheit until it intersects the vertical line corresponding to the barometric reading. At the point of intersection of these two lines, note the figures indicated on the nearest diagonal line. This table is sufficient^accurate, for prvcUcal ballooning. Fa extreme ocuirocy. correcUons~inast be^opplied for force. 61 gr.jvltyot lob'tude andetevouori^-thermal expansion at bans scale and glass tut* of thermometer and barometer ond difference in coefficient of expansion of air and hydrogen. The above is a practical example of finding the ascensional force of a gas having a specific gravity of .40, the barometer reading 30 inches and the thermometer 70 degrees Fahrenheit. By inspection of the table, the lines for 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 30 inches barometer intersect near the diagonal line marked 75. The figure 75 is the weight of 1,000 cubic feet of air. Multiply 75 by .4, which result is 30, the weight of 1,000 cubic feet of the gas. Subtracting 30 from 75 gives 45 pounds as the ascensional force per thousand cubic feet of the gas. U. S. AERONAUTIC PATENTS, JULY TO DECEMBER, 1907. airship, A. C. Ellsworth, 871,164; airship, G. W. Lane, 871,710; airship, Fadda & Di Lorenzo, 872,334; airship attachment, A. Mathews, 870,448; air motor, P. Kiefer, 868,868; air wheel, H. A. Lockwood. 864,317; balloon inflator, F. J. Creque, 874,166; balloon, car suspension for, A. von Parseval, 872,539; balloon captive, II. A. Herve, 870,430; flying machine, J. H. Wilson, 859,274; flying machine, W. Ft. Cook, 860,447; flying machine, F. M. La Penotiere, 861,740; flying machine, A. O'Brate, 867,525; flying machine, mechanism for, J. U. de Uherkocz. 868,038; flying machine, steering gear for, J. U. de Uherkocz, 868,039; flying machine, J. D. Pursell, 869,019; flying machine propeller, L. Gathmann, 871,926; kite, H. Lurz, 859,395. McADAMITE: A NEW ALLOY HAVING NEARLY THE STRENGTH OF STEEL AND THE LIGHTNESS OF ALUMINUM. A new aluminum alloy called McAdamite, which is now being manufactured by the United States McAdamite Metal Company, of Brooklyn, is a metal that should have a very wide application and be most useful in the flying machine industry. Most of the best alloys heretofore produced had only some 16,000 pounds compression strength, while McAdamite has 126,000 pounds per square inch. Where the elastic limit was extremely low, the new metal has more than most others, or 84,000 pounds before the yielding point is reached when under compression. Where the very best of the bronzes could barely claim 38,000 pounds per square inch torsional strength, this alloy has 60,000 pounds, or nearly as much as steel, which has 66,000 pounds. The specific gravity of cast McAdamite is 3.20, as against 2.56 for aluminum and 2.89 for partinium. There is a shrinkage in casting it of 12 to 14 per cent. Its melting point is 977 deg. Fahr. as against 1,830 deg. Fahr. for brass; but, roughly speaking, it has nearly three times the strength in any direction, and three times the volume or one-third the weight of brass. Various degrees of strength and hardness are obtained by the mode of casting. So homogeneous is this metal and so free from gas that extremely intricate and delicate castings can be made. Very thin strips of the metal, when cast, are much stronger in proportion to their cross-sectional area than are pieces of larger size, as the rapid cooling and consequent hardening takes place from the surface inward, and are more complete with a thin piece than with a thick one. When a piece of this new metal is broken, it shows a fine grain similar to steel; and if a bar of it be struck by a hammer, it will ring with a clear and resonant tone. While heretofore it would have been out of the question to make long slender screws, for example, out of any of the aluminum alloys, with this new alloy it is quite possible and almost all of the moving parts of machinery, such as gears, levers, screws, cams, frames, etc., can be made from it. It can be machined with the greatest ease; the chips peel off in long curls, and fine screw threads are cut in it without the aid of oil, turpentine, etc. Although comparatively soft, it is an exceedingly tough metal, retaining all the beautiful qualities of aluminum and removing the weak ones. It gives to aluminum color, strength, tooling, density, fluidity; removes its dryness; and protects it from the attack of salt. It is the first commercially practical metal of great strength and little weight for common every-day use—a metal that may even partially displace cast iron as it grows cheaper, which it will do in time. Among its many qualities is its freedom from occluded gases and viscousness, which gives it fluidity; and to-day gears and many things are being cast finished. The machine shop is no longer needed to cut the teeth in gears; they are cast cut, so to speak. One of the heavy costs of work executed with the common metals is the finishing of the castings after they have been, obtained. The surface must be removed by filing, grinding, turning, buffing, etc. With McAdamite only a slight buffing is needed at the most, for the pieces are cast with a bright, silver-white surface. bears a very favorable comparison with the usual grades of mild steel even when equal volumes are compared. Thus it will be seen to have a great superiority in weight. Its toughness and elasticity arc quite unusual for a cast metal, and it far outranks all metals classed as alloys in this respect. The fact that the elastic limit when under compression runs so high, gives it a wide application in the arts, and with its other qualities, puts it in a class by itself when compared with any other known alloy, its principal field being largely wherever brass and bronze are used and where extreme strength with minimum weight is required. McAdamite has already been employed for aeronautical purposes and has been found most satisfactory. March.—Balloon race organized by the Aero Club of Nice. Distance race at Verona, Italy, on the 19th. April.—Balloon race of the Aero Club of France on the 15th. May.—Aero Club of France balloon race on the 16th. International balloon race of the Aero Club of the United Kingdom. International Aeronautic Congress of the F.A.I, at London, on the 30th. Distance balloon race at Barcelona, Spain, on the 17th; $2900 in prizes and gas free. Grand Prix of the Aero Club of France on the 24th. Aeronef contests at Munich. June.—Aero Club of France balloon race on the nth. Balloon race at Tours on the 21st. July.—Balloon race at Brussels on the 19th. Flying machine contests at Spa, on the 12th, 19th and 26th. September.—Grand Prix of the A. C. F. Aeroplane contests at Vichy. October.—Distance contests and contests for prearranged objective point at Berlin on the 10th. Gordon Bennett International Race on the nth. International aeroplane contests at Venice for $5000 in prizes. 1911.—International assembly of dirigibles in Italy under the auspices of the Societa Aeronautica Italiana. I notice a mention of the National Airship Company of San Francisco, in February AERONAUTICS under the head of "Notes." Although I am not connected with the Company other than a small stockholder, I am anxious with other stockholders to see our Company a success. And such misleading articles tend to militate against the best interests of the Company. Your correspondent states that all the officials connected with the concern have disappeared, and with them what is left of the stock sales, amounting to more than a quarter of a million dollars. After I heard of the trouble I went over to San Francisco and found Mr. Morrell in the office working at a typewriter. He said he had been in the office every day, notwithstanding the report that he had absconded with the funds. He says he has paid out twenty-seven thousand dollars more than received for the sale of stock; never sold a share of personal stock and never accepted a dollar for personal services, and has worked more than fourteen hours per day during three years since the Company was organized. He says the Ariel, will be built, if he is let alone, and do all that he has ever claimed for it. Where the malicious articles claim that the federal officers were asked to investigate on the complaint of hundreds of stockholders, Mr. Morrell says that only two stockholders have made any complaint, and these two are connected with other airship companies, and have an interest to down him. I do not pretend to say how this trouble will come out. But there are certainly misstatements abroad concerning the Airship Company that should be corrected. Berkeley, Cal., Feb. 28, 1908. W. S. HASKELL. The Engineers' Corps have finished the project for constructing a dirigible like Patrie, capable of carrying five passengers. It will be built with Russian workmen and with Russian material. The motor is already completed. It will be ready in September. This magazine will publish each month a list of such rare and contemporaneous books relating to aeronautics as it is able to secure. If you desire any of those listed, kindly send check with your order for the amount stated. Should the book ordered be sold previous to the receipt of your order, the money will be promptly returned. Flying and No Failure, or Aerial Transit Accomplished More than a Century Ago. Travels in Space (Valentine and Tomlinson). Introduction by Sir Hiram Maxim. The Dominion of the Air (J. M. Bacon). Story of aerial navigation. Illustrated. History & Practice of Aeronautics (John Wise). Illustrated, 8vo., cloth, 310 pp.. Airships Past and Present, by Captain A. Hildebrandt; translated by W. H. Story (D. ESPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR AERONAUTICAL PURPOSES. GREATEST POWER, LEAST WEIGHT CONSISTENT WITH RELIABILITY. 20 H. P. 4-cylinder vertical air cooled, " 110 " H. P. 8-cylinder air cooled V. " 160 " H. P. 4-cylinder water cooled, " 200 " H. P. 8-cylinder water cooled, " 300 " g. H. CURTISS MANUFACTURING CO., ... - Hammondsport, N. Y. 44 H. P. (brake test) motor, water cooled, weight 130 lbs., including magneto, oil cups and water. Especially bnilt for aeronautic work. Aeroplanes bnilt complete or materials furnished Steel or aluminum tubing, bamboo, etc. Castings for joining corners Advice on construction given. Also information relating to past machines or experiments. J. W. ROSHON, Harrisburg, Pa. ILLUSTRIERTE AERONAUTISCHE MITTEILUNGEN German illustrated Aeronautical Record. THE SOCIETY OF AVIATION OF VIENNA. Contains Articles in German, English and French. G. E. STECKERT & Co., 129 W. 20th St., New York, or to B. Westermann & Co., 11 E. 17th St., New York, or direct to the Publisher, Karl J. Trübner, Strassburg (Els.), Germany. AVIATOR AERONAUT EXPERT IN THE U. S. MALLET, Paris; Spherical Balloons, Dirigibles. L. CHAUVIERE, Paris; Maker of new V. Tatin Aeroplanes—Helicopters. HUE, Paris ; Aeronautic Registering Instruments specially made for the Aero Club of France. The ANTOINETTE extra light aviation motors. TORRILHON special Rubber Fabrics for balloons and airships. Messrs A. C. Triaca and Leo Stevens are ready to deliver Aeroplanes of the Farman No. I and Delagrange types after trials of I mile circle. Subscriptions received for "Aerophile" Paris.

2019-04-19T10:22:07Z

http://www.volaticum.com/american-magazine-of-aeronautics-volume-02-04-april-1908.htm

Despite covering nearly three quarters of the surface of the earth, the world’s oceans are signalling a severe deterioration in health due to a number of human related impacts. An independent set of report published by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) has indicated that various significant factors are mounting a cause for concern that is overreaching what scientists had initially predicted. Over time, the ocean has lessoned the affects of global warming by absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere. Whilst this has reduced greenhouse gas levels, this uptake of carbon dioxide has caused the water to become increasingly acidic. Along with overfishing, other sources of pollution and the increasingly more common ‘dead zones’ formed by fertiliser run-off, the oceans are showing the strains and may suffer from potential mass extinction. An example of where these negative impacts are being noticeably felt are along coral reefs. Not only are the corals incredibly sensitive to ocean warming but pollution, coral mining and destructive fishing practices also limit the growth of these vital organisms negatively impacting their vital role in biological ecosystems and geochemical processes within the sea. A recent report revealed that coral coverage on the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral system, has declined by a staggering 50% over the past 30 years. The reports indicate the requirement for immediate responses on both a global, national and local scale. Chiefly, urgent action must be taken to cut CO2 emissions, promote and manage sustainable fishing practices and governments must tackle key groups of chemicals that are being released into the ocean. Please watch the following three sort films and answer the questions below. Your answers need to be posted at the bottom of this blog. What is the main ocean threat discussed in each video? —What actions are people taking to address these threats? Film 3: Arabian ‘Sea Cows’ Going Hungry? In video 1, the main threats are pollution, global warming and over-fishing. People are trying to help by making coral reefs out of man-made, artificial objects. In the second video, the problem was that they were using dynamite to fish and it was damaging the coral reefs. And same as before, they were over-fishing. They introduced a few new rules including putting 10% of the land as no fishing zones. In the final video, the threats to the dugongs were motor boats and fishing nets. The government banned some types of fishing nets and produced new laws on the speed limit of a speed boat. The main ocean threats in video one is the impact that global warming and pollution is making on the coral reefs/animals. Humans are polluting the ocean by throwing wastes in it and some marine animals had mistaken it for food which causes them to choke and die but others have been trying to restore the corals by creating artificial ones from shipwrecks and man made things although this can only be temporarily. In video 2, the main threats is the destruction on the coral reefs and the rapid decrease of fish from using dynamites,cyanides and over fishing. To fix this problem, the government created a law banning destructive fishing but since that didnt work, a man called Angel Alcala introduced the villagers to a new strategy of creating a ‘no fishing’ zone which restored the fishes within three years. The villagers then created two new rules: Fishing only allowed for Abo villager & no destructive fishing methods. In video three, they are talking about the threats to the dugongs and the sea grass beds. Pollution from the construction of houses goes into the ocean killing the sea grasses which then affects the food chain since most marine life that live there depend on it especially the dugongs. Other than that, dugongs are found washed ashore, stuck in fishing nets while others aree killed by speedboats. So the government decided to create a marine/dugong protected sanctuary and banned certain types of fishing nets. In video 1, the main threats were global warming, pollutions and overfishing. Global warming and pollutions are destroying the coral reefs and animals under the sea. Humans are also making pollution and destroying the ocean by throwing rubbish into the ocean. The fishes in the ocean doesn’t know so they eat it and they are going to die faster. In the future we might not be able to see beautiful fishes in the oceans anymore. In video 2, the main threats were destruction on the coral reefs and using dynamites, cyanides and also overfishing. The government decided to make a law to ban destructive fishing. But it did not help the villagers. So a man called Angel Alcala showed the villagers and told them to make a no fishing zone. The villagers created 2 new rules that they made up which was fishing allowed for Abo villagers and no destructive fishing methods. The villagers said that it had change their life from doing this. In video 3, they were talking about the dugongs and sea beds. Pollutions affect the sea beds and then the dugongs because the dugongs eat sea beds as their main food. When the Dugongs die they will normally found on the shore. The scientist were investigating about it. That said that some were stuck in fishing nets while others are killed because of speedboats these days. The government decided to protect the dugongs and banned some types of fishing nets. The main threat in video 1 is global warming, pollution and overfishing. Nowadays many people throw waste into the sea and marine animals mistaken it for food, this would make the animals eat the waste and choke. Pollution and global warming is destroying a huge number of coral reef under the sea which makes feeding grounds less for a variety of aquatic life. Nowadays people have been trying to make artificial reefs that are made by man-made objects and sunken ships to increase the number of feeding ground for the aquatic life. The main threat in video 2 is destructive fishing method by using dynamite and cyanide as well as over fishing to catch fishes and does also destroy the coral reefs. The government created a law banning destructive fishing, but the law was not enforceable. Then a man called Angel Alcala help the villagers about this case by introducing a ‘Non Fishing Zone’ which unbelievably restored back the amount of fish in three years time. Then the Apo Islanders came up with two new rules but still continued the rule of ‘Non Fishing Zone’ in the sanctuary. Rule number one is that fishing there is only for Apo Islanders. Rule number two is that no destructive fishing method were allowed. The main threat in video 3 is pollution from construction which destroy and dugongs and the seagrass bed. Dugongs is a large marine mammal which eats grass from the seagrass bed. Dugongs need seagrass to survive as well as green turtles which the seagrass bed provides food and shelter for it. Dugongs are also found washed up ashore because of speedboats or had been captured into the fishing nets and drown when they become tangled with nets. Government decided make up a law reducing the boat speed in some areas and also banned some certain types of fishing nets. In video 1 the main reasons are that people are fishing too much, pollution and global warming. Some people are trying too help the oceans by making coral reefs with man made objects. In the second video they also fished too much but they were using explosives to fish which damaged the coral reefs which leads to less fish in the oceans. In the final video the boats where threatening the seas with the speed of the boat also the mortar boat and fishing boats where damaging the seas so that less and less fish where in the reefs and oceans. The threat discussed in this video are pollution (plastic bags), global warming and over fishing which destroyed the reefs. An action people is taking to address these threats are that they make artificial (fake) coral reefs. The threat discussed in this video is that the number of fish decreased very quickly because of destructive fishing (using dynamites and cyanide). The coral reefs were destroyed. The actions people are taking to address this threat are they set up no fishing zone (fishing sanctuary). They also made rules that fishing is for only Apo Islanders and no destructive fishing methods. The threat discussed in this video is that the pollution and silt covered and killed the sea grass. Sea cows and other marine animals have less food. The actions people are taking to address this threat is they count how many sea cows they have. And when they find a dead sea cow on the beach, they measure its size and took photos and try to find out how it died. They set up a sanctuary for sea cows. They reduce boat speeds and ban fishing nets that harm the sea cows. They also teach the children how important the sea cows are. Today, Global warming,over-fishing and pollution are the main cause of ocean health deterioration. All videos explain in detail the impacts of these human-related factors in ocean reef. Eventhough in some area they have tried to reverse the deterioration of reef life,unfortunately most part is irreversible. Some marine scientists had come up with idea of “fishing zone’ to restore to some extend the life of fish in some villages, but it damage from industries, human and chemical waste and other are so extensive that require immediate responses in national and global scale. Our response should focus on area of conservation, public awareness and education. In the first video the main threat in pollution and global warming, people start to throw rubbish into the sea, which it’s starting to destroy the coral reefs under the sea. Small and big fishes in the sea eats the rubbish that is been thrown into the sea which will eventually lead them to die faster. In the second video it shows how quick fish decreased in the sea because of destructive fishing using dynamites and cynides. Which made the govourments decide to ban destructive fishing. But it didn’t help the villagers. So one day a man called Angel Alcala told the villagers to set up a zone called no fishing zone. So they made up two new rules which allows the villagers to fish without using the method destructive fishing. And so it changes their life forever. In the third video it shows sea beds and gugongs. Pollution will eventually destroy the sea bed that the dugongs eat as their food everyday. Most of the dugongs die because they have no food and some fishing nets most of them will be found on the beach shore. The scientists said some dugongs are being killed by nets while some other are being killed some speedboats. So the govourments tries to protect the dugongs by banning some of the fishing nets. the main threats are overfishing, global warming and pollution. People are trying to stop this by creating artificial(fake) coral reefs as fishes are dying a lot. Video 2: In this video they showed how quickly fish are decreasing by the way of using dynamites and cynides. The government tried to ban destructive fishing but it didn’t work. so some guy set up a no fishing zone. In this video the threats were speed boats going too fast and some fishing nets were causing too much damage. So a speed limit was set and some nets banned. In video 1 the main threats were overfishing, pollution and global warming people are trying to solve the problem using man made artificial coral reefs the other problems are rubbish and fish eating plastic. In video 2 they showed how quickly the population on fish decreased by using harmful fishing methods including dynamite and cynides which destroyed coral reefs, the government tried to ban this type of fishing but it didn’t work so a guy called Angel Alcala talked them into a non fishing zones and setting up a marine life sancuary, the villagers were enthusiastic and 10 percent of the island were non fishing zones or marine life sanctuarys. They banned destructive fishing and everything was normal. The third video the threat is pollution destroying the seagrass bed which affects a lot of marine life especially the sea cow. They were also affected by speed boats and getting tangled in nets, so to save the species the government reduced the speed limits of boats and banned harmful types of nets. The main threats are global warming,pollution and over fishing. People are helping by using artificial reefs created by sunken ships or other man made objects. The main threats in this video were fishermen using destructive fishing method which decreases the population of fish and damaged the coral habitats. Because of that they used 10% of the land and made it a no fishing zone. The main threat in this video are constructions polluting the ocean, choking the corals and smothering the sea grass. Also the speed boats were too fast and the fishing nets caused too much damage which affects the marine lives especially the dugongs(sea cow). Because of this they had to reduce the speed of boats and banned harmful types of nets. In the first film, the main threats are pollution, overfishing and global warming. So the people make artificial reefs. The second film’s threat is that people use explosives to kill fish. The people then made a no fishing zone. This last film’s threat was construction polluting the sea bed. The people then had boat speed limits and banned some nets. Film 1: The great threats in the video is global warming (sometimes caused by pollution) and overfishing. What people do to help is make artificial coral reefs out of man made objects like a sunken ship to replace the reefs destroyed. Film 2 : The huge threats to the ocean in this video is fishermen that use effective methods in fishing for example throwing explosives into the water. Then one guy suggested a way of reducing it by banning throwing explosives to kill the fishes and made a non fishing zone. Film 3: The big threat in this video is that pollution will soon destroy the sea grass and the dugongs (sea cows) only feed on sea grass. They were affected by the speed of boats on the water surface and fishing nets. The people banned the use of some kinds of nets and had a speed limit for the boats. In the first video, the main threat was pollution in the ocean. Some groups of people are trying to protect and make artificial coral reefs. In the second video, the main threat was explosions being used to catch fishes. The method works but it would also destroy the coral reefs. Then, people started to build a sanctuary for fishes. In the third video, the main threat was fishing boats going too fast and some fishing nets were causing too much damage. A speed limit was set to prevent more damages. The main threats in the video is global warming and pollution. Humans are finding a way to help by using man made objects and artificial reefs. The main threats in this video is humans are using explosions to catch fishes, and it shows how fast the fish are decreasing. Which damages the corals habitats. The main threats in this video is pollution and destroying the sea grass beds which affects the sea cows. The speed boats are going too fast, so they set a speed limit. Coral reefs in the first video provide a habitat for many different kinds of fish. They had lived and reproduced for 50 million years, but in these days people throw rubbish, such as plastic bags and cans into the ocean. This causes pollution, which is one of the main threats. Two other threats in the first video are global warming, andover fishing. People are creating artificial reefs by using sunken ships and man-made objects to replace the real reefs, but these artificial reefs can only stay for a while. Fish in the Apo Island in Philippines are decreasing rapidly. Fishermen are trying as hard as they could to find fish, but sometimes they only get a few small fish……. The main threats in the second video are using dynamites and cyanide to fish (these can also destroy coral reefs). Another main problem on the Apo Island is over fishing. The government had considered and decided to ban destructive fishing, but the law did not help. In 1980, a doctor called Angel Alcala suggested that they could make a ‘no fishing zone’ where they were not allowed to find fish, and the outcome was quite impressive. Sea grass, in the third video, are food for dugongs. In order to survive, dugongs need to eat huge amount of sea grass, but they are dying because of pollution from construction of buildings and houses. Not only dugongs that suffer, but sea grass also provide food for green tortoise. There may not be any dugong left if they suffer longer. The government protected dugongs by banning some types of fishing and reduced speed boats. In video one the main threat is that there is global warming, pollution and over fishing. People are now making artificial reefs from sunken ships and other man-made objects but the ocean is still in threat from this problem. In video two the main threat is that people are using dynamites and cyanides to fish and it was very good for fishing but it was bad for the coral habitat. A man called Angel Alcala told the villagers to ban fishing in some areas. They made 2 rules that only Apo island villagers are allowed to fish and they are not allowed to use destructive fishing methods. In video three the main threat is that the constructions is polluting the ocean which is choking the corals and sea grass that the dugongs eat so they are dying. They are also killed by the boats and they drown from getting tangled in the fishing nets. To fix this problem the government banned certain types of fishing nets and reduced the boat speed. In the first clip, the main threat in coral reefs is pollution, global warming and over fishing. To help the coral reefs, people nowadays try to help by making coral reefs out of man-made objects. The main threat in the second clip is destructive fishing method by using dynamite and cyanide. To help preventing from this happening, the law is now banning destructive fishing, but it didn’t work out, so someone named Mr. Angel Alcala was introduced with the idea of the “No Fishing Zone”, which stunningly gained back more fishes in three years’ time. The first video gives us a general idea of humans polluting in various ways and at the same time, not realizing the destruction we made to the marine life. Although scientists invented artificial reefs, I think that the main factor is us. The second video focuses on Apo Islands in the Philippines where decades ago, the fishing village faced marine life problems hence their use of destructive fishing. Many years later, they became more aware of a healthy marine life so they made no-fishing areas. They went through the obstacles and now finds themselves successful. The third video explains to us that another cause of decreasing marine life is because of fishing boats traveling too fast, whereas the net happens to be the problem. The resolution to that problem is a speed limit in seas. And it’s strange. In conclusion, all of the videos are about humans threat to the sea but most of us are unaware of what we are doing. In my opinion, I think that the best resolution is to discuss them in communities to make people more aware because lots×small changes=BIG change. First video: The main threats of this video are global warming, pollutions and overfishing which destroys coral reefs and many species of fishes. People also throw rubbish into the sea that fishes think that they are food and eat them. This makes fishes die. Pollution and rubbish are destroying coral reefs more and more everyday. Humans are making artificial reefs from sunken ships and other objects to try to replace the real reefs. decreasing because of fisher men using destructive fishing methods. The government tried to ban destructive fishing but it didn’t work so Angel Alcala banned some area to not do fishing and made some no fishing zone. Also he made a rule to have no more destructive fishing and this made fishes increase although it took them a long time it still worked. and he had banned some type of fishing nets. In film one, the main ocean threats are people over fishing, global warming and pollution which was caused by people throwing rubbish into the sea. Some marine animals also mistook it for food and ate it which made them die faster. Groups of people who are trying to help made artificial coral reefs out of man-made objects. In film two, the main threats are people over fishing and also using destructive fishing methods such as using dynamites and cyanide. This decreased the population of fishes and also destroyed coral reefs. A man named Mr. Angel Alcala banned some places from fishing and had more no fishing zones. After that, people came up of two rules for fishing, only Apo islanders are able to do fishing and no destructive fishing methods were allowed. In film three, the main threats are constructions polluting the ocean, choking the choral reefs and destroying the sea grass which would be eaten by the dugongs (sea cows). Many things were effecting the dugongs such as fishing boats were also going too fast and they were tangled in fishing nets. People fixed the problems by banning some types of fishing nets that would make more injuries to the dugongs and there were speed limits for fishing boats. The main problems are pollution, global warming and overfishing in some areas. This causes destruction of the coral reef and therefore causes coral species to be endangered. Also fish confuses trash for food and eat them killing them. Their solution for the problems are making artificial reefs. The problem discussed in this video is destructive fishing, for example using Cyanide or dynamite to fish. The negative effect from destructive fishing caused the coral reef to die therefore decreasing the chance of a fisherman catching fishes. The problem was solved by making part of the reef a ‘marine sanctuary’ or a place where no fishing is allowed. The island’s fishery was restored within 10 years. The problem was declining dugong (sea cow) population. This is caused by pollution and debris falling on the sea grass which is the dugong’s food supply. Also fishing nets and boats are killing dugongs. The government decided to ban certain types of fishing nets and limit boat speeds. In the first video clip, there’s 3 main threats; global warming, pollution and over-fishing. People are now making coral reefs with man-made, artificial objects such as from sunken ships. In the second video, the main threats are harmful ways to catch fish, and once again, over fishing. A man by the name of Angel Alcala tells the villagers to make no fishing zone, which within 3 years, the fishes were once again restored. Two new rules were also created: Fishing is only allowed for the villagers in Abo Island and no destructive fishing methods. The third video is now about dugongs and sea beds. Pollution affects the sea beds which is the dugongs main source of food. Some then end up in the shore and are trapped with fishing nets, or killed by motorboats. The government then decided to ban certain types of fishing nets and set a speed limit for the boats. The main threats in this video are pollution, global warming and over-fishing. This harms coral reefs and causes many species of fish to become endangered or extinct. Fish also eat the trash we throw into the sea when they mistake them for food. People now use man-made objects to make artificial reefs. This video explores destructive fishing methods in an island called Apo island. These fishing methods include using dynamite and cyanide. The methods made the coral reefs die. The solution to this problem was to make a “marine sanctuary” which is a zone where fishing was banned. Later they changed the rules so that only Apo fishermen were allowed to fish there and so no one used destructive fishing methods there anymore. The coral reef was then restored 10 years later. The problem in this video is the diminishing dugong population.Dugongs are nicknamed as the “sea cow”. This is because all they do all day is eat sea grass. Q 1. the problem they talked about is about pollution, global worming and over fishing all of which destroys the coral reefs which are the home to many fishes. Q 2. They made new reefs from man-made materials for the fishes to live in. Q 2. They stop using violent methods to fish and recede to using their original tribal methods. They also arrange an area which they called the “fish Sanctuary” in which they stop all fishing activity and allows the corals and fish to grow. Finally the fish will spread out of that area and their will be more fishes. Q 1. The main threat is the pollution from boats which then drops down to the ocean floor and stop the grass on the sea bed from flourishing and therefore, there is less food for the dugongs and the green turtles. They also talk about fishing nets which kills the dugongs. Q 2. They banned some types of fishing nets and they decrease the speed limit for the boats. They also set up some education for the kids to study about the dugongs. Video 1: The three main threats are over fishing, pollution and global warming. To stop these threats the people are making artificial coral reefs usually made from sunken old ships and old metal things. Video 3: The Main threats of this video is pollution destroying the sea bed witch is the dugongs foods. The government bands some typed of fishing nets and setting a speed limit for boats. Video 1: the main threat is pollution, over fishing and global warming which is destroying the coral reefs. They tried to solve this by building artificial reefs from sunken ships and other man made things. Video 2: the main threat is caused by the explosive method fishermens are using to fish. The villagers fixed this problem by turning one section of the island to a no fishing zone for three years which made the area recover massively. Video 3: the main threat is the decreasing amount of sea grass beds which is serving as the main food for dugongs or sea cows. The government is trying to solve this problem by banning some types kf fishing nets and speedboats which are killing the dugongs. In the first video, the main threats are pollution, over fishing and global warming which harm the coral reefs and fish. People are trying to stop this by using man-made materials to make coral. The main threats in the second video are people using dynamite and cyanide to fish fish which also destroys the coral. People have made a ‘fish sanctuary’ where the fish and coral can grow peacefully because you are not allowed to fish there and eventually the fish will spread out and people have stopped using dynamite and cyanide to to fish. In video 3, the main threat is from the pollution of the boats which go down to the sea bed and kills it which means that the dugongs and turtles will have very little to eat. People have decreesed the speed limit for the boats so there will be more food for the dugongs and the turtles. In the first video, the main threaths are pollution, global warming and over fishing which is destroying the coral reefs and fish. They are trying to stop this by using man made materials to make corals. In the second video, the main threaths are caused by fishermen using dynamite and cyanide to catch fish which also is destroying the corals. They solved this problem by not letting fishermen fish in one section of the island for three years. Now, fishermen had stop using dynamite and cyanide to fish. In the third video, the main threath is pollution from the boats that travel down the sea bed and kills the seagrass which means that the dugongs and the turtles won’t have much to eat. The solution is to decrease the speed limit of boats so the dugongs and the turtles will have enough food to eat. In the second video,The main threats . people using dynamite and cyanide to fish, which also destroys the coral. People have made a ‘fish sanctuary’ where the fish and coral can grow peacefully because you are not allowed to fish there and eventually the fish will spread out and people have stopped using dynamite and cyanide to to fish. In the third vedio, the main threat is from the pollution of the boats which go down to the sea bed and kills it which means that the dugongs and turtles will have very little to eat.They are also killed by the boats and they drown from getting tangled in the fishing nets. The main ocean threats are global warming, pollution and over fishing. Sea animals have mistaken it for food which causes them to choke and die. People are trying to make coral reefs out of man made, artificial objects to help them. The problem was people were using dynamites to fish but they are also damaging the coral reefs. They also banned places not fish. The final video are talking about the dugongs and sea beds. The pollution affect the sea beds and the dugongs next. This is because dugongs eat them as their main food. In video 1 the main threats are pollution global warming and overfishing. People are trying to create artificial coral reefs. In video 2 the people were using dynamites to fish. So some places were banned for fishing. In video 1 the threats are pollution and global warming . People are trying to manufacture artificial coral reefs. In video 1 the main ocean threats are global warming, pollution and over fishing, over fishing and global warming which harm the coral reefs and fish. People are trying to stop this by using man made materials to make coral. The final video are talking about the dugongs and sea beds. The pollution affect the sea beds and the dugongs next. The boats were causing damage so a speed limit was set. In the first video the main threats are global warming ,pollution and over fishing which harm the coral reefs and fishes. People are trying to stop this by using man made materials to make coral. In the second video the problem were people are using dynamites to fish but they are also destroying the coral reefs.So some places were banned for fishing. In the last video is about the pollution are damaging the sea bed so the government banned fishing using net and setting a speed limit for boat. In the 1st video the main threats are global warming, pollution and fishing. In the 2nd video the main threats are using dynamites to fish but also destroying the coral reef. In the 3rd video the main threats are about pollution damaging the sea. In the first section of video one, it talks about fishes and coral reefs. The second part of the video talks about how global warming, pollution and over fishing is a threat to fishes and coral reefs. Although some try to stop this by using man-made and artificial objects, the longness of this isn’t certain. People are using explosive equipment like dynamites to catch fish, but not only is that a problem causing over fishing but it also ruins corals. So they decided to make a ‘fish sanctuary’ (a no fishing zone) so that the fish from there will eventually spread to other places too. Not only that, the corals will be able to grow without anything to harm them, now, there are people going snorkeling there because of the beautiful coral reefs and exotic sea creatures. This video talks about damaged sea beds which causes sea animals to starve, especially sea cows. The sea beds are being destroyed by speed boat going too fast. Some of the sea cows are found dead on the beach so people take photos of it and get samples to try and find out how they died and why the population has gone down. Soon they found out that some of them died because they don’t have enough sea grass from the sea beds to eat and others died because they got caught in harmful nets. They try to prevent all these from happening by setting a speed limit to speed boats and banning fishing nets that is able to harm the sea cows. In the first video, the main threats are pollution, global warming and over fishing which harm the coral reefs. They are trying to stop this by making artificial coral reefs. In the 2nd video, the main threat is about using things like dynamite to fish, which also damage coral reefs. They tried to ban destructive fishing but it didn’t work so they decided to make NO FISHING ZONE and allows fish and coral reefs to grow. In the final video, the main threat is pollution from boat falling down to the sea beds, which are dugongs’s and green turtles’s food. Dugong also killed by fishing nets and and boats. The government banned some type of fishing nets and limit the speed.

2019-04-24T08:05:10Z

https://blogs.shrewsbury.ac.th/geography/2013/10/14/declining-ocean-health/

IBM® Business Process Manager is a middleware suite that enables managed execution of the processes that keep your business running. It includes a graphical authoring environment that is used for modeling processes and a sophisticated runtime engine that is capable of integrating workflow for the people and automated systems that comprise your organization. Every day IBM Business Process Manager customers use their IT infrastructure to deliver business value at a fast pace. However, as with any complex system, care must be taken to define performance objectives appropriate to the solution and to ensure that those objectives are met. The IBM Redbooks® publication IBM Business Process Manager V8.5 Performance Tuning and Best Practices, SG24-8216, provides the details necessary to ensure a high performance business process management project. This IBM Redbooks Solution Guide provides an overview of the most critical topics from that book. This IBM® Redbooks® Solution Guide provides valuable information for IBM Business Process Manager application development architects and technical leaders. It describes a holistic approach to performance issues that range from establishing initial goals and application design through the implementation phase and finally to long-term application maintenance and planning for future capacity. These tasks require a coordinated effort for all of the teams involved in a complex project to ensure that performance objectives can be met. These teams include business owners, infrastructure architects, database administrators, and test leaders. This solution guide serves as a reference to establish these conversations early and to make sure that all critical topics are covered. The typical application development lifecycle for IBM Business Process Manager follows a model described in Figure 1. The performance architect is ultimately responsible for the performance of the solution from end to end and drives performance objectives throughout the application development lifecycle. The business analyst is responsible for providing accurate non-functional requirements for the project. Application development architects are responsible for designing solutions that are capable of meeting the non-functional requirements. Application developers are responsible for following preferred practices and for avoiding anti-patterns. The test team lead or manager, together with the performance architect, is responsible for test case design and for translating the non-functional service level agreements (SLAs) that are received from the business analyst into concrete performance objectives. Testers and script developers are responsible for building and debugging the measurement harness that simulates the user activity as required for driving the tests. Test team members are responsible for executing the measurements and for collecting the resource consumption data that explains the results. The infrastructure team, including the system administrator, is responsible for IT monitoring. The database administrator is responsible for database tuning and monitoring. Of course, these roles can vary from one organization to another, and, in some cases, the same person or team of people might fulfill multiple roles. As a business process development and execution platform, IBM Business Process Manager manages business transactions across a wide variety of industries and functional domains. Even within a single organization, some business processes can constitute straightforward orchestration of a set of web service calls, and other processes coordinate the activities of complex teams of knowledge workers. Clearly, the lifecycle of a process instance can vary dramatically from one business process to another. Similarly, the performance characteristics of one process application can be quite different from those of another. The key to a successful production deployment is to match the actual behavior of the application to the requirements of the business. With every new IBM Business Process Manager release, performance engineers optimize the code to ensure it can support the most strenuous throughput and response time objectives. However, success is measured in the experience of business users when a new application is deployed into production. To achieve success, the Business Process Manager code must work together with the process application, the services it integrates, and the infrastructure on which it runs. This work begins as soon as the new application is conceived and continues through the performance verification cycle. One set of challenges common to all system-wide concerns, such as performance, is communication and collaboration across the organizational lines within a business. Separation of responsibility among business leaders, application development teams, infrastructure teams, and database management teams is a common practice and does lead to crisp definition of ownership. However, achieving success on system metrics requires a degree of nimbleness in working across these boundaries. Occasionally, we see progress delayed because of formal structures that result in a period of waiting, for example if an application development team needs to request a configuration change within a database server or if a database administrator needs additional physical resources (processor, memory, or storage) allocated to a database server. The most common costs of poor application performance are easy to imagine. Business users might experience slow response times from their user interface. The slow response time leads to dissatisfaction, which can threaten the overall adoption of new applications. Similarly, miscalculation of the performance metrics of a fully-automated application can lead to resource exhaustion (processor or memory), which might threaten the stability of the entire system. When a process application spans multiple business units, the consequences of a resource failure can be substantial. Although establishing and verifying non-functional requirements early in the development cycle can add to the cost of application development, failing to do so can be even more expensive. Redesigning an application to meet performance objectives after the fact often requires removal or replacement of substantial amounts of code, exposing the project to wasted effort. Building performance objectives into every phase of application development pays off in the long run through reduced risk of system failure and reduced maintenance cost. Also, applications that are well tuned and well measured are less likely to require over provisioning of hardware, which might reduce software licensing costs. Now, let us describe IBM Business Process Manager performance measurement and analysis activities by breaking them down among the application development lifecycle from initial requirements gathering through long-term maintenance and capacity planning. Just as the functional requirements for a business process management solution originate with the business community who will be using the application and are refined and validated through early discussion and playback, so are performance requirements for the application. Make sure to use the opportunity presented through the regular cadence of playback meetings to gather information about the performance expectations that the business community brings to requirements gathering process. Starting early has the advantage that it forces the Performance Architect to think about the objectives in terms of the end to end business experience from the outset. Often times, it is tempting to think of performance objectives one component at a time. However, it is much easier to build a comprehensive performance plan and gather consensus across all of the teams that will contribute to its execution when the objectives can be described based on end to end scenarios that the Business Analyst and, ultimately, Business Sponsor of the project, understands well and can discuss easily. As a performance architect and engineer, you can help business users articulate their expectations using metrics that are easy to validate within the performance lab. These expectations allow an initial performance plan for the project to be generated at the same time that the functional test plan is generated. Experience shows that some metrics, such as page load response time for a user interface element, are easy for business users to visualize and discuss. Alternatively, some metrics of extremely high value to the performance analyst, such as total system throughput, are more difficult to discuss. Try to conduct these conversations in a context that is natural to the business. Try to avoid talking about the average number of times a particular API invocation occurs per second. Instead, start with the number of mortgage applications (or whatever business process you are modeling) processed per month, the total number of teams that need to contribute to the processing, and the relative sizes of those teams. After these numbers are established, it is easier to guide the conversation to a discussion of the load that they system might expect during a peak hour. Focus on establishing performance objectives that accurately reflect the needs of the business. Although it is usually easy to understand the risks that are associated with under estimating the performance objectives, over estimating the objectives can be just as detrimental to the overall success of the project. For example, a response time objective of 1 or 2 seconds for a particular user interface element might be perfectly reasonable. Increasing the objective to 500 milliseconds might seem like an innocuous change and allow for some headroom "just in case." However, in many cases, it is unlikely that this decrease in responsiveness would be of value to the application users, and the engineering costs of achieving this tighter tolerance might be high. Sometimes, through poor communication, additional headroom accumulates when establishing an objective (with each team building in its own buffer) to the point that the engineering ultimately does not match the business need. Over time, you should expect to notice patterns that will simplify the process of gathering requirements. For example, perhaps your organization will standardize on 2 second response times (measured at the 90th percentile) for all simple user interface elements, 5 seconds for complex elements, and custom response times only for exceptional operations. At this point, the response time conversation becomes the simpler activity of identifying the complex and exceptional interactions with the system. Similar patterns might emerge for the throughput metrics. Look for them, and use them to your advantage. Perhaps the business users will not have a good idea of the throughput requirements for a totally new application, but they suspect that it might be similar to rates that they are already observing in another application (perhaps that you collaborated on in the past). Beginning the performance requirements conversations early allows those requirements (and the likelihood that they will be met) to be tracked as application developments and playbacks proceed. If performance requirements will force changes in application design or implementation, surfacing those early in the development cycle benefits everybody. Ultimately, the performance requirements gathering process will result in a performance plan that describes the metrics of importance, the goals or objectives that the application should achieve for each metric and a description of the simulation infrastructure required to evaluate the application. Simulation for some metrics is straightforward. Single user response time measures can be evaluated using a common user interface (like a web browser) by a person with a stopwatch executing the test manually. More extensive load tests required to evaluate throughput objectives for IBM Business Process Manager applications require a large scale simulation capable of generating http traffic. Tools, such as JMeter, IBM Rational® Performance Tester, and LoadRunner, are usually used to fulfill this role. Also, because most IBM Business Process Manager user interface applications communicate with the server via a series of REST interactions, it is possible to construct a stand-alone Java application that simulates server load. In every case, it is important to execute the performance measurements against server hardware that matches that to be used in production environment as closely as possible. Planning early can ensure that hardware is available when needed. Because most business process management solutions are complex systems made up of many parts that must work well together to meet functional and non-functional requirements, an architectural approach to performance measurement and analysis is important. Decomposing the system into its components makes analysis easier simply because small things are easier to understand than large ones. End-to-end measurement is critical to ensure that the system works well as a whole when all of the components are working together. In this section, we look at a few architectural techniques that help. Start small and scale up. The requirements determination phase might have revealed that your application needs to support thousands of concurrent users starting and completing tens of thousands of business process instances per hour. This does not mean that your performance measurements (or stress and load tests) need to begin with this degree of load. You can learn a lot about your application through repeated measurement, tracing, and analysis of single user scenarios. When these are working as expected, measurements with a small concurrent population will help to verify your load simulation infrastructure and also the scaling capabilities of your new application. Data gathered from measurements with small populations and load will help to predict the results you will see under heavier load and help with verification of the actual measurements. Furthermore, small scale measurements are cheaper and easier to implement, allowing them to be executed earlier and more frequently in the development cycle and giving more time to react in the case that the application needs to be adapted. Similar scale-up techniques apply to other parts of the infrastructure. When the performance plan calls for measurements against a large, complex IBM WebSphere® ND topology, it is a good idea to start with a smaller system, perhaps a single cluster member with a minimum hardware configuration. As analysis progresses, the system can grow to ensure that assumptions regarding vertical scalability (increasing the number of processing cores per cluster member) and horizontal scalability (increasing the number of cluster members) are met. Pay attention to the interfaces, especially where the business process management application interacts with external services, such as a web services endpoint. Concurrency or throughput limitations in a service provider frequently limit the performance characteristics of the entire solution. Because web service traffic is relatively easy to simulate (compared with human generated traffic), it is natural to decompose an application at the service implementation boundaries to verify their capacity before re-composing the application for end to end measurements. Of course, when re-composing the application, don’t forget to consider the glue that holds it all together--the network connections among the components themselves. A lean user interface that pulls data from a well-tuned backend server might still show poor responsiveness if the network connection between the two has high latency or limited capacity. It is especially important to design the physical topology of the solution to ensure good connection between the process designer and its process center and between a process server and its database server. Business process modeling plays an important role in the performance characteristics of a business process management application. Throughout the design and implementation phases of application development, options will arise that can have a significant impact on overall system performance. Chapter 3 of the IBM Redbooks publication, IBM Business Process Manager v8.5 Performance Tuning and Best Practices, SG24-8216, describes many common pitfalls and suggests alternatives. This section addresses the topic in a more philosophical manner, looking at some high level design choices and a generalized, data-driven methodology that we find useful during the implementation phase. IBM Business Process Manager is a flexible business process modeling and execution environment that offers a variety of structures to meet a variety of business needs. At its core, however, all business process management applications manage and persist the state of some business activity. Matching the execution and persistence model to the needs of the business provides an excellent opportunity to optimize for performance. For example, when constructing processes for the BPEL engine, application designers have a choice between short-running processes (microflows), with simple and efficient transactional characteristics, and long-running processes (macroflows), which are capable of coordinating the most complex transactional workloads. Data shows that the simpler state management model used for short-running processes allows execution at much higher throughput. Many processes allow for short-running execution in the common case, but need more complex handling for exceptional cases. So a compound implementation model fits these applications well. All process instances begin with microflow execution and many complete within that microflow. For exception processing, the microflow invokes a macroflow that models the more extensive processing that these instances require. Similar considerations apply to designing for straight through processing. Computers execute work at a much faster rate than humans. However, business process management usually (and appropriately) begins with an analysis of human workflow. As the process is optimized over time, opportunities arise to automate activities that are carried out by human workers that can be more efficiently handled automatically. This analysis might lead to a shift from a human-centric application that is authored with Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) to a more automated application that is authored with Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) or a hybrid of the two that uses an Advanced Integration service to link the two. Because the engine that executes BPMN processes was optimized for handling human centric applications, it is not nearly as fast at executing fully automated workloads as the BPEL engine is. For this reason, it is best to build Straight Through Processing applications using BPEL to get the maximum resource utilization efficiency. Applying an iterative, data-driven performance measurement and analysis methodology is a great help in maximizing the efficiency of the performance optimization exercise. Many application development engineers have ideas that can improve the overall efficiency of an application. You can channel these enhancement ideas through a scientifically sound evaluation process. Establish a performance simulation environment early, and extend it as the capabilities of the application expand. This method allows early collection of performance baseline data, which is valuable in tracking application performance as new function is added. Measure the effect of one potential performance enhancement at a time in order to build confidence that the enhancement delivers the expected gain. If it does not, it might be abandoned. Sometimes, application development teams retain performance "best practices" that incur some development cost but that actually deliver minimal or no performance gain. Use resource monitoring data (such as CPU, memory, and network consumption statistics as well as tracing and thread dumps) to inform your search for new performance enhancements. It might not be worthwhile to pursue an improvement to an area of the application that consumes only 10% of the total resource consumed by the system. Finally, remember Alexander’s Law: it is faster not to do something than to do it fast. Sometimes, there is just no need to include the expensive activity in the application at all. Actual execution of performance measurement and analysis takes time, attention, and physical resources. Sometimes, due to lack of planning ahead of time, a dedicated hardware environment is not available for performance measurement and data collection activities. In these cases, performance activities might be executed on a physical environment that is shared with system integration test or on the production environment as it is being prepared for use. Each case presents challenges to successful execution of the Performance Plan. By its nature, performance measurement and analysis are disruptive activities, making them unsuitable for sharing a system integration test environment with other activities. One goal of performance measurement is to drive the system under test to complete saturation of physical resources in order to measure maximum sustainable load. Similarly, sensitive response time measurements can be polluted by other test activities running on the machines at the same time. For this reason, it is common to see time-sharing policies used for sharing performance measurement hardware among multiple activities. Time sharing is better than simultaneous use but limits the rate at which progress can be made. Performance analysis is an iterative process, requiring painstaking attention to detail and changing only one parameter at a time. Time sharing reduces the total number of iterations that can be completed within a day. In some cases, it appears better to execute pre-production performance measurement and analysis activities on the actual production hardware as it is being prepared for use. This might seem like a good idea because it is desirable that the performance test environment match the production environment as closely as possible. Using the same physical machines certainly delivers a good match in this regard. However, after the production environment is deployed to the business, it is no longer available for continued performance measurement activities. Continued measurement as new versions of the application are developed is critical for avoiding release to release regression. Continued measurement is also critical for long term capacity planning activities. For these reasons, plan early for allocation of a dedicated performance measurement and analysis environment for use during initial application development and longer-term use. As a business process state management system, IBM Business Process Manager applications make heavy use of their database, writing state to ensure it is preserved. Furthermore, IBM Business Process Manager allows a flexible infrastructure for describing business data to be stored with the business process and then retrieving those process instances from storage. From a database perspective, this means that IBM Business Process Manager applications are both read-intensive and write-intensive. Close collaboration between the business process management administrator and the database administrator is recommended, as performance analysis must be approached as an end-to-end activity, considering the entire system. Traditional database analysis using operating system and database tools to identify memory needs, I/O behavior, slow executing SQL statements and similar issues apply to business process management applications and work well. It is critical to ensure that the database server has sufficient physical memory available and that it is backed by a fast disk subsystem (RAID or SAN are common enterprise solutions). Optimization of database indexes is another important activity for the database administrator (DBA) and the business process management administrator to address. IBM Business Process Manager does create a comprehensive set of indexes at install time. However, because there is performance overhead associated with index maintenance, it only creates indexes that are beneficial to the majority of IBM Business Process Manager applications. Every application will benefit from additional index analysis and this analysis is often critical to get the best performance from a system. Again, an iterative approach works best – use your performance simulation and load test to identify long running SQL statements, use the database query plan advisor to identify indexes that might be beneficial and conduct measurements with and without these new indexes to evaluate their effectiveness, only accepting those that deliver the expected benefit. In addition to the ongoing performance analysis and optimization that occurs during the application development cycle, most enterprises require formal performance verification, including a successful load test as one of the requirements before releasing the application to production. Executing this part of the plan requires simulating full production load (or perhaps greater than full production load) against a fully functional system that is running the application. However, this type of simulation does not mean that the first measurements must be executed at full load, even at the final verification stage. Returning to a small load and monitoring resource consumption as the load increases continues to be good practice and aids in discovery of performance tuning requirements or potential bottlenecks. Final verification should be executed on hardware that matches the production servers as closely as possible. This final verification applies to the servers that host external services and to the servers that host IBM Business Process Manager. In some cases, the final performance verification can call out to the actual production servers hosting web services endpoints, but this is often possible. In either case, the concurrency and throughput characteristics of the endpoints should match those of the production servers. In addition to validation of the performance characteristics of the business process application, it is worth spending a moment to think about validation of the performance objectives themselves. One common issue observed in performance plans associated with IBM Business Process Manager applications is that the objectives are actually too high. How does this come about? Typically, performance engineers look at the user interface elements that make up a solution and design think times based on a reasonable person completing the form. Perhaps this form can be completed in 30 seconds. So the performance engineer builds a simulation with a think time of 30 seconds per human task completion. Next, the total user population is analyzed, and it is determined that the system needs to support a few thousands of concurrent users. Putting these two pieces together creates a performance plan that requires the system to support the completion of thousands of tasks and many hundreds of business process instances per minute. It is a good idea to validate the throughput implied by the performance objectives against actual business requirements in addition to the number of concurrent users. In some cases, performance verification exercises actually simulate several months’ worth of business activity in a period of a few hours. When this is intended, it is a fantastic result; when unintentional, it can lead to some confusion. Good performance practice does not end when the application is released to production. The same resource monitoring tools and skills built up for performance evaluation during application development are extremely useful long term and should be a part of the IT monitoring practice for any enterprise application. Observation of patterns in CPU or memory utilization on IBM Business Process Manager and database servers can help identify approaching capacity issues before they become apparent to the business. In particular, collecting verbose garbage collection statistics (-verbose:gc on the Java command line) and using a graphical visualization tool (such as PMAT: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/groups/service/html/communityview?communityUuid=22d56091-3a7b-4497-b36e-634b51838e11) to inspect them is an inexpensive way to monitor the pulse of the application. Many IT departments depend on automated systems of monitoring key resources and sending alerts when thresholds are exceeded. Long-term performance health of a business process management solution requires a maintenance plan. The databases that contain operational data for IBM Business Process Manager are optimized for rapid execution of business process activities, not for long term retention and access of that data. So, it is recommended that a retention period be established for the data associated with business process instances that have completed. The actual amount of time that these completed instances need to be retained will vary from one business to another, but after that period expires, those instances should be removed from the server using the appropriate tools. Business monitoring tools, such as the Performance Data Warehouse and IBM Business Monitor, are optimized for processing this data for long-term storage and retrieval. After an application has been available in production for a while, a time will come when capacity planning is needed. Perhaps an application is popular and business users interact with it more frequently or the application is rolled out to a larger community. The experience gained from performance verification exercises and IT monitoring of the application in the production environment is the best input to planning future capacity. Resource consumption models usually follow predictable patterns, so it is often possible to project tomorrow’s needs based on a thorough understanding of today’s behavior. Also, many enterprises use their load test to ensure enough head room is available to provide a buffer against capital expenditures. Load testing at 150% of projected peak load gives some confidence that the system will be able to handle a growing business and might provide lead time in case additional capacity is required. A wholesale company provides an online parts sales operation where it handles direct orders that are placed by their business partners. Consider a business process application, MyAuditApp, whose goal is to review order data submitted by a business partner for correctness. After the review is complete, the order is sent to another application (perhaps an existing system, not implemented in IBM Business Process Manager) for processing. In this case, the audit process contains two stages. The first stage in the audit is relatively simple, is fully automated, and is required for all orders. The second stage is more complex and requires human oversight, but it is needed only if the first stage of the audit reveals a potential issue. Performance objectives for the two stages of the application are distinct but are linked. This company knows that it needs to be able to process 30,000 orders per day, distributed throughout a 12-hour period, but with peaks of 4,000 orders in any given hour. These requirements establish a throughput objective for the overall application of about 1.1 process instances per second. To allow some head room, a formal performance objective of 1.5 process instances per second is established for the stage of the application that handles the automated processing. Because the business knows that 90% of all orders are handled successfully by the automated stage of processing, a formal objective of 0.15 process instances per second is established for the manual stage of the application. In addition, the corporate standard of a 2-second response time for all UI elements (measured at the 90th percentile) is accepted for all stages of the processing, except for initial login and final submission of the audit completion form. These operations are expected to complete in 5 seconds (again, measured at the 90th percentile). Even though MyAuditApp is a single business process application implemented in IBM Business Process Manager, it clearly has two separate facets. So the performance analysis engineer decides to model the performance simulation as though it were two separate applications. The first half of the simulation is easy to construct. Because all the interactions are automated, perhaps with communication occurring via Java Message Service (JMS) and WebService interactions, software components can be written to drive the application using exactly the same interfaces that will be used in production. Furthermore, because this phase of processing is the most straightforward, the application development team decides to implement it first while requirements determination and initial playbacks of the human interface elements of the application take place. In this way, early performance analysis of the first stage of the application begins before the entire application is fully developed. Performance simulation for the manual stage of MyAuditApp proceeds differently, because it must account for human interactions, which occur through a web browser and communicate with the IBM Business Process Manager server via REST interactions. Response time evaluation will be executed using the same corporate standard web browser that the business users will use. Evaluation of actual response times when interacting with the application will begin early in application development and will continue as new functionality is added. Any new function that regresses response times beyond acceptable limits will be re-engineered during the next development iteration to ensure that this type of work does not accumulate. In parallel, work begins to construct the load test simulation that will be used to evaluate throughput metrics for the human-centric stage of the application. An HTTP simulator tool (such as JMeter, LoadRunner, or Rational Performance Tester) is used to record the browser interactions that are required to start and complete a process instance. Then, the tool can simulate many users interacting with the system in the same way. Data pools are used to allow each simulated user to log in to the IBM Business Process Manager server under distinct credentials. The HTTP simulation tool also allows retention of user tokens so that correlation of HTTP session data can be handled by the IBM Business Process Manager server, just as though the load were supplied by a collection of distinct web browsers. After the application has been certified functionally complete, and concurrent with system integration test of the application, load tests begin. The IBM Business Process Manager server is "pre-loaded" with a number of process instances available to work on and the database is backed up so that future measurements can begin from a controlled state. Measurements begin with a single user, ensuring that response times observed within the simulator are consistent with actual browser interactions and that resource consumption on the IBM Business Process Manager server, Database server, LDAP server and all external service provider machines appear reasonable. After this, load is gradually increased until the system successfully processes 0.15 business process instances per second, while maintaining 90th percentile response times faster than 2 seconds. Any issues observed as load increases are resolved before increasing load. In this case, the sizes of thread pools and database connection pools need to be increased from the default in order to allow the desired concurrency. Also, two new database indexes are identified based on the data access patterns of the application. Performance measurement and analysis continues in this way, systematically increasing the capability of the system under test and of the applied load, until the performance architect is satisfied that the application and the infrastructure upon which it will be executed are capable of achieving the goals. Generation and execution of a successful performance plan requires integration across many different types of boundaries, both physical and social. Business Process Integration itself is also a key objective for many IBM Business Process Manager solutions, automating and orchestrating activities across a wide array of software systems connected via REST, JDBC, LDAP, and web service protocols. The software solution’s end-to-end performance will be limited by the slowest element within the execution chain. Similarly, effective communication across all of the teams that contribute to the application-–from the business community through the application development team to the infrastructure and administration teams-–can play a significant role in the success of the project. Blog post, "5 Things to Know About Systematically Deploying IBM Business Process Manager" On this page, enter Business Process Manager, select the information type, and then click Search. On the next page, you can narrow your search results by geography and language.

2019-04-20T19:02:18Z

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips1171.html?Open

We’ve been to Bar La Grassa a handful of times. It is one of my favorite places to go out to share a special meal. Why? I am universally pleased by fresh pasta and that, combined with Bar La Grassa’s bustling atmosphere makes for an enjoyable dining experience. When it is just the two of us, we usually choose to sit side-by-side at the long counter that separates the kitchen’s front line from the central dining room. An open-kitchen in a nice restaurant is no longer uncommon, but spending the meal perched directly at eye-level with the kitchen staff in the midst of busy preparation makes for a fascinating, voyeuristic experience for a diner who is interested in the process behind the product. To me, the front-row vantage point is a marvel. There is constant, well-choreographed motion. Each person moves though the rhythms of their kitchen duties with the calm agility that comes from practice and repetition. This kitchen’s output is impressively efficient and quite tasty. Bjorn has occasionally ventured into somewhat adventurous territory, ordering the braised rabbit and sweetbreads that make their way on to the menu. Tonight, we decided to share a few small plates, so he stuck to the meat-free options. Everyone and their brother crows from the rooftops over the Lobster and Soft Egg Bruschetta at Bar La Grassa. I have no doubt that its is amazing. I’ve found that the other somewhat uniquely topped bruschettas are also fun to try. We sampled the Gorgonzola Picante Bruschetta with Peperonata. The thick slices of bread, grilled before our very eyes are rustic and ample, and the slight char is lovely. For once, a bruschetta that has enough bread to hold its toppings! It’s the little things in life, isn’t’ it? Our second pasta selection, from the “filled pastas” category on the menu was the Mushroom and Tallegio Agnolotti. We both liked this dish though by the end, I thought the mushrooms were over-salted. The wrapped-candy-shaped Agnolotti were tender and filled with a perfectly lovely Tallegio. This was Bjorn’s favorite dish of the meal. One of the feats Bar La Grassa has somehow managed to accomplish is to be at once swanky and unpretentious. To me, this is the perfect combination of characteristics for a restaurant in the Minnie Apple, the hip-n-homey heart of the Midwest. The the restaurant has the typical “see and be seen” vibe of an upscale restaurant yet the hosts are welcoming and always find us a place even when the median fashion sense of the restaurant’s clientele eclipses ours. I have, in fact, seen and said a quick “hello” to Minneapolis food personality, Andrew Zimmern during a previous visit with Bjorn and my mother. In contrast to the overall swankiness, I’ve dined next to a couple decked out in Minnesota Golden Gopher gear from head to toe. The highfalutin to homespun contrast also comes through in the restaurants serving ware. If you are looking at your plate, you might think you are dining in the humble kitchen of an Italian Grandmother rather than the spacious dining room of Isaac Becker, a James Beard Award-winning chef. All the food comes out on heavy, standard-issue restaurantware plates with all varieties of patterns. There is also the pleasant contrast between the kitchen’s credentials to price. The head chef and the restaurant have received plenty of accolades, however, it is possible to have an appetizer, a few small plates and a few glasses of wine or beer and dessert, and still spend under one hundred bucks. And to leave totally satisfied. We don’t often order dessert, but because of sharing small plates, we still had room. We selected the luscious, Dark Chocolate Pot de Crème with a Hazelnut Nougatine which was a magnificent finish to our meal. I love the fact that it was served in a little canning jar. I stole this idea from Wise Acre Eatery and used it all summer to serve individual portions of salad and condiments. I loved the Pot de Crème. What a treat. We have found that Bar La Grassa consistently offers a solid Italian dining experience. Bar La Grassa’s execution and noble parentage thoughtfully contrasts with its “room at the counter” welcome and good value. Given the opportunity to gawk into a high-end kitchen while dining from a menu curated by a James Beard award-winning chef, will we go back? You betcha. *For the record, I used my phone without flash to capture these quick shots, so they are a little lower in quality, but I’m not going to be that person who totally irritates her dinner date and other guest by noticeably photographing her meal. But really, who isn’t documenting absolutely everything these days? If Adam Roberts from Amateur Gourmet does it, why can’t I? I’m crazy about growing-my-own-everything in my backyard and making bread, pasta, cheese and beer from scratch. I follow approximately 40 food blogs [and counting…], I’ve spoken to Anthony Bordain* and I’ve introduced myself to Andrew Zimmern. Cookbooks by Brenda Langton, Sophie Dahl and Ina Garden frequently show up on my cookbook stand. Even so, this post could do away with any possibility of earning recipe-developer cred or gaining respect as a highfalutin foodie. I’m sharing a recipe that is based on my favorite dish at Noodles and Company. Noodles and Co.?! Yes. So what? I did my best rendition of Noodles and Company Pesto Cavatappi and it was totally delish. To make this dish, I started by roasting tomatoes and making a batch of basil pesto. These are two steps that you can complete in advance since you can store both pesto and roasted tomatoes covered in olive oil in the fridge for a few days for use in multiple dishes. If you roasted a bunch of tomatoes based on the recipe I posted last week, this dish is an excellent way to use the leftovers. Please refer to my method for making wonderful Basil Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes recipes in the linked posts. It takes an hour to roast tomatoes, so if you haven’t done that in advance, start there first. FYI, Noodles and Co. doesn’t use roasted tomatoes, so roasting the tomatoes is optional for this recipe. I think roasting the tomatoes is worth the effort. Shriveled, roasted tomatoes make their presence known in the dish with a sweet, concentrated tomato flavor. They also contain less liquid to dilute the basil-y, Parmesan cheese-y, garlic-y goodness of the pesto. If you’d rather, you can simply add grape tomatoes to the sauté pan (more on that in a minute), and sauté the ripe red beauties until they are softened and bursting, and adjust the amount of pasta water you use to thin the pesto to avoid having a runny sauce. Pesto Cavatappi in the style of Noodles and Company — 1 hour total time, 30 minutes active time, serves 4 — easily doubled. Once you have made basil pesto and roasted tomatoes, the recipe is very simple and comes together quickly. Cook half a box of curly cavatappi noodles in salted water according to the package directions to a little less than done. At the same time, mince and sauté two cloves of garlic and 8 ounces of sliced, clean, button or cremini mushrooms in a little olive oil. If you are not using roasted tomatoes, you can add a few handfuls of grape tomatoes during this step. I think a minced, sautéed shallot would also fit the flavor profile. Once the veggies are mostly cooked, you can add a splash of white wine to the hot pan to develop flavor and get all of the good cooked bits off the pan–I didn’t bother with this, even though the official Noodles and Co. Cavatappi claims to contain white wine. Its presence or absence is not noteworthy. When the noodles are nearly cooked, drain them, reserving some pasta water. Next, toss the noodles, pesto and sautéed veggies together in the sauté pan, and stir gently. If you are using roasted tomatoes, they should be added at this point. I also added two big handfuls of baby spinach, which is not in the Noodles version of this dish, but is a tasty, healthful addition to this meal. I added a little of the pasta water to thin the pesto and to allow the Parmesan cheese in the pesto to melt. When everything is covered in a light coating of green and the spinach has begun to wilt, add a touch of milk, half and half or cream and stir until incorporated. I served my pesto cavatappi topped with a little grated Parmesan cheese. To really bring the Noodles and Company flavor home, you can also sprinkle on a little chopped Italian flat leafed parsley. I did not. There is so much flavor in the verdant pesto, and the sweet tomatoes which are roasted with garlic and thyme and layers of garlic flavour from each component of this dish I didn’t think more herbs were needed. To truly capture the Noodles and Company Pesto Cavatappi, add a little parsley, finely chopped. While making this meal I realized that having luscious pasta available as fast food can be bad for your health. As much as I enjoy Noodles and Co. now and then, I know what makes it taste so good: olive oil, cheese and cream, [or half & half or milk if you use my recipe]. That stuff should be reserved for extra special meals. I think it is wonderful pasta to enjoy occasionally. Just don’t start going to Noodles and Company, ordering Pesto Cavatappi and thinking that’s everyday food unless you are an Olympic swimmer, marathoner, or someone else with extreme calorie needs. This recipe is fit for a special meal, or if it is just an average Tuesday, served in a smaller portion alongside a salad. Our Pesto Cavatappi was really tasty, and even with my tweaks to the ingredient list it was a lot like Noodles and Company, but better, because it was lovingly made at home. *Alright, I’ll be straight. I asked Anthony Bordain a question in a Q&A session when he was in Minneapolis on a speaking tour. My question was about the John Spencer Blues Explosion song which is the theme song to his show on the Travel Channel. He kind of blew off the question and failed to answer which I’ve interpreted in several ways that all cast doubt on his self-proclaimed interest in awesome music. We’re celebrating our 3rd anniversary today. It is fun to look back on our wedding day which was such a perfect, awesome and fun-filled kick-off to our married life. We worked hard to fill the day with thought and meaning. We were surrounded by awesome family and friends who traveled far and wide. It turned out to be one of the greatest days–special from start to finish. It was pretty much perfect–except for my bangs in the above picture… not sure what happened there. What has followed has been wonderful. Married life is a fun adventure! Thank you Bjorn for 3 great years! I am grateful for every day I share with you. A few weeks ago, we found ourselves in Walker, Minnesota for a friend’s wedding. Walker happens to be the town where our wedding reception took place at a historic resort and hotel, Chase on the Lake. With our anniversary approaching Bjorn suggested that we have dinner at Chase to start the celebration early. Good call Bjorn! Our meal was fabulous. We dined on the patio overlooking Walker Bay on beautiful Leech Lake, and had one of the best restaurant meals we’ve had in while. We started with a 2009 Pinot Noir, which has proven to be a good vintage. Bjorn had Surf n’ Turf– a New York Strip steak bathed in herbed butter and served with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables and an impressive pile of crab legs. Bjorn cracked into the crab legs with gusto. We learned in Croatia, the only way to approach the shelling of shellfish is with gusto. I had a brightly flavored pesto fettuccine with veggies and a caesar salad. The meal was tasty! We enjoyed being in the place where the celebration began and raising a toast to all the fun we have ahead. Cheers! This is the second in a short series of posts about a few restaurant experiences we’ve had around the Twin Cities in recent months. I read about Cat Man Do a few months ago on a local food blog that I like to visit and knew it was a place we should try. Cat Man Do is a cozy restaurant in our neighborhood that offers authentically prepared Nepali food. Its menu is filled with interesting choices for vegetarians and omnivores alike. We have now eaten there twice, and we enjoyed both meals. After our first visit, I woke up the next day craving another Samosa, a savory pouch stuffed with potatoes and peas, served with a spicy-sweet sauce (not pictured) and considered going to the lunch buffet solely for the purpose of having another one. On our first visit, I tried the Chow Chow noodles with vegetables with medium spice. The noodles were pleasantly spicy, but I wouldn’t be shy about ordering them hot in the future. Bjorn tried Mo Mo, a steamed dumpling, shaped into a little coin purse stuffed with seasoned meat. On our second visit, Bjorn ordered Chow Chow with chicken, and I ordered M.A.P.P. curry with mushroom, asparagus, potato and peas which had a wonderful balance of warming seasonings. On both occasions the dining room was nearly full, about half of the diners were college age and half were couples in their twenties through middle age. This is both a fair representation of the neighbourhood’s residential composition and a testament to the tasty, enjoyable and interesting menu choices, and the reasonable price point at Cat Man Do. Cat Man Do has earned a regular spot on our Saint Paul dining rotation. We enjoy the satisfying, well-seasoned dishes at Cat Man Do. Cat Man Do offers different flavors and preparations than the food we make at home, with results that are no less homey, craveable, and comforting. One rainy Sunday we went out for a drive in North East Minneapolis. We had no particular destination in mind, but we knew dinner would be involved. There are many solid options that we’ve enjoyed in visits to this neighbourhood, Psycho Suzi’s, The Modern Cafe, Northeast Social, Mill City Cafe, The Red Stag, and The Bulldog Northeast are all reliably good. On this particular evening, we ended up at the Sample Room. We’ve driven by many times on our way to listen to music at 331 Club, and finally managed to stop in for a meal. I started by ordering a flight of wine. When it arrived I stopped taking pictures. Oops. The aptly named Sample Room offers small plates of cheese, charcuterie, pasta, salads, meat, seafood and vegetables and a variety of interesting condiments, made in-house. We started by sharing a house salad of mixed greens, aged ricotta, red onion, radish and pepitas with a red wine vinaigrette and a “Pickled Plate” which included pickled egg, an assortment of pickled veggies and mustard. For my “main” I had the fresh fettuccine with wild mushrooms and kale in a sauce of chive crème fraîche, butter and white wine garnished with shaved parmesan and cracked black pepper. I liked the fettuccine, but I didn’t love it. I am pretty spoiled these days when it comes to fresh pasta. Between living down the street from Scusi where you can get a killer fresh pappardelle any night of the week, the wonderful bowl of egg fettuccine with green garlic and grape tomatoes I recently enjoyed at Broder’s Cucina Italiana, and the pretty darned good pastas I’ve been rolling out at home, I have a high bar for fresh pasta. Maybe I’m being too hard on the noodles, the real issue I had with the pasta was the kale. I’m afraid to admit this for fear of losing all of my vegetarian cred, but I’m not sure that I’m sold on kale. Admittedly, I haven’t made much of an effort to fall for this frilly, dark, cabbage-like green. The kale on my fettuccine makes a good example of why I have a hard time jumping on the kale bandwagon — it had a mineraly-metallic taste that almost reminds me of meat. The difficult flavor and texture of kale overpowers whatever feel-good vibes eating this super-nutritious green gives me. In further damage to my vegetarian rep, I feel the same about collards. I’ll stick to spinach, thank you very much. I can’t blame the Sample Room for my personal views on the vegetable in a dish I opted to order, unless they sautéed the kale in a cast iron or aluminum pan which would be the cause of the pervading iron / B Vitamin flavor in the dish. Bjorn had crab cakes and the Bison-Pork-Beef Three Meatloaf with smoked tomato ketchup, which was recently named the “Best Meatloaf in the Twin Cities 2012” by the Citypages. Bjorn liked the meatloaf and as wonderful as it probably is, I cannot believe the Best Meatloaf in the Twin Cities isn’t made by somebody’s mother! My mother’s meatloaf would surely be a contender if she made it in the Twin Cities and I hereby give it an unofficial nomination for Best of the Twin Cities 2013. What is more, I cannot believe “Best of” rankings include meatloaf! It seems like we’re going a little far with that, but I wouldn’t have been shocked if “best bike rack” made the list, so I guess meatloaf deserves its place. The Sample Room gives you the opportunity to sample a variety of their local charcuterie, house-made pickled things, unique condiments and interestingly prepared meats and seafood offerings without committing to a massive portion or price. It is another solid spot to add to the list of reasons that that Northeast Minneapolis is one of our best ‘hoods. Next on our Twin Cities tour is a lunch I had last week by myself at Basil’s, a slick restaurant circa yesteryear in the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, overlooking the Crystal Court in the IDS Center. For out-of-towners, the IDS Center is the tallest building in Minnesota, and provides office space to scores of law firms, stockbrokers, venture capital firms and consultants of every ilk. I chose Basil’s blindly, wanting to eat a salad in a calm place where I could write at noon on a Wednesday. I found my way to Basil’s on the third floor taking the elevator in the hotel lobby and requested a table for one. The host honestly seemed a little freaked about my request and spent several minutes nervously scrolling through his computer screen, uttering “uhhhh.” I didn’t know how long this would continue so I interrupted to ask if the restaurant was booked with reservations. He finally took the cue and showed me one of many open two-seater booths, which was in fact, kind of perfect for one person. I chose to sit with my back to the kitchen door, instead of facing it where he had directed me. There were a few more “uuuhs” and he told me to sit on whichever side I felt comfortable sitting. I got the feeling he was maybe a bit uncomfortable with me having lunch by myself. I waited quite a while before my presence was noted by a server. By now, my discomfort was mounting. I looked around the room and realized that the only escape was the elevator bank past the host stand, so there was no turning back on lunch without even more awkwardness. When my waitress arrived, she was warm, experienced and didn’t seem at all bothered to serve a table of one. I quickly ordered and enjoyed a few stolen moments of quiet to do my own thing. Soon my Grilled Caesar salad arrived. It was no more or less exciting than I expected, but it was totally good, and I immediately felt better about lunch. I have noticed that nicer Italian restaurants are now grilling a head of romaine lettuce, and serving it whole in a deconstructed Caesar salad, rather than chopped or torn, with all elements combined. Nowadays, said Caesar salad is probably going to arrive with either a whole anchovy, perhaps some chopped kalamata olives or some crunchy, lacy, toasted Parmesan cheese and an artistic crouton somewhere on the plate. Maybe grilled romaine is standard everywhere else, but, it is my position that it is a newer offering in Minnesota. I surmise that serving the lettuce grilled and the salad deconstructed challenges diners and adds enough interesting possibilities for presentation and accoutrements to allow the chef to keep the ubiquitous Caesar salad on the menu without feeling like they’ve given up on their dreams. Basil’s and the grilled Caesar are both trying to be fresh. The grilled salad did so more convincingly than the aging power-lunch spot — an out-of-step microcosm in the surreal universe of the IDS Center — where silver-haired suits hesitantly broker the passage of a torch forged of intensely-burned midnight-oil during long absences from home in the western ‘burbs to smartly be-spectacled nouveau-yuppies in short trousers and argyle socks poised to board a bicycle bound for South Minne at 5:01 p.m. Me? I just wandered here looking for a salad and to seize a minute to write in the middle of a downtown workday. I have been eating and making stir fries all of my life. Stir-frying vegetables and a protein of choice served with rice or noodles is a weeknight staple in so many homes. It is easy and flexible in that you can use whatever vegetables you have. It is also satisfying and can be quite healthy if you aren’t heavy-handed with oil in the preparation. I consider myself to be fairly adept at stir-frying vegetables to tender-crisp, but my challenge has been developing a tasty and full flavored sauce. I don’t buy stir-fry sauces, and in experimenting with the ingredients and seasonings used to develop flavor, I have served some meals in which the flavor was weak. After many trials and much error I took some guidance from others [here and here]. Now, I am finally cracking the code of making tasty stir-fry sauces from scratch that are simple and flavorful. Tonight’s Stir-fried Vegetables and Tofu with Udon Noodles in a Spicy Peanut sauce was declared a winner. 1 block of Extra Firm Tofu, with excess water removed then cut into cubes. Meat eaters might enjoy chicken, beef or pork instead of tofu, either pre-cooked, or sautéed with onions and other seasonings before vegetables are stir-fried. There are no limits on the vegetables that would be great in this Stir Fry. Other vegetables that come to mind include cauliflower, shitake or cremini mushrooms, green peas, green onions, water chestnuts, baby corn, bamboo shoots, carrots, celery, bok choy, cabbage, asparagus, snow peas, broccolini and green beans… It will be great with just about any vegetable you like. You simply assemble an assortment of vegetables, wash them, and then chop them into nice, bite-size pieces. This is a meal that comes together quickly once you start cooking it, so I like to get all of the vegetables ready and make the sauce before I even start stir-frying the vegetables. I whisked together the following ingredients into a spicy-peanutty sauce. You can adjust the heat up or down according to your preference by adding additional Red Chili Flakes or Garlic-Chili paste. My sauce was fairly spicy to begin with, so I decided simply to stick to my original recipe. I placed a bottle of Rooster Sauce on the table in case either of us found the spice level to be lacking. Once the Spicy Peanut Sauce was ready and all of the veggies were chopped, I selected Japanese udon noodles from the pantry to serve with the stir-fried vegetables. I like udon noodles quite a bit. Even though udon have a light colour, they are a whole wheat noodle. They have a smooth texture and a similar size to linguine. Instead of udon noodles we often have nutty buckwheat soba noodles, rice noodles, regular whole grain spaghetti or occasionally rice. I have noticed that udon noodles are salty enough without additional salt added to the water as you would add to most pastas. I like the way udon noodles come wrapped in individual portions. I typically make way too much pasta, and we have leftovers for days. The guidance helps. Let me let you in on a nifty trick for preparing tofu to be cooked. When you purchase tofu packaged in water, you need to squeeze out some of the liquid so that the tofu can absorb the sauce and flavor of the vegetables. Rather than pressing tofu between plates and setting it precariously under a heavy object, which always wants to tip off and fall on my foot, someone once told me to wrap the tofu in a paper towel or a clean kitchen towel and microwave it for 2 minutes.* This process works wonderfully to remove the excess liquid from the tofu and makes it ready to absorb a flavorful sauce after being nuked on high for two minutes for 2 or three rounds. This is far easier and less dangerous for my feet. After microwaving the tofu and slicing it into bite sized cubes I started my veggies. Other than a great sauce, the key to a good stir-fry is not to overcook the vegetables. I always start with onion, giving it a 2-3 minute head start in the pan with a small glug of oil before adding anything else. I use a large, deep nonstick pan, because I don’t have a wok. A wok or a well-seasoned cast-iron pan are very helpful to making a healthy stir-fry because the vegetables don’t stick, even if you only use a little oil. Next, I add the remaining vegetables in the order that allows everything to finish cooking at the same time without overcooking any single ingredient. If I was using carrots and celery, for example, I’d add them first, and cauliflower soon after, followed by frozen vegetables, and finishing with mushrooms, bell peppers and anything that takes only a few minutes to cook. You can probably look up estimated cooking times for vegetables in a cookbook or on the internet. I have learned through trial and error. Tonight, I was able to add most of the vegetables at the same time, reserving the broccoli, tofu and spinach to add later, since they need a shorter cooking time. When the veggies had cooked about 2 minutes and were looking bright and well on their way to tender-crisp, I added the peanut sauce, turned the heat to low and let the whole thing cook for 4 minutes. A few minutes with heat allows the salty-spicy-sweet-citrusy-nutty elements of the sauce to meld. When I figured the vegetables and sauce needed another 4 minutes more to cook, I added the broccoli and tofu. Even though broccoli is a dense, cruciferous vegetable, it cooks quickly, and after no more than about 4 minutes, it is done. When the vegetables are done they are bright and softened, and still retain a firm bite. Tofu is great sautéed or broiled, but tonight I wanted to eat it fresh, so I cooked it just enough time to absorb the sauce and to be heated through. When the noodles were cooked, I drained them and served them on a small platter with a few sprigs of curly parsley. Cilantro would be a suitable garnish for the pasta, if you like cilantro, but we aren’t big fans. Before serving the stir-fry, I scattered the fresh spinach leaves in a pile on the platter. I could have stirred the spinach into the veggies and sauce and allowed it to wilt, but I find that spinach is great, even if it only half-wilts under a mound of steamy vegetables. We both enjoyed this stir-fry. It was full of spicy, peanutty flavor and a bright variety of vegetables that retained their bite. The tofu also soaked up plenty of flavor and was as easy as could be to prepare. And the pasta? Everything tastes good on a serving of steamy, al dente pasta. When you are in the mood for an easy and delicious vegetable stir-fry, consider trying this tasty recipe. The sauce and veggies are full of texture and flavor. This dish is flexible, quick and easy enough to make any night of the week. *Thank you to the person who told me the tofu-nuking tip, whoever you are. I am so pleased that I don’t have to press tofu ever again. My recipe takes most cues from the Pioneer Woman version. I started assembling my “cast of characters” to make sure I had enough of the main ingredients to make the recipe. If you are up for using 2 Tablespoons of Butter and a Cup of Heavy Cream in your spicy Mac and Cheese, you can follow this link back to Pioneer Woman to follow the original recipe. I’m sure it would be over-the-top delicious. I reduced the butter, used fat-free half and half, had to substitute jalapenos from a jar for fresh, and sharp cheddar for pepper jack cheese because that was all there was in the fridge. I added orange bell pepper to the ingredient list because I had one. I love making my meals into a colorful, antioxidant-rich rainbow. I am not going to pull any punches, my Spicy Mac wasn’t exactly “light,” but the slight adjustments brought the calorie-count down into a normal range for a serving of a satisfying size. I didn’t leave anything out that added flavor. 1 cup fat free half and half – I use fat free half and half because it was the only dairy we had in the fridge. Milk with a fat content of your preference, half & half or the real deal heavy cream will all work wonderfully. The entire dish took about 30 minutes, start to finish. I began by filling a sauce pan of water with a dash of salt to boil for the pasta, and heating a skillet with a small glug of olive oil over medium heat. While those warmed up, I chopped the red onion, red and orange peppers into small chunks of a similar size. I chopped a few forkfuls of jalapenos from the jar. The next time I make this, I will of course try to have a fresh jalapeno, but if I don’t, I will probably use more of the jarred jalapenos. The jalapeno adds most of the heat, and quantities can be adjusted up or down depending on your spice tolerance. I sautéed the onion and garlic a few minutes before adding the bell pepper. At the same time, I started boiling the noodles to a little less than “done” so they could cook a little more in the sauce to become al dente. When the onions, bell peppers, garlic and jalapenos were bright and heading toward tender-crisp, I added a heaped cup of frozen corn. When the veggies were cooking, but still had crunch, I added a can of diced green chilis. Diced green chilies have become a pantry staple in our house. They are mild and they add a smoky complexity to Southwest and Mexican soups and stews without too much heat. When the veggies were nearly done, I turned off the heat in the skillet, and drained the pasta. The sauce is extremely simple, which is a plus. This is the perfect macaroni and cheese to make when you don’t have the time, or the desire to monkey around making a roux. I simply added the fat free half and half and cheese to the skillet and stirred it gently into the vegetables. A skillet retains heat for a long time, so it was warm enough to warm the “cream” and melt the cheese. Finally, I added the pasta to the skillet. I stirred gently to combine the pasta, veggies and sauce in the skillet. Per Ree’s advice, I added a little extra cheese to thicken the sauce a bit. Instead of the two pats of butter from the original recipe, I stirred in just the tiniest bit of butter. You could totally leave the butter out and you probably wouldn’t miss it, even though the silkiness it adds to the sauce is quite nice. Channeling Pioneer Woman, I served the Spicy Mac right from the skillet, frontier style. We enjoyed the rainbow of veggies, the warming spiciness and of course, the cheesy, comforting macaroni noodles. Ah, we’re home. When I make this again, I would probably up the spice a notch or two… something red, a little Smoked Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder or Chili Flakes, perhaps? The Spicy Mac also passed the lunch test. We both enjoyed a second serving with a small salad for lunch the next day. Ree Drummond suggests this as a dish to be served alongside a juicy steak. I might just do that the next time I need a meatless dish when my pardner is grilling steak. We both thought this Mac & Cheese stood well all alone. I recommend serving it alone with salt and pepper on the table and a cold beer, or a tall glass of milk. *I like to welcome myself home with Mac & Cheese, I also like to eat Mac & Cheese when I’m dining alone, when we have something to celebrate, on a rainy day, and for no reason at all. If you’ve been here before you will note that Mac & Cheese in all forms is my favorite. A bunch of veggies roasted, steamed or sautéed and served with some type of pasta is a meal we eat every week. Sometimes we eat it on multiple days. It is easy, and it can be absolutely yummy and healthy, if its made it right. There are infinite variations, and every time we make this we both think it is pretty great. We keep vegetables on hand, both fresh and frozen. We almost universally have mushrooms of some type, fresh spinach and broccoli in the fridge. We keep them on hand because they are wholesome and extremely versatile, but even more importantly, because I really love these veggies. I can’t imagine what I’d eat during a week that I do not eat mushrooms and broccoli. Frozen peas make a frequent appearance on our plates too. There are a few short months in the year where we might have fresh, home grown and farmer’s market peas, but the rest of the year, frozen peas are quick to make and taste great. I am partial to fresh spinach. A huge bag of washed spinach is cheaper than lettuce. You can add a few handfuls to soup, pasta, quinoa, or even a packaged frozen entrée, if you eat them. Spinach adds calcium, antioxidants, flavor and if the food is warm, it cooks in a few minutes after you add it. I am not a big fan of frozen bricks of pre-cooked spinach. I think they might be the reason spinach got such a bad rap. It works fine for spinach dip, but it is otherwise, too dark and mushy for me. The first key to a pasta meal being a healthy, lovely meal is veggies. Veggies! Vegetables are the absolute most powerful tool to healthful eating. They fill you up and they are full of good things like calcium, potassium, antioxidants and fiber with a very low-calorie count. The key is to try every veggie you can, get them fresh from a good source, or preserved in a wholesome manner, make sure they are prepared in a way that doesn’t ruin them and pile them on 3/4 of your plate. I love vegetables, which makes this easy. If you don’t, just try them, one at a time. Make a lot of the ones you like, and give the rest a chance. They are an acquired taste, but they are satisfying when they are the center of your meal. Tonight I sautéed garlic and a diced shallot in a little olive oil, then added mushrooms. When the mushrooms began to brown, I added a splash of pasta water, and then covered to pan to allow the broccoli and peas to steam. I didn’t cook the spinach at all. I placed two large handfuls into the bottom of the bowl I used to serve the veggies. When I added the veggies, the spinach wilted, but didn’t totally lose its shape or get soggy. I frequently roast veggies, and recently, I’ve also been steaming them in my Mom’s Bamboo steamer that she has had since the 1970’s. The entire key to veggies is not to overcook them to use a light touch with oil, salt or other seasonings. They don’t need it. The next step to making this meal, of course, is the pasta. I make homemade pasta, and I have yet to post about it. It is delicious, but I’ll admit, I like to eat pasta a little more often than I have time to mix it and roll it out. I consider it to be a process to go through for a special occasion. Tonight, we had organic, whole grain angel hair pasta, cooked al dente, according to package directions. If you ate whole wheat pastas a few years ago and found it dry, grainy and generally too serious, you should try them again. There are whole grain pastas that have a delicious nutty texture, there are even some whole grain pastas that have no noticeable difference from traditional “white” pasta. Using whole grain adds a little stomach-filling fiber, lowers the glycemic index of your meal and helps nudge a week-night pasta meal in the direction of health. Also worth noting are fresh herbs. In the middle of winter, a big bunch of flat leaf parsley costs less than $2 at our grocery store. In the summer, we grow herbs, and buy them at the Farmer’s Market for pocket change. The addition of chopped herbs to pasta is unbelievable. Your eyes will thank you. Your tastebuds will thank you. Fresh herbs elevate a dish and only add good. One out of two of us eats meat. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it is a good thing for Bjorn that he is a flexible meat eater. It makes it easier for me that he doesn’t expect meat to be a central part of every meal. I enjoy preparing meat for a special occasion and Bjorn makes it whenever he wants it, and he swears he gets enough. There are many meat eaters who don’t feel like they’ve had a meal if meat isn’t center stage. I think we’ve all gotten the memo advising us that people aren’t supposed to eat as much meat as we did before we knew where our next meal was coming from, or we needed to fuel ourselves through 12 hours of hard physical labor. Reframing meat as a dish that you have for a special occasion opens up a world of opportunity for meat to be a meaningful garnish. Here enters Soppressata. It is a flavorful hard salami. Just a few slices, casing removed, cut into little chunks and heated briefly puts a tasty bit of meat on the omnivore’s plate and rounds out their meal. Finally, there is sauce. We don’t always have sauce with our pasta and veggies. I like to use spaghetti sauce, or a can of San Marzano tomatoes, torn into chunks when we feel like tomatoes. If we aren’t feeling tomato-y, I would use a touch of olive oil or butter and a sprinkling of grated cheese or nothing. Tonight I made a simple creamy sauce. This isn’t an “every night” sort of thing though. We had a little heavy cream left over from the Soufflés Bjorn made for Valentine’s day and I couldn’t let it go to waste. I melted the tiniest bit of butter and added a sprinkling of flour. Once it cooked a bit, I added the cream and let it thicken before adding a bit of pepper and grated Asiago. Just like the meat, if you are going to use butter, oil or creamy sauce, if you use a light touch, you can enjoy the richness without consuming excessive calories. I want to live in a world where I can have my pasta and eat it too. I am finding that if I keep an eye on portions and make thoughtful choices about ingredients and preparation, I can enjoy my plate of pasta without feeling gluttonous or guilty. If it hasn’t already become extremely obvious, pasta is one of my all-time favorite foods. There are so many variations, from basic buttered noodles to whatever-you-have-in-the-fridge, to traditional recipes: stroganoff, Bolognese, or pasta all’Amatriciana. I’m usually a “concept cook” who has something in mind [e.g. pasta with veggies] and the actual ingredients I use depend on what I’m in the mood for or what needs to be used up. I haven’t been one to follow many recipes. I enjoy the freedom of my slapdash approach to cookery, but I have tasted enough really good food in my years to know that recipes, carefully chosen ingredients, timeless techniques and even a little precision are equally as necessary in the kitchen as passion and creativity. It also pays to take a few tips from the experts. I have long loved food blogs, food magazines, food television, cookbooks and hanging out in other people’s kitchens. Reading about cooking, talking about it and observing other cooks in action are my source of inspiration. These are as much my hobbies as cooking and writing about food. I became aware of the noticeable difference that good technique and ingredients yield in restaurant meals, but the breakthrough did not occur at home until I learned about the perfect pesto. It was just another Wednesday night. I found myself watching short programs on the Chow network on our Roku on cooking and food. There was an episode on soup dumplings,* and on the perfect beer,** and then a segment on the perfect pesto aired and changed my approach to pesto forever. Previously, I have only had a modest appreciation of pesto. The first pesto pasta I ate was a lunch back in my teenage years at the now-shuttered Grandma’s Restaurant in Fargo, North Dakota. It was so heavily garlic-y that I was afraid of both pesto and garlic for almost a decade. I still shudder to think about how much raw garlic I consumed before realizing it would be with me for days. More recently, I have tasted a pretty good silk handkerchief in a mild, dark green pesto at Bar La Grassa. Having grown basil in our garden, I’ve also made basil and parsley pestos at home that have been fine on toasted sandwiches and roasted vegetables. None of these looked anything like the marvelous green pesto I saw that evening on the Chow network. Back to a winter day in Minnesota… I may never duplicate Chef Laboa’s pesto, but in listening to him, I learned a few things about how to make a better pesto. First, for a pesto worthy of freshly rolled pasta, you have to ditch the food processor and use a mortar and pestle. Fortunately for me, I just received one for Christmas from Bjorn. The one he selected for me is a nice small size that I can comfortably manage to hold. It is made of non-porous porcelain and a smooth wooden handle and a red exterior that I am happy to store on the open shelves in our kitchen. I learned from Chef Paolo that the origin of ingredients matters a lot. Basil pesto universally contains basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and salt. Sure, you can make pesto out of these ingredients produced anywhere, but to begin to approximate Paolo Laboa’s pesto, you need basil that is similar to that grown in Genoa, Olive Oil from Liguria, Pine Nuts from Pisa, and carefully-selected Parmesan. And you need time. Lots of time. After watching the segment and trying to make it myself a few times I realized the making of Paolo’s pesto takes longer than it appears to take on TV. I did the best I could gathering ingredients. It is winter, and the basil I found at the store wasn’t the best. I do believe that the Genovese basil from our garden will be an improvement on the basil available at the supermarket in a clamshell package in January. I didn’t spring for $18 Italian Pine Nuts but got some from Spain instead. I tried a few of Chef Laboa’s tips. Since Ligurian olive oil is not available to me I used light olive oil instead of extra virgin which is too strong and kills the taste of the basil. I soaked the basil leaves in water because, I learned if you don’t soak the basil there is too much chlorophyll in the leaves. I crushed the pine nuts with garlic and coarse salt and added 15 basil leaves. I put my heart into the process of grinding all of the ingredients together and then mixing in the oil. When the pesto was ready, I added a little pasta water to the pesto to melt the cheese before tossing hand-rolled handkerchiefs of pasta in the pesto. The end result of my effort did not yield the solid bright-green cream produced by Chef Laboa. Not even close. Even so, we thought the result was delicious and immeasurably better than the oily, basil-heavy, oxidized, chunky sludge that I’ve made in the food processor. If pesto is worth making, it is worth making well. Will I spend 45 minutes with the mortar and pestle to make pesto every week? Certainly not. It is a time-consuming process and a rich dish you can’t eat every week. Come summer though, when the basil is bursting forth I will make pesto again. I might not achieve “perfect” pesto, but delicious will be good enough. *The segment about soup dumplings made me want soup dumplings which are little pouches made of dough that are stuffed with meat and fatty broth that liquefy upon cooking. Are there vegetarian soup dumplings out there? I want to try them! **The writer of the beer segment claimed Supplication Ale by Russian River Brewing Company to be the best beer in the world. I’m sure I’d like it, but that I’d disagree about it being the best. At some point this year, we turned a corner. Without any warning or fanfare, we found ourselves rested enough, organized enough, with enough time, and with our home and our finances in enough order to allow us to commit more than the most minimal effort to trying to do something good. It comes naturally to some at a younger age, and I truly admire those people. I have found that I am a one-thing-at a-time type who needs to have their own ducks in a row before signing on for an ongoing commitment. Better late than never, I hope. We found the first volunteer experience that suited our combined abilities in an email circulated around Bjorn’s office. The option that jumped out at us was the opportunity to prepare a dinner for 8 in our own kitchen at home and deliver it to an emergency safe house for homeless youth, ages 16-21 in our neighbourhood operated by Lutheran Social Services. The guidelines are minimal. Arrive at 7. Bring a main dish (no pork) and a few sides; no mysterious looking casseroles, please. Including a gallon of 2% milk and a bottle of juice is suggested. Dessert is appreciated but not required. We signed up for a few dates to give it a try. I had to ask right away about accommodating special diets: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, etc. We were told they didn’t currently have anyone with those needs. We still tried to come up with enough variety and flexibility in the menu so that a person who doesn’t eat meat, or a person who doesn’t tolerate gluten could still eat a decent plate of food. 1. This is the array of groceries and supplies we used for the first meal we prepared. We spent about $40 on groceries at Target. At my request, Lunds Grocery Store donated 3 disposable aluminum containers with lids for delivering the food. We didn’t shop for this meal at Lunds, but we do almost all of our grocery shopping there. 2. We packed a salad of iceberg and romaine lettuce with sliced cucumbers and julienned carrots. We bought a package of parmesan croutons and a bottle of Ranch Dressing for the salad. 3. This fall, Bjorn’s parents stocked our freezer with a generous supply of ground beef, steaks and a few roasts from cows raised on the family farm by Bjorn’s Uncle Stan. I cannot begin to emphasize how wonderful it is to have a supply of beef raised by a farmer we know and trust. We absolutely love to cook with this beef. 4. I taped the typed-out dinner menu on paper grocery bags we used to deliver the food. Our first meal consisted of Beef Meatballs in Spaghetti Sauce to be served on Hoagie Buns with Provolone Cheese, Roasted Potatoes seasoned with Hidden Valley Ranch Southwest Seasoning and ketchup, A Salad of Iceberg and Romaine Lettuce, Carrots and Cukes, Juice, Milk and Chocolate Chip Cookies. 5. I tried to think like a caterer when I packed up the meal. Disposable containers aren’t ideal for food presentation visually, but I think when food is packed neatly, containers are spatter-free and the contents and serving suggestions thoughtfully labeled, it helps a lot. If this is the best meal or the only meal some of these kids are eating today, I want it to be a great meal. 6. Bjorn’s meatballs, ready to bake. 7. Bjorn’s meatballs out of the oven. They smelled good. We prepared and delivered our second meal on November 29. This time when we arrived, we were offered a tour of the house. It was fun and rewarding to see the safe house and some of the people who will eat our meal. The house is large and very clean. We enter through the backyard and after being cleared as “friendly visitors” on the security camera, we enter into the kitchen. After setting up the meal on the large counter, we were led through the dining room which has a large dining table and shelves stacked with board games. The next room is a is a livingroom with a huge, flat screen TV. Upstairs was warm. There were brightly lit bedrooms that were already full of people having a boisterous conversation. The safe house has the atmosphere you would hope: positive, clean, safe and welcoming. We were told that the house is filled to capacity every night. The staff also told us that they appreciate having a meal delivered because they don’t have to cook or go out and buy anything. It saves the program money too, obviously. Judging by our ease in finding workable dates, they are not at capacity for volunteers. They report having a meal provided 4-5 nights a week. They expressed relief that we did not prepare a Thanksgiving meal. Apparently, they had quite a few of those in the past month and were getting a little tired of Turkey and Stuffing. 1. We shopped for most of the ingredients for meal number 2 at Trader Joe’s. Again, we spent around $40. This wasn’t planned, apparently, it is the price-point of the hearty meals we conceive of for 8. The cost would be higher if we had to purchase meat. 2. These are the ingredients to prepare tonight’s meal of Baked Potatoes, Sour Cream, Chili, Mac & Cheese, Roasted Broccoli, Baguette and Butter. 3. I thought the well-labeled meal looked good the first time we delivered it, so I printed a menu and labels with serving suggestions for the second meal as well. This time when we walked in the door with our labeled bags and containers we got a “wow!” from one of the staff. I’m taking that as feedback to indicate that we’re doing okay. 4. We thought Baked Potatoes would be a hearty side, so we scrubbed some russets to bake in the oven. I love russets for baking because their peels gets meaty,chewy and crunchy, and their interior stays fluffy and light. I like to oil the peels and salt them lightly with Kosher salt. 5. When we have Macaroni and Cheese ourselves, which we do often, it is usually Kraft Dinner. We decided to bump the Mac & Cheese up a few notches and followed Martha Stewart’s recipe for Perfect Macaroni and Cheese. Here, Bjorn is stirring a roux that will become the cheese sauce. 6. We baked the potatoes wrapped in foil which worked well for keeping them warm for delivery in a small paper bag. 7. We stirred the cheese sauce into Al Dente pasta, it looked like it was creamy and delicious. 9. Disposable food containers were easy to come by for this meal on the cheap at Walgreens because it was just after Thanksgiving. We had to fashion a make-shift divider out of aluminum foil to separate the Macaroni and Cheese from the Roasted Broccoli. 10. My parents gave us a container of frozen Oatmeal Raisin cookie dough, so we made cookies again this week. My parents also purchase the milk and juice that we bring for each meal. 11. Tonight’s meal is packed, labeled and ready to go. 12. This week, we had the sense to save ourselves a serving a macaroni and cheese. We had it with a salad topped with hard-boiled eggs. Home made macaroni & cheese is so yummy. We have set “we’d prepare it for guests in our home” as the standard for the meals we prepare for the safe house, and so far, I think we’ve been consistently able to pull it off. Meal Number 3, December 21, 2011. 1. For our third meal we had most of the ingredients and supplies on hand. What we didn’t have, we bought at Target. 2. Bjorn made beef meatballs again. It helps make a substantial meal and keep our costs at a reasonable level when we use our beef. Bjorn has perfected his meatball recipe. He seasons the meat with Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salut and mixes in Egg, Breadcrumbs and grated parmesan, and as I said, they smell great when he bakes them. 3. Meatballs are also convenient because they can be baked a day ahead. After baking the meatballs, Bjorn put them into the crock pot with spaghetti sauce. I take the crock of meatballs out of the fridge and turn it on when I got home from work the night that we deliver the food. 4. We cut up and steamed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower and made a creamy-cheesy sauce with grated cheese, sour cream and mushroom soup, a little pepper and a crunchy panko bread crumb topping. It is creamy and delicious, but really, quite light. After my Mom made the same dish at Christmas with frozen vegetables, I think I would go that route in the future. It was just as tasty, it was probably cheaper and was definitely less work. 5. For dessert I made chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and Christmas M&M’s. They were yummy. 6. Again, we made a make-shift divider in the aluminum container between the cheesy vegetables and slices of ciabatta bread. 7. We boiled farfalle pasta to go along with the meatballs this week. I made a last-minute call to Kowalski’s on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul to see if they would be willing to donate some disposable containers for us to deliver the meal in this week. I barely had to finish my sentence explaining what we were doing and what we needed before the manager agreed to set out several nice, durable aluminum containers for me to pick up. Those really aren’t cheap, so it helps us a lot. It has been amazing to discover how generous store managers in our neighbourhood are when we just ask. Not pictured with this meal are the Christmas cards that we brought along with our meal this week for the kids and the staff, each containing a $5 Subway gift card that we bought and a free 6 inch sub donated by the owners of Subway on Grand and Fairview Avenues and Selby Avenue and Victoria Street in Saint Paul. This was another example of how people are ready to help and be generous when all we do is ask. We thought our first 3 meals were a success, so we signed up to prepare and deliver 2 more in January. We are enjoying the new experience of giving a little time, and at the same time getting to be creative and engaged in a favorite hobby: cooking!

2019-04-23T21:01:59Z

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This chapter provides guidance and procedures used for characterization of biotechnology-derived articles by amino acid analysis. This chapter is harmonized with the corresponding chapter in JP and EP. Other characterization tests, also harmonized, are shown in Biotechnology-Derived Articles—Capillary Electrophoresis 1053 , Biotechnology-Derived Articles—Isoelectric Focusing 1054 , Biotechnology-Derived Articles—Peptide Mapping 1055 , Biotechnology-Derived Articles—Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis 1056 , and Biotechnology-Derived Articles—Total Protein Assay 1057 . Amino acid analysis refers to the methodology used to determine the amino acid composition or content of proteins, peptides, and other pharmaceutical preparations. Proteins and peptides are macromolecules consisting of covalently bonded amino acid residues organized as a linear polymer. The sequence of the amino acids in a protein or peptide determines the properties of the molecule. Proteins are considered large molecules that commonly exist as folded structures with a specific conformation, while peptides are smaller and may consist of only a few amino acids. Amino acid analysis can be used to quantify protein and peptides, to determine the identity of proteins or peptides based on their amino acid composition, to support protein and peptide structure analysis, to evaluate fragmentation strategies for peptide mapping, and to detect atypical amino acids that might be present in a protein or peptide. It is necessary to hydrolyze a protein/peptide to its individual amino acid constituents before amino acid analysis. Following protein/peptide hydrolysis, the amino acid analysis procedure can be the same as that practiced for free amino acids in other pharmaceutical preparations. The amino acid constituents of the test sample are typically derivatized for analysis. Methods used for amino acid analysis are usually based on a chromatographic separation of the amino acids present in the test sample. Current techniques take advantage of the automated chromatographic instrumentation designed for analytical methodologies. An amino acid analysis instrument will typically be a low-pressure or high-pressure liquid chromatograph capable of generating mobile phase gradients that separate the amino acid analytes on a chromatographic column. The instrument must have postcolumn derivatization capability, unless the sample is analyzed using precolumn derivatization. The detector is usually a UV-visible or fluorescence detector depending on the derivatization method used. A recording device (e.g., integrator) is used for transforming the analog signal from the detector and for quantitation. It is preferred that instrumentation be dedicated particularly for amino acid analysis. Background contamination is always a concern for the analyst in performing amino acid analysis. High-purity reagents are necessary (e.g., low-purity hydrochloric acid can contribute to glycine contamination). Analytical reagents are changed routinely every few weeks using only high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) grade solvents. Potential microbial contamination and foreign material that might be present in the solvents are reduced by filtering solvents before use, keeping solvent reservoirs covered, and not placing amino acid analysis instrumentation in direct sunlight. Laboratory practices can determine the quality of the amino acid analysis. Place the instrumentation in a low traffic area of the laboratory. Keep the laboratory clean. Clean and calibrate pipets according to a maintenance schedule. Keep pipet tips in a covered box; the analysts may not handle pipet tips with their hands. The analysts may wear powder-free latex or equivalent gloves. Limit the number of times a test sample vial is opened and closed because dust can contribute to elevated levels of glycine, serine, and alanine. A well-maintained instrument is necessary for acceptable amino acid analysis results. If the instrument is used on a routine basis, it is to be checked daily for leaks, detector and lamp stability, and the ability of the column to maintain resolution of the individual amino acids. Clean or replace all instrument filters and other maintenance items on a routine schedule. Acceptable amino acid standards are commercially available* for amino acid analysis and typically consist of an aqueous mixture of amino acids. When determining amino acid composition, protein or peptide standards are analyzed with the test material as a control to demonstrate the integrity of the entire procedure. Highly purified bovine serum albumin has been used as a protein standard for this purpose. Calibration of amino acid analysis instrumentation typically involves analyzing the amino acid standard, which consists of a mixture of amino acids at a number of concentrations, to determine the response factor and range of analysis for each amino acid. The concentration of each amino acid in the standard is known. In the calibration procedure, the analyst dilutes the amino acid standard to several different analyte levels within the expected linear range of the amino acid analysis technique. Then, replicates at each of the different analyte levels can be analyzed. Peak areas obtained for each amino acid are plotted versus the known concentration for each of the amino acids in the standard dilution. These results will allow the analyst to determine the range of amino acid concentrations where the peak area of a given amino acid is an approximately linear function of the amino acid concentration. It is important that the analyst prepare the samples for amino acid analysis so that they are within the analytical limits (e.g., linear working range) of the technique employed in order to obtain accurate and repeatable results. Four to six amino acid standard levels are analyzed to determine a response factor for each amino acid. The response factor is calculated as the average peak area or peak height per nmol of amino acid present in the standard. A calibration file consisting of the response factor for each amino acid is prepared and is used to calculate the concentration of each amino acid present in the test sample. This calculation involves dividing the peak area corresponding to a given amino acid by the response factor for that amino acid to give the nmol of the amino acid. For routine analysis, a single-point calibration may be sufficient; however, the calibration file is updated frequently and tested by the analysis of analytical controls to ensure its integrity. Consistent high quality amino acid analysis results from an analytical laboratory require attention to the repeatability of the assay. During analysis of the chromatographic separation of the amino acids or their derivatives, numerous peaks can be observed on the chromatogram that corresponds to the amino acids. The large number of peaks makes it necessary to have an amino acid analysis system that can repeatedly identify the peaks based on retention time and integrate the peak areas for quantitation. A typical repeatability evaluation involves preparing a standard amino acid solution and analyzing many replicates (i.e., six analyses or more) of the same standard solution. The relative standard deviation (RSD) is determined for the retention time and integrated peak area of each amino acid. An evaluation of the repeatability is expanded to include multiple assays conducted over several days by different analysts. Multiple assays include the preparation of standard dilutions from starting materials to determine the variation due to sample handling. Often, the amino acid composition of a standard protein (e.g., bovine serum albumin) is analyzed as part of the repeatability evaluation. By evaluating the replicate variation (i.e., RSD), the laboratory can establish analytical limits to ensure that the analyses from the laboratory are under control. It is desirable to establish the lowest practical variation limits to ensure the best results. Areas to focus on to lower the variability of the amino acid analysis include sample preparation, high background spectral interference due to the quality of reagents and/or to laboratory practices, instrument performance and maintenance, data analysis and interpretation, and analyst performance and habits. All parameters involved are fully investigated in the scope of the validation work. Accurate results from amino acid analysis require purified protein and peptide samples. Buffer components (e.g., salts, urea, detergents) can interfere with the amino acid analysis and are removed from the sample before analysis. Methods that utilize postcolumn derivatization of the amino acids are generally not affected by buffer components to the extent seen with precolumn derivatization methods. It is desirable to limit the number of sample manipulations to reduce potential background contamination, to improve analyte recovery, and to reduce labor. Common techniques used to remove buffer components from protein samples include the following methods: (1) injecting the protein sample onto a reverse-phase HPLC system, removing the protein with a volatile solvent containing a sufficient organic component, and drying the sample in a vacuum centrifuge; (2) dialysis against a volatile buffer or water; (3) centrifugal ultrafiltration for buffer replacement with a volatile buffer or water; (4) precipitating the protein from the buffer using an organic solvent (e.g., acetone); and (5) gel filtration. It is recommended that an internal standard be used to monitor physical and chemical losses and variations during amino acid analysis. An accurately known amount of internal standard can be added to a protein solution prior to hydrolysis. The recovery of the internal standard gives the general recovery of the amino acids from the protein solution. Free amino acids, however, do not behave in the same way as protein-bound amino acids during hydrolysis because their rates of release or destruction are variable. Therefore, the use of an internal standard to correct for losses during hydrolysis may give unreliable results. It will be necessary to take this particular point into consideration when interpreting the results. Internal standards can also be added to the mixture of amino acids after hydrolysis to correct for differences in sample application and changes in reagent stability and flow rates. Ideally, an internal standard is an unnaturally occurring primary amino acid that is commercially available and inexpensive. It should also be stable during hydrolysis, its response factor should be linear with concentration, and it needs to elute with a unique retention time without overlapping other amino acids. Commonly used amino acid standards include norleucine, nitrotyrosine, and -aminobutyric acid. Hydrolysis of protein and peptide samples is necessary for amino acid analysis of these molecules. The glassware used for hydrolysis must be very clean to avoid erroneous results. Glove powders and fingerprints on hydrolysis tubes may cause contamination. To clean glass hydrolysis tubes, boil tubes for 1 hour in 1 N hydrochloric acid or soak tubes in concentrated nitric acid or in a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid and concentrated nitric acid (1:1). Clean hydrolysis tubes are rinsed with high-purity water followed by a rinse with HPLC grade methanol, dried overnight in an oven, and stored covered until use. Alternatively, pyrolysis of clean glassware at 500 for 4 hours may be used to eliminate contamination from hydrolysis tubes. Adequate disposable laboratory material can also be used. Acid hydrolysis is the most common method for hydrolyzing a protein sample before amino acid analysis. The acid hydrolysis technique can contribute to the variation of the analysis due to complete or partial destruction of several amino acids. Tryptophan is destroyed; serine and threonine are partially destroyed; methionine might undergo oxidation; and cysteine is typically recovered as cystine (but cystine recovery is usually poor because of partial destruction or reduction to cysteine). Application of adequate vacuum (less than 200 µm of mercury or 26.7 Pa) or introduction of an inert gas (argon) in the headspace of the reaction vessel can reduce the level of oxidative destruction. In peptide bonds involving isoleucine and valine, the amido bonds of Ile-Ile, Val-Val, Ile-Val, and Val-Ile are partially cleaved; and asparagine and glutamine are deamidated, resulting in aspartic acid and glutamic acid, respectively. The loss of tryptophan, asparagine, and glutamine during an acid hydrolysis limits quantitation to 17 amino acids. Some of the hydrolysis techniques described are used to address these concerns. Some of the hydrolysis techniques described (i.e., Methods 4–11) may cause modifications to other amino acids. Therefore, the benefits of using a given hydrolysis technique are weighed against the concerns with the technique and are tested adequately before employing a method other than acid hydrolysis. A time-course study (i.e., amino acid analysis at acid hydrolysis times of 24, 48, and 72 hours) is often employed to analyze the starting concentration of amino acids that are partially destroyed or slow to cleave. By plotting the observed concentration of labile amino acids (i.e., serine and threonine) versus hydrolysis time, the line can be extrapolated to the origin to determine the starting concentration of these amino acids. Time-course hydrolysis studies are also used with amino acids that are slow to cleave (e.g., isoleucine and valine). During the hydrolysis time course, the analyst will observe a plateau in these residues. The level of this plateau is taken as the residue concentration. If the hydrolysis time is too long, the residue concentration of the sample will begin to decrease, indicating destruction by the hydrolysis conditions. Acid hydrolysis using hydrochloric acid containing phenol is the most common procedure used for protein/peptide hydrolysis preceding amino acid analysis. The addition of phenol to the reaction prevents the halogenation of tyrosine. Hydrolysis Solution: 6 N hydrochloric acid containing 0.1% to 1.0% of phenol. Liquid Phase Hydrolysis— Place the protein or peptide sample in a hydrolysis tube, and dry. [note—The sample is dried so that water in the sample will not dilute the acid used for the hydrolysis.] Add 200 µL of Hydrolysis Solution per 500 µg of lyophilized protein. Freeze the sample tube in a dry ice–acetone bath, and flame seal in vacuum. Samples are typically hydrolyzed at 110 for 24 hours in vacuum or inert atmosphere to prevent oxidation. Longer hydrolysis times (e.g., 48 and 72 hours) are investigated if there is a concern that the protein is not completely hydrolyzed. Vapor Phase Hydrolysis— This is one of the most common acid hydrolysis procedures, and it is preferred for microanalysis when only small amounts of the sample are available. Contamination of the sample from the acid reagent is also minimized by using vapor phase hydrolysis. Place vials containing the dried samples in a vessel that contains an appropriate amount of Hydrolysis Solution. The Hydrolysis Solution does not come in contact with the test sample. Apply an inert atmosphere or vacuum (less than 200 µm of mercury or 26.7 Pa) to the headspace of the vessel, and heat to about 110 for a 24-hour hydrolysis time. Acid vapor hydrolyzes the dried sample. Any condensation of the acid in the sample vials is minimized. After hydrolysis, dry the test sample in vacuum to remove any residual acid. Tryptophan oxidation during hydrolysis is decreased by using mercaptoethanesulfonic acid (MESA) as the reducing acid. Hydrolysis Solution: 2.5 M MESA solution. Vapor Phase Hydrolysis— About 1 to 100 µg of the protein/peptide under test is dried in a hydrolysis tube. The hydrolysis tube is placed in a larger tube with about 200 µL of the Hydrolysis Solution. The larger tube is sealed in vacuum (about 50 µm of mercury or 6.7 Pa) to vaporize the Hydrolysis Solution. The hydrolysis tube is heated to between 170 to 185 for about 12.5 minutes. After hydrolysis, the hydrolysis tube is dried in vacuum for 15 minutes to remove the residual acid. Tryptophan oxidation during hydrolysis is prevented by using thioglycolic acid (TGA) as the reducing acid. Hydrolysis Solution: a solution containing 7 M hydrochloric acid, 10% of trifluoroacetic acid, 20% of thioglycolic acid, and 1% of phenol. Vapor Phase Hydrolysis— About 10 to 50 µg of the protein/peptide under test is dried in a sample tube. The sample tube is placed in a larger tube with about 200 µL of the Hydrolysis Solution. The larger tube is sealed in vacuum (about 50 µm of mercury or 6.7 Pa) to vaporize the TGA. The sample tube is heated to 166 for about 15 to 30 minutes. After hydrolysis, the sample tube is dried in vacuum for 5 minutes to remove the residual acid. Recovery of tryptophan by this method may be dependent on the amount of sample present. Cysteine-cystine and methionine oxidation is performed with performic acid before the protein hydrolysis. Oxidation Solution— The performic acid is prepared fresh by mixing formic acid and 30 percent hydrogen peroxide (9:1), and incubating at room temperature for 1 hour. Procedure— The protein/peptide sample is dissolved in 20 µL of formic acid, and heated at 50 for 5 minutes; then 100 µL of the Oxidation Solution is added. In this reaction, cysteine is converted to cysteic acid and methionine is converted to methionine sulfone. The oxidation is allowed to proceed for 10 to 30 minutes. The excess reagent is removed from the sample in a vacuum centrifuge. This technique may cause modifications to tyrosine residues in the presence of halides. The oxidized protein can then be acid hydrolyzed using Method 1 or Method 2. Cysteine-cystine oxidation is accomplished during the liquid phase hydrolysis with sodium azide. Hydrolysis Solution: 6 N hydrochloric acid containing 0.2% of phenol, to which sodium azide is added to obtain a final concentration of 0.2% (w/v). The added phenol prevents halogenation of tyrosine. Liquid Phase Hydrolysis— The protein/peptide hydrolysis is conducted at about 110 for 24 hours. During the hydrolysis, the cysteine-cystine present in the sample is converted to cysteic acid by the sodium azide present in the Hydrolysis Solution. This technique allows better tyrosine recovery than Method 4, but it is not quantitative for methionine. Methionine is converted to a mixture of the parent methionine and its two oxidative products, methionine sulfoxide and methionine sulfone. Cysteine-cystine oxidation is accomplished with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Hydrolysis Solution: 6 N hydrochloric acid containing 0.1% to 1.0% of phenol, to which DMSO is added to obtain a final concentration of 2% (v/v). Vapor Phase Hydrolysis— The protein/peptide hydrolysis is conducted at about 110 for 24 hours. During the hydrolysis, the cysteine-cystine present in the sample is converted to cysteic acid by the DMSO present in the Hydrolysis Solution. As an approach to limit variability and to compensate for partial destruction, it is recommended to evaluate the cysteic acid recovery from oxidative hydrolyses of standard proteins containing 1 to 8 mol of cysteine. The response factors from protein/peptide hydrolysates are typically about 30% lower than those for nonhydrolyzed cysteic acid standards. Because histidine, methionine, tyrosine, and tryptophan are also modified, a complete compositional analysis is not obtained with this technique. Cysteine-cystine reduction and alkylation is accomplished by a vapor phase pyridylethylation reaction. Reducing Solution— Transfer 83.3 µL of pyridine, 16.7 µL of 4-vinylpyridine, 16.7 µL of tributylphosphine, and 83.3 µL of water to a suitable container, and mix. Procedure— Add the protein/peptide (between 1 and 100 µg) to a hydrolysis tube, and place in a larger tube. Transfer the Reducing Solution to the large tube, seal in vacuum (about 50 µm of mercury or 6.7 Pa), and incubate at about 100 for 5 minutes. Then remove the inner hydrolysis tube, and dry it in a vacuum desiccator for 15 minutes to remove residual reagents. The pyridylethylated protein/peptide can then be acid hydrolyzed using previously described procedures. The pyridylethylation reaction is performed simultaneously with a protein standard sample containing 1 to 8 mol of cysteine to improve accuracy in the pyridylethyl-cysteine recovery. Longer incubation times for the pyridylethylation reaction can cause modifications to the -amino terminal group and the -amino group of lysine in the protein. Cysteine-cystine reduction and alkylation is accomplished by a liquid phase pyridylethylation reaction. Stock Solutions— Prepare and filter three solutions: 1 M Tris hydrochloride (pH 8.5) containing 4 mM edetate disodium (Stock Solution 1), 8 M guanidine hydrochloride (Stock Solution 2), and 10% of 2-mercaptoethanol in water (Stock Solution 3). Reducing Solution— Prepare a mixture of Stock Solution 2 and Stock Solution 1 (3:1) to obtain a buffered solution of 6 M guanidine hydrochloride in 0.25 M Tris hydrochloride. Procedure— Dissolve about 10 µg of the test sample in 50 µL of the Reducing Solution, and add about 2.5 µL of Stock Solution 3. Store under nitrogen or argon for 2 hours at room temperature in the dark. To achieve the pyridylethylation reaction, add about 2 µL of 4-vinylpyridine to the protein solution, and incubate for an additional 2 hours at room temperature in the dark. The protein/peptide is desalted by collecting the protein/peptide fraction from a reverse-phase HPLC separation. The collected sample can be dried in a vacuum centrifuge before acid hydrolysis. Cysteine-cystine reduction and alkylation is accomplished by a liquid phase carboxymethylation reaction. Stock Solutions— Prepare as directed for Method 8. Carboxymethylation Solution— Prepare a solution containing 100 mg of iodoacetamide per mL of alcohol. Buffer Solution— Use the Reducing Solution, prepared as directed for Method 8. Procedure— Dissolve the test sample in 50 µL of the Buffer Solution, and add about 2.5 µL of Stock Solution 3. Store under nitrogen or argon for 2 hours at room temperature in the dark. Add the Carboxymethylation Solution in a 1.5 fold ratio per total theoretical content of thiols, and incubate for an additional 30 minutes at room temperature in the dark. [note—If the thiol content of the protein is unknown, then add 5 µL of 100 mM iodoacetamide for every 20 nmol of protein present.] The reaction is stopped by adding excess of 2-mercaptoethanol. The protein/peptide is desalted by collecting the protein/peptide fraction from a reverse-phase HPLC separation. The collected sample can be dried in a vacuum centrifuge before acid hydrolysis. The S-carboxyamidomethylcysteine formed will be converted to S-carboxymethyl-cysteine during acid hydrolysis. Reducing Solution: a solution containing 10 mg of dithiodiglycolic acid (or dithiodipropionic acid) per mL of 0.2 M sodium hydroxide. Procedure— Transfer about 20 µg of the test sample to a hydrolysis tube, and add 5 µL of the Reducing Solution. Add 10 µL of isopropyl alcohol, and then remove all of the sample liquid by vacuum centrifugation. The sample is then hydrolyzed using Method 1. This method has the advantage that other amino acid residues are not derivatized by side reactions, and the sample does not need to be desalted prior to hydrolysis. Asparagine and glutamine are converted to aspartic acid and glutamic acid, respectively, during acid hydrolysis. Asparagine and aspartic acid residues are added and represented by Asx, while glutamine and glutamic acid residues are added and represented by Glx. Proteins/peptides can be reacted with bis(1,1-trifluoroacetoxy)iodobenzene (BTI) to convert the asparagine and glutamine residues to diaminopropionic acid and diaminobutyric acid residues, respectively, upon acid hydrolysis. These conversions allow the analyst to determine the asparagine and glutamine content of a protein/peptide in the presence of aspartic acid and glutamic acid residues. Reducing Solutions— Prepare and filter three solutions: a solution of 10 mM trifluoroacetic acid (Solution 1), a solution of 5 M guanidine hydrochloride and 10 mM trifluoroacetic acid (Solution 2), and a freshly prepared solution of dimethylformamide containing 36 mg of BTI per mL (Solution 3). Many amino acid analysis techniques exist, and the choice of any one technique often depends on the sensitivity required from the assay. In general, about one-half of the amino acid analysis techniques employed rely on the separation of the free amino acids by ion-exchange chromatography followed by postcolumn derivatization (e.g., with ninhydrin or o-phthalaldehyde). Postcolumn detection techniques can be used with samples that contain small amounts of buffer components, such as salts and urea, and generally require between 5 and 10 µg of protein sample per analysis. The remaining amino acid techniques typically involve precolumn derivatization of the free amino acids (e.g., phenyl isothiocyanate; 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbonate; (dimethylamino)azobenzenesulfonyl chloride; 9-fluorenyl-methylchloroformate; and 7-fluoro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole) followed by reverse-phase HPLC. Precolumn derivatization techniques are very sensitive and usually require between 0.5 and 1.0 µg of protein sample per analysis but may be influenced by buffer salts in the samples. Precolumn derivatization techniques may also result in multiple derivatives of a given amino acid, which complicates the result interpretation. Postcolumn derivatization techniques are generally influenced less by performance variation of the assay than precolumn derivatization techniques. The following Methods may be used for quantitative amino acid analysis. Instruments and reagents for these procedures are available commercially. Furthermore, many modifications of these methodologies exist with different reagent preparations, reaction procedures, and chromatographic systems. Specific parameters may vary according to the exact equipment and procedure used. Many laboratories will utilize more than one amino acid analysis technique to exploit the advantages offered by each. In each of these Methods, the analog signal is visualized by means of a data acquisition system, and the peak areas are integrated for quantification purposes. Ion-exchange chromatography with postcolumn ninhydrin detection is one of the most common methods employed for quantitative amino acid analysis. As a rule, a Li-based cation-exchange system is employed for the analysis of the more complex physiological samples, and the faster Na-based cation-exchange system is used for the more simplistic amino acid mixtures obtained with protein hydrolysates (typically containing 17 amino acid components). Separation of the amino acids on an ion-exchange column is accomplished through a combination of changes in pH and cation strength. A temperature gradient is often employed to enhance separation. When the amino acid reacts with ninhydrin, the reactant has characteristic purple or yellow color. Amino acids, except imino acids, give a purple color, and show maximum absorption at 570 nm. The imino acids, such as proline, give a yellow color, and show maximum absorption at 440 nm. The postcolumn reaction between ninhydrin and amino acid eluted from the column is monitored at 440 nm and 570 nm, and the chromatogram obtained is used for the determination of amino acid composition. The detection limit is considered to be 10 pmol for most of the amino acid derivatives, but 50 pmol for proline. Response linearity is obtained in the range of 20 to 500 pmol with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.999. To obtain good compositional data, samples larger than 1 µg before hydrolysis are best suited for this amino acid analysis of protein/peptide. One method for postcolumn ninhydrin detection is shown below. Many other methods are also available, with instruments and reagents available commercially. Solution A— Transfer about 1.7 g of anhydrous sodium citrate and 1.5 mL of hydrochloric acid to a 100-mL volumetric flask, dissolve in and dilute with water to volume, and mix. Adjust, if necessary, with hydrochloric acid to a pH of 3.0. Solution B— Transfer about 1.7 g of anhydrous sodium citrate and 0.7 mL of hydrochloric acid to a 100-mL volumetric flask, dissolve in and dilute with water to volume, and mix. Adjust, if necessary, with hydrochloric acid to a pH of 4.3. Solution C— Prepare a solution containing 5% of sodium chloride, 1.9% of anhydrous sodium citrate, and 0.1% of phenol in water, and adjust to a pH of 6. Column Regeneration Solution— Prepare a solution containing 0.8% of sodium hydroxide in water, and adjust to a pH of 13. Mobile Phase— Use variable mixtures of Solution A, Solution B, and Solution C as directed for Chromatographic System. Buffer Solution— Prepare a solution containing 2% of anhydrous sodium citrate, 1% of hydrochloric acid, 0.5% of thiodiglycol, and 0.1% of benzoic acid in water, and adjust to a pH of 2. Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a detector with appropriate interference filters at 440, 570, or 690 nm and a 4.0-mm × 120-mm column that contains 7.5-µm sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer packing. The flow rate is about 14 mL per hour. The system is programmed as follows. Initially equilibrate the column with Solution A; at 25 minutes, the composition of the Mobile Phase is changed to 100% Solution B; and at 37 minutes, the composition is changed to 100% Solution C. At 75 minutes into the run, the last amino acid has been eluted from the column, and the column is regenerated with Column Regeneration Solution for 1 minute. The column is then equilibrated with Solution A for 11 minutes before the next injection. The column temperature is programmed as follows. The initial temperature is 48 ; after 11.5 minutes, the temperature is increased to 65 at a rate of 3 per minute; at about 35 minutes, the temperature is increased to 77 at a rate of 3 per minute; and finally at about 52 minutes, the temperature is decreased to 48 at a rate of 3 per minute. Procedure and Postcolumn Reaction— Reconstitute the lyophilized protein/peptide hydrolysate in the Buffer Solution, inject an appropriate amount into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. As the amino acids are eluted from the column, they are mixed with the Postcolumn Reagent, which is delivered at a flow rate of 7 mL per hour, through a tee. After mixing, the column effluent and the Postcolumn Reagent pass through a tubular reactor at a temperature of 135 , where a characteristic purple or yellow color is developed. From the reactor, the liquid passes through a colorimeter with a 12-mm flow-through cuvette. The light emerging from the cuvette is split into three beams for analysis by the detector with interference filters at 440, 570, or 690 nm. The 690-nm signal may be electronically subtracted from the other signals for improved signal-to-noise ratios. The 440-nm (imino acids) and the 570-nm (amino acids) signals may be added in order to simplify data handling. Ion-exchange chromatography with postcolumn o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) fluorometric detection is used. The procedure employs an ion-exchange column for separation of free amino acids followed by postcolumn oxidation with sodium hypochlorite and derivatization using OPA and N-acetyl-l-cysteine. The sodium hypochlorite oxidation step allows secondary amines, such as proline, to react with the OPA reagent. OPA reacts with primary amines in the presence of thiol compound to form highly fluorescent isoindole products. This reaction is utilized for the postcolumn derivatization in analysis of amino acids by ion-exchange chromatography. The rule of the separation is the same as Method I. Instruments and reagents for this form of amino acid analysis are available commercially. Many modifications of this method exist. Although OPA does not react with secondary amines (imino acids, such as proline) to form fluorescent substances, the oxidation with sodium hypochlorite allows secondary amines to react with OPA. The procedure employs a strongly acidic cation-exchange column for separation of free amino acids followed by postcolumn oxidation with sodium hypochlorite and postcolumn derivatization using OPA and thiol compound, such as N-acetyl-l-cysteine and 2-mercaptoethanol. The derivatization of primary amino acids are not noticeably affected by the continuous supply of sodium hypochlorite. Separation of the amino acids on an ion-exchange column is accomplished through a combination of changes of pH and cation strength. After postcolumn derivatization of eluted amino acids with OPA, the reactant passes through the fluorometric detector. Fluorescence intensity of OPA-derivatized amino acids are monitored with an excitation wavelength of 348 nm and an emission wavelength of 450 nm. The detection limit is considered to be a few tens of pmol level for most of the amino acid derivatives. Response linearity is obtained in the range of a few pmol level to a few tens of nmol level. To obtain good compositional data, a sample greater than 500 ng before hydrolysis is best suited for the amino acid analysis of protein/peptide. One method of postcolumn OPA fluorometric detection is shown below. Solution A— Prepare a solution of sodium hydroxide, citric acid, and alcohol in HPLC grade water having a 0.2 N sodium concentration and containing 7% of alcohol (w/v), adjusted to a pH of 3.2. Solution B— Prepare a solution of sodium hydroxide and citric acid in HPLC grade water having a 0.6 N sodium concentration, adjusted to a pH of 10.0. Solution C: 0.2 N sodium hydroxide. Alkaline Buffer— Prepare a solution containing 384 mM sodium carbonate, 216 mM boric acid, and 108 mM potassium sulfate, and adjust to a pH of 10.0. OPA Reagent— Transfer 2 g of N-acetyl-l-cysteine and 1.6 g of OPA to a 15-mL volumetric flask, dissolve in and dilute with alcohol to volume, and mix. Transfer this solution and 4 mL of 10% aqueous polyethylene (23) lauryl ether to a 1-L volumetric flask, dilute with 980 mL of Alkaline Buffer, and mix. Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a fluorometric detector set to an excitation wavelength of 348 nm and an emission wavelength of 450 nm and a 4.0-mm × 150-mm column that contains 7.5-µm packing L17. The flow rate is about 0.3 mL per minute, and the column temperature is set at 50 . The system is programmed as follows. The column is equilibrated with Solution A; over the next 20 minutes, the composition of the Mobile Phase is changed linearly to 85% Solution A and 15% Solution B; then there is a step change to 40% Solution A and 60% Solution B; over the next 18 minutes, the composition is changed linearly to 100% Solution B and held for 7 minutes; then there is a step change to 100% Solution C, and this is held for 6 minutes; then there is a step change to Solution A, and this composition is maintained for the next 8 minutes. Procedure and Postcolumn Reaction— Inject about 1.0 nmol of each amino acid under test into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. As the effluent leaves the column, it is mixed with the Hypochlorite Reagent. The mixture passes through the first postcolumn reactor which consists of stainless steel 0.5-mm × 2-m tubing. A second postcolumn reactor of similar design is placed immediately downstream from the first postcolumn reactor and is used for the OPA postcolumn reaction. The flow rates for both the Hypochlorite Reagent and the OPA Reagent are 0.2 mL per minute, resulting in a total flow rate (i.e., Hypochlorite Reagent, OPA Reagent, and column effluent) of 0.7 mL per minute exiting from the postcolumn reactors. Postcolumn reactions are conducted at 55 . This results in a residence time of about 33 seconds in the OPA postcolumn reactor. After postcolumn derivatization, the column effluent passes through the fluorometric detector. Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with phenylisothiocyanate (PITC) followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation with UV detection is used. PITC reacts with amino acids to form phenylthiocarbamyl (PTC) derivatives, which can be detected with high sensitivity at 254 nm. Therefore, precolumn derivatization of amino acids with PITC followed by a reverse-phase HPLC separation with UV detection is used to analyze the amino acid composition. After the reagent is removed under vacuum, the derivatized amino acids can be stored dry and frozen for several weeks with no significant degradation. If the solution for injection is kept cold, no noticeable loss in chromatographic response occurs after three days. Separation of the PTC-amino acids on a reverse-phase HPLC with ODS column is accomplished through a combination of changes in concentrations of acetonitrile and buffer ionic strength. PTC-amino acids eluted from the column are monitored at 254 nm. The detection limit is considered to be 1 pmol for most of the amino acid derivatives. Response linearity is obtained in the range of 20 to 500 pmol with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.999. To obtain good compositional data, a sample larger than 500 ng of protein/peptide before hydrolysis is best suited for this amino analysis of proteins/peptides. One method of precolumn PITC derivatization is described below. Solution A: 0.05 M ammonium acetate, adjusted with phosphoric acid to a pH of 6.8. Solution B— Prepare 0.1 M ammonium acetate, adjust with phosphoric acid to a pH of 6.8, and then prepare a mixture of this solution and acetonitrile (1:1). Solution C: a mixture of acetonitrile and water (70:30). Coupling Buffer: a mixture of acetonitrile, pyridine, triethylamine, and water (10:5:2:3). Sample Solvent: a mixture of water and acetonitrile (7:2). Sample Derivatization Procedure— Dissolve the lyophilized test sample in 100 µL of the Coupling Buffer, and then dry in a vacuum centrifuge to remove any hydrochloride if a protein hydrolysis step was used. Dissolve the test sample in 100 µL of Coupling Buffer, add 5 µL of PITC, and incubate at room temperature for 5 minutes. The test sample is again dried in a vacuum centrifuge, and is dissolved in 250 µL of Sample Solvent. Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a 254-nm detector and a 4.6-mm × 250-mm column that contains 5-µm packing L1. The flow rate is about 1 mL per minute, and the column temperature is maintained at 52 . The system is programmed as follows. The column is equilibrated with Solution A; over the next 15 minutes, the composition of the Mobile Phase is changed linearly to 85% Solution A and 15% Solution B; over the next 15 minutes, the composition is changed linearly to 50% Solution A and 50% Solution B; then there is a step change to 100% Solution C, and this is held for 10 minutes; then there is a step change to 100% Solution A, and the column is allowed to equilibrate before the next injection. Procedure— Inject about 1.0 nmol of each PITC-amino acid under test (10-µL sample in Sample Solvent) into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC) followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation with fluorometric detection is used. AQC reacts with amino acids to form stable, fluorescent unsymmetric urea derivatives (AQC-amino acids) which are readily amenable to analysis by reverse-phase HPLC. Therefore, precolumn derivatization of amino acids with AQC followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation is used to analyze the amino acid composition. Separation of the AQC-amino acids on an ODS column is accomplished through a combination of changes in the concentrations of acetonitrile and salt. Selective fluorescence detection of the derivatives with an excitation wavelength at 250 nm and an emission wavelength at 395 nm allows for the direct injection of the reaction mixture with no significant interference from the only major fluorescent reagent byproduct, 6-aminoquinoline. Excess reagent is rapidly hydrolyzed (t1/2< 15 seconds) to yield 6-aminoquinoline-N-hydroxysuccinimide and carbon dioxide, and after 1 minute no further derivatization can take place. Peak areas for AQC-amino acids are essentially unchanged for at least 1 week at room temperature, and the derivatives have more than sufficient stability to allow for overnight automated chromatographic analysis. The detection limit is considered to be ranging from about 40 fmol to 320 fmol for each amino acid, except for Cys. The detection limit for Cys is approximately 800 fmol. Response linearity is obtained in the range of 2.5 µM to 200 µM with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.999. Good compositional data can be obtained from the analysis of derivatized protein hydrolysates containing as little as 30 ng of protein/peptide. One method of precolumn AQC derivatization is shown below. Solution A— Prepare a solution having a composition of 140 mM sodium acetate and 17 mM triethylamine, and adjust with phosphoric acid to a pH of 5.02. Solution B: a mixture of acetonitrile and water (60:40). Sample Derivatization Procedure— Dissolve about 2 µg of the test sample in 20 µL of 15 mM hydrochloric acid, and dilute with 0.2 M borate buffer (pH 8.8) to 80 µL. The derivatization is initiated by the addition of 20 µL of 10 mM AQC in acetonitrile, and allowed to proceed for 10 minutes at room temperature. Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a fluorometric detector set at an excitation wavelength of 250 nm and an emission wavelength of 395 nm and a 3.9-mm × 150-mm column that contains 4-µm packing L1. The flow rate is about 1 mL per minute, and the column temperature is maintained at 37 . The system is programmed as follows. The column is equilibrated with Solution A; over the next 0.5 minute, the composition of the Mobile Phase is changed linearly to 98% Solution A and 2% Solution B; then over the next 14.5 minutes to 93% Solution A and 7% Solution B; then over the next 4 minutes to 87% Solution A and 13% Solution B; over the next 14 minutes to 68% Solution A and 32% Solution B; then there is a step change to 100% Solution B for a 5-minute wash; over the next 10 minutes, there is a step change to 100% Solution A; and the column is allowed to equilibrate before the next injection. Procedure— Inject about 0.05 nmol of each AQC-amino acid under test into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with OPA followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation with fluorometric detection is used. This technique does not detect amino acids that exist as secondary amines (e.g., proline). OPA in conjunction with a thiol reagent reacts with primary amine groups to form highly fluorescent isoindole products. 2-Mercaptoethanol and 3-mercaptopropionic acid can be used as thiol. OPA itself does not fluoresce and consequently produces no interfering peaks. In addition, its solubility and stability in aqueous solution, along with the rapid kinetics for the reactions, make it amenable to automated derivatization and analysis using an autosampler to mix the sample with the reagent. However, lack of reactivity with secondary amino acids has been a predominant drawback. This method does not detect amino acids that exist as secondary amines (e.g., proline). To compensate for this drawback, this technique may be combined with another technique described in Method 7 or Method 8. Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with OPA is followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation. Because of the instability of the OPA-amino acid derivative, HPLC separation and analysis are performed immediately following derivatization. The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a fluorometric detector for the detection of derivatized amino acids. Fluorescence intensity of the OPA-derivatized amino acids are monitored with an excitation wavelength of 348 nm and an emission wavelength of 450 nm. The detection limits as low as 50 fmol via fluorescence have been reported, although the practical limit of analysis remains at 1 pmol. One method of precolumn OPA derivatization is shown below. Solution A: a mixture of 100 mM sodium acetate (pH 7.2), methanol, and tetrahydrofuran (900:95:5). Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a fluorometric detector set at an excitation wavelength of 348 nm and an emission wavelength of 450 nm and a 4.6-mm × 75-mm column that contains 3-µm packing L3. The flow rate is about 1.7 mL per minute, and the column temperature is maintained at 37 . The system is programmed as follows. The column is equilibrated with 92% Solution A and 8% Solution B; over the next 2 minutes, the composition of the Mobile Phase is changed to 83% Solution A and 17% Solution B, and held for an additional 3 minutes; then changed to 54% Solution A and 46% Solution B over the next 5 minutes, and held for an additional 2 minutes; then changed to 34% Solution A and 66% Solution B over the next 2 minutes, and held for 1 minute; then over the next 0.3 minute changed to 20% Solution A and 80% Solution B, and held for an additional 2.6 minutes; and then finally over 0.6 minute changed to 92% Solution A and 8% Solution B, and held for an additional 0.6 minute. Procedure— Inject about 0.02 nmol of each OPA-amino acid under test into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with (dimethylamino)azobenzenesulfonyl chloride (DABS-Cl) followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation with visible light detection is used. DABS-Cl is a chromophoric reagent employed for the labeling of amino acids. Amino acids labeled with DABS-Cl (DABS-amino acids) are highly stable and show the maximum absorption at 436 nm. DABS-amino acids, all 19 naturally occurring amino acids derivatives, can be separated on an ODS column of a reverse-phase HPLC by employing gradient systems consisting of acetonitrile and aqueous buffer mixture. Separated DABS-amino acids eluted from the column are detected at 436 nm in the visible region. This method can analyze the imino acids, such as proline, together with the amino acids, at the same degree of sensitivity. DABS-Cl derivatization method permits the simultaneous quantification of tryptophan residues by previous hydrolysis of the protein/peptide with sulfonic acids, such as mercaptoethanesulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, or methanesulfonic acid, described for Method 2 in Protein Hydrolysis under Amino Acid Analysis. The other acid-labile residues, asparagine and glutamine, can also be analyzed by previous conversion into diaminopropionic acid and diaminobutyric acid, respectively, by treatment of protein/peptide with BTI, described for Method 11 in Protein Hydrolysis under Amino Acid Analysis. The nonproteinogenic amino acid, norleucine, cannot be used as an internal standard in this method as this compound is eluted in a chromatographic region crowded with peaks of primary amino acids. Nitrotyrosine can be used as an internal standard because it is eluted in a clean region. The detection limit of DABS-amino acid is about 1 pmol. As little as 2 to 5 pmol of an individual DABS-amino acid can be quantitatively analyzed with reliability, and only 10 ng to 30 ng of the dabsylated protein hydrolysate is required for each analysis. One method for precolumn DABS-Cl derivatization is shown below. Solution A: 25 mM sodium acetate (pH 6.5) containing 4% of dimethylformamide. Sample Buffer: 50 mM sodium bicarbonate, adjusted to a pH of 8.1. Sample Dilution Buffer— Prepare a mixture of 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 7.0) and alcohol (1:1). Sample Derivatization Procedure— Dissolve the test sample in 20 µL of Sample Buffer, add 40 µL of Derivatization Reagent, and mix. The sample container is sealed with a silicon-rubber stopper, and heated to 70 for 10 minutes. During the sample heating, the mixture will become completely soluble. After the derivatization, dilute the test sample with an appropriate quantity of the Sample Dilution Buffer. Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a 436-nm detector and a 4.6-mm × 250-mm column that contains packing L1. The flow rate is about 1 mL per minute, and the column temperature is maintained at 40 . The system is programmed as follows. The column is equilibrated with 85% Solution A and 15% Solution B; over the next 20 minutes, the composition of the Mobile Phase is changed to 60% Solution A and 40% Solution B; over the next 12 minutes, the composition is changed to 30% Solution A and 70% Solution B, and held for an additional 2 minutes. Procedure— Inject about 0.05 nmol of the DABS-amino acids into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC-Cl) followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation with fluorometric detection is used. FMOC-Cl reacts with both primary and secondary amino acids to form highly fluorescent products. The reaction of FMOC-Cl with amino acid proceeds under mild conditions, in aqueous solution, and is completed in 30 seconds. The derivatives are stable, with only the histidine derivative showing any breakdown. Although FMOC-Cl is fluorescent itself, the reagent excess and fluorescent side-products can be eliminated without loss of FMOC-amino acids. FMOC-amino acids are separated by reverse-phase HPLC using an ODS column. The separation is carried out by gradient elution varied linearly from a mixture of acetic acid buffer, methanol, and acetonitrile (50:40:10) to a mixture of acetonitrile and acetic acid buffer (50:50), and 20 amino acid derivatives that are separated in 20 minutes. Each derivative eluted from the column is monitored by a fluorometric detector set at an excitation wavelength of 260 nm and an emission wavelength of 313 nm. The detection limit is in the low fmol range. A linearity range of 0.1 µM to 50 µM is obtained for most amino acids. One method for precolumn FMOC-Cl derivatization is shown below. Acetic Acid Buffer— Transfer 3 mL of glacial acetic acid and 1 mL of triethylamine to a 1-L volumetric flask, and dilute with HPLC grade water to volume. Adjust with sodium hydroxide to a pH of 4.20. Solution A: a mixture of Acetic Acid Buffer, methanol, and acetonitrile (50:40:10). Solution B: a mixture of acetonitrile and Acetic Acid Buffer (50:50). Borate Buffer— Prepare a 1 M boric acid solution, and adjust with sodium hydroxide to a pH of 6.2. FMOC-Cl Reagent— Dissolve 155 mg of 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate in 40 mL of acetone, and mix. Sample Derivatization Procedure— To 0.4 mL of the test sample add 0.1 mL of Borate Buffer and 0.5 mL of FMOC-Cl Reagent. After about 40 seconds, extract the mixture with 2 mL of pentane, and then extract again with fresh pentane. The aqueous solution with amino acid derivatives is then ready for injection. Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a fluorometric detector set at an excitation wavelength of 260 nm and an emission wavelength of 313 nm and a 4.6-mm × 125-mm column that contains 3-µm packing L1. The flow rate is about 1.3 mL per minute. The system is programmed as follows. The column is equilibrated with Solution A, and this composition is maintained for 3 minutes; over the next 9 minutes, it is changed to 100% Solution B; then over the next 0.5 minute, the flow rate is increased to 2 mL per minute, and held until the final FMOC-amino acid is eluted from the column. The total run time is about 20 minutes. Procedure— Inject not less than 0.01 nmol of each FMOC-amino acid under test into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. The FMOC-histidine derivative will generally give a lower response than the other derivatives. Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with 7-fluoro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-F) followed by reverse-phase HPLC separation with fluorometric detection is used. 7-Fluoro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-F) reacts with both primary and secondary amino acids to form highly fluorescent products. Amino acids are derivatized with NBD-F by heating to 60 for 5 minutes. NBD-amino acid derivatives are separated on an ODS column of reverse-phase HPLC by employing a gradient elution system consisting of acetonitrile and aqueous buffer mixture, and 17 amino acid derivatives that are separated in 35 minutes. E-aminocaproic acid can be used as an internal standard because it is eluted in a clean chromatographic region. Each derivative eluted from the column is monitored by a fluorometric detector set at an excitation wavelength of 480 nm and an emission wavelength of 530 nm. The sensitivity of this method is almost the same as that for the precolumn OPA derivatization method (Method 5), excluding proline to which OPA is not reactive and might be advantageous for NBD-F against OPA. The detection limit for each amino acid is about 10 fmol. Profile analysis was achieved for about 1.5 mg of protein hydrolysates in the final precolumn labeling reaction mixture for HPLC. One method for precolumn NBD-F derivatization is shown below. Solution A: a solution of 10mM sodium citrate containing 75 mM sodium perchlorate, adjusted with hydrochloric acid to a pH of 6.2. Solution B: a mixture of acetonitrile and water (50:50). Sample Buffer: a 0.1 M boric acid solution, adjusted with sodium hydroxide to a pH of 9.2. Derivatization Reagent— Dissolve 5 mg of NBD-F in 1.0 mL of alcohol, and mix. Sample Derivatization Procedure— Dissolve the test sample in 20 µL of Sample buffer, add 10 µL of Derivatization Reagent, and mix. The sample container is heated at 60 for 5 minutes. After the derivatization, dilute the test sample with 300 µL of Solution A. Chromatographic System— The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a fluorometric detector set at an excitation wavelength of 480 nm and an emission wavelength of 530 nm and a 4.6-mm × 150-mm column that contains 5-µm particle size ODS silica packing. The flow rate is about 1.0 mL per minute, and the column temperature is maintained at 40 . The system is programmed as follows. The column is equilibrated with 94% Solution A and 6% Solution B; over the next 16 minutes, the composition is changed linearly to 63% Solution A and 37% Solution B; over the next 5 minutes, the composition is changed linearly to 62% Solution A and 38% Solution B; over the next 9 minutes, the composition is changed linearly to 100% Solution B, and held for an additional 5 minutes; then finally over 2 minutes, the composition is changed linearly to 94% Solution A and 6% Solution B; and then the column is allowed to equilibrate before the next injection. Procedure— Inject about 15 pmol of each NBD-amino acid under test into the chromatograph, and proceed as directed for Chromatographic System. When determining the amino acid content of a protein/peptide hydrolysate, it should be noted that the acid hydrolysis step destroys tryptophan and cysteine. Serine and threonine are partially destroyed by acid hydrolysis, while isoleucine and valine residues may be only partially cleaved. Methionine can undergo oxidation during acid hydrolysis, and some amino acids (e.g., glycine and serine) are common contaminants. Application of adequate vacuum (less than 200 µm of mercury or 26.7 Pa) or introduction of inert gas (argon) in the headspace of the reaction vessel during vapor phase hydrolysis can reduce the level of oxidative destruction. Therefore, the quantitative results obtained for cysteine, tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, valine, methionine, glycine, and serine from a protein/peptide hydrolysate may be variable and may warrant further investigation and consideration. in which rU is the peak response, in nmol, of the amino acid under test; and r is the sum of peak responses, in nmol, for all amino acids present in the test sample. Comparison of the mole percent of the amino acids under test to data from known proteins can help establish or corroborate the identity of the sample protein. in which m is the recovered quantity, in nmol, of the amino acid under test; M is the total mass, in µg, of the protein; and MWT is the molecular weight, in mg, of the unknown protein. Known Protein Samples— This data analysis technique can be used to investigate the amino acid composition and protein concentration of a protein sample of known molecular weight and amino acid composition using the amino acid analysis data. When the composition of the protein being analyzed is known, one can exploit the fact that some amino acids are recovered well, while other amino acid recoveries may be compromised because of complete or partial destruction (e.g., tryptophan, cysteine, threonine, serine, methionine), incomplete bond cleavage (i.e., for isoleucine and valine), and free amino acid contamination (i.e., by glycine and serine). Because those amino acids that are recovered best represent the protein, these amino acids are chosen to quantify the amount of protein. Well-recovered amino acids are, typically, aspartate-asparagine, glutamate-glutamine, alanine, leucine, phenylalanine, lysine, and arginine. This list can be modified based on experience with one's own analysis system. Divide the quantity, in nmol, of each of the well-recovered amino acids by the expected number of residues for that amino acid to obtain the protein content based on each well-recovered amino acid. Average the protein content results calculated. The protein content determined for each of the well-recovered amino acids should be evenly distributed about the mean. Discard protein content values for those amino acids that have an unacceptable deviation from the mean. Typically, a greater than 5% variation from the mean is considered unacceptable, but this is arbitrary. Recalculate the mean protein content from the remaining values to obtain the protein content of the sample. Divide the content of each amino acid by the calculated mean protein content to determine the amino acid composition of the sample by analysis. in which m is the experimentally determined quantity, in nmol per amino acid residue, of the amino acid under test; and mS is the known residue value for that amino acid. The average relative compositional error is the average of the absolute values of the relative compositional errors of the individual amino acids, typically excluding tryptophan and cysteine from this calculation. The average relative compositional error can provide important information on the stability of analysis run over time. The agreement in the amino acid composition between the protein sample and the known composition can be used to corroborate the identity and purity of the protein in the sample. * Suitable standards may be obtained from NIST (Gaithersburg, MD), Beckman Instruments (Fullerton, CA), Sigma Chemical (St. Louis, MO), Pierce (Rockford, IL), or Agilent (Palo Alto, CA).

2019-04-24T08:13:15Z

https://www.drugfuture.com/Pharmacopoeia/USP32/pub/data/v32270/usp32nf27s0_c1052.html

Q: What are the bank notes in Australia? A: Bank notes comprise of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Australian dollar notes; while coins come in 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins, and 1 and 2 dollar coins. Q: What are the most trusted banks or financial institutions in Australia? A: Top big banks are Westpac, Commonwealth, ANZ and Australia Bank. Q: What are the documents needed to open a bank account? A: In order to open a bank account, one needs to present an identification e.g. driver’s license or passport, proof of an address in Australia, and in some cases a reference from one's previous bank. Q: How do expats open a bank account in Melbourne? A: Opening a Melbourne bank account is quick and simple, even for expats. However, it must be done within the expat's first six weeks of arrival in Australia. Otherwise, bank authorities may require more time and evidence of identification. In any case, an expat has to present a passport, a valid visa and another valid ID when opening a bank account. Q: Are ATMs popularly used in Melbourne? A: Yes. Most Melbourne residents consider ATMs as the most convenient tools for cash dispensing. Note that ATMs in the city only give out 20 AUD and 50 AUD notes, though some of the smaller ones (usually in gas stations) dispense only 10 AUD, again, only in combinations of 20 and 50 AUDs. In rare places such as casinos, one may get 100 AUD notes. Q: What is the availability of banks in Melbourne? A: Banks in Melbourne usually open at 9am and close at 4pm on Mondays thru Thursdays. On Fridays, they open at 9 am and close at 5pm. Most of Australia's biggest banks like ANZ, NAB, and Commonwealth have branches in Melbourne. Q: What is the process of opening a bank account in Sydney? A: The most important requirement for opening a bank account in Sydney is a 100-point score on identity. There are three approved forms of identification. For migrants, these three IDs include a passport, a driver's license, and a medical card. Normally, an expat who is unable to provide the three will not be allowed to open a bank account in any bank in Sydney. Q: How much do Sydney banks charge in account maintenance fees? A: This depends from bank to bank, but usually, monthly maintenance fees of $5 will be charged to an account holder to keep the account active. When planning to open a bank account in Sydney, it is advisable that one spend time shopping around to know which bank charges the least fees. Q: What are the best banks in Sydney? A: The four major and most established banks in Sydney include the National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ, Commonwealth, and Westpac. The Commonwealth Bank, once a government bank until its privatization in the 1990s, is the most distributed bank, both in the city and the entire Australia. Q: What is the process of registering a business name in Australia? A: One must ensure that business name doesn't have a trade mark registered against it. All business name registrations go to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) External Site. Once it's registered with ASIC , it's registered nationally as well. One just need to have an Australian Business Number (ABN) in order to register a business name online through the ABN application or through ASIC Connect External Site. Q: What is an Australian Business Number? A: The Australian business number (ABN) is a unique 11 digit number that identifies a business or organisation to the government and community. Not everybody is entitled to one; hence, it is not compulsory. Q: Where should foreign companies register in Australia? A: Foreign companies must be registered with ASIC, the governing body responsible for the ongoing regulation of foreign companies. Q: What taxes do I need to pay if I open a business in Melbourne? A: The Australian tax year covers the period from July 1 to June 30 of succeeding year. After securing an Australian Business Number or ABN, registration with the Australian Tax Office follows for the payment of four basic business taxes in Melbourne, namely, goods and services, fringe benefits, pay-as-you-go withholding, and payroll taxes. Q: What are the legal requirements for opening a business in Melbourne? A: Expats who want to open a business in Melbourne should consult with the Australian Business License and Information Service (ABLIS) for information regarding the necessary licenses, permits, approvals, registrations, codes of practice, standards, and guidelines for setting up business in the city. Which particular requirements are needed will ultimately depend on the business type and target location. Q: What are the most attractive industries for investors in Melbourne today? A: Melbourne has many thriving industries, but as far as potential investments are concerned, the food, medical research, agricultural, tourism, cultural, financial services and manufacturing sectors are the most promising today. Q: What are typical business hours for establishments in Sydney? A: Generally, stores, shops, offices and other business establishments open at 9am and close at 5pm Mondays thru Fridays. Banks specifically are open from Mondays thru Thursdays from 9:30am to 5pm, and are closed on Fridays and weekends. On Saturdays, shops open a bit earlier at around 8:30am, and close a little earlier too at around 4pm. Stores that operate on Sundays are open from 9am to 4pm. Q: What are some of Sydney's best conference venues? A: There's a lot, especially those with an overlooking view of the world-famous Sydney Harbour. Over the last decade, Sydney has been host to many big international conferences and other major world events such as the International AIDS Society Conference and the 26th Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress. Q: Does Sydney have promising franchising opportunities for entrepreneurs? A: Yes, business franchising is a very promising industry in Sydney. In fact, there are many franchising expos held in the city every now and then, and one of the biggest has been scheduled for March 2015 at the Royal Hall of Industries on 1 Driver Avenue Moore Park. Q: Where can people find listings for children's events in Australia? Q: Which states have skiing resorts for families and children? A: There are only two states in Australia with ski resorts namely the New South Wales with Perisher and Thredbo and Victoria with Falls Creek, Mt Hotham and Mt Buller. Q: Where can families go with children in the Northern Territory? A: The Gold Coast is a goldmine for family activities family surrounded by theme parks and the vast stretch of the ocean. Families can also travel to Cairns and be awed by the Great Barrier Reef and engage in many activities such as snorkelling, scuba diving, etc. Q: Are public primary schools completely free in Melbourne? A: Public primary schools in Melbourne are free, but there is usually a voluntary school levy to be paid by each student per year. Government subsidy also excludes uniforms, extra-curricular activities and other miscellaneous expenses. Q: What types of child care facilities are available in Melbourne? A: There are basically four types of Melbourne childcare facilities, all of which accept kids up to the age of 6. These include private centers, community centers, family day care (up to a maximum of 4 preschool kids to be cared for in the carer's home), and home care (an au pair or nanny comes to the kids' home). Additionally, there are centers offering playgroups for parents who want to be around as their children socialize with other kids. Q: What are the usual requirements for enrolment in Melbourne schools? A: For expat children, requirements usually include a passport, birth certificate, contact details of parents or guardians, certificate of immunization, a description of the child's health and development history, and information regarding language or languages spoken by the child. Q: How are childcare services in Sydney? A: One thing most expats say about child care is Sydney is that it's expensive - around $70 – 125 per child per day. On top of that, waiting lists are also notorious for being really long, especially in highly populated areas. In eastern suburbs like Woolahra and Manly, it can be almost impossible to get a slot. Q: What sports activities are in store for expat kids in Sydney? A: Sydney offers a lot of opportunities for kids to develop their sports abilities. West of the city center is the famous Sydney Olympic Park where kids can enjoy facilities for swimming, walking, archery, trapeze and many others. At the Sydney Park and Centennial Park, kids can learn and master cycling. Of course, there are playgrounds everywhere for the younger kids. Q: Where do expats usually take their kids for tummy treats in Sydney? A: Sydney locals have a big thing for cafes, and the good thing is, even kids are well accommodated. In fact, a lot of restaurants offer children a separate menu that is more suited to their tastes. China Town at the city center is known for its yum cha or lunch meals which are usually served between 10am and 3pm. Kids love them and so does the rest of the family. Q: What is the average cost of medical insurance in Australia? need to pay for medical insurance? A: As most expats are not permanent residents; hence not qualified for Medicare, their option is to obtain a private medical life insurance, which can cost more than 500 AUD per month. Q: Which cities are considered to have a higher cost of living? A: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane are considered cosmopolitan cities and have a higher cost of living compared to other Australian cities. Q: What is the average rental accommodation costs? A: Rental costs in a good location in a cosmopolitan area starts at AUD 1000 for an unfurnished two-bedroom apartment to AUD 1,300 and more for a furnished two-bedroom apartment. Q: What do people in Melbourne spend the biggest chunk of their budgets on? A: People pay the most for accommodation in Melbourne. In the city center, for instance, rentals can go as high as 450 AUD per week for a one-bedroom apartment. Q: How much do basic utilities cost in Melbourne? A: A lot of expats are still surprised to know that the city is prone to extremely cold winters and extremely hot summers. The average utility bill of an average Melbourne household is about AUD1800 a year, including gas and electricity costs, plus around 500 AUD yearly for water. Q: Is "eating out" expensive or cheap in Melbourne? A: Melbourne has many fine dining restaurants where bills can rack up to the hundreds, but there are also several places where people can enjoy great food for so much less. Both in the city center and in outlying areas, there are diners that offer superb food for a little more than the cost of a fast food meal. In Melbourne, 15 AUD for a sumptuous dinner is usual. Q: How much is an apartment rental in Sydney? A: Most of a Sydney resident's monthly cost of living goes to rent. A one-bedroom apartment in the city costs around $450 to $550 weekly, and a two-bedroom apartment will probably start at around $650 weekly. Q: How much do people pay for household utilities in Sydney? A: A usual electricity and gas bill in Sydney costs around $5 - 15 per week, and around $30 per week for a landline. For Internet, the range is from $40-70 monthly, depending on the period of the contract and gigabytes of data provided. Q: How does Sydney compare with other world-class cities in terms of cost of living? A: According to the 2011 Economist Intelligence Unit, Sydney is at least 28 % more expensive to live in than London, and around 45% costlier than New York. Q: What is Australia's Medicare and what does it cover? A: Medicare is a free service available to Australian and New Zealand citizens and permanent visa holders. Medical coverage include free treatment and accommodation as a patient in a public hospitals, and 75% of the Medicare Schedule fee for services and procedures if you are a private patient in a public or private hospital. Q: Where can one find children's hospitals in Australia? A: In Queensland, one can go to Mater Children's Hospital, Royal Children's Hospital, Herston. In New South Wales, there is the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney Children's Hospital and John Hunter Children's Hospital. In Victoria, Royal Children's Hospital and Monash Children's Hospital cater to any children medical emergencies. Q: Is it recommended to get a private health insurance? A: Expats who do not have Medicare are encouraged to get a private health insurance. And even with Medicare, there are specific treatments that are not covered such as dental and optical services. Q: Can foreigners receive Medicare insurance cover while staying in Melbourne? Q: What are the medical emergency assistance numbers in Melbourne? A: For fire, police, or medical emergencies, 000 is the free hotline to call in Melbourne. However, ambulance transport is not free in the city or anywhere in Australia, but there are preneed companies that offer plans exempting holders from fees. For round-the-clock nurse-on-call services, Melbourne residents can call 1300 60 60 24. Q: What are the health insurance options available for foreigners in Melbourne? A: Non-Medicare-covered expats in Melbourne have three options to get medical coverage while in the city: an employer-provided company insurance plan, international medical insurance that meets requirements of the Australian medical insurance industry, and a private insurance plan purchased in Melbourne. When deciding which plan to buy, it is important to pay attention to policy provisions on pre-existing conditions, waiting periods and pharmaceutical benefits. Q: How accessible are Sydney hospitals? A: There are around 50 public hospitals and clinics right within the city center, and most of them provide specialist services or are connected with major research centers. Additionally, there are also many privately run hospitals both at the city center and around suburban areas. The Ministry of Health website provides a lot of helpful tips and information about health services in the city, and offers a search function for those who are looking for a medical facility near them. Q: What are common exclusions to a typical health insurance plan in Sydney? A: It depends on the policy and the insurer, but the most common exclusions are dental and physiotherapy care, along with ambulance transport, visual aids, and prescription drugs. Government subsidies, however, have made the prices of medicines generally cheaper in Sydney and in all other parts of the country, compared to the rest of the world. Q: How does public health insurance work in Sydney, and does it cover expats? A: As with any part of Australia, Sydney offers a public healthcare system to all residents through a program called Medicare. The plan, financed through taxes via the Medicare levy, covers all medical treatments received in public hospitals, and all other costs associated with treatment obtained from out-of-hospital GPs or specialists. Unfortunately, only expats who have become Australian citizens or permanent residents are covered by this system. Q: What are the documents needed when renting an apartment or a house? A: One must prepare proof of identity (passport/ birth certificate/ drivers license, proof of income e.i. bank statements for the last three months, previous rental agreements (if there's any) and references e.i. employer or previous landlord. Q: What are the useful online site for finding accommodations and property rentals? Q: How much is the typical deposit when renting a flat? A: There is no standard for how much rent has to be paid in advance to the landlord; tenant and landlord has to come in agreement with the payment terms. But tenant must pay the first fortnight/month's rent and a bond, equivalent to a one month's rent. Q: How much do houses in Melbourne cost? A: Houses in Melbourne can vary wildly in prices, but as of March 2014, the median price was $652,500 for detached homes and $499,000 for apartments. Q: What are houses like in Melbourne? A: Houses in Melbourne are either free-standing or attached buildings, can be anywhere from a few months to 150 years old, and are typically built from concrete, timber or brick. On average, a home in the city will have four bedrooms, a maximum of two bathrooms, a kitchen, living area, and laundry room. Bigger ones have more than one living area and come with a garage. Q: Are foreign nationals allowed to own real estate in Melbourne? A: Yes, as a non-citizen or permanent resident, permission from the Foreign Investment Review Board must first be obtained. It usually takes 40 days for the FIRB to send a reply, but in unusual circumstances, it could take longer depending on how much time is needed to resolve the issue or issues involved. Q: What is the most elite neighborhood in Sydney? A: Edgecliff, Double Bay, Darling Point and Vaucluse, all found in the eastern suburbs, are the most expensive neighborhoods in Sydney, where median luxury apartments cost around $ 1.35 million. Q: Which part of Sydney offers the cheapest housing? A: Houses in Sydney are generally expensive, but in Tregear (near Blacktown), some properties are becoming increasingly popular for their relatively lower prices. The median house price is around $240, making the area a perfect place for families who are just starting to establish themselves in the city. Q: What is the usual monthly interest rate for a mortgage in Sydney? A: This depends on various factors such as the property's market value, the loaner's capacity to pay, etc. In most cases, however, Sydney mortgage homes are paid with a monthly interest rate of about 4-5%, or 5-6% for more expensive homes. Q: What are Australia's best beaches? A: There's Bondi Beach in Sydney to start with; Victoira has Bells Beach while new South Wales boast of Byron Bay. Q: What are the top attractions in Australia? A: The Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Harbour, Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia’s wineries, Tasmania's Port Arthur are among the many attractions that draw travellers and tourists across the world to visit Australia. Q: When is the best time to visit the Great Barrier Reef? A: It's during June to November when the weather is mild that makes it the best time to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Q: Any ideas for cheap but worthwhile entertainment in Melbourne? A: There are many cheap entertainment options in Melbourne. Halftix is an agency that sells discounted tickets for tours, concerts and other events in the city, and its office is located at the Melbourne Town Hall Administration (Swanston Street around the corner of Collins Street). However, tickets can only be bought personally and strictly for cash. Ticketmaster and Ticketek are two other popular ticket agencies in the city. Q: Do they have carting venues in Melbourne? A: Yes. There are many carting venues around Melbourne, and particularly popular among teenage boys is Auscarts. This is a modern indoor carting venue just five minutes away from the city centre. Drivers need to be at least thirteen to be able to race, and there's a 145- 200-cm height requirement. The carts can take a maximum load of 145kilos. Q: What types of entertainment are available for families in Melbourne? A: There's this game called room escape that's currently making waves in Melbourne today. People come in groups and are put together in one room to solve different challenges so they can escape within a certain number of minutes. The games are fun and challenging at the same time, combining intuition, teamwork, logic, and analytical skills. Room escape is also a growing trend for corporate team-building activities. One favorite venue is Exitus located at the Port of Melbourne. Q: What's in store for music and theater lovers in Sydney? A: The music and theater circuit in Sydney is rich and colorful. The internationally famous Sydney Opera House is actually the number one choice for the biggest classical and pop events held by international artists in Australia. Q: What outdoor activities are popular in Sydney? A: With Sydney's bright and sunny weather, outdoor activities are very popular in the city, especially among the youth. There are at least 400 public playgrounds, parks and other open, natural spaces which are commonly used for sports like running and cycling, as well as for outdoor recreation like barbecues and picnics. Q: Is Sydney a good place for garden hobbyists and those who like natural attractions? A: Absolutely! In fact, there are 15 community gardens which are very popular among tourists and expats. These places feature a wide variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables, and lovely flowers. Of course, sunbathers and surfers will love the city's sun and beaches, along with the beautiful and sprawling national parks that surround the metropolis. Q: What are the best means to find job openings in Australia? A: Dailies such as The Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald regularly publish job listings and advertisements in the employment sections. The local and community newspapers also have job listings, but not extensive. Online job portals are also a good source of job listings and one can opt to register with a recruitment agencies. Q: What information must be included in one's CV/Resume when applying for jobs in Australia? A: A CV/Resume must consist of 2-4 pages long, which must include the candidate's contact details, complete list of work experience from the most recent to the least recent, skill set, duties within your list of positions and character reference. Q: Which industries demand skilled workers and professionals? A: Engineering, ICT, Biotechnology and Healthcare are among the sectors that have several opportunities for skilled workers and professionals. Q: What jobs are most in demand in Melbourne today? A: Employment trends come and go in Melbourne. Currently, there is a high demand for chemists, veterinarians, electrical engineers, welders, plumbers, software engineers, pastry cooks, and midwives. Foreign nationals who want to apply for a skilled migrant visa must ensure that their overseas qualifications are officially evaluated. Q: How much do expats usually make in Melbourne? A: How much an expat makes in Melbourne depends on the type of job he has. So far, the highest paid expats in the city are those who work in the health and medical sector, where professionals make around 4,900 to 5,000 AUD annually. This is followed by electrical and electronics trade professionals who typically rake in up to 4,800 AUD at the end of the year. Architects make around 3,800 AUD, while cleaning and housekeeping staff receive some 3,600 AUD. These are all estimates, but they create a realistic picture of how much expats are making in Melbourne today. Q: How do people usually get to and from work in Melbourne? A: Workers in Melbourne do not go to work on a ferry like those in Sydney, but the daily commute in the city is considered far more convenient than in London, Tokyo, or New York. However, expats whose jobs involve long-distance traveling need to be patient as it can take a while to get to Melbourne, even coming from Sydney which is about an hour's flight away. Q: Which sectors offer the most job opportunities in Sydney today? A: Sydney is the reigning financial hub of the country where 25% of the national GDP is sourced. Jobs are most abundant in the property and business services, manufacturing, retail, health, and community services sectors, along with information, creative and performing arts and media and technology. The city's tourism industry has also been a steady provider of employment, especially for foreign nationals. Q: What common qualifications and skills are needed for one to work in Sydney? A: A basic requirement is English proficiency and passing an official skills assessment for those applying for Australian working visas. More specific requirements will depend on individual visa categories and subcategories, which have their own skills evaluation programs in place. Q: What do people usually wear to the office in Sydney? A: Business attire for corporate workers is essentially conservative in Sydney. A dark-colored, modestly designed suit is the norm for men, and a modestly designed suit or smart dress is expected to be worn by women. This is in contrast to Brisbane and other tropical parts of Australia where people can wear shirts and shorts even to corporate affairs. Q: What is the Australian Tax Office? A: The Australian Tax Office (ATO) handles all taxation and any other tax related issues an expat may have. Q: What is the GST Tax in the country? A: There is a 10% GST in Australia, which are already included in the price of goods at purchase. Q: Is the Tax File Number compulsory? A: No, obtaining a Tax File Number is not compulsory. However, it is encouraged to get a TFN to avoid paying tax withheld and to be eligible for government benefits. Q: What denominations does the Australian dollar come in, and how are they used? A: The local currency in Australia is issued in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and 100 AUD, 50 AUD, 20 AUD, 10 AUD and 5 AUD. All of these are commonly used in day-to-day transactions. The 100 AUD note, however, is less frequently used, and it may be refused by the smaller shops if you're making a small purchase. It's often wise to have more supply of the lower value notes. Q: How much cash is a foreigner allowed to bring to Melbourne? A: A foreigner who arrives in Melbourne carrying at least 10,000 AUD or an equivalent amount in a foreign currency has to fill out and sign a Cross-Border Movement – Physical Currency (CBM-PC) form. If asked at the border, he should also inform the officer if he is carrying any bearer negotiable instruments or BNI's, such as travel cheques, money orders, promissory notes and the like. Though BNIs have no face value, they still have to be disclosed. Q: What credit cards are accepted in Melbourne? A: American Express and Travelex are the two most frequently accepted cards in Melbourne. In larger stores, JCB cards may also be accepted. All of these cards can be cashed at foreign exchange centers, banks, car rental agencies and the bigger hotels. A foreigner must present a passport when cashing traveler's cheques. Major cards like Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Diners Club, etc. usually charge varying fees. Q: What are the best options for foreign currency exchange in the city? A: Money exchange is done in most of the key banks in the city, at small money exchange kiosks dotting Kings Cross and Circular Bay, and in hotels and casinos. Q: Are ATMs well-distributed around Sydney? A: Yes, everywhere in Sydney, there will be ATMs, but most are found in touristy areas or business centers. Note that most ATMs only accept international cards, both credit and debit. Q: How often do people use cash in Sydney? A: Credit cards are often used in Sydney for bigger purchases such as electronic gadgets and sometimes even cars, while cash is usually the only mode of payment accepted for smaller transactions such as bus ticket purchases or buying in smaller stores. Q: What are the best online stores in the country for furniture, kitchen appliances and other household items? A: Online sites for furniture and household item include kmart.com.au, bigw.com.au, target.com.au and IKEA.com.au. Q: Is Australia a family-friendly country? A: Absolutely, the country proves to be an excellent place to raise a family especially when it comes to property houses, health services and education. Children can spend recreational time outdoors in large open space and in a nearby beach while parents can benefit from various government schemes for financial emergencies. Q: When does summer start in Australia and the subsequent seasons? A: Summer happens during December to February. Fall/Autumn is around March to May and winter arrives by June until August. It is best to travel or relocate to Australia during Spring from September to November. Q: Is Melbourne a good city for expat retirees? A: Yes. In fact, Melbourne is now a top destination for retirees, along with other key cities like Sydney. This trend has even led the federal government to make a number of retirement visa types available. The first requirement for obtaining a retiree visas is that the applicant is at least 55 years old. Q: How is the weather in Melbourne? A: Weather in Melbourne can switch from rainy and sunny several times a day. A phenomenon known as "cool change," characterized by a sudden shift in the wind direction that causes a dramatic drop in temperature, is known to occur. On a sunny morning, it can get as hot as 40 degrees Celsius, but in a few hours, this can drop to 18 degrees Celsius. Other days, temperatures can dip below freezing points. Q: Which parts of Melbourne are hay fever-safe? A: A study of Melbourne municipalities shows that asthma rates are the highest in Wyndham and the lowest in Marybirnong. There is no conclusive evidence relating this to hay fever, but it may be a good point to consider. Bayside suburbs are also said to be anti-hay fever. Q: What's the cost of hiring a removalist in Sydney? A: This depends on the moving company and the amount of load to be moved. However, the most common rates fall between $140-165 per hour, for a service package that normally includes two professional removalists and one truck. Q: What is one basic tip all people planning to move to Sydney should know? A: The most basic thing to remember when moving to Sydney is sun protection. A lot of tourists and expats take this for granted, but Sydney's sun can be quite harsh, especially to those who are not used to it. Temperatures can go up to over 40 degrees Celsius on an ordinary day, and this can be very hazardous. There even schools (most, if not all) that have a strict no-hat-no-play policy, which means children will not be allowed to go out and play unless they wear something on their heads for protection. Sunscreen is a definite must, and so are cool, cotton shirts which help to regulate body temperature. Q: Which is wiser - importing household goods to Sydney or buying new ones after relocation? A: At the outset, household goods shipment can be very expensive, but this proves to be more economical later on than having to buy all new stuff upon arriving in Sydney. What's important is that enough research is done before choosing a shipping company, as there are many potential risks involved in goods transport. Costs are often based on weight, cubic dimensions, or both. Q: What are the requirements for relocating a pet? A: When relocating to Australia with a pet, one must strictly adhere to the following: an ISO 11784/11785 compliant ISO microchip, a rabies vaccination within one year of entry, blood Titer Test (RNATT) no sooner than 180 days prior to entry. (Have your veterinarian scan your pet's microchip prior to the titer test) and import Permit, a USDA (or CFIA) accredited veterinarian must then complete the Australia Veterinary Certificate for endorsement by the USDA or CFIA if travelling from the United States or Canada. All pets must travel as manifest cargo will need a health certificate issued within 10 days of travel. Q: Do dogs and cats need to be quarantined when transported to Australia? A: Australia requires dogs and cats a minimum of 10 days quarantine except for pets travelling from New Zealand, Norfolk Island or Coco Island. Q: Which breeds are restricted in the country? A: Restricted dog breeds are Dog Argentino, Fila Brazileiro, Japanese Tosa, Pit Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull and Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canario. Q: What are the requirements for admitting pets into Melbourne, Australia? A: Requirements generally include a rabies blood test performed within 150 days before entry to Australia. If this requirement is satisfied, the pet will only be quarantined for 30 days. Pets may travel to Australia 2 months following the blood test, but the quarantine period will be longer. Q: How much do dog boarding facilities in Melbourne cost? A: Melbourne dog boarding services cost around $45-50 each. For every pair of dogs, the fee is around $75-90, depending on various factors such as location and facilities. Q: Are there special rules for having dogs in Melbourne? A: Yes. The most important requirement is registering dogs with the Melbourne council, and this registration is to be renewed annually. After registration, the dog owner will receive a certificate, along with an identification tag that bears the pet's registration number as well as the council's name. This tag must be worn by the animal at all times. Failure to register dogs in Melbourne can mean a fine of up to $500, while abandoning a dog can cost the owner up to $ 1,000. Q: Are pets allowed in Sydney trains? A: Animals are generally not allowed inside trains in Sydney, but there are three exceptions: police/security dogs, animals trained to assist disabled passengers and animals undergoing assistance training. Q: How and where are pet-related complaints lodged in Sydney? A: For pet-related issues such as excessive barking, property damage, people-chasing, etc., complaints may be lodged by calling 02 9265 9333. Response from a city ranger can be expected within 24 hours, and if the problem continues, a nuisance order will be served to the pet owner. Depending on the case, fines can range from $275-880. Q: Why are vet fees very expensive in Sydney? A: It's because there is no government subsidy for pet care in Sydney, so that pet owners feel like they are paying too much for vet services. While humans are covered by Medicare, animals are not. This is why it's important to take the time to research on different vets in the city so that comparisons may be made. Q: At what age can children go to Primary School? A: As early as 5, children can go to Primary school in Australia. Q: Are state/public schools open to foreigners? A: In general, state schools are open and accessible to foreigners. Q: What are the high-ranking universities in Australia? A: Based on the QS World University Rankings 2013/14, the high-ranking universities are the Australian National University (ranked 27 in the world; 1st in Australia), the University of Melbourne (ranked 31 in the world; 2nd in Australia) and University of Sydney (ranked 38 in the world; 3rd in Australia). Q: What is the general calendar followed by schools in Melbourne? A: Schools in Melbourne have a total four terms per school year, beginning late January up to early December. Summer and Christmas holidays are combined in one stretch. Q: How much is the average in terms of Melbourne school fees? A: Fees vary significantly from one school to another, so parents are advised to consult schools directly when asking for information regarding tuition fees. On average, yearly fees per private school amount to around $ 20,000. In public schools, tuition is free for permanent residents and those who hold a 457 visa. However, other expenses such as uniforms, fees for school trips, etc. have to be paid out of pocket. An enrollee classified as an international student has to pay full fees, and this status must be indicated in his or her passport. Q: What are the best schools in Melbourne? A: Schools in the Eastern suburbs such as Donvale, Blackburn and Park Orchards are good to consider because they are cheaper than those in the inner city, yet competitive in terms of quality of education. Note that government-run primary schools follow very strict zoning requirements. For example, parents must be able show proof of residence within a particular school zone before they can enroll their kids in a school within that zone. Q: What is the reputation of public schools in Sydney? A: Sydney (and Australia in general) boasts of public schools that are ranked 9th in world education survey of the Programme for International Student Assessment or Pisa. Under the same programme, UK ranks 25th and the US 17th. Q: Do kids wear school uniforms in Sydney? A: Yes, all Sydney schools - public, private, Catholic, Anglican, or Jewish - require students to wear school uniforms. Aside from skirts for girls and trousers for boys, a hat, sports jacket, backpack, and shorts are also included. Black, lace up shoes are the usual footwear, but they tend to be expensive in Sydney. Parents are advised to buy at least two pairs for each child before the move. Q: Are there special requirements for 457 visa holders when enrolling in a Sydney school? A: Yes, there are special enrolment requirements for 457 visa holders, and not all schools in Sydney accept 457 visa holders. It is important to contact a school directly and inquire. Q: What are the most popular department stores in Australia? A: Across the country, one can find David Jones, Harris Scarfe, Myer, Barsby's, Hanna's and Stewart's. Q: What is the biggest grocery store in the country? A: Woolworths and Wesfarmers are the heavyweights when it comes supermarket sales. Q: Which online site does Aussies go to for product reviews? A: Sites such as productreview.com.au and myshopping.com.au are the go-to sites amongst the locals. Q: Where do I go to shop for clothes in Melbourne? A: Melbourne is actually known for being Australia's fashion capital so there are many malls and boutiques dotting the city. In the CBD, some of the world's best designers in the likes of Louis Vuitton have shops lining the entire Little Collins Street. Melbourne Central is a popular shopping mall, along with Bourke Street Mall. For famous Australian brands, people usually troop to Emporium. Q: Are there are any cheap shopping districts in Melbourne? A: Definitely! DFO Outlets Centre found at South Wharf (near Yarra River's southern bank) is perfect for discount shoppers. Elizabeth Street is also perfect for backpackers looking for high-quality yet cheap outdoor products. Q: At what times do stores in Melbourne usually open and close? A: Shopping in Melbourne usually starts at 9am and ends at 5:30pm on weekdays, and runs from 9am (sometimes later) to 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Most shops in the suburbs like Chadstone close later - usually up to 9pm - on Thursdays and Fridays. At supermarkets, opening time is usually 7am and closing time could well go beyond midnight. Of course, there are those that are open round-the-clock. Q: What are the best places to shop in Sydney? A: The city practically crawls with shopping districts like Westfield Sydney, Pitt Street Mall, the Queen Victoria Building, The Strand and Sydney Central Plaza. These shopping centers are joined together by pedestrian malls and walkways, and that makes it a whole lot easier for shoppers to get around. Anything, from chocolates to antiques, can be found in these shopping havens. Q: Where are art pieces usually sold in Sydney? A: The city has a long line of art galleries, but a very popular favorite is Aboriginal Art Galleries which features the indigenous works of more than 140 artists, including Dorothy Napangardi, Minnie Pwerle, and a lot more. Sculptures, artifacts, and more aboriginal art pieces can be found and purchased in these galleries which have two locations within the city - Queen Victoria Building and Opera Quays. Q: What are the best places in Sydney to buy antiques? A: There are lots of antique shops in Sydney, mostly located in shopping areas such as Paddington Double Bay, and Woollahra, especially around Sotheby’s. For cheaper antiques, the Sydney Antique Center in Surry Hills along South Dowling Street houses more than 50 smaller shops that sell all types of items, from chinaware to ancient animal carvings. Q: What are the major telecoms in the country? A: The biggest among the telcos is Telstra, which also owns the majority of landline infrastructure. Coming second is Optus, which is a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications. A: In a month, Internet cost is around AUD 80-100, either uncapped ADSL or cable. Q: What are the requirements to sign up for a mobile or Internet plan? A: Requirements vary for each telcos. In general, one must have an identification with proof of address, complete contact details, a residential address, a delivery address (applicable for phones), proof of employment, study or pension benefits, and a direct debit from an Australian bank account or credit card. Q: What telecom companies are most trusted in Melbourne? A: Five of the most trusted telecom companies in Melbourne include AAPT Cellular One Ltd, Soul, Optus, Digiplus, and Telstra. These companies offer broadband technology, wireless broadband and 3G communications networks across the city. Q: How much do people in Melbourne spend for telecom services in the city? A: People in Melbourne typically pay more for telecom services than residents of other Australian cities. For example, for the average use of an ADSL broadband plan of 50 gigabytes per month, the bill may amount to around 100 AUD with a big telecom company. For a plan with a duration of less than two years, a subscriber may have to pay some 100 AUD in set up fees. For landlines, most households usually pay about 20 AUD monthly, while mobile phone plans normally cost around 70 AUD monthly. Q: What are the free local TV stations in Melbourne? A: Yes. In fact, there are six free TV stations, along with pay-to-view TV. The free TV stations available in the city are Channel 7, Channel 9, and Channel 10, along with ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s national network, and Channel 31 and SBS which both feature foreign language programs. Q: What are the best Internet service providers in Sydney? A: Most people in Sydney use either iiNet, TPG or iPrimus which are considered the best Internet service providers in the city. Q: Are 4G phone services available in Sydney? A: Yes. In fact, over 75% of the city's metropolitan area has facilities that enable the use of 4G phones and other gadgets. It is projected that by April of 2015, at least 90% of the city will be able to use 4G technology. Q: How much does Internet service cost in Sydney? A: Different ISPs charge different rates, but usually for about the same quality of services. The monthly cost ranges from $40-70, depending on the period of the contract, with a choice of 12, 18 and 24 months, and data volume provided, usually from 20 - 500 GB. Some companies offer unlimited Internet for around $60 monthly. Q: What are the modes of public transportation in Australia? A: As one of the liveliest places to live, Australia has one of the extensive public transportation networks; most of its cities have trains, buses, monorail, trams and private taxis. Most expats working in the city use public transport on a daily basis, and it's the best way for travellers to get around the city. Q: Can you travel the whole country via train? Q: What is the process for personal vehicle registration in Australia? A: Vehicle need to be registered right away in the owner’s state of residence (and not where the vehicle was purchased). State agencies handle the whole process, but usually it's the Road Transport Authorities, which is responsible for motor vehicle inspection and registration, and driver licensing service. Q: How much does a cab cost in Melbourne? A: This depends on the passenger's current location and destination. The average cost of a taxi going to or from the city center is around 55 AUD. Two other factors that affect the final bill are traffic and the time of day. Taxis in Melbourne also charge higher at night. Q: How do people get around Melbourne? A: Most people in Melbourne prefer to get around using the public transport system. Aside from being cheaper (only 7 AUD a day for a public transport ticket), commuters are also able to avoid dealing with fluctuating fuel prices and high parking fees (over 10AUD), not to mention traffic jams. Expats who live in outlying areas naturally have to spend more for transportation. Q: What license does a non-local need to drive in Melbourne? A: An expat is allowed to drive in Melbourne using the driver's license issued to him in his home country. However, this is only good for up to three months after the issuance of his Australian visa. After such period, he has to pass a local driving test to be able to continue driving in the city. If his original license was issued in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK or USA, he may simply swap that license with a Victorian license, and there will be no driving tests required. Q: What is the traffic situation in Sydney? A: Traffic in Sydney is busy all the time, and traveling by car is often preferable outside of weekday peak hours. City roads are most congested from 6:30AM-9:30AM, and those leading to the suburbs are the busiest between 4:30PM and 6:30PM. Q: Do kids get discounts at public transport fares in Sydney? A: Yes. Any passenger aged 15 years below is usually given discounts on most public transport vehicles. The age limit for discounts on Matilda ferries, however, is 14. Kids 3 years old and below can travel completely free. For Matilda ferries, the age limit is 4 years and younger. Q: Where can people buy bus tickets in Sydney? A: Bus tickets are available at corner shops, post offices, 7/11's, transit stores and news bureaus. Note that between 7am and 7pm, people cannot buy tickets while on board buses within the city, or in any of the key transport corridors. Sometimes, especially on weekends, tickets may be purchased from the driver on non- Prepay Only bus routes. Q: What are the documents that foreigners need to present upon arrival in Australia? A: Foreigners travelling to Australia need to present upon entry a valid passport or other acceptable travel document, a valid visa, and a completed and signed Incoming Passenger Card. Q: Any recommended reference to travellers to Australia? A: A good reference is the Lonely Planet book on AU and Citysearch.com website for Sydney attractions. Q: When is the cheapest season to travel to Australia? A: Winter months from June to August would be the cheapest time to travel. Q: What are the health risks commonly associated with travel to Melbourne? A: In terms of common diseases, there are no major risks in Melbourne today. In the last few years, however, there were minor epidemics of pertussis or whooping cough that affected children in suburban areas. As a general precaution, expats moving to the city with kids are advised to ensure that immunizations are kept up to date. Q: What is Melbourne's weather like and what preparations are necessary for those traveling to the city? A: Expats should remember to take along the right clothing for the city's rather unpredictable weather. Generally, it's wise to bring along enough sunscreen, a sun visor and UV protective clothing when possible, as the Australian sun can be a bit piercing. Q: What vaccinations are advised for people traveling to Melbourne? A: There are no special vaccinations advised for people traveling to Melbourne, but booster shots for tetanus and polio are highly recommended. Elderly expats must have flu shots as well, and those who are coming to work in medical settings should get immunization for hepatitis. Q: When is the best time to travel to Sydney and enjoy its beaches? A: Summer, which runs from December to February, is the best time to enjoy the city's fabulous beaches. However, temperatures can go as high as over 40°C, so sunscreen is an absolute must. From March to May, which is autumn, it can still be good and warm but not all the time for those who are mainly planning to hit the beach. Q: Are their coach services in Sydney? A: Yes. There are coach companies in Sydney driving to all key Australian cities and many NSW regional centers. The terminal is located adjacent to the train station in the City South. Many tourists prefer to travel by coach because it is cheaper and runs faster. Q: What's the best way to see and marvel at Sydney's harbor and other attractions? A: Most travelers agree that the best way is to take a ferry east from Circular Quay all the way to Taronga Zoo, Manly or west down below the Harbor Bridge, and on towards Parramatta. All of these are affordably priced and are favorites of many tourists. For a shorter route, it's best to take the ferry between Darling Harbor and Circular Quay for a ride below the Harbor Bridge. Q: What are the types of Visitor's Visa in Australia? A: Visitor's Visa include Subclass 976 for tourists and travellers visiting for less than three months, and for passport holders from a designated list of nations while Subclass 651 is for European/UK passport holders visiting Australia for three months or less; on the other hand, Subclass 676 is for passport holders who do not qualify for a subclass 976 or subclass 651; and Subclass 679 is for those who wish to visit a family member in Australia for 12 months or less. Q: What is the Employer-Sponsored Work Visa? A: There are three categories which fall under the Employer-Sponsored Work Visa: 1) Standard Business Sponsorship for employers who want to bring a working from overseas provided that they can justify that no Australian employee is available 2) Educational visa sponsored by an institution for teachers and education workers from overseas 3) Medical practitioner visa sponsored either by a hospital or by a small rural community/ local council for trained doctors. Q: How does one apply for Australian citizenship? A: One can apply for Australian citizenship if you have been living in Australia on a valid visa for four years immediately before applying; this should also include the previous 12 months as a permanent resident in the country and has not left Australia for more than one year in total and no more than 90 days in the year before applying. Q: What is the population of permanent resident visa holders in Melbourne ? A: As of 2013, almost 25% of Melbourne's population is composed of migrants from over 180 countries, and the city actually has the second biggest Asian population in Australia. There are no specific figures, however, as to how many or what percent of this population holds permanent resident status. Nonetheless, as expected, there are many embassies and consulates spread all over the city, providing immigration-related assistance to their citizens from such countries as the US, UK, Denmark, Finland, China, Taiwan, Mauritius and about 35 others. Q: Where can a permanent resident visa holder apply for an Australian passport in Melbourne? A: Applications may be forwarded to the Australian Passport Office (APO) in Melbourne which has moved to a new location: Level 2, Collins Square, 747 Collins Street, Docklands. The APO in Melbourne also offers Australian Passport Information Service through the hotline, 131 232. Q: Where can fraudulent migrant visa agents be reported in Melbourne? A: Reports may be filed in person at the Melbourne Visa Office at Casselden Place, 2 Lonsdale Street, or phoned in at the national hotline, 1800 009 623. Q: Is it possible to enter Sydney on an ETA visa? A: Yes, but it is only good for a three-month stay, and it does not appear in the passport as it is electronically processed and saved. ETAs are often used by people who come to Sydney on a study program, or a short-term business or tourism-related event. Q: How long is the processing time for an ETA visa? A: ETA visas are usually given automatically as soon as all details have been submitted. A visa grant notification will usually be sent to the applicant in seconds. However, in some cases, processing can take longer due to three possible scenarios - incorrect information has been entered in the application, the applicant has a criminal conviction, or the application has been forwarded to the Australian High Commission. Q: What are the options for someone who wants to work in Sydney? A: Foreign nationals who want to work in Sydney can apply for a Working Holiday visa which is good for a maximum of two years. Those who would like to live permanently in the city can forward an application to Australia’s General Skilled Migration program. The applicant will then be assessed based on a points system which takes into consideration various factors such as age, qualifications, etc. If a person gets a job offer from a Sydney-based company while visiting the city, he or she may apply for a Temporary Residence visa. However, the prospective employer must be able to provide evidence that there are no local candidates qualified for the position. If sufficient proof has been presented, the company may sponsor the worker for up to four years.

2019-04-19T08:45:10Z

http://www.expatfinder.com/australia/expat-guides/faq

During the 2019 Easter Bank Holiday, we are running a promotion. For more information about our promotion's terms and conditions, please click here. We are the 'data controller' of your data which you may supply to us. We make decisions about how your personal data is used. We are entirely open about our information gathering practices and will respond to requests sent to us within a reasonable period of time. If you have any queries about our use of your personal data, we can be contacted by email here. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) impacts how organisations record, store and use personal data. This legislation is designed to give you, as 'data subjects', greater control and new rights over how organisations record, store and use your data. We gather data when you browse, purchase, make enquiries or sign up for a newsletter either on our website or directly through a sales person. We also gather data during the staff recruitment process. We will not collect any information unless it is either specifically, knowingly and voluntarily provided by you or collected with your consent. The information we collect will be accurate and, so far as we are able to, kept up to date. You can check this at any time by contacting us and we will immediately correct any inaccuracies you report. We keep to a minimum the amount of information we hold. We use data to respond to enquiries, fulfil orders and provide information about our furniture (the lawful basis for this is “legitimate interest”). We also use data to complete transactions with you on our website, via phone sales and also via our showroom (the lawful basis for this is “contract”). We also use data to communicate with Visitors and Customers where they have signed up and opted in to receive information from us (the lawful basis for this is "consent"). We apply appropriate security mechanisms to protect personal data we hold. Our legitimate business interests are balanced with your interests, rights, freedoms and consent. We are the data controller of your personal data which we collect or you provide by making enquiries, requesting quotes or placing orders. There are certain types of event-specific emails that you will always receive from us, regardless of your contact permissions. These include confirmation of a purchase on our website, delivery notification of an order or if we require further information from you regarding delivery of an order. We may also contact you by phone regarding any of these. We also use personal data to fulfil contracts, to send goods you have bought, to prepare and send invoices and to collect payments. We will respect how you want to be contacted and about which areas of our brand. Equally, if we are asked to never contact you again, we will respect this decision although if it may impact our ability to perform a contract with you. On request we will remove your personal data from our database. You can check and update your contact preferences at any time by logging on to our website and visiting the ‘My account’ area. We suggest you do that now, so that we have your most up to date contact preferences and can continue to communicate with you in the way you would like. Our website and servers use RapidSSL SSLCertificates to offer secure communications by encrypting all data to and from the site and storage on our servers. RapidSSL has checked and verified the site's registered domain name. This website employs RapidSSL and industry-standard SSL to provide secure credit card transactions. SSL is a communications protocol for transmitting private information over the internet. It works by encrypting data that is transmitted over the SSL connection. When you place an order, your credit/debit card information is encrypted and then sent over the internet using an SSL connection. No one can read or access the data that is being transmitted. In addition to the company's safeguards, your personal data is protected in the UK by the Data Protection Act 1998 (the "Act"). The Act requires us, as registered Data Controllers, amongst other things to ensure that the data we hold about you should be processed lawfully and fairly. It should be accurate, relevant and not excessive. The information should, where necessary, be kept up to date and not retained for longer than is necessary. It should be kept securely to prevent unauthorized access by other people. We only hold personal data for as long as is necessary. We may retain and use information in order to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, prevent abuse and enforce our agreements. You may contact us anytime to opt-out of, (i) direct marketing communications, (ii) our collection of personal data. Please note that your use of our website may be ineffective upon opt-out and we may also not be able to perform contracts with you. You may request access to the data we hold about you at any time by contacting us directly. You can also contact us to update or correct any inaccuracies in your personal data. If you have contacted us and you need your personal information updated, you can contact us to change or delete your information. Your data is portable you can contact us to move your data we hold elsewhere. The cookies used on www.thesofaandchair.co.uk are explained below and based on the International Chamber of Commerce guide for cookie categories. Strictly necessary cookies allow you to use essential features of our site such as enabling you to order more easily. The essential features of our site require strictly necessary cookies so that we can remember your postcode and what is in your shopping basket whilst you continue to order products from our site and/or navigate to different pages of the site. We are also able to identify you as being logged in to www.thesofaandchair.co.uk and to ensure that you are able to access the appropriate features on our site. If you choose not to accept these cookies, you will be unable to use our site for ordering, claiming rewards, only for browsing. Performance cookies collect information about how you use our site so that we can improve the quality of our site and service. · help us improve the site by measuring usage information and any errors which occur during our users browsing experience. Functionality cookies used on our site provide you with improved browsing and site functionality whilst you are browsing for example, if you require help and assistance with your order or to enhance your future visits to our site, for example, log in. These cookies may share information with partners to provide services on our site. The information shared is only to be used to provide the service, product or function and not for any other purpose. Targeting & sharing cookies offer you a customised browsing experience by providing you with interest-based services both on this site and on some other websites too. Cookies which customise your browsing experience on our site only collect information by reference to the IP address that you are using. Some of these customised browsing experiences may be linked to services provided by third parties which provide these services for recognising that you have visited our site. This information is used to inform you of products and/or services which may be of interest to you or for services provided by our third-party partners. First party cookies are set by the website, you are visiting, and they can only be read by that site. For data collection and advertising targeting a cookie is saved on your device for the following purposes. Third party cookies are set by a different organisation to the owner of the website you are visiting. For example, the website might use a third-party analytics company who will set their own cookie to perform this service. We use these to improve our website UX, products, services and advertising. Below is a list of the cookies on sofaandchair.co.uk and details on how we use them. Analytics These cookies show us how you found our website and enable the function of Google Analytics which allows us to analyse visitor statistics such as visits, browser usage, shopping times and response to marketing activity. This helps us to improve our website and your shopping experience. Compatibility cookies These cookies determine whether your browser supports features on our website. Session Id Cookies This cookie allows us to respond to actions such as 'add to basket' - Necessary for the website to function. Cookies that recognize users These cookies help us to identify you and provides security when you are using our website. Google Ads for better advertising purposes, remarketing and similar audiences. Facebook for data collection, custom audiences, similar audiences, better targeting ads from Facebook and its partners. Some of the cookies used by our site are served by us, and some are served by third parties. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but, if you prefer, you can change your browser to prevent that or to notify you each time a cookie is set. You can also learn more about cookies by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org which includes additional useful information on cookies and how to block cookies using different types of browser. Please note, however, that by blocking or deleting cookies used on our site you may not be able to take full advantage of our site if you do so. 1.2 Please read these terms carefully before you submit you order to us. These terms tell you who we are, how we will provide products to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information. If you think that there is a mistake in these terms, please contact us to discuss. 1.3 These conditions shall apply to all contracts unless expressly varied in writing by us. Payment of deposit by you or writing confirmation is deemed to be acceptance of the contract as set out in these terms and conditions. 2.2 You can contact us by telephoning our customer service team at 0208 993 4415 or by writing to us at [email protected] or to 1 Western Avenue Business Park, Mansfield Road, London, W3 0BZ. 3.1 Our acceptance of your order will take place when we write to you to accept it at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us. 3.2 If we are unable to accept your order, we will inform you of this in writing and will not charge you for the product. This might be because the product is out of stock, because of unexpected limits on our resources which we could not reasonably plan for, because a credit reference we have obtained for you does not meet our minimum requirements, because we have identified an error in the price or description of the product or because we are unable to meet a delivery deadline you have specified. 3.4 Bespoke, standard bespoke and made to order agreements will be deemed accepted when you sign the purchase order and/or pay a deposit to confirm all details and specifications of your order. Also see clause 10. 4.1 The images of the products on our website and on our brochure are for illustrative purposes only. Although we have made every effort to display the colours accurately, we cannot guarantee that a display of the colours accurately reflects the colour of the products. Your product may vary slightly from those images. Although we have made every effort to be as accurate as possible, because our products are handmade, all sizes, weights, capacities, dimensions and measurements indicated on our website and brochure have a 3 % tolerance. 4.2 In relation to our products with hard edges, we reserve the right for up to 5mm variations. In relation to soft foam upholstery items, we reserve the right to variation of size up to 5% of the total size. 4.3 The packaging of the product may vary from that shown in images on our website and in our catalogue or brochure. 4.4 If we are making the product to measurements, you have given us you are responsible for ensuring that these measurements are correct. You can find information and tips on how to measure in our brochure or on our website, or by contacting us. 4.5 You are not able to buy ex-display / clearance products online. You may call our store and book a viewing subject to clause 8.10. 4.6 You are not able to place an order for bespoke products online. You may call our store and book a consultation. 5.1 If you wish to make a change to the product you have ordered online, over the phone or in store, please contact us. We will let you know if the change is possible. If it is possible, we will let you know about any changes to the price of the product, the timing of supply or anything else which would be necessary as a result of your requested change and ask you to confirm whether you wish to go ahead with the change. 6.2 More significant changes to the products and these terms. In addition, as we informed you in the description of the product in our brochure and/or our website, we may make changes to these terms or the product, but if we do so we will notify you. 6.3 All sizes of our products are nominal and may vary slightly. Sizes may be altered without notice in view of our policy of continuous improvement. If any size is critical to your project or requirements, please expressly state this on your order. Your failure to state size importance shall not give rise to any claims made by you. d. For fabric by the metre, before cutting, please check you have the required amount and there are no defects as we will not be liable for third party costs and other losses once cut and made up. e. All pattern repeats vary. They can be mirrored image, side matched or half-dropped across the width of the fabric. Please be aware at the time of selection the type of pattern repeats within the design you have selected. Pattern repeats have a tolerance of +/- 3 cm. 6.5 Any goods that require more than one width of fabric will have joins and seams. Any goods that have been altered by a third party or independently cannot be returned or refunded. Velvet, chains and cords on blinds fall in line with regulation and the length of the chain cannot be amended or specified. 6.6 For made to measure, whilst every effort is made to make your items to the exact measurements given; the make-up can vary by up to 3cm, which is the standard industry tolerance allowance. 6.7 Product colour and shade may vary from one manufacturing batch to another. This will be more apparent if orders are placed at different times. 6.8 Our fabrics are constructed with various natural yarns and synthetic fibres. Often there are slubs and natural weave irregularities, which enhance the final appearance of the fabric. It should be noted that this is not a defect and is an inherent characteristic of the cloth. Please note that an inherent characteristic of the Suede Collection is the 'bruised' appearance that may appear as slight creasing. 6.9 Please be aware that up to 3% shrinkage may occur due to variations in atmospheric conditions whilst in situ at the window, or during the first wash or dry clean. There is sufficient fabric available within the hems to enable any necessary adjustment in length. 6.10 Our curtains are carefully packed and despatched. Any folding of material will cause certain creases; in the case of velvet and man-made fibre material, these will drop out after hanging. Any folding of material for prolonged periods or any items left in the packaging for long period in times may result in long term creasing or may affect the fabric permanently. Cotton prints may need a cool iron. 6.11 The sale of our products to you does not confer any right of license upon you to use, exploit, or to otherwise utilise any intellectual property right subsisting in or relating to the goods of which we are otherwise entitled to. The unauthorised copying of any of our designs, which are protected by design copyright, may give rise to legal action. 7.1 The costs of delivery will be as told to you during the order process/ set out in our current price list and/or on our website. 7.2 During the order process, we will let you know when we will provide the products to you. If the products are ongoing services and subscriptions, we will also tell you during the order process when and how you can end the contract. We will deliver them to you as soon as reasonably possible and in any event, we will contact you with an estimated delivery date that will be within 8 weeks after the day on which we accept your order. If the products are one-off services. We will begin the services on the date agreed with you during the order process. The estimated completion date for the services is as told to you during the order process. If the products are ongoing services. We will supply the services, to you until either you end the contract as described in clause 8 or we end the contract by written notice to you as described in clause 9. 7.3 We are not responsible for delays outside our control. If our supply of the products is delayed by an event outside our control, then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. Provided we do this, we will not be liable for delays caused by the event, but if there is a risk of substantial delay, you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for any products you have paid for but not received. 7.4 Any delivery or collection date quoted is a genuine estimate and shall not be legally binding on the us. Scheduled deliveries will be rescheduled if the buyer fails to meet the payment terms under clause 12. 7.5 Time of delivery or collection shall not be the essence of the contract. We will not in any circumstances whatsoever be liable for indirect or consequential loss such as (but not limited to) loss of profit, pure economic loss, loss of market, loss of business, depletion of goodwill and similar loss, costs, damages, charges or expenses caused or the consequences of delay of delivery or collection, however caused. 7.6 It is your responsibility to ensure items purchased can fit through internal and external access points including and passages, stairwells, landings and doorways on the way to the destination room. We hold no responsibility for items not fitting in the premises and any rework or restocking fees will be payable by you prior to final delivery. 7.7 For delivery purposes, we can manufacture furniture for assembly on site in case there is restricted access to your premises. It is vital however that you give us this information when placing an order as later changes to the design will be charged. 7.8 Every effort will be made to ensure that the goods ordered by you arrive undamaged and without defect. Upon delivery or collection, you must sign the delivery/collection note. It is your responsibility to check the items to ensure the goods delivered or collected are as ordered, the correct quantity and that they are of satisfactory quality. In the event of any discrepancy whatsoever, you must notify us immediately upon delivery or collection by writing the discrepancy on the delivery note. Unfortunately writing “unexamined” or “unchecked” will not be acceptable. If the item is damaged, please retain the packaging. All claims for loss or damage must be made before the end of the next working day. In all events, the limits of liability for any fault or defect shall not exceed the purchase price of the item. 7.9 Our delivery team will unpack your furniture, install it in the room of your choice and if you wish we will remove all packing materials from your home and recycle wherever possible. We are not able to take away your old furniture. 7.10 If we are unable, for whatever reason, to deliver the goods on the confirmed delivery date, we reserve the right to charge you further for any subsequent deliveries. 7.11 If you have asked to collect the products from our premises, you can collect them from us at any time during our working hours of 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays (excluding public holidays). 7.12 If no one is available at your address to take delivery and the products cannot be posted through your letterbox, we will leave you a note informing you of how to rearrange delivery. 7.13 If you do not collect the products from us as arranged or if, after a failed delivery to you, you do not re-arrange delivery or collect them from a delivery depot we will contact you for further instructions and may charge you for storage costs and any further delivery costs. If, despite our reasonable efforts, we are unable to contact you or re-arrange delivery or collection we may end the contract and clause 9.2 will apply. 7.14 We will offer store the products for up to one (1) calendar month following completion of manufacture of your order, free of charge. Thereafter we reserve the right to apply a discretionary charge for on-going storage, which will be calculated at a rate of 2% of the total sold value of the products (including VAT) per calendar month, and pro-rata for any days or weeks within a monthly cycle, up to the date of delivery. 7.16 The product will be your responsibility from the time we deliver the product to the address you gave us or you collect it from us. 7.17 You own a product once we have received payment in full. Until you become the owner of the products, you shall not sell the products or part with possession of the products. We may, for purposes of recovery, enter any premises where the products are stored to recover them. 7.18 We may need certain information from you so that we can supply the products to you, for example, your name, address and contact number. If so, this will have been stated in the description of the products in our brochure. We may contact you in writing or on the phone to ask for this information. If you do not give us this information within a reasonable time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information, we may either end the contract (see clause 9.1) or make an additional charge of a reasonable sum to compensate us for any extra work that is required as a result. 7.20 If you do not pay us for the products when you are supposed to (see clause 11.3) and you still do not make payment within seven (7) days of us reminding you that payment is due, we may suspend supply of the products until you have paid us the outstanding amounts. We will contact you to tell you we are suspending supply of the products. 8.1 You can always end the contract for the supply of a product before it has been completed. You may contact us to end your contract for a product at any time before we have delivered it or completed supplying it and you have paid for it, but in some circumstances, we may charge you for doing so, as described below. Of course, you always have rights where a product is faulty or mis-described (see clause 10, “If there is a problem with the products”). 8.2 Unless you have a right to end the contract immediately, the contract will not end until payment is made in full for your order. 8.3 Subject to clause 8.5, you are able to return our products within fourteen (14) days beginning on the day after you receive the Products subject to the Products being properly packed and returned in the same unused condition supplied. Damaged goods cannot be accepted. 8.4 Exercising your right to change your mind (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013). For most products bought online, you have a legal right to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund. 8.6 If you end the contract after products have been dispatched to you and (because we cannot recall them) they are delivered to you, you must return them to us. Except when you are exercising your legal rights to end the contract because of something we have done wrong then we will pay the costs of return. In all other circumstances, you must pay the costs of return. 8.7 Returned items will be subject to restocking fees. A restocking fee is payable for any returned product. This may vary from 40% to 100% of the invoice value. Bespoke items are unique items made to your specification, for this reason carries a 100% charge, and is non-refundable. 8.8 Mattresses that have been removed from the original packaging cannot be returned. 8.9 Should you return a product and upon examination, we find that there is a discrepancy in the reason for the return of the product, then we shall reserve the right to refuse the credit. 8.10 Refunds, exchanges, or credit notes are not available for products sold on a promotional sale, special offer, bespoke products or products that are stated as “sold as seen” including ex-display products. Access and installation of such products is your sole responsibility. 8.11 If you cancel the Contract between us within 14 days, we will process the refund due to you as soon as possible and, in any case; within 30 days of the day, you gave notice of cancellation. In this case, we will refund the Product and any applicable delivery charges in full. However, you will be responsible for the cost of returning the item to us. 8.12 If a fault is discovered after you have exported the products outside United Kingdom, it is your responsibility to return the goods to the UK at your own cost for inspection. If a repair or replacement is produced by us, it will only be delivered to a United Kingdom destination. If you then wish for the products to be exported, it will be your responsibility to do so at your own cost and risk. For export orders, it is therefore recommended that inspection takes place in the United Kingdom prior to shipment. 8.13 We usually refund any money received from you using the same method as originally used by you to pay for your purchase. 9.2 You must compensate us if you break the contract. If we end the contract in the situations set out in clause 2.1 we will refund any money you have paid in advance for products we have not provided and processed i.e. you cancel after we have ordered stock and material from supplier, but we may deduct or charge you reasonable compensation for the net costs we will incur as a result of your breaking the contract. 9.3 We may write to you to let you know that we are going to stop providing the product. We will let you know in advance within reasonable time of our stopping the supply of the product and will refund any sums you have paid in advance for products which will not be provided subject to the restocking fee. 10.1 We guarantee the wooden frames of all manufactured furniture for fifteen (15) years from the date of delivery. The guarantee excludes normal wear and tear, any fillings, fabrics, legs and mechanisms. This guarantee is given in addition to and not in substitution of your statutory rights. 10.2 We will only replace like for like, therefore you cannot change any of the sizes, fillings or fabrics. Upon a return, if a change is requested, you will incur further costs. Please contact us on 020 8993 4415 or write to us at [email protected] to request a quotation. 10.1 The company reserves the right using its discretion to recreate the made to order product in the exact same specification, design, texture, colour and fabric and no variations are permitted. 10.2 How to tell us about problems. If you have any questions or complaints about the product, please contact us. You can telephone our customer service team at 020 8993 4415 or write to us at [email protected] Alternatively, please speak to one of our staff in-store. 10.3 Summary of your legal rights. We are under a legal duty to supply products that are in conformity with this contract. See the box below for a summary of your key legal rights in relation to the product. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights. 10.4 Your obligation to return rejected products. If you wish to exercise your legal rights to reject products you must either return them in person to where you bought them, post them back to us or (if they are not suitable for posting) allow us to collect them from you. We will pay the costs of postage or collection. Please call customer services on 020 8993 4415 or email us at [email protected] for a return label or to arrange collection. 11.1 The price of the product (which includes VAT) will be the price set out in our price list in force at the date of your order unless we have agreed another price in writing. We use our best efforts to ensure that the price of product advised to you is correct. 11.2 It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the products we sell may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices before accepting your order so that, where the product’s correct price at your order date is less than our stated price at your order date, we may use our discretion to charge the higher amount. Orders for export outside the EU require proof of shipment, which is your responsibility to provide to the us. VAT will be refunded to you once proof of shipment is received. Credit Account Holders must abide by terms agreed on account opening, and in any case all invoices must be settled within 30 days of the invoice date. 11.4 If you do not make any payment to us by the due date, we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 2% per month above the base lending rate of Bank of England from time to time. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount. 12.1 We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the products including the right to receive products which are: as described and match information we provided to you and any sample or model seen or examined by you; of satisfactory quality; fit for any particular purpose made known to us; supplied with reasonable skill and care and, where installed by us, correctly installed; and for defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987. 12.2 If we are providing services in your property, we will make good any damage to your property caused by us while doing so. However, we are not responsible for the cost of repairing any pre-existing faults or damage to your property that we discover while providing the services. 12.3 We will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity. 12.4 We will have no liability to you for any loss or damage suffered due to products and its quality from third party companies. Any disputes, claims or complaints must be directed to the third party company directly. a. We do not guarantee an exact match for bespoke made to order products. b. If you are supplying us with an image, we cannot guarantee an exact match unless we are given complete technical drawings. Even so, we will guarantee a 99% match and 100% effort. Drawings produced by us for signing off will be chargeable and payable by you. c. Slight differences in dimensions may occur due to the materials within the build. If the furniture is intended for a specific place or location, you must inform us at the time of ordering. d. Once we have confirmed an order, any further changes you wish to bring will be subject to a charge payable by you. Any changes at this stage may affect both the cost of the product and/or the delivery schedule. 14.2 Nobody else has any rights under this contract (except someone you pass your guarantee on to). This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms, except as explained in clause Error! Reference source not found. in respect of our guarantee. Neither of us will need to get the agreement of any other person in order to end the contract or make any changes to these terms. 14.4 If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date. 14.5 These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the English courts. If you live in Scotland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Northern Irish or the English courts. We reserve the right to reject any fabric supplied by you, if deemed to be unsuitable for production. It is your responsibility to provide the agreed quantity required. Any fabric supplied by you must meet British Fire regulations. You must provide a fire retardant certificate for any such fabric supplied before production can commence. If treatment is not possible, we can provide a barrier cloth inter-liner (depending on the location of use) if required. This service is chargeable. If we supply the fabric to be used in manufacture, it is your responsibility to look after it as per the manufacturers guidelines as normal wear or tear is not warrantied. It is your responsibility to ensure the fabric is suitable for the use for which it is intended. Some fabrics (such as silks and velvets) and leathers can be marked by the slightest touch also known as pressure marks. Pressure marking is considered a natural characteristic of any piled fabric. In addition, all our furniture is handmade, the handling of fabric is unavoidable and therefore the we cannot accept any responsibility or liability for the condition of these fabrics when used during manufacture. As leather is a natural product, some of the hides may show natural marks or scars. Depending on the supplier, variation on both texture and colour may occur different from the samples you look at. We cannot be held responsible for such markings that are visible on the final product. Sizes of hides may vary due to the nature of the product, this may result in additional costs, advisable on receipt of purchase from the supplier.

2019-04-21T16:41:12Z

https://www.thesofaandchair.co.uk/legal

When considering the 3D modeling side of AutoCAD it’s helpful to compare the program with other 3D modeling programs like Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Blender, etc. It’s also useful to know the real-world applications for the software, and which industries are using what. Many similarities exist between the 3D programs but the essential difference lies in the purpose to which they are used. CAD programs like AutoCAD and the others are basically technical visualization tools used in industrial design, engineering, manufacturing and architecture. The term CAD means either computer-aided design or computer-aided drafting, and as such focuses on technical drafting and design. The logical outcome is specific tool sets pertaining to various industrial applications. On the whole 3D modeling and animation programs aim to create a whole world environment from the floor up – think Pixar. As such their tool range is aimed at artistic and aesthetic outcomes in modeling and animation, for example shapes and textures and atmospheric effects. They are also designed to render multiple objects, like characters, props, with hair, fur and foliage which interact with their environments. In our AutoCAD 3D course there are a few methods of creating sections of objects in Autocad 3D, one of which is the combination of the Shell and Slice functions. CAD programs like AutoCAD, on the other hand, concentrate on creating precise and accurate technical models that emulate the functionality of a real-world environment. As such their tools focus more on accuracy and precision as well as measurements and scale. Efficiency as well as creativity are integral parts of these programs. We have in AutoCAD basically a drafting or modeling tool which allows us to communicate design intent and concepts to clients or other professionals, and has a legacy of 30 years as the industry leader in 2D and 3D computer-aided design. Presently almost all structures or built environments, as well as machine tools and consumer products are created using CAD software, like AutoDesk’s AutoCAD, Revit or Inventor. From 2007 onward AutoCAD’s 3D modeling capabilities have been improved with each new version, which to date includes a full set of solid modeling tools, modification tools, including mesh modeling as well as the Mental Ray rendering engine. In addition to libraries of materials which ship with AutoCAD 3D it’s also possible for the user to create their own realistic materials and textures. Real world lighting for Sun and shadow studies is also possible. High-quality fly-through movies can also be outputted. Many industries use AutoCAD 3D including architectural, mechanical, electrical, engineering and construction, GIS, surveying, civil engineering and urban planning. Recent releases also include 4D BIM functions. Originally an MS-DOS program, AutoCAD runs on both Windows and Apple Macintosh platforms, remaining the industry leader in CAD programs despite many competitors arising over the last three decades. AutoCAD has grown more complex in keeping up with the increasing complexity of the design and drafting processes, especially when it comes to 3D functionality, but its basic drafting or modeling principles remain simple and logical. AutoCAD LT (or Lite) was released in 1993 and is a smaller, cheaper alternative to the full AutoCAD program. It does not include 3D and some other advanced features but is nevertheless very powerful and will perform all 2D drafting needs. 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Share and reference other drawings them all on the net for more cooperation with AutoCAD users on the web. In summary, if one follows the three basic steps to create geometry, a 3D model, stuff and adding lighting, you can go anyplace. Measurements and text can make your work get noticed from your remainder and the outcome of elevation, pictures and drawings are exceptional. AutoCAD offers an outstanding F1 Help section. Simple to follow and stay with procedural and conceptual advice on the subject you will locate everything you could have to review here. You can even reference the search area at the very top right of the display for more online help when needed. If you are searching the web searching for AutoCAD courses, odds are, you’re trying to get something from the encounter. No one does these classes just for fun, you almost certainly desire to enhance your curriculum vitae? or improve your probability of a promotion on the job. 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Undergo the sites of the company’s, you’re trying to find the services they feature much advice as possible on the business, their focus as well as their purposes. You’ve got a set goal in mind which can be the reason why you happen to be planning to finish AutoCAD courses, but what are their objectives? Are they dedicated to giving you the best possible training to greatly help you further yourself in your selected business? The standing of each firm is not dispensable. You are still sitting with three businesses after you’ve read through their website and checked on the programs available and in case you aren’t confident, then it is time to rely on the web to help you narrow your search down. Do an internet search for the firms ‘ names. Go through internet newsgroups and the separate review sites. Begin your own thread on one of the newsgroups in the event you can not locate any info and see if anyone responds that’s taken an AutoCAD course that they can supply comments that are honest to you. This technique ought to assist you to stop at least among the businesses. Now it is time to make sure that the AutoCAD courses on offer certified. There’s absolutely no point finishing a class that really doesn’t supply an accredited certification to you when applying for jobs that need you have this knowledge and expertise that you can use in the future. In the event the firm does not offer classes that are accredited, cross them. Figure out should additionally they offer accredited distance or if they merely offer their AutoCAD courses on site. Frequently you might wish to study when you get home during the night and might find it too difficult to attend courses at set times because of work obligations. Ensure when picking distance learning that these are additionally accredited classes as you’ll get in the event you attended classes on site and you should possess exactly the same syllabus. Constantly learn which support while finishing any AutoCAD courses online, you get. When studying from home you might be on your own, so be sure to have access to their skilled team who is able to talk you you’re experiencing issues with those attending course have an expert they are able to question and get help from. The final bit of the puzzle before becoming a member of any classes is always to determine what contained in the lessons. An alternate syllabus will be offered by each firm also in the event the class you might be contemplating comprises all of the pertinent info which you need to learn how to assist you to advance in your profession, it is important that you figure out. The first action to take would be to have a look. The three fundamental models of 3D CAD are solid and wireframe, surface models. Wire coat hangers are made from by the models those cosmetics wireframes appear like they’re and have no faces. Items which are 2D are used to create a wireframe manner. These sorts of models that are early date back who recall those days might recall them. Wireframe models can be created in AutoCAD, but they’re not actually very helpful in any way. Another step in 3D development is the surface models. Essentially, they’re wireframe models with faces included which are not irregular. These are like items which can be built from cardboard such as spheres, blocky cones, and cartons. If you dissect the inside spacing you will discover it is not full, exactly like a cardboard box is empty. The actual breakthrough in 3D applications is the modeling technique that is solid. Remember these things are made of cones, spheres, and boxes, but they’re solid models as they have been in actuality, the things can be joined and dissected and their insides are solid. It should be noted that AutoCAD LT enables the navigation of present 3D models and the opening, but it really is unable create or to alter them. The procedure of 3D modeling is consistently precisely the same in the geometry is always created the substances are added to the item. From then on, the realistic light is on a basis that is still or on a nerve pathway added, after which the cameras, either. Subsequently, the result is represented as an AVI movie file, drawings for elevation, or still pictures. Some users will nevertheless be using this older interface, although an important overhaul was instituted by the 2009 release of the Windows interface for AutoCAD. Additionally, the newer Macintosh AutoCAD version that has been released in 2010 will still have the older pre-2009 Windows interface. The AutoCAD normally opens so to alter this you make the change and must visit the Workspace Shifter. The 3D tools get loaded towards the top of the display in Tabs and the Ribbon after you wait a couple of seconds. The other 2D tools continue to be there, as there be a perpendicular row of Tool Palettes on the right, which used and can be selected afterward if needed. The Dash of tools will appear on the right side of the display in the pre-2009 interface. For working in 3D space 6 control panels will be contained by it. Those are 3D make, Visual Fashion, 3D Browse, Stuff, Lights, and Leave. For the interface which arrives in after 2009, the ribbon tabs have more adaptable, although distinct tools such as for example Outcome, Net Modeling, Insert, See, Annotate, Express Tools, and Home. Even if the workspace will not look overly 3D yet, you are able to visit the top and reach the Program button on the far left and pick the New ” id=”st-1183″>> Drawing ” id=”st-1185″>> acadiso3Ddwt button. This really is the fundamental 3D metrical template for AutoCAD which comes with the application. Step one in creating models is implementing of realistic textures and the fundamental modeling. Then using some light adds to the scene a sense of naturalism. AutoCAD has three fundamental kinds of light. Point Lights are like globes that are light, throwing shadows and light outwards in all ways. The Spot Light propagates shadows outwards in the source, is the second kind and, like its real world counterpart. The third kind of light is the Distant Light like Sun in that its shadows are. When adding light to your scene to divide the Display into four viewports via the View tab it is recommended. Keep three of this in and orthogonal Wireframe mode. The bottom right you could keep within an isometric view with the Naturalistic screening style. In this way, we can see the items in the scene from various paths concurrently. This really is particularly useful if you’ve got a dual display set up or a big display. Visit the Lights tab choose Create Light, subsequently Place, and to create a Spotlight and Turn Default Lighting off. Create a location, for example, 500. Alternatively, transfer it into place and click anywhere on the display. Name it Chief Light and hit the Enter key twice to see the light “gizmo” appearing. If needed you may transfer the light. Ensure the viewport that is right is chosen and click the Render button to depict the picture. As of this point, we may see the shadows are too dim, by which case we can add a gentler “fill light”, as follows Light” id=”st-410″>> Point. In the conventional photographic studio, this fill light is generally set to the principal light source at about fifty percent strength. We leave the model to compare the effect and could name this Fill Light. The resultant render is washed out or has two sets of shadows if, we should alter the lights. We may do so by clicking the little arrow button to open the Lights. Notice the properties also appear on the top of the right-hand side panels. Various values are revealed for the light’s Strength Variable, Location, Color, Attenuation (otherwise referred to as falloff) and Shadows. The Strength of the light may also alter here and turn the Shadows away. The lighting color could also alter in this place. It is best to keep the Principal light Intensity Variable at 2 or 1. We’d shut the properties to represent the picture again. Note the last few leaves appear at the base of the Output File. We can toggle through the list before choosing the preferred picture to compare the effects. Then either right-click or head to the File menu to save the picture as TIFF or a JPEG. JPEGs are not large in file size, great for first drafts, or to send to a website or a customer. Whereas TIFFs are as such, and quality is not bad for magazine or pamphlet demos. As a footnote, bear in mind that Distant Lights emulate Sun with concurrent shadows, but it is best to not use them with Photometric (real world) light. Additionally, notice that you just do not get a gizmo for Sun or a Direction Light. There are several options available for learning AutoCAD. Items made by students utilizing the student version of AutoCAD cannot be used for commercial purpose. Lessons in AutoCAD can assist an individual about what they will be using to learn a little. AutoCAD training enables pupils to analyze the dynamics of the building. Revit Tutorials if you are a beginner then Revit Tutorials info may function as the initial free on-line platform where you are able to start learning Autodesk Revit through video tutorials. AutoCAD is really a misnomer because there is nothing automatic about AutoCAD. Any Revit user is currently able to be excellent renderings with a few minutes of training. Revit makes it easy to do this. AutoCAD 2D has many characteristics and abilities. There are quite a few industries using AutoCAD applications daily. AutoCAD is, in addition, used to design extraordinary characters. AutoCAD is reasonably user-friendly, as it features built-in design layouts. Computer assisted drafting or generally known as he’s used for the development of items actual and virtual. Auto CAD is made of several characteristics architectural and structural domain names, including MEP. For this reason, AutoCAD users will not have a problem to work in progeCAD. In addition, you will find tools here to be able to assist you to modify your photo. The difficulty was not astonishingly difficult, the drawings were not coordinated. There is also a distinguishing 3D zoom effect. Remember that 3D animation is it is time intensive and distinguishing, and a rather complex occupation. 3D models are used in numerous industries. Being successful in 3D is not uncomplicated. Drawing a wedge is exceptionally much like drawing a box (because it’s essentially a sliced box). 3dsMax is among the most well-known 3D modeling, rendering, and animation applications. The DMX lighting software that is free is quite user-friendly and simple to learn, and also it can be mastered by the beginners in just the course of few hours, utilize the guidance supplied within the user guide which comes in reinforcement to the applications. Much like other online courses, taking an internet course in AutoCAD delivers a smattering of edges as well as some disadvantages. The first place to start seeking the optimal / optimally AutoCAD classes is online. Is the course is offering the latest version of the program. Provided that there’s also satisfactory customer care from the program programmer, video training could be absolutely acceptable and an exceptionally desirable system to learn. As a way to get a great understanding of the way to use equipment or software, it’s usually needed.

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2019-04-21T22:11:33Z

http://shubertmotors.com/os1.html

Why are merchants allowed to apply payment surcharges? Merchants incur costs when they accept a payment from a customer. Different payment methods can have very different costs. For example, cards that provide significant rewards to consumers are typically more expensive for merchants. Surcharging provides merchants with the ability to pass the cost of accepting more expensive payment methods back to the customers who use those methods. When merchants have the right to apply a surcharge to more expensive payment methods they are able to provide price signals that encourage consumers to use less expensive payment methods. By helping to hold down payment costs, the right to surcharge helps to hold down the price of goods and services charged to all consumers. The definition of card acceptance costs has been narrowed. Acceptable costs are limited to fees paid to the merchant's acquirer (or other payments facilitator) and certain other observable costs paid to third parties for services directly related to accepting particular types of cards. Acquirers and payment facilitators must provide merchants with an annual statement that clearly sets out their average cost of acceptance for each of the card payment systems regulated by the RBA. Acceptance costs will be expressed in percentage terms. It is expected that merchants who wish to surcharge – including in the airline industry – will typically do so in percentage terms rather than as a fixed dollar amount, which should mean that surcharges on some lower-value transactions will be reduced significantly. The Government has given the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigation and enforcement powers over cases of possible excessive surcharging. Overall, the RBA expects that the narrower definition of the cost of acceptance, the proposed transparency measures and the ACCC's new powers will result in a framework that is clearer for all parties, with more effective enforcement in cases where merchants may be surcharging excessively. The goal of the RBA's revised surcharging standard is to improve price signals to consumers about the relative costs of different payment methods. Excessive surcharging diminishes the effectiveness of these price signals. The new standard is targeted at eliminating instances of excessive surcharging, through improved transparency and stronger enforcement. Merchants must be provided with easy-to-understand information about their costs of card acceptance, which will enable them to make informed decisions about whether to accept higher-cost payment methods and, if they do, whether to surcharge them. Where merchants do decide to impose surcharges, consumers can be confident that these represent the actual costs to the merchant. Consumers can make a complaint to the ACCC if they consider that a surcharge is excessive. The changes took effect in two stages. Large merchants have been required to comply with the new standard since 1 September 2016. Other merchants have been required to comply with the new standard since 1 September 2017. Information on the previous surcharging framework can be found in the RBA's surcharging Guidance Note and Surcharging Q&A. Merchants remain subject to all the obligations under the Australian Consumer Law. Why was there a delay for smaller merchants? Much of the concern over excessive surcharging involves larger merchants. These merchants should have the ability to analyse and calculate their payment costs and so have been subject to the new framework since 1 September 2016. In contrast, smaller merchants are less likely to surcharge and to surcharge excessively. They often also have a relatively less detailed understanding of their payment costs. Surcharging decisions for these merchants will benefit from improved data on payment costs. By 1 September 2017, all merchants should have received an annual statement from their acquirer or payments facilitator with easy-to-understand information outlining their average cost of acceptance for each of the card schemes subject to the RBA's standard. How do the changes affect small and medium-sized merchants more generally? Small and medium-sized merchants who do not benefit from preferred interchange rates currently bear the cost of the high interchange rates on premium MasterCard and Visa cards. Accordingly, they should see a material reduction in merchant service fees from the changes to the RBA's interchange standards. This should improve their competitiveness relative to larger merchants who may benefit from low interchange rates on all their card transactions. Merchants will also receive easy-to-understand information on the cost of payments for the different types of cards they accept. This should enable them to make more informed decisions about whether to accept higher-cost payment methods and, if they do, whether to surcharge them. This will place downward pressure on payment costs. If merchants decide to surcharge, they will have clear information on the maximum permissible surcharge for each payment method. Can card schemes, acquiring banks or payment facilitators prohibit merchants from charging a surcharge? Card schemes such as American Express, MasterCard and Visa cannot prevent or deter merchants from recovering the costs of accepting card payments. Banks and other payment facilitators are not allowed to prohibit or deter merchants from charging a surcharge on a particular payment instrument. Schemes, banks and payment providers cannot refuse to provide card acceptance services to a merchant solely because that merchant plans to surcharge or because of the level of their surcharge. They can, however, seek to ensure that a surcharge does not exceed the merchant's cost of acceptance. Merchants incur costs when they accept a payment from a customer. Different payment methods can have very different costs. Cards that provide significant rewards to consumers are typically more expensive for merchants. For example, some merchants face fees of more than 3 per cent on American Express transactions, while transactions on some types of premium MasterCard and Visa cards can currently cost many merchants more than 2 per cent. When merchants have the right to apply a surcharge to more expensive payment methods they are able to provide price signals that encourage consumers to use payment methods that are less expensive. By helping to hold down payment costs, the right to surcharge helps to hold down the price of goods and services charged to all consumers. It also reduces the extent to which those who pay with cheaper payment methods are subsidising those consumers – typically from higher income households – who use more expensive payment methods. Is there a limit on the size of a surcharge? Surcharges must not be more than the amount that it costs a merchant to accept a particular type of card for a given transaction. For example, debit cards are typically less expensive for merchants to accept than credit cards. It is important that merchants do not impose surcharges in excess of their actual payment costs. Merchants will know how much that is from statements supplied by their bank or payments provider; these must contain easy-to-understand information on the average cost of acceptance for each payment method. These statements will express acceptance costs in percentage terms and the standard defines the cost of acceptance in percentage terms. This should ensure that merchants who wish to surcharge – including in the airline industry – will generally do so in percentage terms rather than as a fixed dollar amount. This means that surcharges on some lower-priced transactions should be reduced significantly. If merchants wish to surcharge two or more payment methods at the same rate (e.g. all credit cards from American Express, MasterCard and Visa; or both debit and credit cards from a particular system) they are required to set the surcharge at the lowest cost of those different payment methods. How can I avoid paying a surcharge? Merchants that choose to surcharge will generally offer a non-surcharged payment method. This will typically be a payment type with a lower cost of acceptance for the merchant. If no surcharge-free method is offered, the amount of the surcharge should be built into the base price and not added on to the price of an item. Consistent with requirements under the Australian Consumer Law, merchants are required to prominently disclose the terms of any surcharge. A consumer who wishes to avoid paying a surcharge should ask the merchant to identify an alternative non-surcharged payment method. How do I know the surcharge imposed by a merchant is reasonable? While merchants are allowed to impose cost-based surcharges on card payments, surcharges must not exceed the permitted surcharge specified in the RBA standard. The standard provides a narrower definition of the cost of acceptance than the previous standard, along with transparency measures to ensure merchants have clear information on the payment costs they face. Merchants of different sizes and in different industries have a wide range of payment costs. However, as a guide, payments through the domestic eftpos system are usually quite low cost for merchants, mostly below ½ per cent of the transaction value. Debit MasterCard and Visa Debit may cost many merchants around ½ to 1 per cent, though for some merchants the cost of these cards is combined with credit card costs. MasterCard and Visa credit may cost many merchants about 1 to 1½ per cent. And it is common for merchants to pay 1½ to 2 per cent for an American Express card payment. In general, smaller merchants face higher payment costs than larger merchants and may have higher costs than these typical ranges. What can I do if I believe I have been asked to pay an excessive surcharge? Consumers who have concerns over whether a payment surcharge is excessive can contact the ACCC. The ACCC has investigation and enforcement powers over cases of possible excessive surcharging. Will merchants be able to replace surcharges with other charges? Merchants cannot avoid the rules by calling their payment surcharges something else while still applying them to some payment methods and not others. However, the new surcharging framework only applies to payment surcharges – that is, to fees that are specifically related to payments or apply to some payment methods but not others. Some merchants apply fees, such as ‘booking’ or ‘service’ fees, which are unrelated to payment costs and apply regardless of the method of payment (this is for instance common in the ticketing industry). The surcharging framework is not intended to apply to these fees but merchants are required to meet all provisions of the Australian Consumer Law in terms of disclosure of any such fees. Do the new rules affect the taxi industry? Surcharging in the taxi industry remains the responsibility of state regulators. Until recently, surcharges of 10 per cent were typical in that industry. However, authorities in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have taken or announced decisions to limit surcharges to no more than 5 per cent. Other states and territories are also considering such limits. As new payment methods and technologies emerge, it is likely to be appropriate for caps on surcharges to be reduced below 5 per cent. The Government and the RBA will continue to monitor developments in the taxi industry with a view to assessing whether further measures are appropriate. Card payments for hire cars and ride-sharing services are within the scope of the RBA's surcharging standard and potential ACCC enforcement. What is the objective of the new framework? The new RBA standard is intended to ensure that merchants have the right to surcharge for payment cards while also ensuring that consumers are not surcharged excessively, consistent with the Government's amendment to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 . A merchant cannot surcharge a card transaction at a rate that exceeds the merchant's average cost of acceptance for that transaction for the relevant card system. The ACCC has responsibility for enforcement in the event that a merchant is attempting to surcharge excessively. How does the new framework benefit merchants? The framework emphasises the right of merchants to surcharge to cover their acceptance costs and signal differences in costs to consumers. It also improves the transparency of payment costs to merchants. Under the RBA's new surcharging standard, merchants will receive an annual statement from their acquirer or payments facilitator that clearly sets out their average cost of acceptance for each of the card payment systems regulated by the RBA. These transparency measures, which help merchants to know how much it costs them to accept card payments, should contribute to downward pressure on payment costs. This information will also enable merchants to make more informed decisions about whether to accept higher-cost payment methods and, if they do, whether to surcharge them. What cards does it apply to? The RBA standard and the ACCC's enforcement powers currently apply to payment surcharges in six card systems – eftpos, Debit MasterCard, MasterCard Credit, Visa Debit and Visa Credit and the American Express companion card system. However, other card systems may include conditions in their merchant agreements that are similar to the limits on surcharges under the RBA's standard, in which case merchants may be contractually bound to similar caps on what they can surcharge cards from other systems. Over time other payment types could be added via regulation. What surcharge can a merchant impose when they accept a card payment? Merchants are permitted to surcharge, but are not required to do so. Under the new framework a merchant who decides to surcharge a particular type of card may not surcharge above their average cost of acceptance for that card type. It is likely that most merchants who decide to surcharge debit or credit cards will do so based purely on what they are charged for payments by their acquirer or payment facilitator; this includes costs such as merchant service fees, terminal fees, and any other fees incurred in processing card transactions. Merchants are able to surcharge any of the cards covered by the RBA's standard up to the average percentage cost of acceptance in their annual statement for that card type. However, some merchants may have other costs (as outlined below) of accepting a particular type of card that they would like to include in their surcharge. If those costs meet the requirements for inclusion and can be documented, merchants may add them to the costs charged by their acquirer or payment facilitator over the previous year and, based on their total costs, calculate their average percentage cost for that card system. Merchants may not surcharge above this average cost. What information is available for merchants? Effective mid-2017, merchants will receive annual statements from their acquirer or payment facilitator that show the average percentage cost over the past year for each of the card types covered by the RBA/ACCC framework; this will be based on costs such as merchant service fees and terminal rental costs. An acquirer is the entity (often a bank) which has relationships with card companies such as eftpos, MasterCard and Visa that enable it to provide merchants with the ability to accept card payments. Alternatively, a merchant may use the services of a payment facilitator, a non-bank entity which has arrangements with an acquirer that allow it to offer card acceptance services to merchants. The RBA has worked with acquirers and payment facilitators on the design of easy-to-read statements that are reasonably standard across the industry. If a merchant wishes to surcharge for some costs in addition to those paid to their acquirer or payments facilitator, they will have to keep records of the costs paid to other providers. What costs in addition to the merchant service fee can a merchant include in their surcharge on a particular type of card? In addition to the fees paid to the merchant's acquirer or payment facilitator for standard card acceptance services, merchants may include some additional types of costs if they are directly related to accepting that particular card type. the cost of insuring against forward delivery risk. This applies to agents (such as travel agents) who pay an external party to insure against the risk that the agent will be liable to a customer for the failure of a principal supplier (such as an airline or hotel) on payments accepted via cards. In each case, these costs must be specific to the particular types of cards that the merchant is surcharging, rather than being a cost that applies to all payment methods accepted by the merchant. Furthermore, they must be costs paid to an external provider and verified by contracts, statements or invoices. A merchant's internal costs cannot be included in a surcharge. How should a merchant calculate their permitted surcharge if they have costs in addition to those paid to their acquirer or payment facilitator? In the event that merchants wish to include additional costs that are part of the cost of acceptance for one or more of the six regulated card systems, they should calculate the proportion of those costs applying to particular systems, allocating costs based on total transaction values for each system over the previous year. The cost attributable to any particular system may then be included in the surcharge on payments for that particular system. An example of the calculation of acceptance costs for costs in addition to the merchant service fee is explained below. The statement from the merchant's acquirer indicates that the average cost of transactions through Card System X over the prior year was 0.85 per cent. The merchant could therefore surcharge Card System X at a rate no higher than 0.90 per cent (the 0.85 per cent average cost of acceptance paid to the acquirer plus the 0.05 per cent cost of fraud prevention). Additional costs (such as gateway fees, fraud-related chargebacks, insurance for forward delivery risk or terminal fees paid to a payment service provider) should be dealt with in a similar way, that is by determining what proportion of these costs applies to each card system and calculating the percentage cost relative to the value of transactions through each system. What if a merchant uses more than one acquirer or payment facilitator? Some merchants have more than one acquirer or payment facilitator, for example one for their point-of-sale transactions and another for their online transactions. Where this is the case, it will be reasonable for merchants to use the information on the statement provided by their main acquirer or payment facilitator. If merchants wish to be more exact about their payment costs, they may calculate an average acceptance cost, weighting the costs of their different acquirers by the value of transactions through the two entities. How often do merchants have to review their surcharge? Merchants may choose to reset their surcharges frequently based on evidence of their average cost of acceptance over the most recent twelve-month period. However, the RBA's standard has been designed so that merchants will be able to identify their payment costs once a year and set their surcharge for the next year based on that information. They must then review that surcharge in a year's time when they receive a new annual statement about their payment costs. Can merchants set a common or blended surcharge which applies to different cards? Merchants may choose to set the same surcharge for a number of different payment systems, provided that the surcharge is no greater than the average cost of acceptance of the lowest cost system included. For example, a merchant may choose to set the same surcharge for two credit card systems, which have average costs of acceptance of 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent. In this case, the maximum common surcharge that could be charged would be 1 per cent. However, if the merchant wished to surcharge the two systems separately, it could charge 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent as appropriate. In this example, the merchant would not be able to blend both these costs into a 1.25 per cent surcharge, since it would be surcharging excessively for the scheme that cost 1 per cent. When did the rules take effect? Large merchants became subject to the new rules on excessive surcharging effective 1 September 2016. All other merchants became subject to the rules from 1 September 2017. What is the definition of a large merchant? Large merchants are defined as those that meet at least two of the following tests: consolidated turnover (including that of any related companies) of more than $25 million in the most recent financial year; consolidated gross assets at 30 June 2015 of $12.5 million or more; or 50 or more employees as at 30 June 2015. What if a merchant does not have an annual statement from their acquirer or payment facilitator? Effective 1 June 2017 the RBA's standard requires all acquirers to ensure that merchants receive statements that clearly set out merchants' average cost of acceptance for each card scheme. There may be merchants who wish to surcharge but do not have statements covering 12 months, for instance because they have not been established for that long. These merchants should make good faith estimates of their payment costs based on their available information – for example, any recent monthly statements they have, invoices and contracts from their acquirers, payment facilitators or payment service providers. Merchants may also wish to include items such as gateway fees paid to a payment service provider, the cost of fraud prevention services, any terminal costs paid to a provider other than their acquirer or payments facilitator, fraud-related chargeback fees (but not the chargebacks themselves) or the cost of insuring against forward delivery risk. If they wish to include such items, they will have to gather information on these costs over the past year and then calculate the amounts attributable to particular payment systems as outlined in Box 1 below. Based on data for the total value of transactions in each system, they will be able to calculate the additional percentage amount that may be included in the cost of acceptance and the permitted surcharge. Examples of how to calculate average costs of acceptance from information on payment costs under some different types of merchant plans can be found here. What if a merchant does not wish to surcharge in percentage terms but rather to charge a fixed amount? In most cases payment costs are charged to merchants in percentage terms, so it will typically be appropriate that any surcharge is also expressed in percentage terms. Indeed, one of the factors behind the Government's amendment to the Competition and Consumer Act and the RBA's new standard was dissatisfaction with the practice in the airline industry of imposing fixed-dollar surcharges that are well above actual cost of card acceptance for low-priced airfares. Accordingly, the standard defines the cost of acceptance in percentage terms and requires acquirers to provide information on payment costs in these terms. However, this does not prevent a merchant from capping the surcharge it applies at a fixed amount. For example, if a merchant has an average cost of acceptance for a particular scheme of 1 per cent, it could choose to apply a surcharge of 1 per cent up to a maximum surcharge of $10. In such cases a 1 per cent surcharge would be applied to payments up to $1000, and a surcharge of $10 would apply to payments greater than $1000 ( which would be less than the average cost of acceptance for that scheme). Alternatively, if a merchant's cost of accepting a particular payment method is truly a flat amount (for example, if the merchant's acquirer charges a flat fee of say 10 cents to all eftpos transactions), then a flat surcharge of the same amount on all transactions would not be excessive. Are there any other requirements on surcharges? Nothing in the standard alters the existing obligation of merchants to comply with the provisions of the Australian Consumer Law, set out in the Competition and Consumer Act. Sections 18 and 29 prohibit merchants from engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct and making false or misleading representations with respect to the price of goods or services, and section 48 prohibits component or partial pricing if the represented price only constitutes part of the total price of the goods or services. The new rules apply to all American Express companion cards, ie American Express cards issued by banks. The RBA has not designated the American Express proprietary card system, meaning that the ACCC cannot enforce the new rules on excessive surcharging for these cards. However, in the case of these cards, American Express can enforce excessive surcharging against merchants directly as its merchant agreements contractually prohibit merchants from surcharging any American Express transaction above the reasonable cost of acceptance. If excessive surcharging became an issue for proprietary American Express transactions, the RBA could reconsider current regulatory arrangements. What about other payment cards such as Union Pay, JCB, Diners Club etc? The RBA has not designated UnionPay, JCB or Diners Club. Accordingly the RBA's new standard does not apply to transactions carried out using those systems. However, these payment systems (and others) may include conditions in their merchant agreements that are similar to the framework under the RBA's standard. In such cases merchants may be contractually bound to surcharge caps in those systems, similar to the caps enforced by the RBA's standard. If excessive surcharging became an issue for these systems it will be open to the RBA to reconsider the regulatory arrangements. UnionPay provided the RBA with an undertaking on 29 May 2017 indicating it will not enforce no-surcharge rules in Australia and will amend its rules by the end of 2017 to ensure that they are consistent with the RBA’s new standard. Diners Club has also provided the Bank with an undertaking in relation to no-surcharge rules, and American Express has provided a similar undertaking in relation to proprietary card transactions. What about other systems such as PayPal and BPAY etc? PayPal and BPAY are payment systems in their own right that merchants and consumers may use. Consumers can fund transactions through those systems from a number of sources, including their credit card or their bank account. The cost to a merchant of accepting PayPal or BPAY reflects fees for those systems, so any surcharge applied on those systems is not a credit card surcharge. PayPal and BPAY are not currently designated, so transactions through those systems will not themselves be covered by the RBA's standards. However, these payment systems could include conditions in their merchant agreements that are similar to the framework under the RBA's standard. If excessive surcharging became an issue for either system the RBA could reconsider the regulatory arrangements. PayPal updated its user terms and conditions on 19 October 2016 to permit merchant surcharging. Paragraph 11.2(c) of the updated User Agreement for PayPal Services allows merchants to surcharge PayPal transactions as long as the surcharge does not exceed the amount the merchant is charged by PayPal for the transaction. PayPal has published information about surcharging PayPal payments. Why does the RBA regulate interchange fees? Interchange fees affect the prices faced by cardholders and merchants in using and accepting payments. Most notably, interchange fees increase payment costs for merchants and fund rewards programs for some cardholders. While there may be a useful role for interchange fees when a card network is first established, the case for significant interchange fees in mature card systems is much less clear. Where merchants feel unable to decline particular cards (because consumers expect to be able to pay with that card and may take their business elsewhere if they cannot), the incentive is for card schemes to raise interchange rates. Evidence from a range of countries suggests that competition between well-established payment card schemes can lead to the perverse result of increasing the price of payment services to merchants (and therefore to higher retail prices for consumers). The tendency for interchange rates to rise to high levels is most apparent in unregulated jurisdictions like the United States where credit card interchange rates in the MasterCard system are as high as 3.25 per cent plus 10 cents, implying that – after scheme fees and acquirer margin – some merchants may pay over 3½ per cent in merchant service fees for high rewards cards. The past decade has also seen a decline in transparency for some end users of the card systems, partly because of the increased complexity and the wider range of interchange fee categories. In particular, merchants that do not benefit from ‘strategic’ rates face much higher interchange rates and payment costs than ‘preferred’ merchants and may have no transparency over the cost of particular transactions. A standard Visa or MasterCard credit card will have an interchange cost for ‘non-preferred’ merchants of 0.25–0.30 per cent, while the highest level of premium card will have an interchange cost of up to 2.0 per cent for those merchants, with merchants typically having little ability to distinguish between these cards or to respond in terms of acceptance decisions. In 2003 the RBA introduced benchmarks intended to prevent the significant upward pressure on interchange rates seen in many markets. Contrary to some claims at the time that limiting interchange fees would affect the viability of card systems, the Australian cards market has continued to grow strongly and innovation has thrived. The RBA's reforms have been supported by the leading Australian consumer and merchant organisations. Following the reforms, a number of other jurisdictions, such as the European Union, have also regulated interchange fees. What are the RBA's new interchange standards? The weighted-average benchmarks remain the primary element of interchange regulation. The weighted-average benchmark for credit cards remains at 0.50 per cent. The weighted-average benchmark for debit cards has been lowered from 12 cents to 8 cents, effective 1 July 2017, consistent with the fall in average transaction values since the debit benchmark was introduced. The weighted-average benchmarks are supplemented by caps on any individual interchange fee within a scheme's schedule. No credit card interchange fee is permitted to exceed 0.80 per cent and no debit interchange fee is permitted to exceed 15 cents if levied as a fixed amount or 0.20 per cent if levied as a percentage amount. These changes are expected to significantly reduce the extent to which small and medium-sized merchants are disadvantaged relative to preferred merchants in the MasterCard and Visa interchange systems. The credit card interchange standard has been modified so that issuance of American Express companion cards is subject to the same interchange fee regulation that applies to the MasterCard and Visa systems. In particular, interchange fees are defined to also include the interchange-like ‘issuer fees’ paid by American Express to card-issuing banks as an incentive to issue cards. In addition, both companion card issuance and traditional ‘four-party’ issuance (in the eftpos, MasterCard and Visa systems) are subject to rules on ‘other net payments’ to issuers, so as to prevent any circumvention of the interchange standards. transactions on prepaid cards are included with debit cards in the observance of the debit benchmark. The cards market has continued to thrive under regulated interchange fees and Australia is recognised as one of the most innovative markets globally. Based on the experience of the earlier reforms, the RBA is confident that these reforms will contribute to a more competitive and efficient payments system and will not adversely affect the development of the cards market in Australia. How will the RBA's changes affect my credit card? There should be little effect on interchange payments on standard consumer cards and therefore only limited changes to other aspects (e.g. interest rates, interest-free periods) of such cards. However, the new standard is likely to result in some reductions in the generosity of rewards programs on premium and companion cards for consumers. Some adjustment in annual fees on these cards is also possible. Commercial and corporate card products often provide significant benefits free of charge to the company holding the card. It is possible that there will be changes to either the pricing or services provided by these products. These changes are part of the process of improving price signals to cardholders and creating a more efficient and lower-cost payments system. How will the RBA's changes affect my debit or prepaid card? The new standard has required schemes to reduce the high interchange rates that applied to some premium and commercial debit and prepaid cards. While it is currently unusual for rewards to be provided on debit and prepaid cards, some adjustments to product offerings for premium and commercial cards is possible. Interchange rates on standard cards are likely to be largely unaffected, so it is unlikely that there will be substantial changes to arrangements for most transaction accounts. More broadly, the changes to the interchange standards, especially on debit cards, should be reflected in lower merchant service fees and some merchants may decide to remove minimum spending requirements on cards, so consumers may find that they can use their cards for a greater range of transactions. I generally use payment methods other than cards. How will the RBA's changes affect me? Users of other payment methods are likely to benefit from the changes since the reforms will reduce the extent to which people using lower-cost payment methods cross-subsidise users of higher-cost methods (such as super-premium credit cards). The reforms will place downward pressure on the prices of goods and services faced by all consumers. Looking ahead, the RBA's interchange reforms will make it more likely that new payment methods are able to emerge. Interchange fees are used by the large card schemes to encourage banks to issue their cards and to encourage consumers to use those cards rather than some other payment method. Reforms that limit the upward pressure on interchange fees will make it easier for new players to compete. How will the RBA's changes affect credit unions, building societies and other small financial institutions? Most smaller financial institutions have tended to focus on offering credit card products in the low-fee and low-rate sectors of the market. While a few offer ‘premium’ rewards cards, most typically do not issue cards with extensive rewards that attract very high interchange fees. The smaller institutions do not issue American Express companion cards. The new interchange standard will have the largest effect on the high interchange categories applying to rewards cards and are likely to result in only small changes to interchange rates on standard cards. Hence, there should be little, if any, effect on interchange revenues of the smaller institutions, so little need for change to their business models. I am a small merchant. How do the RBA's changes affect me? Small and medium-sized merchants who do not benefit from preferred interchange rates previously bore the full cost of the high interchange rates on premium and commercial cards issued in the MasterCard and Visa systems. Accordingly, they should see a material reduction in merchant service fees from the RBA's reforms. This should improve their competitiveness relative to larger merchants who benefit from low interchange rates on all their card transactions. Merchants will also receive easy-to-understand information on the cost of payments for the different types of cards they accept. This should contribute to downward pressure on payment costs and will enable merchants to make more informed decisions about whether to accept higher-cost payment methods and, if so, whether to surcharge them. If merchants do decide to surcharge, they will have clear information on the maximum permissible surcharge for each payment method. Why are ‘companion cards’ subject to regulation? The RBA regulated interchange fees (payments from a merchant's bank to a cardholder's bank) in the MasterCard and Visa systems in the early 2000s because it was concerned about their use to drive up payment costs and their effect on payment choices by consumers. The card payment systems operated by American Express and Diners Club did not use interchange fees given that American Express and Diners Club maintained the relationship with both the cardholder and the merchant, without the involvement of banks. Since then, American Express has implemented a new model under which some cards (companion cards) are issued by banks rather than American Express itself. This model involves payments from American Express to banks to support issuance, along with more generous rewards programs than those typically available for MasterCard and Visa cards. These payments are ultimately funded by merchants and perform a function very similar to that of interchange fees. But to date they have been unregulated while interchange fees have been subject to a regulatory cap. The RBA's new approach of regulating payments to issuers in American Express companion card arrangements will restore competitive neutrality between these cards and the MasterCard and Visa systems, and reduce the effect of payments to issuers on cardholder payment choices. How will the RBA's standards affect the way that prepaid cards, including gift cards, are labelled? From 1 July 2017, all prepaid cards that are issued by participants in the designated eftpos, MasterCard and Visa schemes that are capable of being visually identified as prepaid cards must be so identified. Where a prepaid card is clearly identified as a gift card, it does not also need to be separately labelled as a prepaid card.

2019-04-20T16:16:19Z

https://rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/review-of-card-payments-regulation/q-and-a/card-payments-regulation-qa-conclusions-paper.html

This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see Twin Peaks (disambiguation). Twin Peaks is an American mystery horror drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch that premiered on April 8, 1990, on ABC. It was one of the top-rated series of 1990, but declining ratings led to its cancellation after its second season in 1991. It nonetheless gained a cult following and has been referenced in a wide variety of media. In subsequent years, Twin Peaks is often listed among the greatest television series of all time. The series follows an investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in the fictional suburban town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The show's narrative draws on elements of detective fiction, but its uncanny tone, supernatural elements, and campy, melodramatic portrayal of eccentric characters also draw on American soap opera and horror tropes. Like much of Lynch's work, it is distinguished by surrealism, offbeat humor, and distinctive cinematography. The acclaimed score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti with Lynch. The success of the show sparked a media franchise, and the series was followed by a 1992 feature film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, that serves as a prequel to the series. Additional tie-in books were also released. Following a hiatus of over 25 years, the show returned in 2017 with a third season on Showtime, marketed as Twin Peaks: The Return. The season was directed by Lynch and written by Lynch and Frost, and starred many original cast members, including MacLachlan. Season one of Twin Peaks focuses on the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer (played by Sheryl Lee, pictured in 1990). In 1989, the logger Pete Martell discovers a naked corpse wrapped in plastic on the bank of a river outside the town of Twin Peaks, Washington. When Sheriff Harry S. Truman, his deputies, and Dr. Will Hayward arrive, the body is identified as homecoming queen Laura Palmer. A badly injured second girl, Ronette Pulaski, is discovered in a fugue state. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate. Cooper's initial examination of Laura's body reveals a tiny typed letter "R" inserted under her fingernail. Cooper informs the community that Laura's death matches the signature of a killer who murdered another girl in southwestern Washington the previous year, and that evidence indicates the killer lives in Twin Peaks. The authorities discover through Laura's diary that she has been living a double life. She was cheating on her boyfriend, football captain Bobby Briggs, with biker James Hurley, and prostituting herself with the help of truck driver Leo Johnson and drug dealer Jacques Renault. Laura was also addicted to cocaine, which she obtained by coercing Bobby into doing business with Jacques. Laura's father, attorney Leland Palmer, suffers a nervous breakdown. Her best friend, Donna Hayward, begins a relationship with James. With the help of Laura's cousin Maddy Ferguson, Donna and James discover that Laura's psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, was obsessed with Laura, but he is proven innocent of the murder. Hotelier Ben Horne, the richest man in Twin Peaks, plans to destroy the town's lumber mill along with its owner Josie Packard, and murder his lover (Josie's sister-in-law), Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie), so that he can purchase the land at a reduced price and complete a development project, Ghostwood. Horne's sultry, troubled daughter, Audrey, becomes infatuated with Cooper and spies for clues in an effort to gain his affections. Cooper has a dream in which he is approached by a one-armed otherworldly being who calls himself MIKE. MIKE says that Laura's murderer is a similar entity, Killer BOB, a feral, denim-clad man with long gray hair. Cooper finds himself decades older with Laura and a dwarf in a red business suit, who engages in coded dialogue with Cooper. The next morning, Cooper tells Truman that, if he can decipher the dream, he will know who killed Laura. Cooper and the sheriff's department find the one-armed man from Cooper's dream, a traveling shoe salesman named Phillip Gerard. Gerard knows a Bob, the veterinarian who treats Renault's pet bird. Cooper interprets these events to mean that Renault is the murderer, and with Truman's help, tracks Renault to One-Eyed Jack's, a brothel owned by Horne across the border in Canada. He lures Jacques Renault back onto U.S. soil to arrest him, but Renault is shot while trying to escape and is hospitalized. Leland, learning that Renault has been arrested, sneaks into the hospital and murders him. The same night, Horne orders Leo to burn down the lumber mill with Catherine trapped inside and has Leo gunned down by Hank Jennings to ensure Leo's silence. Cooper returns to his room following Jacques's arrest and is shot by a masked gunman. After solving the murder of Laura Palmer, Kyle MacLachlan's (pictured here in 1991) character of Dale Cooper stays in Twin Peaks to investigate further. Lying hurt in his hotel room, Cooper has a vision in which a giant appears and reveals three clues: "There is a man in a smiling bag"; "The owls are not what they seem"; and "Without chemicals, he points." He takes Cooper's gold ring and explains that when Cooper understands the three premonitions, his ring will be returned. Leo Johnson survives his shooting but is brain-damaged. Catherine Martell disappears, presumed killed in the mill fire. Leland Palmer, whose hair has turned white overnight, returns to work but behaves erratically. Cooper deduces that the "man in the smiling bag" is the corpse of Jacques Renault in a body bag. Donna befriends an agoraphobic orchid grower named Harold Smith whom Laura entrusted with a second, secret diary she kept. Harold catches Donna and Maddy attempting to steal the diary from him and hangs himself in despair. Cooper and the sheriff's department take possession of Laura's secret diary, and learn that BOB, a friend of her father's, had been sexually abusing her since childhood and she used drugs to cope. They initially suspect that the killer is Ben Horne and arrest him, but Leland Palmer is revealed to viewers to be BOB's host when he brutally kills Maddy. Cooper begins to doubt Horne's guilt, so he gathers all of his suspects in the belief that he will receive a sign to help him identify the killer. The Giant appears and confirms that Leland is BOB's host and Laura's and Maddy's killer, giving Cooper back his ring. Cooper and Truman take Leland into custody. In control of Leland's body, BOB admits to a string of murders, before forcing Leland to commit suicide. Leland, as he dies, is freed of BOB's influence and begs for forgiveness. BOB's spirit disappears into the woods in the form of an owl and the lawmen wonder if he will reappear. Cooper is set to leave Twin Peaks when he is framed for drug trafficking by Jean Renault and is suspended from the FBI. Renault holds Cooper responsible for the death of his brothers, Jacques and Bernard. Jean Renault is killed in a shootout with police, and Cooper is cleared of all charges. Windom Earle, Cooper's former mentor and FBI partner, escapes from a mental institution and comes to Twin Peaks. Cooper had previously been having an affair with Earle's wife, Caroline, while she was under his protection as a witness to a federal crime. Earle murdered Caroline and wounded Cooper. He now engages Cooper in a twisted game of chess where Earle murders someone whenever a piece is captured. Investigating BOB's origin and whereabouts with the help of Major Garland Briggs, Cooper learns of the existence of the White Lodge and the Black Lodge, two extra-dimensional realms whose entrances are somewhere in the woods surrounding Twin Peaks. Catherine returns to town in yellowface, having survived the mill fire, and manipulates Ben Horne into signing the Ghostwood project over to her. Andrew Packard, Josie's husband, is revealed to be still alive. Josie Packard is revealed to be the person who shot Cooper at the end of the first season. Andrew forces Josie to confront his business rival and her tormentor from Hong Kong, the sinister Thomas Eckhardt. Josie kills Eckhardt but she mysteriously dies when Truman and Cooper try to apprehend her. Cooper falls in love with a new arrival in town, Annie Blackburn. Earle captures the brain-damaged Leo for use as a henchman and abandons his chess game with Cooper. When Annie wins the Miss Twin Peaks contest, Earle kidnaps her and takes her to the entrance to the Black Lodge, whose power he seeks to use for himself. Through a series of clues Cooper discovers the entrance to the Black Lodge, which turns out to be the strange, red-curtained room from his dream. He is greeted by the Man From Another Place, the Giant, and Laura Palmer, who each give Cooper cryptic messages. Searching for Annie and Earle, Cooper encounters doppelgängers of various people, including Maddy Ferguson and Leland Palmer. Cooper finds Earle, who demands Cooper's soul in exchange for Annie's life. Cooper agrees but BOB appears and takes Earle's soul for himself. BOB then turns to Cooper, who is chased through the lodge by a doppelgänger of himself. Outside the lodge, Andrew Packard, Pete Martell and Audrey Horne are caught in an explosion at a bank vault, a trap laid by the dead Eckhardt. Cooper and Annie reappear in the woods, both injured. Annie is taken to hospital but Cooper recovers in his room at the Great Northern Hotel. It becomes clear that the "Cooper" who emerged from the Lodge is in fact his doppelgänger, under BOB's control. He smashes his head into a bathroom mirror and laughs maniacally. On October 6, 2014, it was announced that a limited series would air on Showtime. David Lynch and Mark Frost wrote all the episodes, and Lynch directed. Frost emphasized that the new episodes are not a remake or reboot but a continuation of the series. The episodes are set in the present day, and the passage of 25 years is an important element in the plot. Most of the original cast returns, including Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick, Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, and several others. Additions include Jeremy Davies, Laura Dern, Robert Forster, Tim Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amanda Seyfried, Matthew Lillard, and Naomi Watts. The limited series began filming in September 2015 and was completed by April 2016. It was shot continuously from a single, long-shooting script before being edited into separate episodes. The series premiered on May 21, 2017, and consists of 18 episodes. In the 1980s, Mark Frost worked for three years as a writer for the television police drama Hill Street Blues, which featured a large cast and extended story lines. Following his success with The Elephant Man (1980) and Blue Velvet in 1986, David Lynch was hired by a Warner Bros. executive to direct a film about the life of Marilyn Monroe, based on the best-selling book Goddess. Lynch recalls being "sort of interested. I loved the idea of this woman in trouble, but I didn't know if I liked it being a real story." Lynch and Frost first worked together on the Goddess screenplay and although the project was dropped by Warner Bros., they became good friends. They went on to work as writer and director for One Saliva Bubble, a film with Steve Martin attached to star, but it was never made either. Lynch's agent, Tony Krantz, encouraged him to do a television show. He took Lynch to Nibblers restaurant in Los Angeles and said, "You should do a show about real life in America—your vision of America the same way you demonstrated it in Blue Velvet." Lynch got an "idea of a small-town thing", and though he and Frost were not keen on it, they decided to humor Krantz. Frost wanted to tell "a sort of Dickensian story about multiple lives in a contained area that could sort of go perpetually." Originally, the show was to be titled North Dakota and set in the Plains region of North Dakota. After Frost, Krantz, and Lynch rented a screening room in Beverly Hills and screened Peyton Place, they decided to develop the town before its inhabitants. Due to the lack of forests and mountains in North Dakota, the title was changed from North Dakota to Northwest Passage (the title of the pilot episode), and the location to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Washington. They then drew a map and decided that there would be a lumber mill in the town. Then they came up with an image of a body washing up on the shore of a lake. Lynch remembers, "We knew where everything was located and that helped us determine the prevailing atmosphere and what might happen there." Frost remembers that he and Lynch came up with the notion of the girl next door leading a "desperate double life" that would end in murder. The idea was inspired, in part, by the unsolved 1908 murder of Hazel Irene Drew in Sand Lake, New York. Lynch and Frost pitched the idea to ABC during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike in a ten-minute meeting with the network's drama head, Chad Hoffman, with nothing more than this image and a concept. According to the director, the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer was initially going to be in the foreground, but would recede gradually as viewers got to know the other townsfolk and the problems they were having. Lynch and Frost wanted to mix a police investigation with a soap opera. ABC liked the idea and asked Lynch and Frost to write a screenplay for the pilot episode. They had been talking about the project for three months and wrote the screenplay in 10 days. Frost wrote more verbal characters, like Benjamin Horne, while Lynch was responsible for Agent Cooper. According to the director, "He says a lot of the things I say." ABC Entertainment President Brandon Stoddard ordered the two-hour pilot for a possible fall 1989 series. He left the position in March 1989 as Lynch went into production. They filmed the pilot for million with an agreement with ABC that they would shoot an additional "ending" to it so that it could be sold directly to video in Europe as a feature film if the TV show was not picked up. ABC's Robert Iger and his creative team took over, saw the dailies, and met with Frost and Lynch to get the arc of the stories and characters. Although Iger liked the pilot, he had difficulty persuading the rest of the network executives. Iger suggested showing it to a more diverse, younger group, who liked it, and the executive subsequently convinced ABC to buy seven episodes at .1 million apiece. Some executives figured that the show would never get on the air or that it might run as a seven-hour mini-series, but Iger planned to schedule it for the spring. The final showdown occurred during a bi-coastal conference call between Iger and a room full of New York executives; Iger won, and Twin Peaks was on the air. Each episode took a week to shoot and after directing the second episode, Lynch went off to complete Wild at Heart while Frost wrote the remaining segments.Standards and Practices had a problem with only one scene from the first season: an extreme close-up in the pilot of Cooper's hand as he slid tweezers under Laura's fingernail and removed a tiny "R". They wanted the scene to be shorter because it made them uncomfortable, but Frost and Lynch refused and the scene remained. Veteran film actress Piper Laurie (pictured here in 1990) helped cement the Twin Peaks cast. Twin Peaks features members of a loose ensemble of Lynch's favorite character actors, including Jack Nance, Kyle MacLachlan, Grace Zabriskie, and Everett McGill. Isabella Rossellini, who had worked with Lynch on Blue Velvet was originally cast as Giovanna Packard, but she dropped out of the production before shooting began on the pilot episode. The character was then reconceived as Josie Packard, of Chinese ethnicity, and the role given to actress Joan Chen. It casts several veteran actors who had risen to fame in the 1950s and 1960s, including 1950s film stars Richard Beymer, Piper Laurie, and Russ Tamblyn. Other veteran actors included British actor James Booth (Zulu), former The Mod Squad star Peggy Lipton, and Michael Ontkean who co-starred in the 1970s crime drama The Rookies. Kyle MacLachlan was cast as Agent Dale Cooper. Stage actor Warren Frost, father of Mark Frost, was cast as Dr. Will Hayward. Due to budget constraints, Lynch intended to cast a local girl from Seattle, reportedly "just to play a dead girl". The local girl ended up being Sheryl Lee. Lynch stated "But no one—not Mark, me, anyone—had any idea that she could act, or that she was going to be so powerful just being dead." And then, while Lynch shot the home movie that James takes of Donna and Laura, he realized that Lee had something special. "She did do another scene—the video with Donna on the picnic—and it was that scene that did it." As a result, Sheryl Lee became a semi-regular addition to the cast, appearing in flashbacks as Laura, and portraying another, recurring character: Maddy Ferguson, Laura's similar-looking cousin. The character of Phillip Gerard's appearance in the pilot episode was originally intended to be only a "kind of homage to The Fugitive. The only thing he was gonna do was be in this elevator and walk out," according to David Lynch. However, when Lynch wrote the "Fire walk with me" speech, he imagined Al Strobel, who played Gerard, reciting it in the basement of the Twin Peaks hospital—a scene that appeared in the European version of the pilot episode, and surfaced later in Agent Cooper's dream sequence. Gerard's full name, Phillip Michael Gerard, is also a reference to Lieutenant Phillip Gerard, a character in The Fugitive. Lynch met Michael J. Anderson in 1987. After seeing him in a short film, Lynch wanted to cast the actor in the title role in Ronnie Rocket, but that project failed to get made. Richard Beymer was cast as Ben Horne because he had known Johanna Ray, Lynch's casting director. Lynch was familiar with Beymer's work in the 1961 film West Side Story and was surprised that Beymer was available for the role. Set dresser Frank Silva was cast as the mysterious "Bob". Lynch himself recalls that the idea originated when he overheard Silva moving furniture around in the bedroom set, and then heard a woman warning Silva not to block himself in by moving furniture in front of the door. Lynch was struck with an image of Silva in the room. When he learned that Silva was an actor, he filmed two panning shots, one with Silva at the base of the bed, and one without; he did not yet know how he would use this material. Later that day, during the filming of Sarah Palmer having a vision, the camera operator told Lynch that the shot was ruined because "Frank [Silva] was reflected in the mirror." Lynch comments, "Things like this happen and make you start dreaming. And one thing leads to another, and if you let it, a whole other thing opens up." Lynch used the panning shot of Silva in the bedroom, and the shot featuring Silva's reflection, in the closing scenes of the European version of the pilot episode. Silva's reflection in the mirror can also be glimpsed during the scene of Sarah's vision at the end of the original pilot, but it is less clear. A close-up of Silva in the bedroom later became a significant image in episodes of the TV series. The score for Twin Peaks has received acclaim; The Guardian wrote that it "still marks the summit of TV soundtracks." In fall 1989, composer Angelo Badalamenti and Lynch created the score for the show. In 20 minutes they produced the signature theme for the series. Badalamenti called it the "Love Theme from Twin Peaks". Lynch told him, "You just wrote 75% of the score. It's the mood of the whole piece. It is Twin Peaks." While creating the score, Lynch often described the moods or emotions he wanted the music to evoke, and Badalamenti began to play the piano. In the scenes dominated by young men, they are accompanied by music that Badalamenti called Cool Jazz. The characters' masculinity was enhanced by finger-snapping, "cocktail-lounge electric piano, pulsing bass, and lightly brushed percussion." A handful of the motifs were borrowed from the Julee Cruise album Floating into the Night, which was written in large part by Badalamenti and Lynch and was released in 1989. This album also serves as the soundtrack to another Lynch project, Industrial Symphony No. 1, a live Cruise performance also featuring Michael J. Anderson ("The Man from Another Place"). The song "Falling" (sans vocals) became the theme to the show, and the songs "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart", "The Nightingale", "The World Spins", and "Into the Night" (found in their full versions on the album) were all, except the latter, used as Cruise's roadhouse performances during the show's run. The lyrics for all five songs were written by Lynch. A second volume of the soundtrack was released on October 30, 2007, to coincide with the Definitive Gold Box DVD set. In March 2011, Lynch began releasing The Twin Peaks Archive - a collection of previously unavailable tracks from the series and the film via his website. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper states, in the pilot episode, that Twin Peaks is "five miles south of the Canadian border, and twelve miles west of the state line". This places it in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. Lynch and Frost started their location search in Snoqualmie, Washington, on the recommendation of a friend of Frost. They found all of the locations that they had written into the pilot episode. The towns of Snoqualmie, North Bend and Fall City – which became the primary filming locations for stock Twin Peaks exterior footage – are about an hour's drive from the town of Roslyn, Washington, the town used for the series Northern Exposure. Many exterior scenes were filmed in wooded areas of Malibu, California. Most of the interior scenes were shot on standing sets in a San Fernando Valley warehouse. The soap opera show-within-the-show Invitation to Love was not shot on a studio set, but in the Ennis House, an architectural landmark designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Mark Frost and David Lynch made use of repeating and sometimes mysterious motifs such as trees (especially fir and pines), coffee, cherry pie, donuts, owls, logs, ducks, water, fire—and numerous embedded references to other films and TV shows. During the filming of the scene in which Cooper first examines Laura's body, a malfunctioning fluorescent lamp above the table flickered constantly, but Lynch decided not to replace it, since he liked the disconcerting effect that it created. Cooper's dream at the end of the third episode, which became a driving plot point in the series's first season and ultimately held the key to the identity of Laura's murderer, was never scripted. The idea came to Lynch one afternoon after touching the side of a hot car left out in the sun: "I was leaning against a car—the front of me was leaning against this very warm car. My hands were on the roof and the metal was very hot. The Red Room scene leapt into my mind. 'Little Mike' was there, and he was speaking backwards... For the rest of the night I thought only about The Red Room." The footage was originally shot along with the pilot, to be used as the conclusion were it to be released as a feature film. When the series was picked up, Lynch decided to incorporate some of the footage; in the third episode, Cooper, narrating the dream, outlines the shot footage which Lynch did not incorporate, such as Mike shooting Bob and the fact that he is 25 years older when he meets Laura Palmer's spirit. In an attempt to avoid cancellation, the idea of a Cooper possessed by Bob came up and was included in the final episode, but the series was cancelled even before the episode was aired. Before the one and a half hour pilot premiered on TV, a screening was held at the Museum of Broadcasting in Hollywood. Media analyst and advertising executive Paul Schulman said, "I don't think it has a chance of succeeding. It is not commercial, it is radically different from what we as viewers are accustomed to seeing, there's no one in the show to root for." The show's Thursday night time slot had not been a good one for soap operas, as both Dynasty and its short-lived spin-off The Colbys did poorly.Twin Peaks was also up against the hugely successful sitcom Cheers. Initially, the show received a positive response from TV critics. Tom Shales, in The Washington Post, wrote, "Twin Peaks disorients you in ways that small-screen productions seldom attempt. It's a pleasurable sensation, the floor dropping out and leaving one dangling." In The New York Times, John J. O'Connor wrote, "Twin Peaks is not a send-up of the form. Mr. Lynch clearly savors the standard ingredients...but then the director adds his own peculiar touches, small passing details that suddenly, and often hilariously, thrust the commonplace out of kilter."Entertainment Weekly gave the show an "A+" rating and Ken Tucker wrote, "Plot is irrelevant; moments are everything. Lynch and Frost have mastered a way to make a weekly series endlessly interesting."Richard Zoglin in Time magazine said that it "may be the most hauntingly original work ever done for American TV." The two-hour pilot was the highest-rated movie for the 1989–90 season with a 22 rating and was viewed by 33% of the audience. In its first broadcast as a regular one-hour drama series, Twin Peaks scored ABC's highest ratings in four years in its 9:00 pm Thursday time slot. The show also reduced NBC's Cheers's ratings. Twin Peaks had a 16.2 rating with each point equaling 921,000 homes with TVs. The episode also added new viewers because of what ABC's senior vice-president of research, Alan Wurtzel, called "the water cooler syndrome", in which people talk about the series the next day at work. But the show's third episode lost 14% of the audience that had tuned in a week before. That audience had dropped 30% from the show's first appearance on Thursday night. This was a result of competing against Cheers, which appealed to the same demographic that watched Twin Peaks. A production executive from the show spoke of being frustrated with the network's scheduling of the show. "The show is being banged around on Thursday night. If ABC had put it on Wednesday night it could have built on its initial success. ABC has put the show at risk." In response, the network aired the first-season finale on a Wednesday night at 10:00 pm instead of its usual 9:00 pm Thursday slot. The show achieved its best ratings since its third week on the air with a 12.6 and a 22 share of the audience. On May 22, 1990, it was announced that Twin Peaks would be renewed for a second season. During the first and second season, the search for Laura Palmer's killer served as the engine for the plot, and captured the public's imagination, although the creators admitted this was largely a MacGuffin; each episode was really about the interactions between the townsfolk. The unique (and often bizarre) personalities of each citizen formed a web of minutiae that ran contrary to the town's quaint appearance. Adding to the surreal atmosphere was the recurrence of Dale Cooper's dreams, in which the FBI agent is given clues to Laura's murder in a supernatural realm that may or may not be of his imagination. The first season contained only eight episodes (including the two-hour pilot episode), and was considered technically and artistically revolutionary for television at the time, and geared toward reaching the standards of film. Critics have noted that Twin Peaks began the trend of accomplished cinematography now commonplace in today's television dramas. Lynch and Frost maintained tight control over the first season, handpicking all of the directors, including some Lynch had known from his days at the American Film Institute (e.g., Caleb Deschanel and Tim Hunter) and some referred to him by those he knew personally. Lynch and Frost's control lessened in the second season, corresponding with what is generally regarded as a decrease in the show's quality once the identity of Laura Palmer's murderer was revealed. The aforementioned "water cooler effect" put pressure on the show's creators to solve the mystery. Although they claimed to have known from the series' inception the identity of Laura's murderer, Lynch never wanted to solve the murder, while Frost felt that they had an obligation to the audience to solve it. This created tension between the two men. Its ambitious style, paranormal undertones, and engaging murder mystery made Twin Peaks an unexpected hit. Its characters, particularly MacLachlan's Dale Cooper, were unorthodox for a supposed crime drama, as was Cooper's method of interpreting his dreams to solve the crime. During its first season, the show's popularity reached its zenith, and elements of the program seeped into mainstream popular culture, prompting parodies, including one in the 16th-season premiere of Saturday Night Live, hosted by MacLachlan. David Lynch at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16, 1990, where Twin Peaks was nominated for fourteen awards. He was nominated for directing and co-writing the pilot episode. For its first season, Twin Peaks received fourteen nominations at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kyle MacLachlan), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Piper Laurie), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Sherilyn Fenn), Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (David Lynch), Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (David Lynch and Mark Frost), Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (Harley Peyton), Outstanding Art Direction for a Series, Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore), Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics, and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series. Out of its fourteen nominations, it won for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series and Outstanding Editing for a Series – Single Camera Production. For its second season, it received four nominations at the 43rd Primetime Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kyle MacLachlan), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Piper Laurie), Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series. At the 48th Golden Globe Awards, it won for Best TV Series – Drama, Kyle MacLachlan won for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Drama, Piper Laurie won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV; while Sherilyn Fenn was nominated in the same category as Laurie. The pilot episode was ranked 25th on TV Guide's 1997 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. It placed 49th on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list. In 2004 and 2007, Twin Peaks was ranked 20th and 24th on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever, and in 2002, it was ranked 45th of the "Top 50 Television Programs of All Time" by the same guide. In 2007, UK broadcaster Channel 4 ranked Twin Peaks 9th on their list of the "50 Greatest TV Dramas". Also that year, Time included the show on their list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".Empire listed Twin Peaks as the 24th best TV show in their list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". In 2012, Entertainment Weekly listed the show at no. 12 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years", saying, "The show itself was only fitfully brilliant and ultimately unfulfilling, but the cult lives, fueled by nostalgia for the extraordinary pop phenomenon it inspired, for its significance to the medium (behold the big bang of auteur TV!), and for a sensuous strangeness that possesses you and never lets you go." The series has been nominated for the TCA Heritage Award six consecutive years since 2010. It was ranked 20th on The Hollywood Reporter's list of Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows. With the resolution of Twin Peaks' main drawing point (Laura Palmer's murder) in the middle of the second season, and with subsequent story lines becoming more obscure and drawn out, public interest began to wane. This discontent, coupled with ABC changing its timeslot on a number of occasions, led to a huge drop in the show's ratings after being one of the most-watched television programs in the United States in 1990. A week after the season's 15th episode placed 85th in the ratings out of 89 shows, ABC put Twin Peaks on indefinite hiatus, a move that usually leads to cancellation. An organized letter-writing campaign, dubbed COOP (Citizens Opposed to the Offing of Peaks), attempted to save the show from cancellation. The campaign was successful, as ABC agreed to air the remaining six episodes to finish the season. But due to the Gulf War, Twin Peaks was moved from its usual time slot "for six weeks out of eight" in early 1991, according to Frost, preventing the show from maintaining audience interest. According to Frost, the main storyline after the resolution of Laura Palmer's murder was planned to be the second strongest element from the first season that audiences responded to: The relationship between Agent Cooper and Audrey Horne. Frost explained that Lara Flynn Boyle, who was romantically involved with Kyle MacLachlan at the time, had effectively vetoed the Audrey-Cooper relationship, forcing the writers to come up with alternative storylines to fill the gap. Sherilyn Fenn corroborated this claim in a 2014 interview, stating, "[Boyle] was mad that my character was getting more attention, so then Kyle started saying that his character shouldn't be with my character because it doesn't look good, 'cause I'm too young... I was not happy about it. It was stupid." This meant the artificial extension of secondary storylines, such as James Hurley and Evelyn Marsh, to fill in the space. After ratings began to decline, Agent Cooper was given a new love interest, Annie Blackburn (Heather Graham), to replace the writers' intended romance between him and Audrey Horne. Despite ending on a deliberate audience-baiting cliffhanger, the series finale did not sufficiently boost interest, and the show was not renewed for a third season, leaving the cliffhanger unresolved. Lynch expressed his regret at having resolved the Laura Palmer murder, saying he and Frost had never intended for the series to answer the question and that doing so "killed the goose that laid the golden eggs". Lynch blamed network pressure for the decision to resolve the Palmer storyline prematurely. Frost agreed, noting that people at the network had in fact wanted the killer to be revealed by the end of season one. In 1993, cable channel Bravo acquired the license to rerun the entire series, which began airing in June 1993. These reruns included Lynch's addition of introductions to each episode by the Log Lady and her cryptic musings. Looking back, Frost has admitted that he wished he and Lynch had "worked out a smoother transition" between storylines and that the Laura Palmer story was a "tough act to follow". Regarding the second season, Frost felt that "perhaps the storytelling wasn't quite as taut or as fraught with emotion". Writing for The Atlantic, Mike Mariani wrote that "It would be tough to look at the roster of television shows any given season without finding several that owe a creative debt to Twin Peaks," stating that "Lynch's manipulation of the uncanny, his surreal non-sequiturs, his black humor, and his trademark ominous tracking shots can be felt in a variety of contemporary hit shows. In 2010, the television series Psych paid tribute to the series by reuniting some of the cast in the fifth-season episode, "Dual Spires". The episode's plot is an homage to the Twin Peaks pilot, where the characters of Psych investigate the death of a young girl in a small town called "Dual Spires". The episode also contains several references to the original show. Twin Peaks actors that guest star in the episode are Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee, Dana Ashbrook, Robyn Lively, Lenny Von Dohlen, Catherine E. Coulson and Ray Wise. Prior to the airing of the episode, a special event at the Paley Center for Media was held where the actors from both shows discussed the episode. Reviewers and fans of four seasons of Veena Sud's U.S. TV series, The Killing, have noted similarities and borrowed elements from Lynch's Fire Walk with Me and Twin Peaks, and compared Sud and Lynch's works. Carlton Cuse, creator of Bates Motel, cited Twin Peaks as a key inspiration for his series, stating: "We pretty much ripped off Twin Peaks... If you wanted to get that confession, the answer is yes. I loved that show. They only did 30 episodes. Kerry [Ehrin] and I thought we'd do the 70 that are missing." Twin Peaks served as an inspiration for the 1993 video game The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, with director Takashi Tezuka citing the series as the main factor for the creation of the "suspicious" characters that populate the game, as well as the mystery elements of the story. The show has also influenced a number of survival horror and psychological thriller video games—most notably Alan Wake,Deadly Premonition,Silent Hill, and Max Payne. The American animated show Gravity Falls repeatedly referenced the Black Lodge along with other elements of Twin Peaks throughout its run. The song "Laura Palmer" by the band Bastille was written influenced by the "slightly weird, eerie" atmosphere of the show. The series was released on VHS in a six-tape collection on April 16, 1995, however, it did not include the original pilot episode. On December 18, 2001, the first season (episodes 1–7, minus the pilot) of Twin Peaks was released on DVD in Region 1 by Artisan Entertainment. The box set featured digitally remastered video was noted for being the first TV series to have its audio track redone in DTS. The second season release was postponed several times, and the release was originally canceled in 2003 by Artisan due to low sales figures for the season 1 DVD. The second season was finally released in the United States and Canada on April 3, 2007, via Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment/CBS DVD. In July 2013, it was revealed that a Blu-ray version of the complete series would be released. In January 2014, Lynch confirmed the Blu-ray release and that it would contain the pilot, season 1, season 2, and new special features, and possibly the film. It was announced on May 15, 2014, that the Blu-ray of the complete series of Twin Peaks and the film containing over 90 minutes of deleted scenes would be released on July 29, 2014. Online, the series is available through the pay CBS All Access service in full, along with Showtime's "Anytime" service for pay-TV subscribers and its over-the-top separate service. The original series is available for HD streaming via both Hulu and Netflix in the U.S. Hulu also offers The Return, the 18-episode continuation originally aired on Showtime, as an additional-cost subscription option for viewing some of Showtime's programming. During the show's second season, Pocket Books released three official tie-in books, each authored by the show's creators (or their family), which offer a wealth of backstory. The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, written by Lynch's daughter Jennifer Lynch, is the diary as seen in the series and written by Laura, chronicling her thoughts from her twelfth birthday to the days leading up to her death. Frost's brother Scott wrote The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes. Kyle MacLachlan also recorded Diane: The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper, which combined audio tracks from various episodes of the series with newly recorded monologues.Welcome to Twin Peaks: An Access Guide to the Town offers information about the history, flora, fauna, and culture of the fictitious town. The Secret History of Twin Peaks, a novel by series co-creator Mark Frost, "places the unexplained phenomena that unfolded in Twin Peaks in a layered, wide-ranging history, beginning with the journals of Lewis and Clark and ending with the shocking events that closed the finale." It was published on October 18, 2016. The 1992 film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a prequel to the TV series. It tells of the investigation into the murder of Teresa Banks and the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer. Director David Lynch and most of the television cast returned for the film, with the notable exceptions of Lara Flynn Boyle, who declined to return as Laura's best friend Donna Hayward and was replaced by Moira Kelly, and Sherilyn Fenn due to scheduling conflicts. Also, Kyle MacLachlan returned reluctantly as he wanted to avoid typecasting, so his presence in the film is smaller than originally planned. Lynch originally shot about five hours of footage that was subsequently cut down to two hours and fourteen minutes. Most of the deleted scenes feature additional characters from the television series who ultimately did not appear in the finished film. Around ninety minutes of these scenes are included in the complete series Blu-ray that was released on July 29, 2014. Fire Walk with Me was received poorly, especially in comparison to the series. It was greeted at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival with booing from the audience and has received mixed reviews by American critics. It grossed a total of USD .8 million in 691 theaters in its opening weekend and went on to gross a total of .1 million in North America. ^ LeVasseur, Andrea. "Twin Peaks [TV Series]". AllMovie. Retrieved November 19, 2012. ^ Collins, Sean T. (October 26, 2015). "25 Best Horror TV Shows of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 6, 2015. ^ Moldovan, Raluca (June 1, 2015). "'That Show You Like Might Be Coming Back in Style': How Twin Peaks Changed the Face of Contemporary Television". American, British and Canadian Studies Journal. 24 (1): 44–68. doi:10.1515/abcsj-2015-0003. ISSN 1841-964X. ^ Williams, Rebecca (June 3, 2016). "Ontological Security, Authorship, and Resurrection: Exploring Twin Peaks' Social Media Afterlife". 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2019-04-21T21:15:44Z

https://punchaceleb.com/hot-jane-morgan/

I have been reflecting on some ideas around our current election system which were (originally) prompted by our pro tem appointment process. First, I think the Community Team needs to get out of the moderator-selection business. Currently, 45% of our moderators were appointed by someone from the Stack Exchange staff, and more than half (58%) our sites have yet to hold a proper election. We need to give agency back to the communities regarding how you pick and maintain your elected leadership from the beginning and as the community continues to grow. Is there an interest in broader election reform? The purpose of this post is to gauge the general interest in taking a fresh look at our current electoral ideology and how you pick and maintain your moderation leadership. This isn't about working out specific implementation details or resolving every obstacle. I want to see if there is a general appetite for looking at broader reforms around how we elect and maintain moderators. The first question to ask is: “Is this even a thing? Should I be looking at this?" Or am I stepping on customs so ingrained and sacrosanct, I should just leave it alone. Jon Ericson has been experimenting with pro tem elections to replace moderators who have moved on. As we were looking at improvements to that process, I kept asking if we should roll that [cool idea] back into the regular election cycle? Starting with a clean slate, I started considering how broader electoral changes might improve some of the issues around our representative ecosystem. I think we might be edging into something more capable and adaptive — so I want to see if I should continue working on this. Here are a few issues I’ll put on the table for consideration; I'm sure there are others. This is an open discussion and trial balloon to see whether there is any interest in looking at broader electoral changes. Please feel free to add your thoughts in the answers below. There's no reason we (the community team) need to continue picking your moderators. We've already started experimenting with pro tem elections, so I'd like to improve on that process so ALL moderators are elected by the community — including pro tems — starting shortly after the private beta. Jon's pro tem experiments show that pro tem elections can work, so I would like to see if we can merge both processes into one, unified election ecosystem. As the distinction between pro tem and "real moderator" starts to fade— read on. The CoGro Team (particularly Jnat and others) has been grinding away at a long-neglected backlog of sites needing moderator replacements (resignations, absentees, vetting candidates). Those delays will not likely end with the current backlog. The community team continues to be conspicuously short on resources to help communities with other issues. I believe this next bullet item can essentially free up those resources almost entirely. Let's start with an assumption that I can simplify the election process to make it much less exhausting. The basic idea is to have much simpler, lightweight elections… more often… at regular intervals… maybe even yearly. The idea is to make elections much less epic and generational by creating more opportunity for the community to decide who they elect and retain. One way to help assure your best talent rises to the top is to provide more opportunity for avid users to apply. This one seems like a no-brainer. Leveraging our current Q&A framework, we can model a town hall where communities are empowered to host their own event if they so choose, or skip it if they don't (with CM assistance where needed, of course). Should "Moderator For Life" always be automatic… and FOREVER? Our Moderator team is the best there is, bar none. Having senior moderators is important to retain valuable talent. But should communities have a say when that happens? And should they be empowered to decide if something has changed? We don't want to have a lot of needless rollover elections, so maybe we could come up with a system where long-term "senior moderators" are easily retained, while more established communities can avoid needless elections when it turns out: "Nah, we're good. We don't need another election." I love our STV voting system; I think the single transferable vote is inspired. I’m not sure if there’s room for improvement, so I mention it here but I would largely keep the fundamental mechanism intact. The first Skeptics election had 64 voters in total. That's a scary number to me, any lower and I'm not sure the election would mean anything. The previous stance by SE was always that the community needs a certain size and activity to host elections, and I don't see any reason why this would have changed. Coupling elections to graduation doesn't make any sense anymore with the way they work now, and the endless beta many sites are in, but that is something SE already knows and has worked on. I don't see any reason to change much more than the decoupling of elections from the graduation state, as graduation is now coupled to criteria many sites won't hit soon, or maybe never. I'm personally not a fan of the town hall questions for elections. They don't provide substantial insight about a candidate to me, compared to the rather large effort they are for the community and each candidate. The most reliable indicator for a mod for me is still previous activity on the site. So I would personally consider changes there potentially good, but it's also not something I would care a lot about. Personally, I don't have any issue with moderators being appointed by SE. Of course I've been appointed twice by SE, and later elected in both cases. I don't see any alternative to appointments in early sites, there is simply no way actual elections would work at that time. SE isn't a democracy, and I think it's a bit misleading if we style SE sites as democratic. SE still holds all the power, and while they usually don't exercise it, the community only runs the site within the constraints set by SE. This would be a fundamental change in the relationship between the moderators (particularly the elected ones) and the company and, more importantly, the community. I'm not sure I would have run for election - especially on Stack Overflow - if I was always having to think about re-election. I know in other walks of life elections aren't for life, but then we get the constant electioneering which distracts people from doing the job they were elected to do. I know that Stack Exchange takes breaches of the rules around moderating very seriously and diamonds have been removed from several moderators for various reasons. Perhaps what we need is a simpler (but not necessarily quicker) process for this. Inactive moderators - currently it seems to take too long for inactive moderators to be removed. I know that there are multitudinous reasons why a moderation might become inactive and not all of them require the immediate removal of the diamond, but should the system become more automated? You've not logged in at all in the last months. You've logged in but not performed any (or very few) moderator actions. This would remove the need for the CMs to reach out (at least in the first instance) and this reminder might be enough to prompt the moderator to say "you know what, I don't have time for moderating right now and I should step down". Unpopular moderators - I don't see this as being a reason to remove the diamond. We're not elected/appointed to be popular but to help run the sites. Sometimes that involves making decisions that might upset a number of people. Harmful moderators - these are the cases where the moderator is taking actions that are actually detrimental to the site. These actions might be popular (at least with some sections of the community), but are against the overall ethos of the site or direction that the majority of the community wants to go. People are quick (certainly on Stack Overflow) to go to meta and raise issues they see with moderator actions, so I don't think there's a need to invent a new way to air grievances. If someone doesn't want to go public they can always raise a ticket with the community managers. Does there need to be something that collates the meta questions (it could use the score to see how valid the rest of the community thought the complaint was) and CM tickets to show if a moderator is heading in the wrong direction before something bad happens? I don't have an answer here though. Alright, I can see where a lot of this comes from - elections are a lot of work for the CM team, as are the pro tem appointments. I get that with a reduced team and an ever growing network, you'd want to look at seeing what can be done to reduce your load and increase overall productivity as sites are happier when they have mods to steer the ship and have the number of mods they need to keep the ship afloat. That makes sense to me. That said, a lot of this seems to devalue a lot of the work, time and energy that mods put into their sites, most of which their community never sees. There's a reason we joke about being janitors, after all. So when I read this and see "should it be forever", and the idea of having to re-run yearly just feels like a lot of mess and disruption. I get it, you don't want to risk the idea that the community feels like the mods are the kings and queens stepping all over the populace (cue that "help, help, I'm being repressed" skit here, if you like). At the same time, all of us who have been here for a while have put a lot of ourselves into making sure the sites are awesome, and this feels very "okay thanks for coming out, putting up with all the crap, dealing with all this stuff as we step away from being present, but here's the door". Maybe that's not charitable of me, and perhaps I am supposed to hope that my community will recognize my awesome and keep me around. But here's the rub - like I mentioned earlier, a lot of what we do and what we handle, users don't see. We're supposed to be exception handlers and janitors and all that good stuff. A sign of a healthy site is that you shouldn't see the mods unilaterally dealing with and closing all the things. So...the community might not always know that I handled infinitely more flags than my fellow mods by a hundredfold, lets say - they might only see that they personally like ModX better because they're more fun in chat. I am not sure how to balance all of this. I get that you guys desperately need to relinquish some control because this stuff isn't tenable as things get bigger and bigger. But I am not sure that this, as I am interpreting it, is the best way to go about it. A further thought - if you are, effectively, forcing mods to step down if they're not constantly re-elected, this kinda flies right in the face of the fact that you have said many times to mods (of elected/non beta sites, who haven't like...blown up stuff or caused giant messes) that elect to stop moderation and step down due to burnout or other personal reasons that their diamond is, effectively, theirs if they decide they wish to step back into the moderation ring again. It feels like youre doing a bit of a 180, here, instead of supporting the people you have, you're just flipping them out in favour of others. This feels like instead of supporting mods who might feel burnout, that you are trying to preempt that by potentially setting us aside. Could we get a yearly check in meta post by the Community user asking if the site would like to have a mod election? On some sites, a mod election may be necessary while on others the community could be perfectly happy with the mod team. In either case I don't see a harm in asking and in the second it would help the moderators know that the community is happy with what they are doing. The reason for having the Community user post it on a schedule is that otherwise the mods may feel like the asker of the meta post is irritated with them for some reason, because if they are happy then there is no reason for an election right? While if the Community user posts it then it's just a neutral question that gets asked every so often. I think it's worth doing a mix of what we do now on betas, and the election process. It is. However on a new community, it's extremely useful to get things started on the right foot. The nice thing with the current appointment system is that you guys get to vet the candidates. On one hand, this hopefully means folks with the right mix of SE experience and subject knowledge expertise get picked. On the other hand, this, well, might not scale that well. Y'all can't know everyone. On a smaller, more manageable site (the good ol' days?) it would probably be a great way to get to know the folks in the community (I'm not sure if betas get their own CM on overwatch any more) as well. The pro-tem process also kind of got me used to being a moderator, so it's also a useful way to bootstrap members of a community who are not mods on a smaller site with different challenges. Not everyone makes it (that's true of some elected mods too), but it allows there to be a bit more diversity in the broader community of mods. Of the two "newbie" mods on Software Recs - one's a Stack Overflow mod now, and I'm a moderator on Super User, so the process might actually have helped in some way there. Elections also seem expensive in terms of time and effort, but that's probably a CM might know better than us. I suspect a mix - of an initial batch of hand picked moderators, with top-ups/replacements until graduation being elections - might be a good fit. On beta sites, having elections for top-ups and replacements gives a chance for folks with the 'right' personalities to assert themselves before folks need to decide if they'd be a good candidate for moddyness. Well, in theory, on mature sites, you're basically running elections as needed. It seems to work, and other than Stack Overflow, most sites are not going to need a massive, churning moderator team. In fact, if moderators are getting replaced often, it's more work, and maybe a sign that moderating the site is a bit too much of a chore. They might. On the other hand, it's a massively manual process. As mentioned earlier, elections are expensive, and personally I feel running them only as needed makes sense, even when it's cheaper. This is something that's been a problem for... quite a while. It seems to be getting a little better, but it does feel there's a point where I'd ask, "if it's short of resources, how far is streamlining going to help?". At some point, there's a distinct lack of fat in the processes to trim. Simpler elections sound like a good idea. On the other hand, it's worth considering if running them more often than "as needed" makes sense. On the short term, it might be worth using simpler, more streamlined elections to cut back on the backlog. I like simpler. More often should need a clear reason why it's better. Meta is kind of that. We also have a room on Super User for contacting mods, and it works reasonably well. There's a handful of users on many sites (who I shall not name since they would probably be embarrassed) who have an impact primarily through meta and such. Having read through and realising I misunderstood this completely - They could - but other than initiating town hall question collection and picking the questions, the CMs act primarily to facilitate and organise. I'm not really sure that those processes mirror anything a regular mod comes across ... as a normal mod. In a sense - the community does but I'm not very sure how devolving the process to the community would work better than it does now. The idea of getting mods to "re-up" and letting them take a break and come back has been mentioned before. As someone who's both a mod and an ex-mod - I actually feel the value of a experienced, engaged and accessible moderator kind of goes beyond the site they actually moderate on. So, I'd feel that a mod should be a mod as long as they're able to, and willing to put in the time. I'd say, a mix of minimum activity and an option to step down at any time would be a great compromise. I'm not sure of a "great" system of working out when a community needs more mods short of the mods asking. As long as the flags are handled (which is a "easy" metric in terms of statistics), they're able to keep ahead of meta and there's no major/widespread drama in the community over mod teams. Even where some of our experienced mods are less active, they do form a really useful counterbalance on some decisions behind the scenes, so "activity" is not a great metric. That's to say, we shouldn't have moderator turnover for the sake of having turnover on a mature site. The idea is to make elections much less epic and generational by creating more opportunity for the community to decide who they elect and retain. This seems to be connected to your bullet point about moderators for life. Can you elaborate on that a bit? For example, if you have 3 moderators and the election comes, 3 new would be elected and if the old ones wanted to stay, they needed to nominate themselves again? This sounds like a lot of extra work for then active moderators, who had to go through the election process while also volunteering to keep on moderating their sites. Furthermore, as @fbueckert mentioned in a comment, moderators also have to make unpopular decisions. It shouldn't become too much of a popularity contest. I wouldn't want moderators to have to worry also about the popularity of their potential decision, because there's another election soon. If it's the best decision for the community should matter only. Consider an "Honorary Mod" status for elected moderators. They drift away from the site, have less time for the job, etc. This is usually accompanied by a substantial decrease in activity. They're not around much any more. They are welcome to return later. Something bad happened and the diamond is removed. They get hired by SE and might get an employee-diamond to replace the mod-diamond. They still have privileges, but use them much less frequently because they have network-wide responsibilities now. They were actually doing just fine and are still active and interested, but you want them to step aside so the community can have another election. The risk with removing a diamond from an active elected moderator is that it could cause some frustration and resentment, for both the moderator and the community. Here's somebody who's dedicated years to the site, who thought it was a lifetime position after election, and who's now being told "thanks but you're done". Even when people know intellectually that a change-up is good for a site, I anticipate that many will still struggle with it, because people are complicated multi-faceted beings, not logical machines. Further, there are people whose wisdom and insight we want to retain access to. I could (but won't publicly) name a few individuals who I want to still be part of the mod team even if their activity greatly drops, because they bring history, particular problem-solving abilities, or special skills to the team. Currently they can remain on the team; your proposal would kick them out. For mods who are only stepping down (or being nudged out) to make room, and (perhaps) who have served the site for some threshold amount of time to be determined, let's create an "honorary moderator" status.2 Functionally, this is similar to the case of a moderator getting hired -- the person retains access to the mod tools and chat rooms and team,1 is free to handle things when noticed or urgent, sometimes participates in mod chat, but by and large does not participate in the active moderation of the site. These honorary mods wouldn't carry a normal share of the moderation load, wouldn't count toward a quorum when an official mod panel needs to be called, and would be separated out from the active mods on moderator lists. Should this status be for life? I don't know. I don't think we are at risk of the honorary mods overwhelming the currently-active ones, in the same way that the 15 or so employees with diamonds don't overwhelm the three moderators on a smaller site. So I think "as long as the person is active and wants to participate in this way" would be fine. I think it's also fine to go into this with that intention but knowing that we might need a time limit later -- anybody accepting the honorary diamond knows things might have to change. I got this idea from my congregation's honorary trustees. Past presidents (it's a big job and you had to work your way up through offices usually over ~ten years) become lifetime honorary trustees. They may attend and participate in board discussions, they have access to all the official doings that officers and trustees do, and they are allowed to vote for several years. After a set time they lose the vote but retain everything else. Most of them have drifted away by then, but it's a graceful transition, not a boot. And if somebody wants to return to "active duty", we'll elect them to the board again. 1 Having your team account deleted because the community needs you to make room for another mod would be especially demoralizing, I would think -- you lose your account and body of work. 2 It can be called something else; this is an idea, not a precise suggestion. "Ex-officio", "mod advisor", "venerated elder"... ok, probably not that last one, but this is the kind of function I'm describing. I hope this is rare, but sometimes an election is the last thing a site needs right now -- there's some issue on the site, some factional dispute or the like, and an election will be contentious and perhaps produce results we'll all regret in a few months. I'm not sure how to address this, but we should somehow "take the pulse" of the community before scheduling an election, rather than just having a fixed schedule. Of course, if there's a problem that significant, the community and the CM team should be working together to solve it. The "are we ready for an election?" prod would surface those issues if they haven't been visible to the CMs before. As I've always seen it, site elections are a sign of trust between the Community Team and the site itself; you effectively trust us to be able to select our own leadership without running the site and the network's good reputation into the ground in the process. Early beta sites really haven't earned that trust. And there's also long-running beta sites which still haven't earned that trust. Appointing moderators instead of throwing it to the fickle winds of the voting public is still necessary to ensure that sites have proper leadership when they for whatever reason are unable to choose that leadership for themselves. However, I do agree that there's no real reason for the Community Team to do this most of the time. Except for the very first moderator selection on a fledgling site, in most situations where appointing a pro-tem moderator is necessary you already have an existing moderator team, or at least part of one; these are the people that you have already trusted to know how to effectively lead the community, and whose judgement you're (presumably) already relying on when deciding who next to appoint. Why not just cut out the middle-man and let them deputize their own pro-tems? I would still want the Community Team to sign off before giving any deputized pro-tem access to PII and such, but the majority of flags and work that would necessitate having a pro-tem in the first place doesn't involve more than just having elevated mod-level privileges (e.g. one-vote close/delete/undelete powers). The community leaders should be able to decide if and when there's need for a few extra hands while they're waiting for the next election; there's no reason to backlog the Community Team with this. If a new "real" moderator is needed urgently, we'll let you know. We should do a better job of giving "drive-by" voters relevant information about the candidates. Right now the election screen contains very little information about how a particular candidate interacts with a community – instead, it provides "objective" information like reputation, time on the site, candidate score, and badges, in addition to the candidate's blurb. But besides what the candidate wishes to reveal in her bio, there's no information about the candidate's views on the site, her approach to moderation, her approach to conflict, and so forth. This puts us in the situation where high-rep users, after a long hiatus or period of conflict with the community, can attract votes on the basis of name recognition and "good stats" from drive-by voters who got their minimum voting reputation some time ago and haven't been engaged recently. They get a notification that there's an election, and they vote, and that's that. One way to help address this is by developing better "objective" stats that incorporate things like recent review queue activity (as opposed to years ago), recent flag count and acceptance rate (not just total count), recent meta posts count and score, and so forth, and displaying them prominently, rather than only showing metrics based primarily on rep and long-term badge achievements. I believe a better informed electorate would help make elections less stressful for communities. I'd also speculate that this would reduce the need for CM involvement following controversial elections, though this is just a deduction with no data or even anecdote to back it up. I like the overall idea, but I'm nervous about a few things with replacing pro-tem mods, in particular right out of private beta. Lack of solid knowledge. The community doesn't know their candidates that well, they probably haven't seen them run into many tough situations yet. Lack of voters. There won't be that many users yet, and if all goes well, the site will quickly grow to where most users didn't vote in that first election. Lack of risk mitigation. If we get bitten by the previous two points, we don't have a good safety net. If a mod elected early on does turn out to be a bad choice, it's difficult to avoid a lot of drama, which is always harmful, but perhaps even more so for a site early in public beta. All of that said I absolutely think that we should have elections eventually, and pro-tem mods should be a temporary solution, and making elections simpler and thus easier to have (e.g. for replacements) sounds great. Have we considered the effect on private information? I don't know if this is neutral or negative, but more people cycling through the moderator positions means more people who can see all the mod-private information, like suspension histories and PII. Everybody is bound by the moderation agreement (including after they step down) so I'm not concerned that things are more likely to leak out, but over time more people will see private communication between mods and users. This could become uncomfortable for the users involved; that "be nice" suspension of a prominent user with all the juicy details in the mod message is visible to an ever-increasing number of site users. What will the effect be? This concern already exists whenever we add a moderator, but we're opening the door wider now. Do we care? I don't know. Just from an information-security perspective, we should ask ourselves the question. There's one notable advantage of more users cycling through moderator teams: increased perspective among non-mods. There are many good points here so far about concerns with having more elections. I agree with almost all of them. If the problems with more frequent elections could be figured out, I see one big advantage: the more users who have experienced having to moderate a site, the more “forged in the fires of moderation” users we will have. I think this would be good for the sites. Becoming a moderator has an interesting side effect: the rules look very different when you're the one trying to judiciously apply them. This change in perspective has been remarked on by and is very valuable for myself and my fellow local mods. If we could get some of that outside the set of mods, I think it would be a great benefit to a site. After all, it's one thing for the people who control the levers judging and enforcing the rules to have a big-picture view of tending to site health and operation. It's even more valuable to have that perspective among the general membership. It makes for a lot more cooperation and a lot less friction. But, it's less likely to spread from “The Man” of lifelong mods though, and more likely to spread among non-mods by seeing other non-mods model it. As much as the idea of standing for election every year (or whatever) gives me a headache thinking of how it would politicise every mod action, if we could somehow get more regular users to have moderator experience under the belts, I think that one thing would be of great benefit to site health. In short, moderator experience makes for more conscientious users, and we can always use more of those. If we can figure out how to get more users real moderation experience without breaking anything or anyone else, that would be good. I think the mod for life position works quite well, and I would not change it to have mods reelected annually, or some such. There are plenty of cases where mods step down, or get removed and new users step up and are elected to replace them. Or in another case, a site grows and it gets more mods. That all works (could use some tweaking on the inactive mods steeping down part) but the mod for life bit is central to how our sites are run. As others have stated changing the mod position to focus on reelections is dangerous (just look at politics). If instead of curating the site we help run, which includes some actions that are unpopular, I was just filling my term looking to the next election, I'd always be thinking about how this would effect my votes (again look to politicians). Take an example from our site, blender has an all new still experiential version 2.8, we are getting questions about that new version. There is an ongoing debate about whether or not 2.8 questions should be on topic yet. If I was thinking about getting re-elected, I'd say sure ask away (that is the popular thing), however if I'm thinking about the longevity of the site, and the usefulness of the questions/answers I say no. All that is still changing, next week that button might not be there. Ok, back to the problem of elected forever. Do we realistically expect a mod to volunteer for decades? (Some people have life to do, and simply can't.) No, nobody does. We need to make it very clear this is an opened agreement. Moderators are elected to help run the site for as long as they want to. When a mod gets busy (new job, school, baby, family emergency, moves, etc) they should simply be able to leave. No pressure, no expectations from the users or SE. They could very well be here for decades, or just a few months. Whatever it is, mods should feel free to come and go as they want. Once a moderator of SE, always a moderator of SE. After a moderator is elected and signs that Moderator Agreement, they should be able to return as a mod any time they want (say they finished school, or that baby grew up) even if their position has been filled. Granted they left in good standing, and have stayed even marginally engaged with the site (this does not go for the few that get asked to leave, or are kicked out). You can't have too many mods. So if a mod who helped start the site years ago now has time again and comes back, it is a win win. There is less workload on all the other mods; there is less to learn then a brand new mod; and the site keeps its energy with "fresh blood." Lets say there is a mod "Frodo Baggins." Frodo is more busy then he use to be, he's still on the site nearly every day handling flags and all, but if he knew he could step down, let one of the super active power users take over, and yet still be able to come back as a mod, he probably would step down. See at that point there is no reason not to. The site benefits because the more active a mod the better, and Frodo has lost nothing by leaving. In our current system, there is a huge disincentive to leave as a mod. If you leave, you leave all that power (even if you don't use it that much any more). Our sites suffer when semi-active mods do not want to give up their seats, because there is no guarantee that they will ever be able to come back. So instead of forcing the mods to keep getting reelected (which has a whole host of its own problems), just remove the reasons the mods do not want to leave. Mods keeping a re-election mindset is dangerous. Sites' quality will suffer. Enable mods to freely step down and rejoin when they want. Solves most of the inactive mod problem, keeps sites fresh and active, and the special role mods play safe. Any references to "The Fellowship of the Ring" or "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" may be incidental. The recent pro tem election on the Vi site has left me with mixed feelings. Active member of the community. Sporadic contributor (mostly from when the site was new). I would still consider him to be a good mod, but that's mostly based on contributions I've seen on other sites (he's a great mod on another site). Prolific contributor on other sites, but not on ours. I think few people knew who they are (and thus if they're a good mod). Very few/sporadic contributions on any site spread out over many years. There wasn't really a choice: only one candidate was clearly qualified. I think no one was surprised by the outcome: candidate 1 got 72% of the vote. It's not that I'm unhappy with the outcome; but it seems to me that the entire election process was just ... unnecessary? I'm not active on the parenting site, but looking at their election it seems there was a little bit more choice, but one candidate getting 60% of the votes seems it wasn't a difficult decision there, either. Honestly I'm not sure if the election really improved anything over just appointing the mod. On the other hand, I don't think it did any harm, either. Small update: one of the nominees self-deleted their account a day after the election results were announced. While we can't be sure of the reason, I think it's not unreasonable to assume that that disappointment with the election results is a factor. No content is lost and the user's contributions were sporadic, so not a huge deal; but it does highlight that elections can be a risk and have negative effects. Okay, I am throwing a suggestion out there. It’s very rough and mostly food for thought. Also, it pertains to “running” sites with an established moderator team and probably does not translate well to sites on the scale of SO or the community of SciFi. I am aware that this goes against the premise of sticking to STV, but while STV is great, it is simply not made for what I am suggesting. Introduce a score that quantifies how much a new moderator is needed. This can be calculated from flag-handling times, some special button each active moderator can push, or recent retirees. Introduce a score that quantifies how suitable somebody is for moderatorship. This could cover some basic community-moderation achievements (like the moderator score in current elections) but most importantly should be based on anonymous votes by experienced users. The latter could roughly work like this: Once a user reached a certain reputation, they can nominate up to e.g. three other users for moderatorship (and change that list at any time). The value of these nomination votes could somehow mildly scale with reputation or be higher for existing moderators. If all of the above is positive, the candidate writes a brief text to introduce themselves, is subject to questions by the community, and most importantly subject to a vote. In the latter, voters are only asked to express their approval of this particular candidate. If the result of this is positive, the candidate becomes a moderator. No moderator elections if there are no suitable or willing candidates. Excellent candidates can become moderators when they are ripe. You seem to be proposing a procedure by which the whole community can remove a diamond moderator by majority vote, when there are more candidates than there are seats. A better alternative to consider is removal by a two-thirds vote of the whole community. I suggest that if you do establish a yearly election cycle, it is a great idea to list existing diamond moderators on the ballot, and give them an opportunity to campaign, but they should be removed if they receive twice as many downvotes as upvotes. Why? Because moderator elections are not democratic. I am not criticizing this. It is just important to keep in mind. A community cannot set the rules of its own elections. It cannot set terms, term limits, voting procedures, it cannot determine the powers of its elected officials. Robert’s Rules do not apply. The closest the community comes to establishing bylaws is voting on meta posts which propose community policy, and even then community policy cannot contravene Stack Exchange policy. The moderator agreement is with Stack Exchange, not with the community. In short, elected moderators are community representatives, sort of. But it is closer to the truth to say they are appointed volunteers, and that Stack Exchange uses elections as a way to crowd-source and automate the decision of who is safest to appoint. So the question becomes, how can Stack Exchange crowdsource the question of which diamond moderators they should remove because they are not an asset to Stack Exchange? For that there should be a community consensus, that is, the two-thirds majority which is conventionally the minimum for removal from any office. This procedure is detailed at “Handling Calls to Remove a Moderator”. A two-thirds vote is fairly consistent with what Robert’s Rules calls for. Robert’s Rules begin with confidential investigation by a committee that prefers charges, followed by a trial of the facts by the assembly (censure a.k.a. impeachment), and, if censure passes by a majority, a second two-thirds vote on removal then takes place. “Stack Exchange Inc. reserves the right to terminate my privileges as a moderator at any time without warning.” This is a clause in the Moderator Agreement. Termination could presumably take place whenever a diamond moderator violates the agreement. I do not know if this procedure has documented steps that provide for a fair hearing or due process. From the number of posts, it seems obvious there is interest. Not alot consistency what direction it should take but there is interest. A lot of the posts opposed to reoccuring elections are about the drama (and pain) of the current process. The suggestion is for a simpler less painful process. Long before I was active on SE, I had a mop at a couple of the en.wikipedia.org sites. The process used at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:Administrators was not overly painfull, quickly removed the inactive, and provided a route to return. It is one of the most graceful and pleasant process I have seen. It is a common occurrence on wikis to create an account, be active for a certain period of time, then become inactive. While this is to be expected due to the nature of this site, accounts with restricted access should not be left unattended for a long period of time. Users who return after an extended break may no longer be in touch with community practices or policies, which is not desirable in an administrator. Inactive accounts are also more open to account hijacking, and this may be difficult to detect as compromised if the original user is not there to notice edits they didn't make. Furthermore, the list of users with restricted access should only contain those capable of responding to queries within a reasonable period of time. On Wikisource, an inactive sysop will generally have his or her rights removed. An "inactive administrator" is one who has not edited during the past six months and has not made more than 50 edits during the last year. Inactive users automatically lose their restricted access in their next scheduled confirmation of the voting unless the community supports continued access. Any user who has lost access due to inactivity may reapply through the regular processes. I'm incredibly leery of this aspect. It completely changes the paradigm of moderators, and not in a good way. I get that SE is trying to make elections take less from their staff to enact. But...that's kinda the cost of doing business in this system. If you want final oversight and control of the site, you need to keep your hands in it. Less involvement implicitly means less control. See chat and the various debacles that have happened there. If you want to take a step back and automate the process more, while requiring moderators to stand for re-election, you're telling the community that their input and decisions matter more than the overall health of the site does. You're going to face massive backlash when you see something isn't working right, and stick your oar back in. If you want the oversight, you need to put in the work. There are too many words, comments, answers to read them all. So, I'm going to focus on two points. If this has already been said by someone else, apologies. But should communities have a say when that happens? May I suggest two years? If someone is a good fair-minded mod whose presence is unintrusive until needed or an unreliable biased person, I believe two years is sufficient time to either confirm or remove their title. If their status is confirmed, then it's guaranteed for life five-seven years. During which time, a mod can freely choose to resign whenever RL intervenes and new elections should be held, if and when the community feels that necessity. Turnovers are necessary for the well-being of any public institution, private company and workforce, the same principle applies to websites. What about the users who have the right to vote? Should a user who has only posted twice in five years have the same say as someone who has regularly contributed to the site? Should a user who has never posted on meta have the same privilege as someone who has participated, not every week, not every month, but at least (hypothesis) four times on meta in any given year EDIT (this could also include comments). But for candidates, I want to vote for someone who sticks out their neck every once in a while, and I expect them to have been an active member also on meta, not only on the main site. It's a fact, but what I'm about to say will not be liked, not all users are created equal. Some have earned more of a voice than others. I think that regular elections are simply a horrible idea. Having to go through the circus of elections on a regular basis would be a very strong incentive to step down. I am currently a mod on 3 sites (elected on two, appointed on one) so I would have to go through three elections every year if we made this a yearly thing. That would be very tiring. I also think it is very counterproductive to make mods a more political position than they need to be. Moderators need to feel they can do their jobs, which sometimes involves making users angry at us, without fear of this leading to them losing the next election. I really don't want to have a situation where moderators will consider their actions through the distorting lens of how they would affect their reelection bid. I can't see that having a beneficial effect on the quality of moderators' work. However, I do think it could be useful to give the community a simpler way of expressing its feelings about current moderators. To that end, I propose we have a running mod score. Each mod's profile could have two special voting buttons and each user would have the right to up- or downvote the mod (users should be able to change their vote at will). If a moderator's score falls below a certain threshold, and if the total number of votes cast represents a significant proportion of the community, that could trigger some sort of action. Perhaps a mini-election (like a vote of confidence) where users would be asked to vote on the mod retaining their position. Of course, the score should be completely ignored until enough users have voted one way or another that the score can be taken to be representative of what a large part of the community feels. The score also doesn't need to be visible to anyone but SE employees. I think it is important that the communities feel their mods (at least their elected mods) always represent them and there should be a better way for the community to remove a mod when they feel the mod's no longer right for the job. As it stands, the only way a community can de-mod someone is by contacting SE or raising a huge stink on meta. This also means that a few vocal users who dislike a mod can have a disproportionate impact and cause all sorts of drama by complaining on meta. If we had a moderator score as I describe, that could give a much better, more objective and more representative measure of how the community really feels about its moderators. I think these are good ideas for the smaller exchanges. Moderation on low volume sites can be difficult for only a few users to shoulder, and the community is often hard pressed to meet the numbers themselves. Moderation of the smaller sites has been problematic in the past, so taking a slightly different angle could help keep the sites clean while also increasing interest in participation and contribution. That said... I don't think this makes sense for the larger sites. The moderation at Stack Overflow, by far the largest site of the exchange and the lifeline of the company, is in a pretty coalesced state. Its overall process, lineage of term, and selection is being handled very well. I haven't seen really any complaints about it there, and I am an avid follower of their meta site, a frequent contributor, and have ran in a few elections. They were fair, the elected moderators have done well, there was a lot of community participation across the board, and the frequency seems balanced. tl;dr; Good for small, avoid for large. Please do not do this for Stack Overflow. Suggestion: stop using down votes for mod election votes (primaries1). Does it really matter who you are against? Who you are for is what matters. The use of negative voting in SE elections, the down vote button alongside the up vote button, remains a sign of the flaws in SE community's attitudes towards people. We have done a thing lately in trying to improve that. Carry that momentum forward. Down votes during mod elections: not necessary. Add up the "who I am for" votes (the up votes); we each get three in a given election. The winners will still win. The down vote tool for questions and answers retain their utility for the things -- questions and answers -- that is this site's attraction. People aren't things, so please stop treating them that way (in the mechanical sense). 1 primaries point edited in thanks to feed back in comments from @MonicaCellio. I am extremely confused by this bullet point. Our Moderator team is the best there is, bar none. I don't know which moderator team you are referring to, and what evidence you have for it being "the best there is". Having senior moderators is important to retain valuable talent. It is not clear what you are saying here. Are you saying that giving talented people the option of being permanent moderators is important for keeping them? So these talented people that are such good moderators, wouldn't do it if they were not made permanent? In my opinion, that attitude alone is enough for me not to want such a person to be a moderator. Have a say in when what happens? When a moderator becomes permanent? If you are thinking about making it possible for some moderators to become permanent, then why should the community not have a say in this? Yes they should be able to select which ones are permanent and when they graduate to becoming permanent (though I really don't understand what you're saying so maybe my answer is not relevant). And should they be empowered to decide if something has changed? Whether or not something has happened in the past (for example "changed") is not usually something we decide in the present. We don't want to have a lot of needless rollover elections, so maybe we could come up with a system where long-term "senior moderators" are easily retained, while more established communities can avoid needless elections when it turns out: "Nah, we're good. We don't need another election." So at what point have you addressed your question in bold at the beginning, about whether or not "moderator for life" should always be automatic and FOREVER? This has been one of the most confusing paragraphs for me ever to try to interpret. It is extremely obvious that no one should be given mod privileges permanently. Someone is eventually going to develop Alzheimer's and delete every single question on their SE. Also the atmosphere in an SE changes over the years. Those who were good moderators 10 years ago will likely not be liked when the grandchildren of millenials are writing 90% of the questions and answers here. This is why there are ways to remove moderators (for example with 2/3 votes from other moderators). If by FOREVER in all capital letters, you mean you want to remove the capability to remove moderators, then I disagree that this would be a good idea. Have two grades of moderators. Ones that have to run for re-election every year (or however often you propose to have regular elections), and ones that have to run for re-election every 10 years (or whatever). You need to have served at least 1 term as a short-term moderator, to run for long-term moderator. The 10 year moderators would be what you seem to call "senior moderators" and naturally by virtue of the fact that their term is 10 years long, it is easy to "retain" them. But you will find that 10 years is a long time and things change a lot over 10 years, you probably want these "long-term moderators" to be for something like 5 years instead. So should people become "long-term" moderators "automatically" ? No. Some people are good on paper but when they are given the power they turn out to be terrible. Make them survive at least one re-election before you make them "long-term", and don't have anything "permanent". The long-term moderators are given a huge number of years (for example 5) during which they do not need to run for re-election which should be plenty of incentive to do the job, and during this huge number of years, the only way they can be removed is by the existing methods (for example, 2/3 of the other moderators voting for it, though I find 2/3 strange and would think 51% is enough). Moderator elections in beta sites? How does the Constable badge work in the new graduation model?

2019-04-18T10:51:00Z

https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/316051/help-me-opine-about-a-new-election-system/316079

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Ordinary citizens, not wealthy patrons of the arts, contributed their pennies and built a jewel-box concert hall with perfect acoustics, which they cherish to this day: It’s called the spiritual and artistic heart of the nation. Start to explore the Bucharest locals love right here with a look at the stately neoclassical home of the George Enescu Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra, and continue to Revolution Square, perhaps best known for the moment when Nicolae Ceausescu climbed into a helicopter on the roof of the Central Committee building and fled Bucharest in 1989. Stroll past the elegant shops in the neighborhood, as you head to Lipscani, the restored old quarter. Just a few years ago this neighborhood was all but a shambles; now it is a lively social center. Here you’ll find everything from a famous beer hall to a spectacularly renovated bookstore, as well as the city’s oldest surviving church and the remnants of the Old Princely Court, where the Wallachian rulers—including Vlad the Impaler—lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. Your walking tour ends at Hanul Lui Manuc, built two centuries ago as an inn and recently restored, where you will take a seat in the tree-shaded courtyard and relax over some favorite local appetizers—perhaps some stuffed mushrooms and a variety of sausages. Your next destination, the Basarbovo Rock Monastery, is the only rock monastery where monks still live and worship today. Climb the narrow rock stairway to the 15th-century cloister, which is cut into the limestone cliffs high above the Lom River, and take a look at the arresting frescoes. You’ll also spend some time in Rousse, a city with an easygoing, gracious feeling. Freedom Square, a huge open plaza, takes its name from the Freedom Monument, which soars from the center of the square; the stately Belle Epoque buildings surrounding the square attest to the city’s prosperity in the 1890s. Stroll along wide, tree-lined Alexandrovska, the main pedestrian street that links the city’s many attractive squares, encountering such landmark sights as Rousse’s grand theater, the city museum and the first movie theater (it opened in 1896). Twice the capital of Bulgaria—before and after the Ottomans conquered the nation—Veliko Tarnovo climbs steep hills above the Yantra River, topped by the ruins of Tsarevets, the stronghold where Bulgaria’s kings ruled between 1185 and 1393. The remains of the great stone walls and towers that you see formed the historic heart of the Second Bulgarian Empire. History lives in this town, as a quick look at the wares for sale in Samovod Marketplace will show you: Handicrafts are all made by local artisans using ancient, medieval or Renaissance technologies. You’ll have time to peruse the exceptional local pottery and textiles there before heading to Arbanassi, home to six amazing 17th-century stone churches, each one decorated with colorful and intricate frescoes. Learn something of the multicultural history of this fascinating town at the Ethnographic Museum and visit the UNESCO-designated Nativity Church, where murals of the Nativity, the Last Judgment and the zodiac brilliantly blend religious and humanist iconography. At another of the churches, Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, you’ll hear the otherworldly singing of an Orthodox choir in a short concert. Your day’s adventure includes a traditional three-course Bulgarian lunch, complete with live folk music. Drive through the scenic Bulgarian countryside to Belogradchik, a small town in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains, not far from the Serbian border. After some light refreshment at a local hotel, you’ll be ready to explore the astonishing rock formations nearby, which are over 200 million years old—and have inspired nearly as many legends! Many of the strange wind- and weather-hewn shapes have names, such as Adam and Eve, the Bear and the Castle. The outcroppings formed a natural defense for the town that was enhanced with man-made fortifications over the centuries. Whether you choose to hike with a local expert to the top of the path or not, you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views. Your return will take you past some sights that highlight Vidin’s mixed heritage: the Orthodox cathedral, the Turkish mosque, the Konak (the 18th-century headquarters of the Turkish police) and the cruciform barracks (which date to the 1790s). The final stop will be Baba Vida, whose stern 10th-century stone walls were built on the site of a Roman watchtower. Cross the Danube via the brand-new bridge that links Bulgaria and Romania to meet Mircea Dinescu, poet, journalist, satirist, media mogul and key figure in the revolution that overthrew Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989. Among his surprising ventures is Cetate Cultural Harbor, a haven for artists of all sorts—poets, potters, painters, filmmakers and musicians. In 1996 Dinescu’s foundation purchased a once-grand house called Port Cetate, which had fallen on very hard times, and transformed it into a largely self-supporting farm and “cultural harbor.” Artists from all over Europe are invited to participate in workshops and residency programs, and the farm is the scene of a film festival, music camp, poetry camp and even a gastronomic arts festival. There’s a reason for that particular focus: Dinescu makes fine wine, which you may sample, and the kitchen staff turns out delectable Romanian specialties. Stroll through the peaceful grounds and study the artwork on display before sitting down to tapas and music. The setting may be rustic— that’s part of the charm—but the art, music, poetry, food and wine are quite sophisticated. Today’s main attraction will be the spectacular scenery along the Danube, as you cruise a stretch of gorges known as the Iron Gates. Later, head ashore to explore a Paleolithic site and an extraordinary well-preserved medieval fortress. All along the way, history lines the banks of the river. Keep an eye out for Trajan’s Plaque, which the ancient Romans erected to commemorate the road they anchored in the steep cliffs above the water, and Golubac Castle, built in the 14th century and attacked successively by the Serbs, Magyars and Turks. The Turks won the castle in 1458, which helped to reinforce their control of the area until 1867, when they abandoned it. Lepenski Vir is one of the largest and most significant prehistoric archeological sites from the Stone Age, located on the Danube. It was once the epicenter of one of the most highly developed prehistoric cultures, with complex social relations and even rudimentary urban planning. The discovery of this prehistoric settlement has changed the image experts once had about the early Stone Age, expanding scientists’ knowledge about human communities that walked the earth millennia ago. Later, you’ll visit Golubac Castle, one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in Europe, a powerhouse that has loomed over the Danube for centuries. Unwind onboard as you cruise the breathtaking Iron Gates, an 83-mile-long (134-kilometer-long) stretch of scenic gorges that were cut through the Carpathian and Balkan mountains over eons by the Danube River. These gorges, which act as a natural border between Serbia and Romania, are among the most dramatic and beautiful sights in all of Europe. This was one of the swiftest and most dangerous stretches of the river before two dams were built: Iron Gate I and Iron Gate II. Construction on the dams began in 1964 and took 20 years to complete; they have dramatically altered the area’s landscape, raising the water level by 114 feet (35 meters) and drowning several islands and villages. As a motorcoach carries you through the city, you’ll see a mix of architectural styles that reveal the city’s past, ranging from Gothic, Ottoman, baroque and art nouveau to utilitarian Communist apartment blocks and modern high-rises. While Belgrade has been no stranger to political upheaval, the 19th-century Residence of Princess Ljubica and serene old residential streets speak of calmer days, as do the bustling present-day café-lined boulevards. You’ll pass the tomb and memorial museum of Josip Broz Tito, which is located at the site of Tito’s former residence in Belgrade’s affluent Dedinje neighborhood, and visit Kalemegdan Fortress, high on a hill above the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. Ancient Romans built the first fortress here, and successive conquerors and defenders—Slavs, Byzantines, Ottomans, Habsburgs—continued to build and destroy fortifications on this site for another 1,500 years. Walk along the old stone walls, passing monuments and memorials (some will surprise you—poets and composers are honored here as well as military actions), for a sense of Serbia’s distant and more recent history. It’s not the only intriguing historical sight you’ll see today, however. You will also visit the Karadjordjevic Dynasty Palace and sip a glass of sparkling Serbian wine as you tour a compound of palaces built in the 1920s and 1930s. Serbia’s royal family, which is related to most of Europe’s royalty, has a strictly honorary position in modern-day democratic Serbia, but Crown Prince Alexander (who did not feel that taking the title of king was appropriate when his father died in exile in the United States in 1972) and his family still live in these palaces. A local expert will show you the public rooms of the Royal Palace, the White Palace, the adjacent chapel and the spacious grounds. Mount a bike and spend a leisurely half-day getting an up-close look at Belgrade, complete with lively commentary from your guide, who will tell you not just about the tumultuous recent past but also what it’s like to live here. Ride past Branko’s Bridge, Staro Sajmište (a former concentration camp), the Palace of Serbia and Hotel Jugoslavija; after a refreshing stop at a traditional fisherman’s bar, you’ll be ready to pedal to Kalemegdan Fortress and see a bit of Serbia’s more distant past. Welcome to Croatia! This ancient country has made a remarkable recovery from a brutal civil war, and its beautiful countryside, colorful folk traditions and delicious rustic cuisine make it a most rewarding place to visit. Welcome to Croatia! This ancient country, which has made a remarkable recovery from a brutal civil war, is noted for its beautiful countryside and thriving folk traditions, as well as delicious simple, local rustic food. You’ll dock in Vukovar, Croatia’s biggest port, at the confluence of the Danube and Vuka rivers. The bullet-riddled water tower stands as a reminder of the bitter Croatian War of Independence, fought between 1991 and 1995, when Croatia sought to break away from Yugoslavia. Thousands died during the siege of Vukovar, which was heavily damaged. As you take a short walk through the town now, you will see lasting signs of the conflict, but you will also see a revitalized community, determined to rebuild. From Vukovar you’ll head to Osijek, where you’ll visit Tvrda, a military and civil complex begun in 1687 by the Habsburgs after they took the region back from the Ottomans. You’ll also learn something of Osijek’s long history—which dates back to Roman times—and stop by the Church of the Holy Cross, built by the Franciscans after the Ottomans left. Venture into a lesser-known part of Croatia today. Set off from the port of Vukovar with your local expert, who will tell you about Vukovar’s calamitous experience during the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), when much of the city was shelled, and head to Osijek, the capital of Slavonia. Osijek is an attractive town on the banks of the Drava River that combines a long history—settlement predates the Romans, who built a fortress there that was conquered by Attila the Hun— with an easygoing charm and a readiness to embrace the future. You’ll stroll through Tvrda, the baroque military and civil complex begun in 1687 by the Habsburgs after they seized the town from the Ottoman Turks, and see some of the historic highlights via a panoramic tour. Located on opposite sides of the Danube, Buda and Pest each has a distinctive character and allure all its own. Explore this dynamic and multi-faceted city with your choice of excursions—you can see it from a local’s perspective on our exclusive walking tour, cover more ground with a panoramic tour or “Go Active” with a guided bike ride. Vibrant Budapest, Hungary’s capital, offers an enchanting combination of East and West, old and new. Even its geography is made up of two parts—Buda (the hills) and Pest (the flatlands)—divided by the Danube. Which part will you choose to explore today? You have three options to choose from. This panoramic tour is a wonderful way to get an overview of the city if you have never been here before. It will carry you from Heroes’ Square, created in 1896 to honor the thousand-year anniversary of Hungary’s founding and its greatest historical figures, past some of the city’s most striking architectural sights—Dohány Street Synagogue, the Hungarian National Museum, the state opera house, St. Stephen’s Basilica and the truly stunning Parliament Building—to Castle Hill, which has been called the heart of the nation. The city of Buda began here, when King Béla built a strong keep in 1243 as a defense against Mongol invaders; a castle replaced the simple fortress, and over the centuries other castles replaced that one. The current castle is primarily 18th century; a museum dedicated to Budapest’s archaeological finds is housed there, and the Castle Hill district has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll go inside the magnificent 700-year-old Matthias Church, named for one of Hungary’s greatest kings, and then wend your way on foot to the picturesque Fisherman’s Bastion, whose seven fairytale-like towers represent the seven tribes that originally settled the region. It offers a glorious view of the city and the Danube below. Get ready for a fun immersion in the daily life of Budapest—your local expert will show you how to use the metro (one of the oldest in Europe) to easily reach all the city has to offer. Start with a visit to one of the city’s irresistible market halls. Stalls spill over with produce, sausages and meats, festoons of dried paprika, cheeses, and jars of honey, all of it authentically Hungarian. After you leave the market, stop for coffee and a sweet treat at Szamos Gourmet Palace, a combination pastry shop, café and chocolate maker in Vörösmarty Square. Marzipan is a favorite confection in Budapest, and Szamos has specialized in making it since the 1930s, so you might want to try some—but the shop’s truffle selection is equally irresistible. Refreshed, you’ll be ready to hop back on the tram for a visit to the gracious green spaces of Károlyi Garden, sometimes described as Budapest’s most charming small park. You’ll ramble along the boulevards and pass the Hungarian National Museum, truly getting the feel for this dynamic city, as you head back toward the ship. Note: Budapest’s market halls are closed on holidays. If your tour lands on a holiday, we will skip the market. Only the Netherlands and Denmark have a higher proportion of people who use bicycles for their daily transportation than Hungary, and you can spot the bright-green bikes that are part of the city’s bike-sharing program anywhere. Join a local expert to experience the Budapest bicyclists love: Wheel along the Danube past such sights as the moving tribute to the Jews shot by the Nazis on the banks of the river, the Hungarian Parliament building, St. Stephen’s Basilica and Andrassy Avenue, and swoop over the bridge to Margaret Island. It’s a fun and active way to get out and see the city the way locals see it. In the evening, a special Captain’s Farewell Reception and Dinner will be prepared for you. If your cruise/tour package includes a group departure transfer or if you have purchased a private departure transfer, you will be transferred to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport for your flight home. Or you can extend your stay in beautiful Budapest with our exciting optional post-cruise extension. Arrive at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. If your cruise/tour package includes a group arrival transfer or if you have purchased a private arrival transfer, you will be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to the ship. You’ll go inside the magnificent 700-year-old Matthias Church, named for one of Hungary’s greatest kings, and then wend your way on foot to the picturesque Fisherman’s Bastion, whose seven fairytale-like towers represent the seven tribes that originally settled the region. It offers a glorious view of the city and the Danube below.Note: Visits to the interior of Matthias Church may not be possible on some weekends and Catholic holidays. Only the Netherlands and Denmark have a higher proportion of people who use bicycles for their daily transportation than Hungary, and you can spot the bright-green bikes that are part of the city’s bike-sharing program anywhere. Join a local expert to experience the Budapest bicyclists love: Wheel along the Danube past such sights as the moving tribute to the Jews shot by the Nazis on the banks of the river, the Hungarian Parliament building, St. Stephen’s Basilica and Andrassy Avenue, and swoop over the bridge to Margaret Island. It’s a fun and active way to get out and see the city the way locals see it. Get ready for a fun immersion in the daily life of Budapest—your local expert will show you how to use the metro (one of the oldest in Europe) to easily reach all the city has to offer. Start with a visit to one of the city’s irresistible market halls. Stalls spill over with produce, sausages and meats, festoons of dried paprika, cheeses, and jars of honey, all of it authentically Hungarian. After you leave the market, stop for coffee and a sweet treat at Szamos Gourmet Palace, a combination pastry shop, café and chocolate maker in Vörösmarty Square. Marzipan is a favorite confection in Budapest, and Szamos has specialized in making it since the 1930s, so you might want to try some—but the shop’s truffle selection is equally irresistible. Refreshed, you’ll be ready to hop back on the tram for a visit to the gracious green spaces of Károlyi Garden, sometimes described as Budapest’s most charming small park. You’ll ramble along the boulevards and pass the Hungarian National Museum, truly getting the feel for this dynamic city, as you head back toward the ship. The bullet-riddled water tower stands as a reminder of the bitter Croatian War of Independence, fought between 1991 and 1995, when Croatia sought to break away from Yugoslavia. Thousands died during the siege of Vukovar, which was heavily damaged. As you take a short walk through the town now, you will see lasting signs of the conflict, but you will also see a revitalized community, determined to rebuild. From Vukovar you’ll head to Osijek, where you’ll visit Tvrda, a military and civil complex begun in 1687 by the Habsburgs after they took the region back from the Ottomans. You’ll also learn something of Osijek’s long history—which dates back to Roman times—and stop by the Church of the Holy Cross, built by the Franciscans after the Ottomans left.Enjoy an Ajvar demonstration in the courtyard of the monastery, a local specialty made from bell peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. You’ll also learn how to prepare vegetables in authentic Croatian style. From there, the group will split up and head off to different nearby villages for a home-hosted lunch.Later, you’ll visit the Vucedol Museum. The basic idea behind the concept of this unique museum was integration into the terrain—the entire structure is designed to be mostly buried in the ground and only the façade is open to the landscape. Its shape, as serpentine, follows terrain, and on whose green roof you can reach the archaeological sites over the museum. Along the path, you’ll encounter the various Vučedol culture archaeological findings that have been discovered to date, which showcase the daily life and customs during a turbulent time of the immigration of the first Indo-Europeans and their relationship with the natives, the blending of material cultures and religions. Following your time at the museum, enjoy lunch at the Goldschmidt winery. Venture into a lesser-known part of Croatia today. Set off from the port of Vukovar with your local expert, who will tell you about Vukovar’s calamitous experience during the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), when much of the city was shelled, and head to Osijek, the capital of Slavonia. Osijek is an attractive town on the banks of the Drava River that combines a long history—settlement predates the Romans, who built a fortress there that was conquered by Attila the Hun— with an easygoing charm and a readiness to embrace the future. You’ll stroll through Tvrda, the baroque military and civil complex begun in 1687 by the Habsburgs after they seized the town from the Ottoman Turks, and see some of the historic highlights via a panoramic tour. You’ll follow up your tour with a stop in a village just outside the city for a traditional Croatian lunch hosted by local villagers. Translators will be on hand to help you and your hosts converse, so you can actually learn a bit about one another’s lives and interests. You’ll pass the tomb and memorial museum of Josip Broz Tito, which is located at the site of Tito’s former residence in Belgrade’s affluent Dedinje neighborhood, and visit Kalemegdan Fortress, high on a hill above the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.Ancient Romans built the first fortress here, and successive conquerors and defenders—Slavs, Byzantines, Ottomans, Habsburgs—continued to build and destroy fortifications on this site for another 1,500 years. Walk along the old stone walls, passing monuments and memorials (some will surprise you—poets and composers are honored here as well as military actions), for a sense of Serbia’s distant and more recent history. It’s not the only intriguing historical sight you’ll see today, however. You will also visit the Karadjordjevic Dynasty Palace and sip a glass of sparkling Serbian wine as you tour a compound of palaces built in the 1920s and 1930s. Serbia’s royal family, which is related to most of Europe’s royalty, has a strictly honorary position in modern-day democratic Serbia, but Crown Prince Alexander (who did not feel that taking the title of king was appropriate when his father died in exile in the United States in 1972) and his family still live in these palaces. A local expert will show you the public rooms of the Royal Palace, the White Palace, the adjacent chapel and the spacious grounds. Later, head ashore to explore a Paleolithic site and an extraordinary well-preserved medieval fortress. All along the way, history lines the banks of the river. Keep an eye out for Trajan’s Plaque, which the ancient Romans erected to commemorate the road they anchored in the steep cliffs above the water, and Golubac Castle, built in the 14th century and attacked successively by the Serbs, Magyars and Turks. The Turks won the castle in 1458, which helped to reinforce their control of the area until 1867, when they abandoned it. The discovery of this prehistoric settlement has changed the image experts once had about the early Stone Age, expanding scientists’ knowledge about human communities that walked the earth millennia ago.Later, you’ll visit Golubac Castle, one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in Europe, a powerhouse that has loomed over the Danube for centuries. Drive through the scenic Bulgarian countryside to Belogradchik, a small town in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains, not far from the Serbian border. After some light refreshment at a local hotel, you’ll be ready to explore the astonishing rock formations nearby, which are over 200 million years old—and have inspired nearly as many legends! Many of the strange wind- and weather-hewn shapes have names, such as Adam and Eve, the Bear and the Castle. The outcroppings formed a natural defense for the town that was enhanced with man-made fortifications over the centuries. Whether you choose to hike with a local expert to the top of the path or not, you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views. Your return will take you past some sights that highlight Vidin’s mixed heritage: the Orthodox cathedral, the Turkish mosque, the Konak (the 18th-century headquarters of the Turkish police) and the cruciform barracks (which date to the 1790s). The final stop will be Baba Vida, whose stern 10th-century stone walls were built on the site of a Roman watchtower. There’s a reason for that particular focus: Dinescu makes fine wine, which you may sample, and the kitchen staff turns out delectable Romanian specialties. Stroll through the peaceful grounds and study the artwork on display before sitting down to tapas and music. The setting may be rustic— that’s part of the charm—but the art, music, poetry, food and wine are quite sophisticated. Twice the capital of Bulgaria—before and after the Ottomans conquered the nation—Veliko Tarnovo climbs steep hills above the Yantra River, topped by the ruins of Tsarevets, the stronghold where Bulgaria’s kings ruled between 1185 and 1393. The remains of the great stone walls and towers that you see formed the historic heart of the Second Bulgarian Empire. History lives in this town, as a quick look at the wares for sale in Samovod Marketplace will show you: Handicrafts are all made by local artisans using ancient, medieval or Renaissance technologies. You’ll have time to peruse the exceptional local pottery and textiles there before heading to Arbanassi, home to six amazing 17th-century stone churches, each one decorated with colorful and intricate frescoes. Rousse walking discovery tour with Ivanovo and Basarbovo monasteries. Walk through the woods of Rusenski Lom, a protected region that is home to a wide variety of rare birds, among other wildlife, to Ivanovo Rock Monastery—once an enclave of more than 40 churches and chapels that the devout built inside caves above the Lom River Valley. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is famous for its beautiful and well-preserved 14th-century murals.Your next destination, the Basarbovo Rock Monastery, is the only rock monastery where monks still live and worship today. Climb the narrow rock stairway to the 15th-century cloister, which is cut into the limestone cliffs high above the Lom River, and take a look at the arresting frescoes. You’ll also spend some time in Rousse, a city with an easygoing, gracious feeling. Freedom Square, a huge open plaza, takes its name from the Freedom Monument, which soars from the center of the square; the stately Belle Epoque buildings surrounding the square attest to the city’s prosperity in the 1890s. Stroll along wide, tree-lined Alexandrovska, the main pedestrian street that links the city’s many attractive squares, encountering such landmark sights as Rousse’s grand theater, the city museum and the first movie theater (it opened in 1896). Another option is a walking tour that shows you this city from a local’s perspective. This morning, you’ll disembark the ship in Giurgiu and drive through the countryside to Bucharest, where you’ll enjoy a traditional three-course Romanian lunch at a local restaurant and a panoramic city tour. Tonight you’ll relax in the comfort of a luxury hotel located in the heart of the city, Romania’s capital and its cultural and economic center. Bucharest began as a fortress in the 15th century, a warlike origin that set the tone for its turbulent history. It saw glory days as the summer residence of the Wallachian princes and was burned to the ground by the Ottoman Turks; then Austria-Hungary and imperial Russia fought over it for a century. After Wallachia and Moldavia united to form Romania in the mid-19th century, Bucharest enjoyed a prosperity that was reflected in its extravagant architecture, some of which miraculously survived WWII bombing and Communist building programs. You’ll see Bucharest’s very own Triumphal Arch, which is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and Victoria Boulevard, lined with chic shops and handsomely restored prewar buildings—and sites where protests brought down Ceausescu’s regime in 1989. These days Bucharest enjoys a lively and eclectic cultural scene, hosting international arts festivals and concerts, and a measure of prosperity apparent in its busy cafés and thriving street life. Perhaps no sight in Bucharest more perfectly encapsulates Romania’s 20th-century experience than the mind-boggling structure known as the People’s Palace. Nicolae Ceausescu razed one-sixth of the city to erect this enormous palace—the second-largest building in the world—which all but bankrupted the country and helped trigger his downfall. Some 20,000 laborers worked on the building, which has 1,100 rooms in its 12 stories. Only a small portion of it is open to tours—in fact, only a small portion of the rooms are furnished—but you’ll see the vast marble-sheathed halls, huge chandeliers and basement bomb shelter that comprise an astonishing monument to the dictator’s ambition. The cost to the country was enormous, but the craftsmanship is exquisite; the dictator meant it to be a showcase of Bulgarian decorative arts, and in that he fully succeeded. “Give a penny for the Athenaeum.” Back in the 1880s, this was the theme for the fundraising campaign that resulted in one of Bucharest’s most beautiful and most beloved buildings: the Romanian Athenaeum. Ordinary citizens, not wealthy patrons of the arts, contributed their pennies and built a jewel-box concert hall with perfect acoustics, which they cherish to this day: It’s called the spiritual and artistic heart of the nation. Just a few years ago this neighborhood was all but a shambles; now it is a lively social center. Here you’ll find everything from a famous beer hall to a spectacularly renovated bookstore, as well as the city’s oldest surviving church and the remnants of the Old Princely Court, where the Wallachian rulers—including Vlad the Impaler—lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. Your walking tour ends at Hanul Lui Manuc, built two centuries ago as an inn and recently restored, where you will take a seat in the tree-shaded courtyard and relax over some favorite local appetizers—perhaps some stuffed mushrooms and a variety of sausages. Legend says that a tiny, verdant island in the midst of lovely Snagov Lake, just north of the city, contains Vlad the Impaler’s tomb. Vlad III, who ruled Wallachia (now part of modern Romania) in the 15th century, may have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula (and countless successor vampire novels), though he got his sobriquet “the Impaler” for the brutal methods he employed against his enemies, not for sinking his teeth into virgins. However cruel Vlad was, the monks of Snagov Monastery held him in great esteem and are said to have buried him in their monastery after he was slain in a battle nearby. Take a boat over the peaceful waters to the serene garden and monastery to see the simple marble slab that marks the tomb, as well as the beautiful medieval frescoes that adorn the interior of the monastery. Then continue further afield to the opulent former residence of Romania’s former leader Nicolae Ceausescu, where you’ll have a guided tour. It’s been a quarter of a century since deposed Romanian president Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed by a firing squad on Christmas Day in 1989, but now you can roam the opulent 80-room residence where the couple once lived, situated on 3.5 acres of grounds in one of Bucharest’s most desirable neighborhoods. For 2018 Uniworld launched their newest Super Ship — S.S. Beatrice. The S.S. Beatrice boasts yacht-style light wood with blue and white finishes throughout, a renovated lobby featuring elegant mirrors, marble floors, a white Murano chandelier with blue shades, and a grand staircase made of nickel and black iron – a signature design element of Uniworld’s Super Ships. The ship’s redesigned lounge features sofas and chairs with hand-made upholstery, a parquet floor and upholstered ceiling panels, solar shades, and new USB ports allowing guests to charge anywhere they are sitting. The artwork throughout the ship includes pieces from Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder and Pino Signoretto. Additionally, S.S. Beatrice has two new Grand Suites each measuring 310 square feet and a second 390 square foot Owner’s/Royal Suite. Connecting rooms, ideal for friends and families traveling together, have also been added. This majestic, ultra-luxurious, boutique cruise ship is the perfect base to explore the rivers from. Fabulous public areas are complelmented by lavishly appointed riverview staterooms and suites. Handcrafted Savoir® of England beds are draped in high-thread count 100% Egyptian cotton sheets and European duvets, along with a menu of pillow options. Staterooms and suites on the Rhine & Danube Decks have floor to ceiling windows opening to a French balconies. Individually decorated suite size: 225 sq. ft. The 130-passenger River Duchess is decorated in soft hues of blue and green complemented by soothing earth tones, providing a tranquil and elegant onboard ambiance. Enjoy spectacular and ever-changing views of Europe’s most enchanting waterways in the ship’s stylish Blue Danube Lounge, Palace Restaurant, or the La Motte Sky Lounge. An in-depth journey offering fresh new adventures in the Old World. Sail past quaint villages and great cities on the glorious Danube, visiting baroque abbeys and medieval cathedrals, tasting fine wines and encountering new cultures.

2019-04-26T12:56:15Z

https://www.globalrivercruising.co.uk/cruises/danube/uniworld-highlights-of-eastern-europe/

Switzerland does not have a CFC regime. However, according to the case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, companies with statutory seats located abroad, but who have little or no local substance and are effectively managed in Switzerland may be subject to Swiss income tax. For finance companies, the maximum debt allowed is 6/7 of their total assets. In addition, the FTA publishes annually safe harbour interest rates for loans granted to related parties. Interest paid on debt exceeding the maximum debt allowed and interest rates exceeding the safe harbour interest rates are requalified as a hidden dividend if paid to a shareholder or a related party. Consequently, such interest is not a deductible expense for federal and cantonal income tax purposes and is subject to withholding tax at a rate of 35% (which may be reduced under a relevant tax treaty). However, the rules set out above are merely safe harbour rules and allow the taxpayer to prove that different arm’s length debt-to-equity ratio and interest rates apply. Swiss codified tax law contains very few rules relating to transfer pricing questions. As a general rule, Swiss law states that (i) expenses of a company must be commercially justified and (ii) profits not shown in the profit and loss statement of a company must still be included in its taxable profit. Based on these general rules, Swiss tax authorities can correct intra-group transactions that are not at arm’s length. In determining whether an intra-group transaction is at arm’s length or not, the Swiss administrative practice generally follows the OECD transfer pricing guidelines. As previously mentioned, the FTA publishes yearly rules regarding safe harbour interest rates for loans and advances between related parties, in various currencies. This publication provides for maximum rates regarding loans from the shareholders or related parties to the company, and minimum rates regarding loans from the company to shareholders or related parties. It is possible to obtain an advance pricing agreement (‘APA’) with the Swiss tax authorities. In general, the cantonal tax authorities are competent for granting unilateral APAs, whereas bi- or multilateral APAs, as well as unilateral APAs regarding Swiss withholding tax, are negotiated with the involvement of the FTA. The US has comprehensive CFC rules, which have been further expanded by TCJA to include a global minimum tax of 10.5% on most CFC profits of a US corporate shareholder. Under longstanding CFC rules, a controlling US shareholder of a CFC is subject to current US taxation on any so-called Subpart F income of the CFC. Subpart F income is intended to capture what Congress perceived to be “tax haven” income, and thus includes certain interest, dividends, rents, royalties and gains, as well as certain income from sale of property and provision of services involving related parties. An exception to subpart F income is provided for income subject to a local country tax of at least 90% of US the corporate rate (now 18.9% = 90% * 21%). In addition, the TCJA introduced a new category of income captured by the CFC regime – so-called “Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income” (GILTI). GILTI consists of all income of the shareholders’ CFCs that is not subpart F income (or eligible for certain limited exceptions), to the extent that such income exceeds a 10% return on the CFC’s investment in tangible assets used in its trade or business (measured by tax basis). GILTI is fully included in taxable income of the US shareholder on a current basis in each year, with a 50% deduction provided for US corporate shareholders that results in an effective US tax rate of 10.5%. Foreign tax credits are allowed against US tax on both subpart F income and GILTI. The TCJA also added the US’s first comprehensive thin capitalization test through amended Code Section 163(j). As amended Section 163(j) limits interest deductions of corporations and other businesses to 30% of adjusted taxable income. New Code Section 163(j) applies to all debt, whether third party or intercompany, whether the lender is US or foreign, and regardless of the US corporation’s debt-equity ratio. “Adjusted taxable income” is defined generally as US taxable income without regard to interest expense, loss carryforwards, and for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, depreciation or amortization (i.e., EBITDA). After 2022, deductions for depreciation or amortization are no longer added back, so that interest expense is limited to 30% of EBIT. Interest expense deductions that are disallowed carry forward indefinitely. As noted above, Code Section 482 and the regulations thereunder provide a comprehensive set of transfer pricing rules. In addition, strict liability penalties apply to transfer pricing adjustments in excess of certain thresholds, unless the taxpayers has maintained contemporaneous documentation with the filing of the original tax return in a form specified by the transfer pricing regulations. Advanced Pricing Agreements (APAs) are available from the IRS on a prospective basis. In the case of transactions between the US Company and an affiliate in a treaty country, bi-lateral and multi-lateral APAs are also available involving the IRS and the other competent authorities. The FTC provides for a CFC rule that constitutes an exception to the territoriality principle: only profits derived from activities carried out in France are taxable in France. According to this rule, profits realised by an entity, which is, directly or indirectly, more than 50%, owned by a French company and which is located in a privileged tax regime country, are deemed to be received by the French company in due proportion of the shares owned and therefore, are to be taxed in France. An entity is considered to be located in a privileged tax regime country if the effective corporate tax rate applied in this country is at least 50% lower than France’s. the amount of interest paid to related parties exceeds the amount of interest received from related parties. The portion of interest paid which exceeds the highest of the three set criteria is not deductible. These rules can be extended to interest borne with respect to a bank loan when certain guarantees have been granted by affiliated companies to the lender. Anti-hybrid stipulation, which forbids the deduction of interests, if the creditor is not taxable, at least at 8.33% (i.e. 25% of the French CIT) on the financial proceeds. The FTA applies the arm’s length principle: prices applied to transactions between related parties must be similar to prices that would have been agreed upon for transactions between independent companies. If not, the FTA may presume an indirect transfer of profits from the French company to its foreign affiliate and reassess its taxable income accordingly, that is to the extent of the amount deemed to have been unduly shifted. The burden of proof regarding an indirect transfer of profits lies with the tax authorities. The rules aiming at limiting the deductibility of the interest should be deeply amended by the 2019 Finance Bill in order to transpose the Anti Avoidance Directive ('ATAD') into the French interest limitation regime. The Finance bill should limit the deduction of net financial charges (including debts subscribed with a Bank or a third party) to either 30 % of the entity's EBITDA or 3 million euros (if higher) with a calculation made at the group level. The "rabot" would be removed and the thin-capitalization rules would be deeply amended. The FTC provides for the possibility of a bilateral advance pricing agreement between multinational companies and the tax authorities which would aim at fixing the transfer pricing method to be used in cross-border transactions. The State Aid action has not dramatically changed the situation, but just increased the already thorough examination of the APA requests. Interest paid to related parties located in a tax haven or privileged tax regime jurisdictions is deductible provided that the expenses are necessary and the debt with such related party does not exceed 30% of the Brazilian company’s equity. Additionally, Brazil does also provide for CFC rules, which in general, impose taxation on undistributed profits from foreign controlled and affiliated companies. Accordingly, profits from foreign controlled companies should be considered deemed distributed to the Brazilian controlling company by December 31 of each calendar year. On the other hand, provided that some conditions are met, profits derived from foreign affiliates not located in tax haven or privileged tax regimes jurisdictions are only subject to taxation in Brazil when they are effectively distributed. Moreover, Brazilian transfer pricing rules were enacted by Law 9,430/96 and its subsequent amendments. Such rules introduced transfer pricing controls, in order to avoid undervaluation of export prices, or overvaluation of import prices, for purposes of calculating corporate income taxes (Income tax – “IRPJ” - and Social Contribution on Profits Tax – “CSLL”). Transfer pricing rules are applicable to any import or export of goods, services and rights, performed between a Brazilian company and a related party abroad, or a party located in a tax haven or privileged tax jurisdiction. There are five methods to calculate import transfer price, as well as there are four methods to calculate export transfer price. For import transactions, if the actual import price is higher than the calculated transfer price, the taxpayer cannot deduct the difference for purposes of IRPJ and CSLL. For export transactions, if the actual price is lower than the applicable transfer price, the difference shall be computed for IRPJ and CSLL purposes. It is worth mentioning that the Brazilian transfer pricing rules differ from the OECD Guidelines related to the referred subject. Accordingly, Brazilian rules adopt fixed margins to calculate the transfer price, instead of the arm’s length principles. Finally, please note that the transfer pricing rules do also apply to loan transactions between foreign related parties. (iii) the income of the controlled foreign corporation is low-taxed, which means that the tax levied is below 25%. However, the German CFC rules provide for an exemption for corporations which have their statutory seat or their place of effective management within the EU or EEA. Such corporations may prove that their business has economic substance, they exercises genuine commercial activities and adhere to the arm’s-length-principle. In that case, the EU/EEA corporations will not be deemed to constitute a controlled foreign corporation under the German CFC rules. Germany operates a thin-capitalization regime, the so-called interest barrier rule. Generally, the interest barrier rule is applicable if the annual net interest expenses amounts to or exceeds EUR 3 Million. Under the interest barrier rule, the tax deductibility of interest expense on any debt of a company is restricted to the amount of the interest income plus 30% of the company’s EBITDA for tax purposes. The taxable EBITDA differs from the financial EBITDA because it is based on the taxable income of the company only. Therefore, any tax free income is not part of the taxable EBITDA. There are various exceptions and counter-exceptions to the interest barrier rule, e.g. for non-group companies. There is currently a proceeding pending before the Federal Constitutional Court whether or not the interest barrier rule is in line with German constitutional law. Germany operates a transfer pricing regime. As a matter of principle, transfer prices and any transaction between related parties have to be in line with the arm’s-length principle. There are several statutory rules to determine the transfer prices for products, services or the transfer of functions. According to these rules, the prevailing methods for determining transfer prices are the cost plus method, the comparable unrelated price method and the reselling method. In principle, the full range of the values calculated by the different methods can be applied. Germany has strict rules with respect to the documentation of transfer prices. Violations of the documentation rules may lead to adverse consequences as the tax authorities are authorized to adjust transfer prices. Furthermore, there are penalties in case certain transfer pricing documentation requirements are not met. (iii) a country-by-country reporting (if group consolidated revenues of at least EUR 750 Million). Unilateral as well as multilateral advance pricing agreements are available in Germany. Ireland does not have a thin capitalization regime. Ireland has had transfer pricing rules since 2010. The transfer pricing rules must be interpreted in a manner consistent with the OECD transfer pricing guidelines. Somewhat unusually the Irish transfer pricing rules only apply to “trading” transactions that benefit from the 12.5% corporation tax rate. Ireland has a formal advance pricing agreement (“APA”) program. Only bilateral or multilateral APAs are possible. It is not possible to agree a unilateral APA with Irish Revenue. The Mexican Income Tax Law provides several General Anti-Avoidance Rules, including thin cap rules, transfer pricing policies and CFC, to name a few. The Mexican Income Tax Law establishes that income obtained by Mexican residents or foreign residents with a Mexican permanent establishment through foreign entities or vehicles in which they participate, directly or indirectly, is considered to be derived from a preferential tax regime or “Refipre” and must therefore be taxed according to the Refipre rules, if such income is (i) not subject to tax abroad or is subject to tax at a rate lower than 75% of the income tax that would have been due and payable in Mexico on such income, if it had been obtained directly by a Mexican resident, or (ii) earned through foreign legal vehicles or entities that are tax transparent abroad. For such purposes, the Refipre rules take into account income obtained in cash, in kind, in services or in credit through foreign legal entities or vehicles and those which are presumptively determined by the Mexican tax authorities, even when such income has not been distributed to Mexican residents. In general, Mexican residents who obtain income from a Refipre must recognize it as taxable in Mexico during the year in which the income was derived, even if such income is not distributed to them by the foreign legal entity or vehicle that received it. The Mexican Income Tax Law provides, as a general rule, that interest expenses incurred by Mexican entities are deductible on an accrual basis, subject to certain limitations amongst of which is that if interest expenses are paid to a non-resident related party, a 3 to 1 debt to equity ratio must be met; otherwise, any portion of the interest payments to foreign based related parties exceeding such ratio shall be non-deductible. This rule does allow for exceptions when it comes to debt contracted by taxpayers that are part of the Mexican financial system or that are engaged in the construction, operation or maintenance of productive infrastructure linked to the development of strategic sectors or electricity generation. Transactions between related parties should comply with the arms’ length principle and be properly supported from a Mexican transfer pricing perspective (i.e., by a transfer pricing report), following the essential principles established under the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. Under current legislation, it is in fact possible for companies to obtain APAs with the tax authorities. These rulings may be effective in the fiscal year during which the relevant request was made, in the preceding fiscal year and up to the three fiscal years following the year in which the request was made. The Norwegian CFC regime (No.: NOKUS) is applicable to Norwegian shareholders (i.e. shareholders, corporate or individual, resident in Norway for tax purposes) that directly or indirectly own at least 50 per cent of the shares or capital of a foreign company which is resident in a low-tax jurisdiction. For the purposes of these rules a jurisdiction is considered to be a low-tax jurisdiction if the effective taxation of the company is less than two thirds of what would be the effective taxation had the company been resident in Norway. It is not the headline tax rate but the effective tax rate which is relevant. The profits of the foreign company are attributed proportionally to the Norwegian shareholders irrespective of whether any distributions are actually made. A binding black list and a non-binding white list of jurisdictions with sufficient/insufficient taxation levels are issued by the Norwegian tax administration annually. The CFC rules are not applicable to companies resident within the the European Economic Area (EEA), provided the company is genuinely established and actually performs economic activities. The analysis must be based on an overall assessment, and the Norwegian shareholder must provide evidence to the tax authorities that the substance requirement is met. In addition, if the company is not resident in a country with which Norway has entered into a tax treaty, which contains an information exchange clause, the company must present a statement from the tax authorities in its country of incorporation which confirms that the information provided is correct. Further, the CFC rules are not applicable in situations where the company is resident in a country with which Norway has entered into a tax treaty for the avoidance of double taxation, and the company's income is not mainly of a passive nature. Norwegian tax law contains no specific statutory or regulatory prescriptions on thin capitalisation but refers to the arm's length principle. All interest paid is, as a main rule, deductible. The tax authorities may contest the deductibility of interest paid to a parent company if the paying company is thinly capitalised. There is no general rule or safe harbour rule prescribing when the company is thinly capitalised or not. The assessment must be based on a number of factors such as the business sector of the company, the EBITDA of the company, and the debt-to-equity ratio of the company. The interest deduction limitation rules state that interest expenses exceeding interest income (i.e. net interest expense) could be fully deducted if the total amount of net interest expense does not exceed NOK 5 mill. during the fiscal year, or if the interest is paid to a non-related party. Otherwise, net interest expense paid to a related party is deductible to the extent that internal and external interest expense combined does not exceed 25 per cent of the taxable EBITDA of the company. Parties are considered related in cases where one party has ownership or controls 50 per cent or more of the other party. External loans guaranteed by a related party of the borrower (tainted debt) are also covered under the rule. The interest deduction limitation rule applies to limited liability companies, and other similar companies and entities. It also applies to partnerships, shareholders in CFCs and foreign companies with permanent establishments in Norway. Financial institutions are exempt from the interest deduction rule. The Norwegian Ministry of Finance has proposed to extend the interest deduction limitation rules to include external debt, and a consultation procedure on the proposal was completed in 2017. The proposal was expected to be followed up in the national budget for 2018. However, the ministry has announced it still worked on the proposed amendments. The rules are expected to be introduced with effect for the income year of 2019. Transfer pricing documentation rules impose an obligation for companies to prepare specific transfer pricing documentation as an attachment to their tax returns. Reporting requirements and transfer pricing documentation rules apply to companies that own or control, directly or indirectly, at least 50 % of another legal entity. A Norwegian permanent establishment with its head office in a foreign country, and a foreign permanent establishment with its head office in Norway, are covered by the rules. Furthermore, partnerships where one or more of the partners are taxable in Norway are also covered by the rules. The taxpayer must generally be prepared to file transfer pricing documentation (type and volume of the transactions, functional analysis, comparable analysis, and a report of the transfer pricing method used) within 45 days of a written notice from the tax authorities. Norwegian tax authorities do not have a formal procedure to issue unilateral APAs. It is, however, possible to discuss the transfer pricing principles with the tax authorities. The Ministry of Finance has announced that they are considering introducing APA regulations, but they have not yet done so. In the case of sales of gas between related parties, a special APA procedure exists within the oil tax authorities, but so far this has not been used much in practice. Recently, Norway has opened up for mutual APA negotiations with other countries, but only a handful of pilot cases have so far been dealt with under such MAP/APA approach. Controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules may apply to Italian resident persons controlling non-resident companies, partnerships or other entities established in jurisdictions (other than EU Member States and EEA Member States) where the nominal tax rate is lower than 50 per cent of the Italian nominal tax rate. They may apply also in respect of companies, partnerships or other entities established outside the above jurisdictions if (i) the CFC is subject to a foreign effective tax rate lower than 50 per cent of the effective tax rate that would have applied if the CFC were resident of Italy, and (ii) the CFC realizes profits that qualify as passive income or profits from intra-group services for more than 50 per cent. Italy repealed its thin cap regime as from tax year 2008. Italy applies an interest limitation regime whereby, in each tax year, companies can deduct interest expenses up to the amount of their interest income. The excess can be deducted for an amount equal to 30% of EBITDA of the relevant year. The excess 30% EBITDA as well as the interest expenses non-deductible in a given tax year can be carried forward and used or deducted in following tax years. Italy applies transfer pricing legislation largely consistent with the OECD arm’s length standard. The legislation has been recently endorsed in order to reflect the latest changes to the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and the tax authorities usually make reference to such Guidelines. As above indicated (see answer to question 1 above), a taxpayer may apply for a unilateral advance pricing agreement. If the other country involved in the cross border transactions signed a double tax treaty with Italy, the taxpayer can apply for a bilateral advance pricing agreement. the annual total gross revenue of the foreign company in the related period in foreign currency exceeds the equivalent of TRY 100,000. If these conditions are fulfilled, the profits of the CFC will be included in the corporate tax base of the controlling resident company, and it will be subject to taxation in Turkey without consideration of whether or not the profits are distributed. The thin capitalization issue is covered in Article 12 of the CITL. According to this article, if the borrowings from shareholders or from persons related to shareholders exceeds three times the shareholders equity of the borrower company at any time within the relevant year, the excess portion of the borrowing will be considered to be thin capital. “Related parties” is defined as shareholders and persons who are related to the shareholders that own 10% or more of the shares, voting rights or rights to receive dividends of the company. The shareholders equity of the borrower company is defined as the total amount of the shareholders equity of the corporation at the beginning of the fiscal year, or the difference between the assets and liabilities of the company. If the company has negative shareholders equity at the beginning of the year, then any borrowings from related parties will be considered to be thin capital. If thin capitalization exists, the interest paid or accrued, foreign exchange losses and other similar expenses calculated for the loans that are considered to be thin capital are treated as non-deductible for CIT purposes. Moreover, the interest paid or accrued and similar payments on thin capital will be treated at the end of the relevant fiscal year as dividends and will be subject to withholding tax. Specific transfer pricing rules are valid in Turkey as of 1 January 2007 under Article 13 of the CITL, entitled “Disguised Profit Distribution through Transfer Pricing”. The regulations in Article 13 follow the arm’s-length principle established by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (OECD Guidelines), and are applicable to all financial, economic and commercial transactions and employment relations between related parties. Details on the application of Article 13 are provided in a communiqué regarding disguised profit distribution through transfer pricing. Turkish transfer pricing (TP) legislation is part of the CITL. The arm’s-length principle, which is defined in line with OECD Guidelines and Article 9 of the OECD Model Tax Convention, is described in Article 13 of the CITL, along with a detailed definition of related parties and the introduction of methods to be applied to determine arm’s-length prices. According to the CITL, related parties must set transfer prices for the purchase and sale of goods and services equal to those they would have agreed to had they been unrelated parties. A comprehensive definition of what constitutes a related party is found in Article 13 of the CITL. The definition of related party in Turkish transfer pricing regulations is very broad, and it includes direct and indirect involvement in management or control, in addition to the existence of a shareholder/ownership relationship. In addition to transactions with foreign group companies, the scope of the law also includes transactions with entities that are based in tax havens or jurisdictions those are considered harmful tax regimes by the Turkish government. Principles of transfer pricing documentation are covered in a TP communiqué. The communiqué introduced two different types of documentation liability for taxpayers. Accordingly, taxpayers need to fill out the form in the appendix of the corporate income tax return with information on the goods and services purchased and sales transactions they perform with their related parties in each accounting period. Furthermore, taxpayers registered with the Directorate of Major Taxpayers Tax Office are obliged to prepare an annual transfer pricing report including the information and documents stipulated by the communiqué and in the format defined in the same communiqué. These reports are completed to reflect the domestic and overseas transactions carried out with related parties in each accounting period and overseas transactions carried out in a given accounting period with other corporate income tax payers and their related parties. They need to be completed by the submission date of the corporate income tax return and to be submitted upon demand to the authority or officials authorized to carry out tax inspections after the end of these given periods. The legislation requires documentation as part of the transfer pricing rules describing how Turkish taxpayers should keep documented evidence within the company in case of a request from the tax authorities. The documentation must show how the arm’s length price was determined and the methodology selected and applied using any fiscal records, calculations and charts available to the taxpayer. An advance pricing agreement is a method used to determine the prices for purchases or sales of goods or services between related parties, and may be agreed upon with the Ministry of Finance upon a taxpayer request. This approved method will be fixed for a maximum period of three years within the terms and conditions of the agreement. If the administration finds the agreement interests more than one country, and if there are already APAs with another/other country/countries, the administration may consider a bilateral or multilateral agreement. In practice, the APA process changes according to the complexity and type (unilateral, bilateral or multilateral) of agreement, and the process cannot be completed in fewer than 18 to 24 months, on average. A) As for the CFC rule, Japanese tax law has “anti-tax haven” rules, or a Japanese version of the CFC rules. These rules have been overhauled by the 2017 annual tax reform in response to the BEPS Action Plan 3, and applies to Japanese shareholders from the fiscal years of the CFC beginning on or after April 1, 2018. If the Japanese CFC rules apply, the Japanese corporation that is a shareholder of the CFC will be taxed upon its pro rata share of certain adjusted income of the CFC (to be calculated based on the CFC’s total income and gains) . In general, Japanese CFC rules apply if (i) Japanese resident individuals and Japanese corporations collectively own directly or indirectly more than 50% of the total issued shares, voting rights or rights to receive dividends of a foreign corporation; (ii) a particular Japanese resident individual or a Japanese corporation (which is the subject taxpayer) owns directly or indirectly 10% or more of the total issued shares, voting rights or rights to receive dividends of that foreign corporation; and (iii) the effective income tax burden (rather than the face or nominal tax rate) of that foreign corporation in a given fiscal year is less than (i) 30% for certain shell-company CFCs and cash-box-company CFCs or (ii) 20% for all other CFCs. Typical examples include Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore subsidiaries of a Japanese corporation. It should be noted that tax-exempt income and gains in the foreign jurisdiction will lower the effective income tax burden; for example, if a Dutch subsidiary of a Japanese corporation is exempt from substantial amount of capital gains by the Dutch participation exemption, the effective income tax burden in that fiscal year could be less than 20%, despite the Dutch statutory corporate tax rate of 25%. That will make the Dutch subsidiary a CFC for that fiscal year. However, exemption of dividends received by the Dutch subsidiary from foreign companies by the participation exemption will not lower the effective income tax burden (this treatment is only limited to dividends). Even if the Japanese CFC rules apply because all the conditions explained above are met, there is an active business income exemption. That is, if the CFC meets all of the following criteria, the Japanese CFC rules apply only to the extent of the CFC’s certain enumerated passive income (rather than the CFC’s total income including active income): (i) the principal business of the CFC is other than financial investments in shares, bonds or IPs or leasing of vessels, (ii) the CFC is managed and administered on its own within the jurisdiction of its incorporation, rather than from Japan, (iii) the CFC maintains physical fixed premises such as offices and factories within the jurisdiction of its incorporation that is necessary to do its business, and (iv) depending on the type of business, the CFC does business principally within the jurisdiction of its incorporation (e.g., manufacturing) or deals with unrelated third parties to account for 50% or more of the total business transactions (e.g., distribution, transportation). If all these elements are met, the CFC’s income to be aggregated with the Japanese shareholder’s income will be limited to passive income, such as (a) dividends and capital gains from shares (but excluding those where the shareholding ratio is 25% or more for at least 6 months), (b) interest on deposits, bonds and loans (excluding interest from certain qualifying group-financing), (c) income from derivatives (excluding certain qualifying hedges), (d) foreign exchange gains (excluding those arising in the ordinary course of business), (e) royalties and disposition gains from IPs (excluding those where the IP is developed on its own) and (f) leasing income from real properties and fixed properties (excluding real properties located and fixed properties used in the jurisdiction of incorporation of the CFC). The active business income exemption has been expanded to a certain qualifying regional headquarters or intermediate holding company; that is, if a foreign subsidiary incorporated in the Asian-hub low-tax countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong operates as an Asian regional headquarters or as an intermediate holding company for the Japanese parent corporation, subject to certain requirements being met, the CFC will not be disqualified from meeting the condition (i) above (i.e., the principal business of the CFC is other than financial investments in shares), merely because it is a holding company. If the debt giving rise to the interest is owed to a foreign corporation, which is a controlling shareholder (owning directly or indirectly 50% or more of the total shares) of the Japanese corporation, the ‘thin capitalization’ rules apply, and, generally speaking, interest payable upon the portion of the debt exceeding three times the shareholders’ equity of the Japanese corporation will be nondeductible. The ‘thin capitalization’ rules apply not only in the case of direct financing by the controlling shareholder, but also in other similar cases, such as financing by third parties with a guarantee provided by the controlling shareholder. Transfer pricing rules also apply to interest payable to affiliated foreign corporations of the Japanese corporation in order to require that the interest rate be arm’s length (i.e., the portion of the interest exceeding the arm’s-length rate will be denied deduction). One Japanese court precedent indicates that the arm’s-length interest rate generally refers to the rate available in the market for substantially similar finance transactions. Further, as a result of the 2012 annual tax reform, a Japanese version of the ‘earnings stripping’ rules has been introduced, and applies from fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 2013. There, if the ‘net’ amount of the interest paid to certain foreign related parties of the Japanese corporation in a fiscal year exceeds 50% of certain ‘adjusted income’ (substantially equal to EBITDA, i.e., taxable income before that interest deduction, depreciation, etc.) of that Japanese corporation in that fiscal year (i.e., interest paid to foreign affiliates is excessive as compared to the taxable income), the excess portion of the interest will not be deductible in that fiscal year. The excess portion will be carried forward for seven future fiscal years, however, and will be deductible to the extent the above conditions are met in the relevant future fiscal year. There is a certain de minimis exception, as well as an exception where the gross amount of interest paid to foreign related parties does not exceed 50% of the total gross amount of interest (including interest paid to third parties). The Japanese government is now reviewing whether these earnings stripping rules should be more tightened, in response to the BEPS Action Plan 4, by lowering the threshold percentage rate from 50% to some 10-30%. It should be noted that interest deduction can be denied, even if none of the foregoing regimes is applicable, if the Japanese tax authority considers the relevant debt transaction as avoiding Japanese tax and invokes the anti-avoidance statute applicable to closely-held corporations in the corporation tax law. The Universal Music case mentioned above is an example. C) As to the transfer pricing regime, generally, the Japanese government is of the position that Japanese transfer pricing rules as well as enforcement thereof should closely follow the OECD standards. For example, Japanese transfer pricing rules repealed priority of the three basic methods (CUP, RP and CP) over other methods (PS and TNMM), and adopted the “best method” rule. In addition, it has been made clear that the concept of a “range” of arm’s length profit level can be used for Japanese transfer pricing purposes (provided that it means a “full range” predicated upon full comparability, rather than the statistical approach of interquartile range) for the purpose of issuing a transfer pricing assessment. In addition, as a matter of enforcement or transfer pricing audit, it is very common that taxpayers make defensive arguments by referring to the OECD Guidelines along with Japanese local laws and regulations, and the Japanese tax authority generally accepts such arguments as legitimate. Indeed, some tax treaties, e.g., that with the United States, expressly provide that transfer pricing enforcement shall be made in accordance with the OECD Guidelines. It is possible to obtain an advance pricing arrangement (APA) from the tax authority, and it is a very common practice. In an APA, there generally is even more flexibility as compared to transfer pricing audit; e.g., the statistical approach of interquartile range is very commonly used and accepted. However, as an APA requires substantial time, cost and burden to deal with the tax authority (e.g., for responding to information and document requests), taxpayers generally concentrate on intra-group transactions that have significant volume and a large amount of tax at stake in applying for an APA. It is not rare that an APA takes two or three years until concluded. There are no CFC rules in Gibraltar. However, under the general anti-avoidance provision in our Tax Act, the Commissioner may disregard any CFC or transaction with such CFC where the Commissioner believes that it is fictitious or artificial. Interest paid on a loan by a company to related parties (which are not themselves a company) or loans where security is provided by related parties, where the ratio of the value of the loan capital to the equity of the company exceeds 5 to 1 is considered as a dividend payment and thus not a deductible expense for tax purposes. The amount of interest payments to connected persons which is in excess of that payable at “arm’s length” is deemed to be a dividend. (iii) 75% of the pre expenses profit. The UK CFC regime is based on rules designed to prevent diversion of UK profits to low tax territories. Where UK profits are diverted to a CFC, those profits are apportioned and charged on a UK corporate interest-holder that holds at least a 25% interest in the CFC. There are a number of exemptions to reflect the fact that the majority of CFCs are established for genuine commercial reasons. The Finance Act 2004 abolished the separate thin capitalization requirements that had existed previously and subsumed them within the general transfer pricing rules in the Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010 (TIOPA 2010). The UK transfer pricing (TP) regime is contained in Parts 4 and 5 of Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010. The UK TP regime must be considered in light of the recently implemented Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) rules, which were introduced by the Finance Act 2015. There is also an advanced pricing agreement (APA) programme through which unilateral, bilateral and multilateral APAs can be obtained. The process by which such an agreement can be obtained is detailed in HMRC’s Statement of Practice 2/2010. HMRC will determine the taxpayer’s DPT position before agreeing to an APA. As a result of the Starbucks and Apple decisions, any business which has secured a favourable APA could, potentially, be at risk of having those arrangements reviewed under the State Aid rules and be faced with having to make significant payments to repay tax benefits received under APAs that, allegedly, do not comply with State Aid rules.

2019-04-23T10:12:38Z

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"Ole Miss" redirects here. For the University of Mississippi athletics program, see Ole Miss Rebels. Not to be confused with Mississippi State University. The University of Mississippi (colloquially known as Ole Miss) is a public research university in Oxford, Mississippi. Including the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, it is the state's largest university by enrollment. The university was chartered by the Mississippi Legislature on February 24, 1844, and four years later admitted its first enrollment of 80 students. The university is classified as an "R1: Doctoral University—Very High Research Activity" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and has an annual research and development budget of $121.6 million. The university ranked 145 in the 2018 edition of the US News Rankings of Best National Universities. Across all its campuses, the university comprises some 23,258 students. In addition to the main campus in Oxford and the medical school in Jackson, the university also has campuses in Tupelo, Booneville, Grenada, and Southaven, as well as an accredited online high school. About 55 percent of its undergraduates and 60 percent overall come from Mississippi, and 23 percent are minorities; international students respectively represent 90 different nations. It is one of the 33 colleges and universities participating in the National Sea Grant Program and a participant in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Ole Miss was a center of activity during the American civil rights movement when a race riot erupted in 1962 following the attempted admission of James Meredith, an African-American, to the segregated campus. While the university was successfully integrated that year, the use of Confederate symbols and motifs has remained a controversial aspect of the school's identity and culture. In response the university has attempted to take proactive measures to rebrand its image, including effectively banning the display of Confederate flags in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 1997, officially abandoning the Colonel Reb mascot in 2003, and removing "Dixie" from the Pride of the South marching band's repertoire in 2016. In 2018, following a racially charged rant on social media by an alum and academic building namesake, former Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter reaffirmed the university's commitment to "honest and open dialogue about its history", and in making its campuses "more welcoming and inclusive". The "Dead House" was built before the Civil War and was used as a morgue during the war. Bodies were carried from the Dead House across campus to the Civil War Cemetery, which contains more than 430 graves. The building was demolished in 1958, and Farley Hall--which contains the Meek School of Journalism and New Media--was erected in its place. The Mississippi Legislature chartered the University of Mississippi on February 24, 1844. The university opened its doors to its first class of 80 students four years later in 1848. For 23 years, the university was Mississippi's only public institution of higher learning, and for 110 years it was the state's only comprehensive university. Politician Pryor Lea was a founding trustee. When the university opened, the campus consisted of six buildings: two dormitories, two faculty houses, a steward's hall, and the Lyceum at the center. Constructed from 1846 to 1848, the Lyceum is the oldest building on campus. Originally, the Lyceum housed all of the classrooms and faculty offices of the university. The building's north and south wings were added in 1903, and the Class of 1927 donated the clock above the eastern portico. The Lyceum is now the home of the university's administration offices. The columned facade of the Lyceum is represented on the official crest of the university, along with the date of establishment. In 1854, the university established the fourth state-supported, public law school in the United States, and also began offering engineering education. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, classes were interrupted when almost the entire student body (135 out of 139 students) from the University of Mississippi enlisted in the Confederate army, forming an infantry group nicknamed the University Greys. However, all 135 students were killed during the war, a 100% casualty rate. Most died during the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The Lyceum was used as a hospital during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers, especially those who were wounded at the battle of Shiloh. Two hundred-fifty soldiers who died in the campus hospital were buried in a cemetery on the grounds of the university. During the post-war period, the university was led by former Confederate general A.P. Stewart, a Rogersville, Tennessee native. He served as Chancellor from 1874 to 1886. The university became coeducational in 1882 and was the first such institution in the Southeast to hire a female faculty member, Sarah McGehee Isom, doing so in 1885. The student yearbook was published for the first time in 1897. A contest was held to solicit suggestions for a yearbook title from the student body. Elma Meek, a student, submitted the winning entry of "Ole Miss." Meek's source for the term is unknown; some historians theorize she made a diminutive of "old Mississippi" or derived the term from "ol' missus," an African-American term for a plantation's "old mistress." This sobriquet was not only chosen for the yearbook, but also became the name by which the university was informally known. "Ole Miss" is defined as the school's intangible spirit, which is separate from the tangible aspects of the university. The university began medical education in 1903, when the University of Mississippi School of Medicine was established on the Oxford campus. In that era, the university provided two-year pre-clinical education certificates, and graduates went out of state to complete doctor of medicine degrees. In 1950, the Mississippi Legislature voted to create a four-year medical school. On July 1, 1955, the University Medical Center opened in the capital of Jackson, Mississippi, as a four-year medical school. The University of Mississippi Medical Center, as it is now called, is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi. It houses the University of Mississippi School of Medicine along with five other health science schools: nursing, dentistry, health-related professions, graduate studies and pharmacy (The School of Pharmacy is split between the Oxford and University of Mississippi Medical Center campuses). Several attempts were made via the executive and legislative branches of the Mississippi state government to relocate or otherwise close the University of Mississippi. The Mississippi Legislature between 1900 and 1930 introduced several bills aiming to accomplish this, but no such legislation was ever passed by either house. One such bill was introduced in 1912 by Senator William Ellis of Carthage, Mississippi, which would have merged the college with then-Mississippi A&M. However, this measure was soundly defeated, despite the bill only seeking to form an exploratory committee. In February 1920, 56 members of the legislature arrived on campus and discussed with students and faculty the idea of consolidating MS A&M, MS College of Women and Ole Miss to be located in Jackson, rather than appropriate $750,000.00 of funds requested by then-Chancellor Joseph Powers which were needed to repair dilapidated and structurally unsound buildings on the campus, which was discovered following the partial collapse of a dormitory in 1917 and a scathing review of other buildings later that same year by the state architect. These funds, plus an additional $300,000.00 were appropriated to the school, which was used to build 4 male dormitories, a female dormitory and a pharmacy building, which partially resolved a longstanding issue of inadequate dormitory space for students. During the 1930s, Mississippi Governor Theodore G. Bilbo, a populist, tried to move the university to Jackson. Chancellor Alfred Hume gave the state legislators a grand tour of Ole Miss and the surrounding historic city of Oxford, persuading them to keep it in its original setting. During World War II, UM was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which offered students a path to a Navy commission. Desegregation came to Ole Miss in the early 1960s with the activities of United States Air Force veteran James Meredith from Kosciusko, Mississippi. Even Meredith's initial efforts required great courage. All involved knew how violently William David McCain and the white political establishment of Mississippi had recently reacted to similar efforts by Clyde Kennard to enroll at Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi). Meredith won a lawsuit that allowed him admission to The University of Mississippi in September 1962. He attempted to enter campus on September 20, September 25, and again on September 26, only to be blocked by Mississippi Governor Ross R. Barnett, who proclaimed that "...No school in our state will be integrated while I am your Governor. I shall do everything in my power to prevent integration in our schools." After the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held both Barnett and Lieutenant Governor Paul B. Johnson, Jr. in contempt, with fines of more than $10,000 for each day they refused to allow Meredith to enroll, Meredith, escorted by a force of U.S. Marshals, entered the campus on September 30, 1962. Two people were killed by gunfire during the riot, a French journalist, Paul Guihard and an Oxford repairman, Ray Gunter. One-third of the US Marshals, 166 men, were injured, as were 40 soldiers and National Guardsmen. After control was re-established by federal forces, Meredith, thanks to the protection afforded by federal marshals, was able to enroll and attend his first class on October 1. Following the riot, elements of an Army National Guard division were stationed in Oxford to prevent future similar violence. While most Ole Miss students did not riot prior to his official enrollment in the university, many harassed Meredith during his first two semesters on campus. According to first-person accounts, students living in Meredith's dorm bounced basketballs on the floor just above his room through all hours of the night. When Meredith walked into the cafeteria for meals, the students eating would all turn their backs. If Meredith sat at a table with other students, all of whom were white, they would immediately move to another table. Many of these events are featured in the 2012 ESPN documentary film Ghosts of Ole Miss. In 2002 the university marked the 40th anniversary of integration with a yearlong series of events titled "Open Doors: Building on 40 Years of Opportunity in Higher Education." These included an oral history of Ole Miss, various symposiums, the April unveiling of a $130,000 memorial, and a reunion of federal marshals who had served at the campus. In September 2003, the university completed the year's events with an international conference on race. By that year, 13% of the student body identified as African American. Meredith's son Joseph graduated as the top doctoral student at the School of Business Administration. The Circle, including its flagpole and Confederate Monument. Additionally, on April 14, 2010, the university campus was declared a National Historic Site by the Society of Professional Journalists to honor reporters who covered the 1962 riot, including the late French reporter Paul Guihard, a victim of the riot. From September 2012 to May 2013, the university marked its 50th anniversary of integration with a program called Opening the Closed Society, referring to Mississippi: The Closed Society, a 1964 book by James W. Silver, a history professor at the university. The events included lectures by figures such as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and the singer and activist Harry Belafonte, movie screenings, panel discussions, and a "walk of reconciliation and redemption." Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers, slain civil rights leader and late president of the state NAACP, closed the observance on May 11, 2013, by delivering the address at the university's 160th commencement. The university was chosen to host the first presidential debate of 2008, between Senator John McCain and then-Senator Barack Obama which was held September 26, 2008. This was the first presidential debate to be held in Mississippi. The university adopted a new on-field mascot for athletic events in the fall of 2010. Colonel Reb, retired from the sidelines of sporting events in 2003, was officially replaced by "Rebel", a black bear, and then, in 2018, was replaced by The Landshark. All university sports teams are still officially referred to as the Rebels. The university's 25th Rhodes Scholar was named in 2008. Since 1998, it has produced two Rhodes Scholars, as well as 10 Goldwater Scholars, seven Truman Scholars, 18 Fulbright Scholars, a Marshall Scholar, three Udall Scholars, two Gates Cambridge Scholars, one Mitchell Scholar, 19 Boren Scholars, one Boren fellow and one German Chancellor Fellowship. The student-faculty ratio at University of Mississippi is 19:1, and the school has 47.4 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at University of Mississippi include: Integrated Marketing Communications, Elementary Education and Teaching; Marketing/Marketing Management, General; Accountancy, Finance, General; Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other; Biology, Psychology and Criminal Justice; and Business Administration and Management, General. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student success and satisfaction, is 85.3 percent. University of Mississippi Medical Center surgeons, led by James Hardy, performed the world's first human lung transplant, in 1963, and the world's first animal-to-human heart transplant, in 1964. The heart of a chimpanzee was used for the heart transplant because of Hardy's research on transplantation, consisting of primate studies during the previous nine years. The University of Mississippi Field Station in Abbeville is a natural laboratory used to study, research and teach about sustainable freshwater ecosystems. Since 1968, the school operates the only legal marijuana farm and production facility in the United States. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) contracts to the university the production of cannabis for the use in approved research studies on the plant as well as for distribution to the seven surviving medical cannabis patients grandfathered into the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program (established in 1978 and canceled in 1991). The first commercial blues recording was Mamie Smith's performance of Perry Bradford's "Crazy Blues" in 1920. The university houses one of the largest blues music archives in the United States. Some of the contributions to the collection were donated by BB King who donated his entire personal record collection. The archive includes the first ever commercial blues recording, a song called "Crazy Blues" recorded by Mamie Smith in 1920. The Mamie and Ellis Nassour Arts & Entertainment Collection, highlighted by a wealth of theater and film scripts, photographs and memorabilia, was dedicated in September 2005. The Center for Intelligence and Security Studies (CISS) delivers academic programming to prepare outstanding students for careers in intelligence analysis in both the public and private sectors. In addition, CISS personnel engage in applied research and consortium building with government, private and academic partners. In late 2012, the United States Director of National Intelligence designated CISS as an Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence (CAE). CISS is one of only 29 college programs in the United States with this distinction. The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) was established in June 2008 to provide unique opportunities for students interested in manufacturing. The CME is developing interdisciplinary educational opportunities within an innovative academic learning model that provides our students with the practical experiences, fundamental knowledge, and creative skill sets needed to lead the world of modern manufacturing. The CME is working with companies who express a strong desire to become industry leaders and who wish to work with CME staff and students. The university offers the Chinese Language Flagship Program (simplified Chinese: 中文旗舰项目; traditional Chinese: 中文旗艦項目; pinyin: Zhōngwén Qíjiàn Xiàngmù), a study program aiming to provide Americans with an advanced knowledge of Chinese. The Croft Institute for International Studies at the University of Mississippi is a privately funded, select-admissions, undergraduate program for high achieving students who pursue a B.A. degree in international studies. Croft students combine a regional concentration in Europe, East Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East with a thematic concentration in global economics and business, international governance and politics, or social and cultural identity. The program emphasizes intensive foreign language training, qualitative and quantitative skills, mandatory study abroad for a semester or more, and a yearlong senior thesis. The University of Mississippi has several student organizations to help students get to know one another and adapt to life at the university. One organization is the International Student Organization (ISO), which organizes activities and events for international students. Notable events of the ISO include a cultural night, date auction and international sports tournament. Named in honor of distinguished Ole Miss alumnus, former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, the Lott Leadership Institute offers a wide range of leadership and outreach programs that work to enrich the lives and enhance the abilities of students and faculty, as well as high school students, students from other colleges and universities, and the community. UM is a collaborator in the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program, designed to attract top students to teacher education programs with full scholarships and professional incentives. The goal is to attract the top high school seniors who want to become mathematics and English teachers in Mississippi. Funded by the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation, the program is designed to create a unique “honors college style” learning experience for high-performing education students and promote collaboration between students and faculty at UM and Mississippi State University. The World Class Teaching Program is a special program at the University of Mississippi School of Education designed to provide support to teachers going through the National Board Certification process. The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College attracts a diverse body of high-performing students to the University of Mississippi and prepares citizen scholars who are fired by the life of the mind, committed to the public good and driven to find solutions. Established in 1997 through a gift from the Jim Barksdale family, the Honors College merges intellectual rigor with community action. It offers an education similar to that at prestigious private liberal arts schools and universities, but at a far lower cost. Small, discussion-based classes, dedicated faculty and a nurturing staff enable honors students to experience intellectual as well as personal growth. The University of Mississippi is a member of the SEC Academic Consortium. Now renamed the SECU, the initiative was a collaborative endeavor designed to promote research, scholarship and achievement among the member universities in the Southeastern Conference. The SECU formed to serve as a means to bolster collaborative academic endeavors of Southeastern Conference universities. Its goals include highlighting the endeavors and achievements of SEC faculty, students and its universities and advancing the academic reputation of SEC universities. In 2013, the University of Mississippi participated in the SEC Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia which was organized and led by the University of Georgia and the UGA Bioenergy Systems Research Institute. The topic of the symposium was titled "Impact of the Southeast in the World's Renewable Energy Future." The University of Mississippi was No. 18 on the 2012 Forbes Best Value Colleges list, part of the annual America's Top Colleges section. It was the only SEC school to make the Top 20 list. However, it failed to make the top 300 in best value in 2017. For the last 10 years, the Chronicle of Higher Education named the University of Mississippi as one of the "Great Colleges to Work For", putting the institution in elite company. The 2018 results, released in the Chronicle's annual report on "The Academic Workplace", Ole Miss was among 84 institutions honored from the 253 colleges and universities surveyed. In 2018, the Ole Miss campus was ranked the second safest in the SEC and one of the safest in nation. U.S. News & World Report ranks the Professional MBA program at the UM School of Business Administration in the top 50 among American public universities, and the online MBA program ranks in the top 25. All three degree programs at the University of Mississippi's Patterson School of Accountancy are among the top 10 in the 2018 annual national rankings of accounting programs published by the journal Public Accounting Report. The undergraduate and doctoral programs are No. 7, while the master's program is No. 9. The undergraduate and doctoral programs lead the Southeastern Conference in the rankings, and the master's program is second in the SEC. One or more Ole Miss programs have led the SEC in each of the past eight years. The Army ROTC program received one of eight prestigious MacArthur Awards in February 2012. Presented by the U.S. Army Cadet Command and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation, the award recognizes the ideals of "duty, honor and country" as advocated by MacArthur. For its life-changing work in 12 Delta communities, the UM School of Pharmacy won the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's 2011–12 Lawrence C. Weaver Transformative Community Service Award. AACP presents the award annually to one pharmacy school that not only demonstrates a major commitment to addressing unmet community needs through education, practice and research but also serves as an example of social responsiveness for others. Ole Miss continues to be the premiere destination for college tailgating as the Grove claimed second place in Southern Living's "South's Best Tailgate" contest in 2012. The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi was honored by the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies with its 2012 International Award. This accolade from the nonprofit organization devoted to promoting civil and human rights around the world was presented in New Orleans. The University of Mississippi's main campus is located in Oxford. There are also regional campuses in Booneville, DeSoto, Grenada, and Tupelo. The University of Mississippi in Oxford is the original campus, beginning with only one square-mile of land. The main campus today contains around 1,200 acres of land. Also, the University of Mississippi owns a golf course and airport in Oxford. The golf course and airport are considered part of the University of Mississippi, Oxford campus as well. The buildings on the main University of Mississippi campus come from the Georgian age of architecture; however, some of the newer buildings today have a more contemporary architecture. The first building built on the Oxford campus is the Lyceum, and is the only original building remaining. The construction of the Lyceum began in 1846 and was completed in 1848. The Lyceum served as a hospital to soldiers in the Civil War. Also on the campus, the Croft Institute for International Studies and Barnard Observatory were used for soldiers during the civil war. The Oxford campus of the University of Mississippi contains a lot of history with the Civil War. The campus was used as a hospital, but also after soldiers died, the campus served as a morgue. Where Farley Hall is now located, the prior building was referred to as the "Dead House" where the bodies of deceased soldiers were stored. Architect Frank P. Gates designed 18 buildings on campus in 1929-1930, mostly in the Georgian Revival architectural style, including (Old) University High School, Barr Hall, Bondurant Hall, Farley Hall (also known as Lamar Hall), Faulkner Hall, Hill Hall, Howry Hall, Isom Hall, Longstreet Hall, Martindale Hall, Vardaman Hall, the Cafeteria/Union Building, and the Wesley Knight Field House. Today on the University of Mississippi campus, most of the buildings have been completely renovated or newly constructed. There are currently at least 15 residential buildings on the Oxford campus, with more being built. The Oxford campus is also home to eleven sorority houses and fourteen fraternity houses. The chancellor of The University of Mississippi also lives on the edge of campus. The University of Mississippi campus in Oxford is known for the beauty of the campus. The campus has been recognized multiple years, but most recently, in 2016, USA Today recognized Ole Miss as the "Most Beautiful Campus". The campus grounds are kept up through the University of Mississippi's personal landscape service. The different satellite campuses that The University of Mississippi has are much smaller than the main campus in Oxford. The satellite campus in Tupelo started running in a larger space in 1972, the DeSoto campus opened in 1996, and the Grenada campus has been operated on the Holmes Community College campus since 2008. The University of Mississippi campus and satellite campuses continue to grow. There will continue to be progress in construction to accommodate for the large growth in student population. Archie Manning's uniform number, 18, is the official speed limit of the Oxford campus. In March 2012, Ross Bjork was named the university's new athletics director. The other speed limit on campus is 10, for the uniform number of Eli Manning (Archie's son). There are hundreds of students organizations, including 25 religious organizations. The Daily Mississippian (DM) is the student-published newspaper of the university, established in 1911. Although it is located on the Ole Miss campus, it is operated largely as an independent newspaper run by students. The DM is the only college newspaper in the state that is published five times a week. The staff consists of approximately 15 editors, about 25 writers and photographers, and a five-person student sales staff. Daily circulation is 12,000. The award-winning publication celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011–12. TheDMonline.com is the online version of The Daily Mississippian and also includes original content that supplements the print publication - photo galleries, videos, breaking news and student blogs. Page views average up to 360,000 a month. The Ole Miss student yearbook is a 368-page full-color book produced by students. It has won many awards, including a Gold Crown. WUMS-FM 92.1 Rebel Radio, is a FCC commercially licensed radio station. It is one of only a few student-run, commercially licensed radio stations in the nation, with a signal stretching about 60 miles across North Mississippi. Its format features Top 40, alternative and college rock, news and talk shows. NewsWatch is a student-produced, live newscast, and the only local newscast in Lafayette County. Broadcast through the Metrocast cable company, it is live at 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and livestreamed on newswatcholemiss.com. These publications and broadcasts are part of the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center at Ole Miss. Approximately 5,300 students live on campus in 13 residence halls, two residential colleges and two apartment complexes. All freshmen (students with less than 30 credit hours) are required to live in campus housing their first year unless they meet certain commuter guidelines. The Department of Student Housing is an auxiliary, meaning that it is self-supporting and does not receive appropriations from state funds. All rent received from students pays for housing functions such as utilities, staff salaries, furniture, supplies, repairs, renovations and new buildings. Most of the residence staff members are students, including day-to-day management, conduct board members and maintenance personnel. Upon acceptance to the University of Mississippi, a housing application is submitted with an application fee. The cost of on-campus housing ranges from approximately $4,000 to more than $8,000 (the highest price being that of the newly renovated Village apartments) per academic or calendar year, depending on the occupancy and room type. Students (with more than 30 credit hours) have the option to live off campus in unaffiliated housing. Graduate students, undergraduate students aged 25 or older, students who are married, and students with families may live in the Village Apartments. The complex consists of six two story buildings, and is adjacent to the University of Mississippi Law School. Undergraduates over 25, married students, and graduate students may live in the one-bedroom apartments. Graduate students and students over 25 may live in studio style apartments. Students with children may live in the two-bedroom apartments. Children living in the Village Apartments are zoned to the Oxford School District. Residents are zoned to Bramlett Elementary School (PreK-1), Oxford Elementary School (2-3), Della Davidson Elementary School (4-5), Oxford Middle School (6-8), and Oxford High School (9-12). Despite the relatively small number of Greek-letter organizations on campus, a third of all undergraduates participate in Greek life at Ole Miss. The tradition of Greek life on the Oxford campus is a deep-seated one. In fact, the first fraternity founded in the South was the Rainbow Fraternity, founded at Ole Miss in 1848. The fraternity merged with Delta Tau Delta in 1886. Delta Kappa Epsilon followed shortly after at Ole Miss in 1850, as the first to have a house on campus in Mississippi. Delta Gamma Women's Fraternity was founded in 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in nearby Oxford. All Greek life at Ole Miss was suspended from 1912 to 1926 due to statewide anti-fraternity legislation. Today, sorority chapters are very large, with some boasting over 400 active members. Recruitment is fiercely competitive and potential sorority members are encouraged to secure personal recommendations from Ole Miss sorority alumnae to increase the chances of receiving an invitation to join one of the eleven NPC sororities on campus. Fraternity recruitment is also fierce, with only 14 active IFC chapters on campus. The Associated Student Body (ASB) is the Ole Miss student government organization. Students are elected to the ASB Senate in the spring semester, with leftover seats voted on in the fall. Senators can represent groups of organizations such as the Greek councils and sports clubs, or they can run to represent their school (i.e., College of Liberal Arts or School of Engineering). The ASB officers are also elected in the spring semester, following two weeks of campaigning. A common tradition among Ole Miss students is that, after they vote in ASB elections, they go to local convenience stores to purchase Coca-Cola or PepsiCo brand soft drinks. Following the elections, newly sworn-in ASB officers release applications, conduct interviews, and eventually choose their cabinet members for the coming school year. The student body, excluding the Medical Center, includes 18,121 undergraduates, 2,089 graduate students, 357 law students and 323 students in the Doctor of Pharmacy program. African-Americans comprise 12.8 percent of the student body. Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner, who attended the university but did not graduate, served as the university's postmaster from 1921 to 1924. In 1929, Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying in the University of Mississippi Power House, where he worked as a fireman and night watchman. Best-selling legal thriller writer John Grisham received his Juris Doctor degree at Ole Miss Law. United States Senators Trent Lott, Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran earned their undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Mississippi, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen earned a master's degree. NFL quarterback Archie Manning attended Ole Miss and played football for the Rebels. Manning's youngest son, NFL quarterback Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl champion, also played at Ole Miss. Mahesh Bhupathi, tennis player and winner of 4 Grand Slam doubles titles. The university has produced three Miss Americas: Susan Akin, Mary Ann Mobley and Lynda Lee Mead. Charlie's Angel Kate Jackson and longtime As the World Turns star Anthony Herrera attended the university. Mangan, Katherine (June 25, 2015). "Removing Confederate Symbols Is a Step, but Changing a Campus Culture Can Take Years". Chronicle of Higher Education. Nick, Bryant (Autumn 2006). "Black Man Who Was Crazy Enough to Apply to Ole Miss". Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 53. pp. 60–71. ^ "University Endowment Builds to All-time High of $715 Million - Ole Miss News". Ole Miss News. ^ "About UM: Facts - University of Mississippi". 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Umc.edu. November 3, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012. ^ "U.S. Naval Administration in World War II". HyperWar Foundation. 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011. ^ The Funding of Scientific Racism: Wickliffe Draper and the Pioneer Fund by William H. Tucker, University of Illinois Press (May 30, 2007), pp 165-66. ^ Hague, Euan; Beirich, Heidi; Sebesta, Edward H., eds. (2008). Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction. University of Texas Press. pp. 284–285. ISBN 978-0-2927-7921-1. ^ "Sons of Confederate Veterans in its own Civil War | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. Retrieved December 14, 2012. ^ Medgar Evers by Jennie Brown, Holloway House Publishing, 1994, pp. 128-132. ^ "Ross Barnett, Segregationist, Dies; Governor of Mississippi in 1960's". The New York Times. November 7, 1987. Retrieved May 27, 2010. ^ Doyle, William (2001). An American Insurrection. New York, NY: Doubleday. p. 215. ISBN 978-0385499699. ^ Riches, William T. Martin. The Civil Rights Movement: Struggle and Resistance. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. ^ "The States: Though the Heavens Fall". TIME. October 12, 1962. Retrieved October 3, 2007. ^ Shelia Hardwell Byrd (September 21, 2002). "Meredith ready to move on". Associated Press, at Athens Banner-Herald (OnlineAthens). Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved October 2, 2007. ^ Gene Ford and Susan Cianci Salvatore (January 23, 2007). National Historic Landmark Nomination: Lyceum (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2009. ^ Jerry Mitchell (April 14, 2010). "Ole Miss declared National Historic Site". The Clarion-Ledger. Archived from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2010. ^ Robertson, Campbell (September 30, 2012). "University of Mississippi Commemorates Integration". The New York Times. ^ Calendar Set for 50 Years of Integration at Ole Miss. News.olemiss.edu (September 25, 2012). Retrieved on 2013-08-17. ^ a b Mitchell, Jerry (May 11, 2013). "Ole Miss honors Evers-Williams". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved May 29, 2013. ^ "2008 Presidential Debate - The University of Mississippi - Official Home Page". Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2015. ^ "Mascot Selection Committee » Rebel Black Bear Selected As New On-Field Mascot for Ole Miss Rebels". Mascot.olemiss.edu. October 14, 2010. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2012. ^ "Ole Miss News". News.olemiss.edu. Retrieved December 14, 2012. ^ "History | University of Mississippi". www.olemiss.edu. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "The University of Mississippi 2015–2016 Fact Book" (PDF). January 15, 2016. ^ "History of Lung Transplantation". Emory University. April 12, 2005. Archived from the original on October 2, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2009. ^ "Home". Retrieved May 29, 2015. ^ "CME - The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence - About CME". cme.olemiss.edu. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Introduction." Chinese Language Flagship Program, University of Mississippi. Retrieved on May 3, 2012. ^ "About the Institute - Trent Lott Leadership Institute". Trent Lott Leadership Institute. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program". Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "About the College – Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College". www.honors.olemiss.edu. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "2014 National Universities Rankings". Washington Monthly. n.d. Archived from the original on August 28, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015. ^ UM Moves Up in Forbes Listing of Nation's 20 Best College Buys. News.olemiss.edu (August 3, 2012). Retrieved on 2013-08-17. ^ "UM Again Named Among 'Great Colleges to Work For' - Ole Miss News". Ole Miss News. July 16, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Robust Approach to Campus Safety Places UM in National Rankings - Ole Miss News". Ole Miss News. March 12, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Bloomberg BusinessWeek Ranks Ole Miss MBA Program in Top 50 - Ole Miss News". Ole Miss News. November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Ole Miss Online MBA Program Ranks in U.S. News Top 25 - Ole Miss News". Ole Miss News. January 9, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Accountancy Programs Maintain Top 10 Standing - Ole Miss News". Ole Miss News. October 1, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ Winter Institute Receives International Award for Globally Promoting Civil, Human Rights. News.olemiss.edu (September 18, 2012). Retrieved on 2013-08-17. ^ a b c d e f g h "Interfraternity Council - IFC Chapters". catalog.olemiss.edu. Retrieved May 10, 2017. ^ a b "Haunted History". news.olemiss.edu. Retrieved May 10, 2017. ^ "Rediscover the Battle of Shiloh". www.thelocalvoice.net. Retrieved May 10, 2017. ^ "Gates, Frank P., Co. (b.1895 - d.1975)". Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Retrieved November 7, 2017. ^ a b "Landscape Services | University of Mississippi". www.olemiss.edu. Retrieved May 10, 2017. ^ "The University of Mississippi – Tupelo". www.outreach.olemiss.edu. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved May 10, 2017. ^ "The University of Mississippi – DeSoto". www.outreach.olemiss.edu. Archived from the original on July 9, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2017. ^ "The University of Mississippi – Grenada". www.outreach.olemiss.edu. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2017. ^ Garner, Dwight (October 14, 2011). "Faulkner and Football in Oxford, Miss". The New York Times. ^ "Bjork Press Conference" March 22, 2012". Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. ^ "Office of Leadership & Advocacy". dos.orgsync.com. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Buildings - Student Housing". Student Housing. Retrieved November 27, 2018. ^ "Village." University of Mississippi. Retrieved on February 2, 2012. ^ "Campus Map." University of Mississippi. Retrieved on February 2, 2012. ^ "Our Schools Archived 2012-02-21 at the Wayback Machine." Oxford School District. Retrieved on February 2, 2012. ^ "TWO SECRET SOCIETIES UNITED. - DELTA TAU DELTA AND THE RAINBOW SOCIETY JOIN HANDS. - View Article - NYTimes.com" (PDF). March 28, 1885. Retrieved April 30, 2016. ^ "Mississippi History Now - Lee Maurice Russell: Fortieth Governor of Mississippi: 1920-1924". Retrieved May 29, 2015. ^ "William Faulkner Quits His Post Office Job in Splendid Fashion with a 1924 Resignation Letter". Openculture. September 30, 2012. ^ Spillman, Rob (October 15, 2012). "On William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying". PEN America. ^ "Bio - John Grisham". Retrieved May 29, 2015. Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Mississippi. Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about University of Mississippi. "Mississippi, University of" . The New Student's Reference Work . 1914. "Mississippi, University of" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.

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Quality assessment and optimization of purified protein samples: why and how? Purified protein quality control is the final and critical check-point of any protein production process. Unfortunately, it is too often overlooked and performed hastily, resulting in irreproducible and misleading observations in downstream applications. In this review, we aim at proposing a simple-to-follow workflow based on an ensemble of widely available physico-chemical technologies, to assess sequentially the essential properties of any protein sample: purity and integrity, homogeneity and activity. Approaches are then suggested to optimize the homogeneity, time-stability and storage conditions of purified protein preparations, as well as methods to rapidly evaluate their reproducibility and lot-to-lot consistency. In recent years, purified proteins have more and more frequently been used for diagnostic and therapeutic applications [1-3]. Purified proteins are also widely used as reagents for downstream in depth biophysical and structural characterization studies: these are sample- and time-consuming, generally requiring long set-up phases and sometimes depending on (limited) accessibility to large instrumentation such as synchrotrons. Unfortunately, scientists (especially in the academic environment) frequently want to rush to the final application, considering biochemical analysis of proteins as either trivial or a superfluous bother. Very often, the implications of such a regretful attitude are irreproducible, dubious and misleading results, and unfortunately sometimes lead to failure at more or less advanced stages (including clinical trials ), with potentially severe consequences. This is even more the case nowadays, when recombinant production of challenging proteins such as integral membrane proteins or heavily modified (glycosylated, …) proteins is being attempted on an ever more widespread scale. the protein samples are pure and homogeneous. their concentration is assessed precisely. all of the protein is solubilized and in a natively active state. Our experience as a core facility dealing with several dozens of different projects every year is that quality control considerations are much too often overlooked or taken for granted by facility users and the scientific community at large. However, those who assess and optimize carefully the quality of their protein preparations significantly increase their chances of success in subsequent experiments. Purified protein quality control has already been the object of several general reviews [5-7]. Attempts have also been made to define a set of “minimal quality criteria” that should be fulfilled by any purified recombinant protein prior to publication, especially among the “Minimal Information for Protein Functionality Evaluation” (MIPFE) consortium [8-10]. In this review, we wish to go one step further and provide a concise overview of a sequence of simple-to-follow physico-chemical approaches that should be accessible to the vast majority of investigators. Most of the methodologies that are proposed can be found in classical biochemistry or structural biology laboratories, and in the majority of institutional protein science core facilities. Many of the methods and techniques mentioned here are well known, maybe too well, but clearly need to be reappraised in university curricula and laboratory practice: indeed knowledge about them is generally (and inappropriately) regarded as obvious, but very often it is in reality very sketchy, sometimes unfortunately resulting in gross blunders. Hopefully, this review will help providing more robustness to the production of efficient and reliable protein samples within a large scientific community. Prior to any downstream experiment, purity and integrity are the very first qualities that need to be assessed for any protein sample (Figure 1B). This is routinely achieved by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE). This technique, associated with Coomassie blue staining, can detect bands containing as little as 100 ng of protein in a simple and relatively rapid manner (just a few hours) . After reduction and denaturation by SDS, proteins migrate in the gel according to their molecular mass, allowing to detect potential contaminants, proteolysis events, etc. However, many low amount impurities and degradation products can go unnoticed, especially in low concentration samples or during optimization phases in which minute aliquots are analysed. Experimental protein quality control methodological work-flow. A) The properties (purity & integrity, homogeneity, activity) to be assessed for each new protein sample are listed on the upper left. First-line methods are essential and should be used systematically for a full quality control assessment. Complementary methods can be added depending on the protein sample peculiarities and quality control requirements. Similarly, methods for sample optimization monitoring are grouped below in two categories: first-line and complementary. B) The work flow has to be followed step-by-step starting with the “protein production and purification” green box. For each step, achievement of quality criteria is indicated by a green arrow (passed) while failure is indicated by a red arrow (failed). In case of failure, process optimization has to be carried out as indicated by black arrows. Initial sample assessment is sufficient if a sample is only produced once and used directly without storage (orange arrow at the bottom left). In contrast, if samples have to be stored for an undetermined period of time and produced several times, the sample optimization part of the work-flow should be performed thoroughly. If no appropriate storage conditions can be found, one should work only with fresh preparations (orange arrow on the right). Two higher sensitivity colorimetric staining methods can be used either directly after electrophoresis or coupled to Coomassie blue staining: zinc-reverse staining and silver staining . These can detect as low as 10 ng and 1 ng protein bands respectively. Zinc-reverse staining (also known as negative staining) uses imidazole and zinc salts for protein detection in electrophoresis gels . It is based on the precipitation of zinc imidazole in the gel, except in the zones where proteins are located. When zinc-reverse staining is applied on a Coomassie blue stained gel, previously undetected bands can be spotted . This technique is rapid, simple, cheap and reproducible, and is compatible with mass spectrometry (MS) . On the other hand, silver staining is based on the binding of silver ions to the proteins followed by reduction to free silver, sensitization and enhancement . If used as a second staining, it is essential to fix the proteins in the gel with acidic alcohol prior to initial Coomassie blue staining . Two drawbacks of this technique are that proteins are differentially sensitive to silver staining and the process may irreversibly modify them preventing further analysis. In particular glutaraldehyde, which is generally used during the sensitization step, may interfere with protein analysis by MS due to the introduction of covalent cross-links . To circumvent this problem, a glutaraldehyde-free modified silver-staining protocol has been developed, which is compatible with both matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization-MS . Several fluorescent dyes such as Nile red, ruthenium(II) tris(bathophenantroline disulfonate) (RuBPS), SyPro and Epicocconone, can also be used to reveal a few ng of proteins in gels [18-20]. CyDyes can even reveal amounts of protein lower than one nanogram but have the inconvenience of requiring to be incorporated before gel electrophoresis . Apart from Nile red, these staining methods are compatible with subsequent MS analysis. However, their major disadvantage is that they require a fluorescence imager for visualization and that they are significantly more expensive than classical colorimetric dyes. Different alternatives (or additions) to SDS-PAGE exist to further separate and distinguish the protein of interest from closely related undesired subproducts or contaminants. One of them is isoelectric focusing (IEF), which separates non-denatured proteins based on their isoelectric point, most often on gel strips. This allows to resolve proteins of very similar mass, notably unmodified and small molecular mass post-translationnally modified (e.g. phosphorylated) variants of a same protein. IEF is often used upstream of SDS-PAGE in so-called 2D gel electrophoresis . Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is another useful alternative, with the advantage of superior separation efficiency, small sample consumption, short analysis time and automatability. CE separates proteins, with or without prior denaturation, in slab gels or microfluidic channels, according to a variety of properties, including their molecular mass (SDS-CGE), their isoelectric point (CIEF) or their electrophoretic mobility (CZE) . Interestingly, CE can readily be coupled on line with MS . UV-visible spectroscopy is most often used for protein concentration measurements (see Total protein concentration determination section). However, it is also a very convenient tool for the detection of non-protein contaminants, as long as the protein of interest contains aromatic residues and the absorbance is monitored over a large range (at least 240 – 350 nm). In particular, undesired nucleic acid contaminants can be spotted as bumps at 260 nm, resulting in a high 260/280 nm absorbance ratio (which should be close to 0.57 for a non-contaminated protein sample ). On the other hand, reducing agents (especially DTT) alter the symmetry of the 280 nm absorbance peak by increasing the absorbance at 250 nm and below [25,26]. It is essential to verify the integrity of the protein of interest beyond SDS-PAGE, especially when setting-up a new production/purification protocol, as low level proteolysis events (affecting just a few amino acids) and undesired modifications may go unnoticed in electrophoresis. The method of choice for detailed analysis of protein primary structure is MS, as it can provide molecular mass with 0.01% accuracy for peptides or proteins with masses up to 500,000 Da using only a few picomoles of sample . The presence of undesired proteolytic events and chemical alterations can be readily detected by comparing the difference between the observed and the expected mass of the protein. Furthermore MS can provide detailed information about the presence of desired post-translational modifications (phosphorylations, acetylations, ubiquitinations, glycosylations, …) . Overall the convenience and precision of MS measurements is such that they should be considered as routine to ensure the integrity and overall state of modification of the peptide or protein of interest. MS-based methods, such as MALDI in-source decay , are progressively replacing traditional protein sequencing by Edman degradation . However, N-terminal Edman sequencing is still of relevance in several cases, for instance when one wishes to verify easily and specifically the N-terminal boundary of the protein of interest, or when highly accurate masses cannot be obtained by MS because of the size of the protein or the presence of certain post-translational modifications . One may also wish to further characterize the degradation products or contaminants detected by electrophoresis, as determining their origin may give clues about how to avoid them from occurring. Proteins extracted from gel bands can be digested and analysed by MS . Identification can be achieved by peptide mass finger-printing, as the precise peptide pattern that results from the digestion of a protein by a sequence-specific protease (like trypsin) is unique for each protein and can be matched by protein-sequence database search . Usually MALDI time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometers are used for this type of analysis because of their speed, mass accuracy and sensitivity. Typically, proteins detected by Coomassie blue or negative staining can be identified. Once the purity and integrity of the protein sample has been assessed, one has to ensure it is homogeneous (Figure 1). Dynamic light scattering (DLS), because of its rapidity and low sample consumption, is a very convenient method to determine simultaneously the monodispersity of the species of interest and the presence of soluble high-order assemblies and aggregates . DLS measures Brownian motion, which is related to the size of the particles. The velocity of the Brownian motion is defined by a translational diffusion coefficient that can be used to calculate the hydrodynamic radius, i.e. the radius of the sphere that would diffuse with the same rate as the molecule of interest. This is done by measuring, with an autocorrelator, the rate at which the intensity of the light scattered by the sample fluctuates. As a 3 nm radius particle scatters 1 million times less light than a 60 nm one, DLS is the method of choice to detect small quantities of aggregates in a sample . A few percent of large aggregates may even swamp the scattered light coming from small particles. It is important to notice that large particles may also originate from poor buffer preparation (all protein purification and storage buffers should systematically be filtered prior to use). Autocorrelation functions can be mathematically resolved using a variety of algorithms, developed either by instrument manufacturers or academic researchers (for instance Sedfit ). However, the robustness of these mathematical solutions is fairly poor. Moreover, a precise quantification of each individual species is difficult and the resolution of DLS does not allow to resolve close quaternary structures (for instance monomers from dimers and small-order oligomers). Overall, DLS is such an easy and convenient technique that the danger of over-interpreting its quantitative results is high . However, the technique is very well adapted for qualitative studies (which are the focus of this review) and can be performed over time and/or at different temperatures in order to test the stability of the protein preparation in different buffers (see Optimization of homogeneity and solubility section). Although less sensitive than DLS, UV-visible spectroscopy is also of use to detect the presence of large particles (with a hydrodynamic radius higher than 200 nm) in a protein preparation. This can be done by monitoring the absorbance signal above 320 nm, where aggregate-free protein samples are not supposed to absorb light, and the signal can be attributed exclusively to the scattering of light by large aggregates present in the sample. This simple measurement can quickly provide qualitative information about the sample of interest. If the UV visible signal is used for concentration measurement, the contribution of scattering to the overall absorbance can be deduced by tracing a log-log plot of absorbance versus wavelength in the 320–350 nm region. This can then be extrapolated to the rest of the spectrum [26,36]. One interesting alternative to UV-visible spectroscopy is fluorescence spectroscopy . After excitation at 280 nm, the fluorescence emission signal is measured at 280 nm and 340 nm, corresponding respectively to light scattering and intrinsic protein fluorescence. The ratio of the intensities at 280 nm and 340 nm (I280/I340) is concentration independent and purely related to the degree of aggregation of the sample. This ratio, also called aggregation index (AI), should be close to zero for aggregate-free protein preparations and can attain high values (>1) when significant aggregation occurs. As already stressed above, DLS does not have the sufficient resolution to correctly assess whether a protein sample is heterogeneous in terms of oligomerisation. Analytical size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is currently the standard separation technique to quantify protein oligomers. SEC, which very often is also the last step of protein purification, separates molecules according to their hydrodynamic size, often defined by their Stokes or hydrodynamic radius , with larger sized molecular species (which are not necessarily larger molecular mass species) eluting before smaller ones. Recent developments of the technique have increased the rapidity of elution, through column parallelization and injection interlacing and/or the use of the latest SEC columns with smaller pore size, allowing improved resolution with smaller bed volumes, reduced elution times (below 10 min) and low sample consumption (5 μg in 20 μl) [40-42]. This should encourage people to resort to SEC as a systematic approach to analyse sample heterogeneity. Aggregates, contaminants and potentially different molecular arrangements of the protein of interest can be readily separated and quantified, with classical online UV detection. One should however keep in mind the fact that the protein sample will be diluted during SEC by as much as a 10-fold factor, which might alter equilibria between oligomeric species. Furthermore, however “inert” may the gel filtration resins be, some proteins do interact with them, rendering SEC impossible. Two column-free separation techniques may be used as alternatives: asymmetric flow-field flow fractionation (AFFFF), which is also well suited for large molecular assemblies that may be dissociated by SEC [42,43], and capillary electrophoresis with electrophoretic mobility separation (CZE) . Contrary to a widespread belief, the molecular mass of the species eluted in each SEC peak cannot be obtained through column calibration approaches, in which protein standards are separated according to their hydrodynamic radius and not their molecular mass (the correlation between both parameters being far from linear, especially for non-globular and intrinsically disordered proteins). To obtain information about mass, it is necessary to resort to a static light scattering (SLS) detector , in combination with a UV or a refractive index (RI) detector. Of note, as in the case of DLS, SLS is also able to detect small amounts of aggregates with high sensitivity, as the light scattering signal is proportional to molecular mass . In size exclusion chromatography with on-line static laser light scattering (SEC-SLS), experimentally determined molecular mass is independent of the elution volume of the protein. Both the total scattered light intensity (which depends on molecular mass and concentration) and the concentration of the protein (using the UV or RI detector) are measured and analysed to determine the molecular mass of the protein as it elutes from the chromatographic column. SEC-SLS is applicable and quite accurate over a broad range of molecular masses (from a few kDa to several MDa), as long as the column is able to resolve completely the different species present in the sample, allowing the area of each peak to be integrated. In order to improve the separation of peaks with respect to traditional SEC, one can resort to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) systems, which have very recently been made amenable to SLS. As an alternative, AFFF can also be used in conjunction with SLS [42,43]. Once the homogeneity of the protein of interest has been assessed, one has to ensure it is active and functional (Figure 1). An infinite variety of generic or protein-specific functional assays has been designed, relying principally on catalytic and binding properties. An attempt at listing such assays would go much beyond the scope of this review. Efficient assays allow to measure precisely the active concentration of the protein sample, and thus to determine (if the total protein concentration is known: see Total protein concentration determination section) the percentage of purified protein that is indeed functional. One should not overlook such active protein concentration determinations, as it can unfortunately often be found that the proportion of purified protein which is indeed in a native active state is low. This can be due to misfolding issues, to the inability of the protein to reach its native structural state spontaneously or to interferences of sequence additions (such as tags or extra amino acids originating from cloning vectors). But in most cases, this is due to poor (and overlooked) micro-integrity and homogeneity of the purified protein (see Purity and integrity section). Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a convenient technique to determine the active concentration of binding proteins. This is done by exploiting the properties of diffusion of molecules in continuous flow microfluidic devices [46,47]. The so-called “calibration-free concentration analysis” (CFCA) method, which has been implemented in a user-friendly format in different SPR instruments available commercially , allows to determine the concentration of protein able to recognize a specific ligand (or protein partner) tethered on a surface. For CFCA measurements, the ligand has to be immobilized at high densities, creating conditions in which the interaction rate of the protein is limited by its diffusion towards the surface (mass transport limitation), and becomes proportional to its active concentration [46,47]. Alternatively, if the protein of interest is tagged, one can resort to a “sandwich” SPR assay to determine directly what proportion of protein is active: a measurable amount of protein is first captured through its tag on a surface on which a tag-specific receptor is immobilized (NTA for His-tag, or an antibody for others) and then titrated by a saturating amount of specific ligand . Different methods are available to measure the total protein concentration in a sample, allowing to deduce the percentage of active protein (see Active protein concentration determination section). Bradford, bicinchonic acid (BCA) and Lowry assays use standards for calibration, which can be a source of error as the composition of the protein of interest may not necessarily match that of the protein standards . It is also possible to use UV-visible absorbance measurements to determine the total protein concentration as long as its extinction coefficient is reliably known or calculated [26,50]. The extinction coefficient at 280 nm is most frequently calculated from the amino acid composition , allowing to determine concentrations from UV absorbance at this wavelength (see [26,50] for protocols). However, one should always monitor wider absorbance spectra (at least from 240 to 350 nm), as these can provide much more information than concentration, as already detailed in the two sections referring to UV-visible spectroscopy above. However, UV absorbance measurements are only usable for concentration determination if the sequence of the protein of interest contains a known amount of tryptophans and tyrosines, the two principal light-absorbing amino acids. If this is not the case, an alternative is to use Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) as initially suggest by Etzion et al. . After subtracting the contribution of water between 1700 nm and 2300 nm, the analysis of the amide band I and II of the IR absorbance spectrum can be used to calculate protein concentration by determining the concentration of amine bonds. Recently, commercially available FTIR equipment has been developed (Direct Detect from Merck Millipore), applying this method to protein samples that are dried on a membrane. The only limitations of the equipment are the minimal and maximal concentrations that can be used (0.2 to 5 mg/ml) and the incompatibility of several amine-containing buffers (HEPES ≥ 25 mM, Tris ≥ 50 mM, …) or additives (EDTA ≥ 10 mM, …). Another alternative is amino acid analysis (AAA) which is a very valuable technique both for protein identification and quantification . Briefly, quantitative AAA involves hydrolyzing the peptide bonds to free individual amino acids, which are then separated, detected and quantified, using purified amino acids as standards (see for protocol). Nonetheless, UV-visible spectroscopy remains beyond any doubt the most widely spread, cost- and time-efficient technique for total protein concentration determination. To take full advantage of this technique even in the absence of tyrosine and tryptophan residues, one solution can be to use FTIR-based protein quantification and AAA measurements at first, to generate concentration calibration curves for the protein of interest in correlation with UV absorbance (at 280 nm or another wavelength). These calibration curves can then be used to determine the concentration of subsequent samples directly by UV absorbance spectroscopy. Identifying conditions in which a protein sample is “well-behaved” and meets all the required criteria described in Initial sample assessment section is generally not a trivial task. In this section, we aim at providing an overview of potential solutions to overcome difficulties that may arise along the quality control work-flow (Figure 1). We also discuss how to determine optimal conditions for the preservation of good quality samples, and how to ensure that the protein production/purification process that one has devised leads reproducibly to samples of equivalent high quality. A variety of solutions are available to overcome issues of contamination of protein samples with impurities, degradation products or undesired chemically-modified proteins . These go from changing the purification protocols (modifying the washing and elution conditions from affinity chromatography columns, or adding purification steps such as ion-exchange chromatography) to more upstream changes such as the addition of different sets of protease inhibitors, the modification of the conditions of induction of protein expression, the choice of another cloning vector (with a different tag, or a tag placed at another position or at both ends), or even resorting to another expression host system. To remove protein aggregates, it is important to ensure that the last step of the purification process always is size-exclusion chromatography. A column should be chosen that allows elution of the protein of interest well away from the void volume, and thus total separation from large protein aggregates. People often need to concentrate their protein samples in order to attain concentrations high enough for their downstream applications: unfortunately, this process, which resorts to spin concentrators or precipitation/resolubilisation protocols, very frequently tends to induce aggregation. Therefore, one should be careful not to concentrate their sample more than strictly necessarily (avoiding overly high concentrations): this should either be done before the final size-exclusion chromatography step, or be followed by an analytical SEC or DLS on part of the concentrated sample to ensure that it has remained free from aggregates. To minimize the formation of protein aggregates (and to improve solubility), a variety of changes can be made upstream to the production/purification protocol . Adjustment of several parameters of the sample buffer composition (pH, salinity, presence of additives, co-factors or ligands, …) can also dramatically increase homogeneity. People often rely for this on empirical rules that they have learnt with experience, as there is no clear correlation between the stability of a protein and its intrinsic properties (amino acid composition, isoelectric point, secondary structure elements, …). Recent DLS instrumental developments, that allow to process a large number of samples in a 96, 384 or 1536 well plate format, have made buffer condition screening an easy task. Many groups have used DLS as a technique to improve the solubilisation conditions of their proteins, in particular before crystallization studies [55,56]. Buffer matrices for multi-parametric screening of pH, salinity, buffer nature, additives and co-factors can be generated by hand or using simple robotics . Typically samples, at a concentration of 10 mg/ml for a 10 kDa protein or 1 mg/ml for a 100 kDa protein, are diluted 10 times in each test buffer with a consumption of only 2 μl of sample per condition. The homogeneity of the sample and the presence of aggregates (and high-order physiologically irrelevant oligomers) can be monitored in each condition, allowing to select the optimal buffer composition for protein homogeneity. Preservation of good quality protein samples over time is all important, as very often one will not consume all of a sample straight away. People most often rely on hearsay for the short-term or long-term storage of their precious protein samples. A very widely spread belief is that flash freezing (with or without cryoprotectants such as glycerol) is the best method for long-term retention of protein properties. However, this is far from being a general truth, especially because significant denaturation, aggregation and precipitation can occur upon freezing/thawing . Proteins may become unstable and lose their biological activity through a variety of physical or chemical mechanisms, even at cold temperatures [59-61]. The best storage conditions are very much protein-dependent, and may vary from unfrozen aqueous solutions to salted precipitates or freeze-dried solids [59-61]. A practical way to approach this issue is to start by monitoring the time stability of one’s protein sample at a few relevant temperatures (e.g. 4 and 25°C) using DLS and a functional assay, in the optimal buffer for sample homogeneity and solubility (see Optimization of homogeneity and solubility section). Indeed, one may quite often realize this way that simple storage of the protein sample without further processing (for instance at 4°C) provides long enough stability for all down-stream experiments. Many people also evaluate the thermal stability of their proteins in different buffers, using methods such as differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF, also known as thermal-shift assay) : however, there is no clear correlation between thermodynamic and time stability of a protein, and it is therefore not straightforward to obtain insight about the long-term stability of a sample from its thermal stability analysis. On the contrary, thermodynamic stability generally correlates with rigidity , which is of particular importance when the downstream application is structural characterization (for instance by X-ray crystallography). If a protein needs to be stored for an undetermined period, one can explore different methods (freezing with or without cryoprotectants, lyophilization,… [59-61]) and determine their effect on the properties of the sample using DLS and a functional assay. Of note, the best storage conditions may be largely different from the experimental conditions for downstream applications, so a preliminary desalting or dialysis might be needed before quality control. A fundamental principle of good laboratory practices is that experiments need to be reproduced and should thus be reproducible, both within a laboratory and between research groups. During the lifetime of a project, it is therefore very likely that one will need to prepare more than a single sample of a given protein. Other groups might also need to prepare it independently in the frame of collaborations or comparability studies. Determining the robustness of one’s production/purification process and its capacity to reproducibly deliver samples of equivalent quality is therefore all-important. However, once the quality of a purified protein sample has been fully assessed and optimized a first time, verification of lot-to-lot consistency does not necessarily require the repetition of the whole quality control work-flow (Figure 1B). A very practical way to rapidly estimate the equivalence of protein lots is to verify the conformity of their “spectral signatures”. The most straightforward is to compare UV-visible spectra which, as has been stressed above, contain a wealth of information beyond simple 280 nm absorbance. This may be profitably complemented by circular dichroism (CD) in the far-UV, which provides information about the global content of secondary structure elements in a protein [63,64]. Of note, contrary to a widespread belief, the presence of secondary structure elements in a protein (“foldedness”) is not by itself a quality control criterium, especially as many proteins are either intrinsically disordered or contain unfolded segments in their native state. But differences between the CD spectra acquired for two different lots of the same protein (in the same buffer) may readily reveal divergences in folding that could correlate with differences in active concentration, especially if spectral similarity is analysed quantitatively rather than visually [65,66]. “Thermal denaturation signatures”, determined by techniques such as CD or differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, ), can also be a very convenient and accurate way to determine the equivalence of protein lots, provided special attention is given to the equivalence of protein sample conditioning buffers. Indeed, differences between protein lots can translate into detectable differences in the global shape of their denaturation profiles . Apart from spectral and thermal denaturation signatures, MS (for integrity), DLS (for homogeneity), analytical SEC (for both purity and homogeneity) and a functional assay are the most convenient and discriminating methods to assess the reproducibility and equivalence in quality of distinct protein lots. In this review, we have attempted to cover all the aspects of protein quality control, from the necessary initial sample assessment to sample optimization. For each step, a set of relevant techniques has been suggested (Figure 1A). The first-line methods are essential and should be used systematically for a full quality control assessment. Different complementary methods can be added depending on the protein sample peculiarities and quality control requirements. The suggested approaches for first line assessment include the “basic requirements for evaluating protein quality” that have been recently proposed , but go significantly beyond them. We also suggest a sequential experimental work-flow, to be followed as a check-list in order to optimize the time and effort spent on each sample (Figure 1B). This work-flow elaborates the protein quality control and storage optimization steps of the general protein production/purification pipeline . Overall, this global synthetic step-by-step overview should hopefully lead to better protein samples and therefore to better chances of success in downstream applications. In line with community-based efforts that have been deployed in other fields like structural biology [69,70], proteomics and interactomics [71-74] or quantitative real-time PCR [75,76], research relying on purified proteins would gain significant reliability and credibility from the implementation of good practices, such as the systematic and transparent reporting of the results of purified protein quality control assessments, at least in the supplementary information sections of scientific publications. PL, BB and SH collected data and references for different parts of the review; BR and PE coordinated and assembled the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

2019-04-21T12:38:47Z

https://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12934-014-0180-6

For the past couple of years, my husband and I have not exchanged traditional, wrapped-and-Christmas-bowed gifts. Instead, we plan an experience. We started our anti-Stuff celebrations because neither of us could think of a gift we truly wanted. Then we'd each be scrambling to think of something, anything, since not giving a box with a bow was unacceptable. This way, the pressure is off, and we create memories of fabulous meals and trips to vineyards, instead of piling up Stuff to fulfill a gift requirement. I'm not against traditional gifts, especially if you know it's something the recipient will use or enjoy. But if you are at a loss for the hard-to-buy-for loved ones on your list, consider an anti-Stuff gift of consumables or experiences. Why? Easier than picking something that comes down to personal taste, such as perfumes, sweaters, knickknacks, etc. Word of warning: make sure the gift is something the recipient would enjoy or something in which he or she has expressed interest, not something you like or think he or she should like! That holds true with any sort of gift-giving. Basket of consumables from the farmers' market. I've made baskets filled with locally-made items such as jam, jelly, biscotti, granola, chocolate, honey, coffee, salsa, vinegar, and olive oil. Cooking classes. There are classes on everything from knife skills to sushi rolling to creating Tuscan feasts. Wine and cheese pairing class. Bonus points if it's held at a gorgeous vineyard. Zip-line tour. Send the adrenaline junkie on your list flying through the trees. Kayaking lessons. Paddling is a great way to enjoy the local lakes and rivers. Cave tour. Give the gift of a tour or a special event. Some caves host dinner and a concert, all underground. Horseback riding. A day on a dude ranch is a nice way to get back to nature. Gift certificates to the local “artsy” movie theater. They'll get to see the indie flicks without having to wait for the DVD release. A museum membership. Members typically receive perks such as unlimited admission, invitations to previews of exhibitions, a discount at the museum's store, and invitations to special events. Dance lessons. Just make sure you know if your recipient is a belly dancer at heart or more of the foxtrot-type. Tickets to a performance. If it's a date-specific event, you'll need to be sneaky to make sure the recipient will be available, but tickets to concerts, plays, and other performances are memorable gifts. Music lessons. If your brother has always wanted to channel his inner Jimi Hendrix, indulge the fantasy with a few guitar lessons. A round of golf. If their sport costs money, buy them some time on the green, at the batting cages, or wherever the sport is enjoyed. Tickets to a sporting event. One year I bought my husband tickets to a Dallas Cowboys football game for his birthday. I was living in an apartment complex owned by Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Tenants could purchase tickets to the game, including seats on a chartered bus to drive us the three hours to the stadium. Lessons in their preferred activity. Find out what they like to do and where they do it. Inquire about lessons. Art lessons. Sewing, knitting, sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, stained glass…there's no end to types of art classes. Gardening gifts. Seeds, herbs, perennials, saplings, and bushes make great gifts for loved ones with green thumbs. Spa services. Massages are appreciated by most people, especially if they are hunched over a computer or on their feet all day. Foot massages and pedicures are good options for those who aren't comfortable with full-body massages. A night at a nearby bed and breakfast. Only for those who have been very good this year! This approach isn't for everyone. I think children should get to enjoy tearing open a gift and having a few things to play with right away, rather than being told it's a gift that will be a blast…later. But I'd venture to say there are probably a few people on your list who would prefer a thoughtful, anti-Stuff gift that reflects their interests and doesn't have to be stored, dusted, or worse, guiltily tossed in a Goodwill bin. What do you think about anti-Stuff gifts? What types of consumable or experiential gifts are on your wish list? J.D.'s note: For those concerned about the cost of these suggestions, be sure to check out last year's list of homemade Christmas gifts. There are 84 reader responses to "The Anti-Stuff Holiday Gift Guide". Great article April! We are currently trying to pay off debt and have talked about this type of Christmas this year. We want to do something special together that we will remember for a lifetime vs. something that will just fill up our closet. Thanks for the great ideas! For parents, often the gift of time is the most precious. A day off from the kids, alone, to do whatever you want to do can be a great gift! I would love to do this, but my family (both on my side and my SO’s side) is all about the “stuff” during the holidays. The habit to give lots of “stuff” is so ingrained in my SO (he prefers quantity to quality on top of that, like his own family) that his feelings get hurt when I tell him that I don’t want “stuff.” I try not to give too much “stuff” either, but that hasn’t always been successful because apparently everyone wants “stuff” and likes to give “stuff,” so I try to oblige and be graceful on both fronts. I hate the holidays because I’m tired of fighting the anti-stuff battle with everyone every year, so now I simply budget for it, expect to waste a bit of money, and go with the flow. These days, keeping the family peace is more important than insisting on “no stuff” since no one listens anyway. And I don’t feel guilty about tossing stuff in the Goodwill bin anymore. Nice post! I completely agree. Unless there is something specific I know to buy, I love getting my family tickets to sporting events, concerts, or the ballet (depending on the person). I have been told that this is a good gift because it’s like telling someone you love that you want to spend another whole day with them in the future. I’ve been trying to come up with ideas for anit-stuff gift exchanges for the adults in the extended family. We live in a fairly small town, and some involved come from 100-200 miles away to participate. I love the idea of experience gifts but find it difficult with the travel time that would be required for most. I thought maybe I’d suggest a big combined blowout for father’s day instead of Christmas including maybe a baseball game and Omaha steaks on the grill. We’ll see how the family reacts to that. I really like this idea. My family has been decreasing material gift giving over the years and I have definitely started thinking more about experiences that I want to have rather than things I want to have. Thanks for the awesome tips! One more that might be good is charity giving – give money to a charity in the name of someone else. Zoo memberships are great for a family (especially if you live somewhere they are open all year). My MIL gave us one last year and its been great, it even includes parking so throwing the kids in the car and going to the zoo for an hour is very doable (rather than trying to make it a whole day event and everyone getting tired and cranky!). Last year for my parents we made a donation to buy a family in need a sheep and two chickens from World Vision. And for my brothers we gave them a monthly subscription to our own little cookie club. We don’t live nearby, so every month we mail them a dozen cookies. Speaking of which, I need to get to the post office. These are terrific gift ideas that I can use this holiday season! I think it’s much better than buying a family member a gift he/she won’t necessarily use. I also agree with the kids still getting gifts that they can enjoy right then and there. Although, I’ve been known to give bond certificates that that can’t appreciate at the moment, but their parents appreciate. So I’ll usually buy a little gift for the kids to go along with their bond. I wholeheartedly agree with this article. I personally would MUCH rather go somewhere and do something than get another gift that I probably will not use. My husband is ridiculously hard to buy for. He’s an electronics junkie, and I gave up on buying him anything like that a long time ago; as soon as he gets one thing a newer more updated version comes out & it’s frustrating for the gift giver. For our anniversary one year, I took us to Asheville, NC one weekend & we spent time at the Biltmore & other areas around town. That was a great time. This year when he asked what I wanted for the holidays, I said that I’d rather us do something together because I honestly can’t think of anything. This year we’re giving Goats, Chickens, etc to our family. Actually we’re giving them through World Vision to people who need them in honor of our family. The best gifts are a combination of usefulness, thoughtfulness, and immediate impact. Useful, because–like you mentioned–it won’t sit around on a shelf gathering dust. The friend will actually use it. Whether it’s a physical tool or a membership of some sort, the gift brings genuine value into their life, and they utilize it to improve whatever it is they’re doing (or would like to learn to do). Thoughtful, because it shows you care (cue cheesy music). Seriously though, the friend gets a sense that you really know them, what they like, what they are interested in. It’s not a generic gift but something the friend cares about. Not just any food gift, but a specific country, region, or style of cooking the friend loves or wants to learn how to make. Immediate impact, because we’re all kids, no matter what our age says. We like to tear open fun stuff, and have something to hold and look at it. Just walking up to your friend and telling them their gift starts on Monday, or to check their email to confirm lessons, doesn’t maximize the impact of the gift. But present your non-tangible (if that’s the case) gift in a visually-exciting way, and the smile is immediately formed on the face. There’s a reason some places offer to give gift cards packaged in a themed and exciting way. Great post, and great ideas. We really try to have experiences with our kids as opposed to stuff and doing the same for adults is just as great. Thanks for some good ideas. Our family looks on the positive side of stuff instead of banning it altogether. We make lists so that we know the recipient wants the item. Most of the items we give and receive are useful items. We will often delay purchases of things we need to replace that are not urgent so that they can be given for the holiday season. Some examples of “stuff” we have exchanged and still love and use all the time: pizza stone, chef’s knife, winter socks, wallet, messenger bag, tupperware, expansions for much-loved and played board games, circular saw, shower curtain, and more that I can’t think about. If we are not sure what someone likes and we would like to give them a gift, we give them homemade fudge or cookies or chocolate covered pretzels that we dip ourselves. But, with most people, if we are close enough to give them a gift, we are close enough to ASK THEM what they want as a gift. It’s funny, I was just noticing a few of the usual crap-no-one-needs holiday gifts appearing in stores, and the thought process they use to market incredible junk is the same in that you have some sort of superficial classification or hobby for the recipient, and need to get them something… What can you get the “foodie” who has everything? Newly invented junk! If you notice some newly invented affordable but marginally useful piece of junk for “the foodie” this year, try to resist. The worst new junk has to be the stuff for “the student” and “the techie.” Stuff that is marketed mostly to fulfill a desire to get a gift for everyone– gaarrgh! I forgot “the husband.” Junk created for Xmas gifts for the hubbie is usually good for a chuckle. @stevesliva–Good point. As a foodie myself, the last thing I want is a specialized kitchen gadget that does one thing and gets used twice a year. Most gadgets don’t do anything that a chef’s knife can’t do. The thing to give foodies is food! Either as consumables or as an experience. I am totally with you. We have switched from buying things for each other to spending good quality time with each other a while ago. I think this also leads to less fights within the family, which I believe is a general problem during the holidays. When you focus on each other rather than the potential disappointment in an inadequate gift, you will most likely collect good memories of the holidays. I love gifts that do not have to be “stored” and are used up. As long as it’s not a restaurant that is so far away it becomes impractical (my uncle and his wife do this every year to us). I would also much rather spend a few days on a mini-vacation with loved ones than wrapping presents for them and opening another sweater. Unless I have an exact idea of a “thing” someone on my list wants, they get gift cards or tickets or the like. Great ideas to create a new paradigm for Christmas (or is it going back to an old paradigm?) Would love to have great Christmas *memories* rather than a pile of forgettable Christmas *stuff*. A good gift for a baptism, Kiva Certifacate. Kiva Is a nonprofit lending organization where people can choose a person from a third world nation that is trying to start up a small business to lend money to. I think this is a great gift because it is somthing the parents can do right away and as the kid gets older and they can choose who to make a loan to when previous loans were repaid. All great ideas. If you have to give gifts, make sure that it’s something that the person wants. My siblings & I, along w/our SOs, exchange names to cut down on the gifts (and money spending), and a list is a requirement. My BF suggested that we not buy gifts for each other this year. Instead, since I work for an airline & can fly for free, we’re taking a day trip to Washington DC – all it will cost is metro fare & food, since the museums are free. He’s never been to DC and it’s been 15+ years since I’ve been there, so I’m sure it will be a memorable experience. On the other hand, experience gifts can be just as unappreciated as any other. I once gave a museum membership (in the town where they live) to my brother and his family, but that didn’t mean they used it: and I should have realized that it wasn’t a really good gift, since I do know them well enough to know that camping or gardening supplies would be things that they would really like. Similarly, I have been given gift certificates for massages and pedicures that I’ve never used; those just aren’t things I find fun or relaxing or a good experience. Maybe if you don’t know a person well enough to buy something they like (or you’re not willing to buy what they would really appreciate!) then maybe there shouldn’t be a gift exchange. Because my husband and I are in a better financial situation than some of our relatives, we regularly give gifts to people from whom we know won’t be giving gifts to us. And that feels just fine (we even keep on giving gifts to the younger folks even without a thank you note — up to high school age, we figure it’s their parents who should be monitoring that, and if they don’t, well, why punish the kids…). And sometimes someone gives one of us a gift we didn’t expect — when that happens we don’t think we are suddenly required to reciprocate; grateful thanks for the thoughtfulness is enough, I think. We definitely want to do something along the lines of this for my parents-in-law, who have moved closer and downsized. The last thing they need is more stuff, unless it is something readily “consumable”. Ironically my husband and I have hinted quite a few times really what my husband and I would like is simply time off together, even to watch a movie (i.e. a iou “I will watch the kids one evening”) but no dice. If we get a sitter it costs 80-100 and so it is a gift that is most appreciated. Along the same lines as babysitting for someone with kids, I sometimes give iou’s for chores I know someone hates doing, or a gift certificate where it can be done. For example, this year my siblings and I are combining gifts for my dad to get his two dogs groomed, because they shed like crazy and fight him on getting bathed and brushed. Out of the four kids, none of us are really home at times when the dogs most need grooming (when they shed heavily in the spring). Giving him a way to get them groomed elsewhere also means he won’t have two wet dogs hanging around the house the whole day! I’ve also given friends “A day of cleaning” and let them pick out what things around the apartment they least like doing. Maybe they don’t mind vacuuming but hate cleaning the bathroom (or vice versa). Another thought for anti-stuff – donations to a person’s favorite charity, in their name. My husband and I started this several years ago, as our parents have what they need and buy what they want. My mom LOVED it – and has passed on the practice within her circle as well. After cleaning out 12 years of accumulated stuff in preparation for an interstate move, we vowed to truly focus on experience rather than stuff. Goodwill benefitted, but isn’t it a shame to just keep a bunch of stuff you never use or really needed in the first place? I also like giving subscriptions: magazine, netflix, game sites, gift of the month clubs… giving something people can enjoy all year long. My boyfriend and I keep extensive (like 4-5 pages, single-spaced) lists of things that we want as gifts. They are organized into categories – electronics, books, DVDs, movies, clothes, experiences, food, etc. We give edited versions of these lists to friends and family we know will be buying us presents to ensure we get exactly what we want. When applicable, sizes and URLs for buying the things online are included. i love your posts, April! i hate storing stuff that i don’t use, but not all experiences are enjoyable either. i hate going to discos and clubs where people smoke so much but i would appreciate a good book or a building kit (robotics, electronics, models, crafts etc) anytime! I love the idea of Zoo passes/museum passes. I have both and they are not only good for the locality issued, but because I travel quite a bit, they are good at many locations across the country for either free or discounted admissions. (I can get into Phoenix or columbus zoo for half price with my pass) I can use my Arboretum pass to get in free at the local botanical garden. since both my kids live out of state I try to buy them things that ship or pack easily, but also give thought to what they want or what they would use. While I really like the article, I do find it somewhat sad that it needs to be said at all. Isn’t this how people usually give gifts? It’s how my family has always given gifts. I’m confused. Our exchanges are not solely items like tickets, but the gifts are never “stuff”, they are items that have either been requested/hinted at, or are items that the giver knows the recipient will love and use. It’s only “stuff” if it’s never loved or used. It’s not a Christmas item, but for my mom’s birthday and Mother’s Day, I clean her ovens. She hasn’t had to do it in years. I do it as a surprise–I live in the same town and do it when she and my dad are at a movie or something, but sometime around those times of year. These are all great ideas. However, almost all of them are extremely expensive. I very much want to give (and receive) gifts that don’t clutter up the home, but I also don’t want to be spending thousands of dollars on my gift giving. You mentioned food baskets and movie tickets which are within most people’s budgets. How about something along the lines of a cooking lesson from you instead of a cooking school? One thing that I have done over the past few years was to a take an $100 restaurant gift certificate that had been a gift, (seriously — it was over the top!) and have the restaurant split it in half, which meant we could give a $50 gift certificate away and still have a dinner out ourselves. My husband’s family takes the romance out of gift giving, but makes sure that everyone gets exactly what the want/need. Like a new winter coat, power tool or beautiful wool slippers that will last for years. They send each other links for the exact item, size, & color, and that is exactly what they get. They generally keep requests under $100. I don’t love the practice, but it never feels bad to get the books/sweater/shoes you’ve been wanting. I’ve been trying to make gifts for friends & family — I made beef stock from scratch & froze it, potted bulbs or tomato plants, and this year I want to make dog biscuits for the dog lovers. I love the idea of giving and experience rather than gifts and I try to do that on birthdays. If I gave everyone an experience gift or gift card to a spa on Xmass my budget would be way over the top. Sometimes it is cheaper to give an actual gift that you know someone will like and won’t inflate the Xmass budget. One that I haven’t seen mentioned yet: my DH and I usually are able to find some item that we both want and use the money we would have otherwise spent on gifts. One year it was a PVR, another year we combined it with other gift money we had received and bought an iMac, etc. Basically, items which are splurges. Plus, because it’s by agreement, we can wait until after Christmas and take advantage of Boxing Day sales, if appropriate. This is something I can relate to. I never liked stuff. I just didn’t. Stuff just creates clutter and usually leaves no memories. I am all about creating experiences. Memorable experiences last forever and add much more to our lives than things. Gifting an experience is much more memorable. For example, my girlfriend took hot air ballooning for my birthday! It was awesome! I will remember it forever! I am not saying that gifting useful and thoughtful things is a bad idea, but most people gift things that people don’t need or want. Let’s us create experiences for our loved ones and let us declutter the world and our minds one experience at a time! I love the idea of experiences instead of stuff, but please make sure that the person is actually going to be able to enjoy the experience. Years ago, my MIL gave me a certificate to a very expensive spa, that I could use to get a massage or facial, but I never used it. First, it was hard for me to schedule an appointment, because I couldn’t find anybody to watch my children. So, if you’re giving theater or movie tickets to parents, maybe an additional gift could be a babysitting night so the parents can actually go and enjoy the movie. Also, when I looked up the prices for the spa, it turned out that all the prices were above that amount on the certificate, so I would have ended up having to pay extra to get any of their services. I’m sorry to say that the certificate went unused, because I hate to waste money, but it just didn’t work into my lifestyle. I thought this post could use more pictures, so I just added a bunch. If I’d thought about it, I would have worked with April to find photos for all of the ideas. I think they’re great! I agree. Last year we were struggling to figure out what my father-in-law would like for a christmas. What can you give someone who can practically buy anything he wants, anytime he wants. Then I remembered introducing him to a vocal trio called the Puppini Sisters, and my wife just found out that they were going to be in town early the following year (2009). We bought him 4 tickets so he can bring his wife and two other friends. What a bonus, because the “two other friends” ended up to be me and my wife because the couple they invited could not come. Seeing my in-laws having a blast was priceless. This year I will be giving the gift of a chartered fishing trip… I paid for the charter, and am giving it to my husband, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law, and my father….. it worked out to be the right price for a half-day trip….they can all go together and have the gift of a day spent together on a great boat on Lake Michigan! These are great tips. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t go anywhere or do anything, so I’m stuck buying ‘stuff.’ I tell my parents to get my husband and I gift certs or something, because our tastes are so different, but they are of the ‘I need to buy things to buy things and have things for you under the tree’ mentality and it has been very hard for me to break out of that mentality as a grownup. I still love buying lots of *things* but only when I know it will have meaning or use for the recipient. We’ll see how this year goes! Experiences are where it’s at. If I had a foodie friend, instead of putting together a basket I would get a gift card to the local gourmet/chef’s supply emporium and suggest we could go together. Most of us in my city have only a few chances a year to find an afternoon to spend together … sometimes it’s hard just to find an afternoon to spend with DH! Recently we went to a chef’s supply store, had brunch in their cafe, then spent a very entertaining hour browsing and shopping. Not only did we find a couple of tools we’d been looking for (like an oyster knife), we found some gourmet food items that let us carry that experience over. For the rest of the family we can exchange anything homemade or recycled (thrift store, etc.) or nothing at all….usually there are beeswax candles, wine (winemakers in the family), food, plants, etc. But this year I am thinking about getting California State Park passes for everyone since we all like to hike and the state needs the funds so they don’t close the parks! This is a wonderful post full of great ideas for all types of people. Re theater tickets: we gave each of our daughter’s a night out at a Broadway show (alone with Mom — a treat in itself) and presented it with a wrapped CD of the show music. We have gotten an unbelievable amount of mileage from those tickets — which, granted, were expensive. By the way — we bought a $20 program at the show as a souvenir, and that was also a great investment. I can’t even count the times they have taken those out and read them and sang to them and talked about the show and showed them to friends and brought them to school. I’d like to warm people against the alcohol “of the month” clubs. I got my husband a year of the microbrew of the month, and it was a logistical nightmare. In the summer the beer was skunked, in winter it was frozen. There was an “adult signature required” sticker on the box in plain sight, and still Fed Ex would dump it on the porch with no warning. One box went missing, and we’re pretty sure the neighbor kids stole it. We decided it wasn’t worth the legal risk, and will never do it again. This reminds me of a funny story that happened to us….years ago we had signed up for a quarterly wine club, adult signature required for delivery, yadda yadda. I love the idea but I am also with the poster (#35) that mentioned the majority of these gifts are very expensive especially when you’re talking about extended family. So, I’ll take the somewhat opposing view and side with stuff. See, I think “stuff” has a bad name and that’s not fair. Everyone enjoys stuff if you take the time to buy OR MAKE things you know they will appreciate and use. This does require time and planning though and most people just don’t care about that sort of thing. Really, it shouldn’t be Anti-Stuff it should be Anti-Meaningless/Useless. Some people mentioned the “romance of gift-giving” and I appreciate that. For instance, I maintain a wish list on Amazon but, and I stress this every time I reluctantly admit I have one to my friends and family, it’s a guide to things I like not the end-all of what exactly to get me. I put a lot of effort into the things I buy my friends and family and always get great feedback on them. My family started a tradition of a yankee swap for the adults (and the kids still get gifts). We set a price each year $50, and get one gift that most people would enjoy (or we can get a gift for a specific person but they don’t necessarily get to keep it). So we wrap the present and put it in the middle of the room, and draw numbers. Who ever gets number one pick a present from the pile and opens it. From the next person has five minutes to decide if they want to steal the present already opened or pick another present from the pile. This goes on until the last person in the group picks. When someone takes your gift, you get the option to take from someone else or go back to the gift pile. Its a lot of fun, and saves everyone some $$ if there is a large family. @Kristy (26) – I wholeheartedly agree with your grad student suggestions. Both my partner and I are grad students and we would love something as easy as a coffee gift certificate – whether from a national chain or a local one (all our family lives 2000+ miles from us). Some people might think this was a boring or unthoughful gift, but since we try not to spend too much money on coffee out, but still love to go and do work at coffee shops, it would be perfect. Same with bookstore gift certs – whether for an academic book or something fun – even though this isn’t really an experience gift, though we both do love wandering a bookstore for a while, esp. with the luxury of having a bit of money to spend at the end. Also, this isn’t exactly an experience gift either, but it kind of is by default of distance – last year my brother and SIL made a calendar featuring photos of their adorable bulldog. My SIL dressed him up in all sorts of seasonal outfits and then created the calendar with those photos – we love it and have it in our kitchen. Since they’re so far away, its fun to have a bit of them with us all year long. I’m *totally* drinking the Kool-Aid on this concept! My brother and I are trying to slowly change our family’s mindset on physical gift giving. Last year, we did a gag-gift “white elephant” exchange. Nobody receives anything of material value, but everyone enjoys hours of laughter and great memories of spending time with each other. One exception to the rule: I have started a tradition of giving calendars with my own photography on it. For me, it allows me to share my joy and passion of photography with others. It’s useful, hand-made, and relatively cheap (~$15/calendar). FedEx Office and Shutterfly are two places that have done a wonderful job on these calendars. Agree with Stephanie (#52) and Kristy (#26) – coffee is always the perfect gift for a student. A study basket is even better! What a great post! Some of my extended family members are simply doing a gift card exchange (with $15 gift cards) this year because it’s so hard to buy for people. Then people can go out and get what they want. And I often do a lot of homemade gifts. They’re useful and inexpensive. Last year our budget was very tight for Christmas, so I made some homemade hot chocolate mix (tons of recipes online) and packed it into nice, decorated mason jars for our friends. It was a hit! One warning to those considering buying a gift for gardeners: I am a gardener, and sometimes I receive plants as gifts and don’t have a good spot to put them in my yard. If you have an idea of what plants the recipient could actually use, that would help. I seem to be the odd one out on this, but if someone gave to a charity in my name, I would probably never speak to that person again. I am extremely particular what I support and none of my family knows who they are. Now, if giftgivers know someone is ok with that type of gift, it is a different story. Just don’t assume that a donation will please someone. uh, ok wolfgirl, i guess you’re really particular. Unless it was a charity to drown kittens (or something equally horrible) i don’t think i’d be so angry at a person for donating in my name, even if you don’t support that charity they at least tried to do a good thing. I have given both dinner gift certificates (with included babysitting) and massage/spa treatment gift certificates, both went over very well. As for myself, last year I told everyone that I wanted to take cooking classes, and said that if they didn’t know what to get me, money to go toward the classes would be great. All my siblings and my mother-in-law gave toward the cause, and I don’t think that any of them were affronted that I asked for money. I made sure to gush about the cooking classes in my thank you note, so that they understood that I really appreciated the gift. I’ve been doing this for years already, even when my children were small. I’ve given gift cards to local movie theaters for families of employees, with gift cards for soda and popcorn. I’ve taken my parents out to dinners and shows. This year, husband and I will see a Broadway show (we live in metro NYC) instead of getting tangible gifts. But if this is about financial sense, why spend money on something that’s gone in an instant, an hour or a day? Thanks for the great ideas. My mind is spinning with ideas of how to make this year’s Christmas much more “experience” oriented! I love these ideas! Both the combination of a fun event or activity in lieu of a gift as well as the “no clutter” idea!! My favorite family Christmas tradition is Bingo where there’s very little money spent up front, loads of laughs, every single person can participate, and we’re all enjoying time together. Nothing can beat it! My wife and I needlessly exchanged gifts at Christmas virtually for no other reason than to say we exchanged gifts. The gifts we gave were hardly necessities, probably some of them weren’t even wanted. We finally came to our senses and realized we could spend all the money in the world on each other and it wouldn’t bring us closer to one another. Since then, we give each other the gift of time. There is nothing more precious in either one of our lives, so each Christams, we plan dates throughout the year that come hell or high water, we will spend those dates together. My husband and I haven’t exchanged Christmas gifts in over 5 years. But, we do have a Christmas budget; and use the money that we would have spent on each other to make a very nice donation to our favorite charitable organizations. We still get the joy of giving, plus we know that our gift is needed and appreciated. Excellent post, and wonderful comments! My siblings and I have a fun tradition. Each of us picks a charity, and the others make a donation to it in our honor. I love it!! My husband and I also give gifts to a child or two from our local giving tree. Like Cara, I have in-laws who are all about the stuff. They seem to take it personally if I say I don’t want any THINGS. In the interest of family harmony, I’ve decided to drop it. I’m not good with Christmas gifts because in my family, Christmas was “Ki’s Day”, just like there is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. In other words, parents would give something to their kids, and that’s it (and the kids would give something on Mother’s and Father’s Day). Since I don’t have children, giving Christmas gift just feels completely weird to me. Now that I’m married, I let my husband do most of the giving because it still feels awkward and unnatural to me. Of course, it feels just as weird receiving gifts from people who aren’t my parents (I don’t even receive gifts from my parents anymore since I’m not a kid anymore). And I have to say I’m not the type to like giving something because it’s the proper time to. When I see something a friend or family would enjoy, I get it for them right away. It could be December, I’m still not going to wait until Christmas to give it to them. Anyway, I realise my personal experience is different from most. And I do think the gifts you mentionned really are great ieas that people would enjoy more than gifts that were bought because “you gotta buy something”. I do agree with what someone else said though, that most of these are kinda expensive, and might not be in everyone’s budget (especially if you need to get one for everyone you know). Great article, some useful alternative ideas. BTW where did you get the picture of the cat? it’s a spitting image of my moggy, Milo! For well over a year my husband (I really dislike the term ‘DH’) and kids, along with my sister and her family, have been wanting to take my Mom to a dinner and a Broadway show (she went through treatment for colon cancer). So last year, she wasn’t up to it due to the chemo. Several other times we tried to get together (sis lives 1 and 1/2 hours north of us and mom lives 1 and 1/2 hours south of us), but since my sister has 2 young kids under 5 (my youngest is 9), she always has a sitter problem; to make matters worse, someone always gets sick at the worst time (flu at Christmas, New Year’s, what have you). My sister’s husband travels a lot and my husband works shift work, so their schedules are often conflicting! There are also so many other obligations during the holidays like work parties, school concerts, piano recitals, fundraising events, church events and planning, decorating, shopping, cleaning, baking; it’s way too much for one person to have to do in a month or so (our husbands tend to do the bare minimun all year long!). So many good intentions that never pan out is what frustrates me–not to mention the hundreds of dollars to have to spend for that ‘experience’. This year we decided that we would only give the kids gifts, no adult gifts…we’re old enough to buy for ourselves and are satisfied with just spending a holiday together at last!!!! Sorry for typo above….’minimum’! Comment editor won’t work for some reason on my computer. @Ian–That’s my cat, Mia, in the photo. She likes to “help” with gift wrapping. The best give I ever gave involved box and bows … and nothing else. My mother was always putting things “someplace special” and then forgetting where the special place was. One year I was desparate for a gift and out of ideas. The lightbulb went off. I wrapped the biggest box I could find, in the fanciest manner I could manage, and labeled it “Someplace Special.” She used it for 15 years before it finally disintegrated. I don’t usually get that lucky with ideas, though. My family has a tradition of sometimes giving money. The recipient is to use the gift for something special – no paying the electric bill – and then telling the giver all about the special thing. One year my special thing was a 3 day group lecture-and-tour of a historic battlefield. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy it, I now understand US history better. Great post April! I have been on the receiving side of this idea many times and I can tell you that it means a lot more to me and I usually get a lot more out of it. Adopted Zoo Animal — I was a llama mama! Wine Club Membership — This one was awesome! Safari Trip for 2 at Safari West — Perhaps my favorite! An idea that is always nice and from the heart is making a donation to an organization that is meaningful to that person on their behalf. One year for Christmas I adopted animals for all of my friends through the World Wildlife Fund and another year we purchased animals through Heifer International and gave that to all of our long distance family members. Perhaps the best experience I ever gave was surprising my mother with a trip to Disneyland. She was 57 the first time she ever stepped foot in a Disney park, and even though it rained on us most of the time, we had a blast and she had the biggest smile on her face the whole day! A lot of the above options are extremely expensive! We tend to get consumables for family, and our kids since those gifts are sure to get used. We do like to teach our kids about giving, so we chose to start a new tradition where everyone buys a gift for each member of the immediate family. This year they are saving their allowances to purchase gifts. It’s wonderful to see them choose something so thoughtfully for each other. I like to give a receive consumables like food, craft items for the kids, etc. or memberships since we can use those again and again. We also shop for a child or family in need each year. The gift I really want? To be debt-free, but I think it may take until next Christmas to get there. This year all the adults in the family are receiving brandied pears and amarreto pears, canned this summer. Previous experience tells me they will be appreciated. Two days out of the summer for canning and I’m done with most of my list. I have been scanning old photos (you know, before digital camaras?). I also have very old family photos. When I am done scanning, I am planning on making (or having made) photo albums for the rest of my family. Before digital, pictures weren’t shared quite as much. They will enjoy having pictures of when we were kids, or their own children, or of their great grandparents. As someone who just graduated from college, I have to agree with the coffee, consumables gifts for students. Gardeners appreciate gift certificates too! We don’t always have a use for plants, seeds, etc. If your buying tools make sure they are good quality and not something they already have,or they will turn into “stuff.” We used to buy my grandmother GCs to her favorite nursery. They were her favorite gifts! Every year she turned them into flowers for her garden. At past 80 she had all the stuff she needed, but had to watch her budget. It helped her to afford what she still loved. I am most definitely anti-stuff, because I hate clutter. The experience and memory is worth a lot more than STUFF to me.. The charity donation idea …I swear some people use it passive-aggressively. My old coworker loved to tell about how her in-laws made a donation in her name to a conservative Christian organization, when they knew perfectly well she was an atheist. I once gave my (now ex-) husband a balloon ride. That was a hoot! Later I gave him a ride in a glider, which he also seemed to enjoy. When asked what he wanted for Christmas, he would invariably say “money.” Grr! So, one Christmas I took my paycheck to the bank, had it cashed out in one-dollar bills, packed it into a box, and wrapped it as his present. That was the last time he asked for money. Then he started asking for real estate. This is an excellent post! I plan on sharing it with all of the people who absolutely insist on buying gifts for me, as I do not enjoy seeing them struggling to buy the ‘perfect gift’ when the holiday seasons roll around (especially since my birthday is within two weeks of the holidays). Anti-stuff gifts are definitely the best, as an experience with all its memories attached can be treasured for a lifetime as opposed to Stuff, which could be lost, broken, or used up. I really like this idea. Being a big fan of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I’d love to have a private lesson with one of the local black belts in my area. While I love the ideas of giving gifts of experiences like tickets to the zoo, theater, etc. what do you do if you live so far away from these things that they aren’t practical? I live in a smaller town where these sort of attractions just aren’t available anywhere close. I also have three stepdaughters (19,20 and 27) that are all about things and “stuff” and would most likely not really appreciate gift certificates or food gifts. My husband and I have about decided just to give them cash, but once you put some cash in a box and stick it under the tree it just feels really impersonal. My girlfriend and I recently did a glass blowing workshop. It was awesome. This is another string to the bow. It won’t suit everyone, but it’ll suit others better than the usual alternatives. I can’t afford to buy for a lot of people at once, so I make a point of not giving christmas gifts to many people. They will get enough stuff at christmas to drown in, without my contribution. I do place importance on birthdays, especially the ones near christmas, which get submerged. However, I take my nieces to the pantomime every year. They’re talking about it for weeks, sometimes months afterwards, and it’s the kind of treat their harassed parents don’t have freedom to give them. Nothing I could afford to buy would make that big an impression on them. Sometimes it goes wrong, though: I once bought entrance tickets (wedding present) to an attraction I knew the recipients would really enjoy. Weeks after the tickets expired, I got a polite thank you for the tickets to the recycling centre. It could have been worse: they could have mistaken it for a sewage farm.

2019-04-24T08:58:17Z

https://www.getrichslowly.org/anti-stuff-holiday-gift-guide/

I have been working hard to explain to people that Iran’s nuclear weapons are not the major threat to Israel. It is obvious. The problem is that after almost a century, Israel is not just the object of genocide by the Arabs but by many Iranian, Turkish, and newly European and North American Muslims. It is truly awesome how few politically active would-be peacemakers among Arabs and Middle Eastern Muslims there are. Given Secretary of State Haman the Agagite, it is unfortunate that there is no King Ahasuerus. Of course some of this, especially in the West, is due to the phony two-state or at least two-stage-to-extinction solution. I should mention this was not just a knee-jerk conclusion on my part but one reached over the course of 45 years. Somehow, I don’t think Michelle would play such a role. Why use nuclear weapons when you believe you will win by conventional means and while you make billions to shore up the Tehran regime so effectively in the short-run? Iran’s nuclear effort is ironically a defensive strategy to neutralize any possible Israeli nuclear option or an Israeli attack on Iran. This is a massive misdirection — get it? Let’s see. Can you imagine this misdirected “detail”? Simply: the almost decades-old effort to destroy Israel. 1929: Hebron massacre of Jews. No Arabs massacred. 1937-1939: Arabs fight war against British mandate of Palestine including terrorist assassinations. 1939: Jordan and Egypt are inclined to prevent Israel by diplomatic means but the Palestinian Arabs, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq want violence. 1939: Saudi Arabia secretly negotiates weapons purchase for the Palestinian Arabs from Nazi Germany. 1939: Muslim Brotherhood subsidized by Nazi Germany. Seventy-five years later, the grandson of the head of the Brotherhood and the son of the Palestinian European leader were permitted by the New York Times, without contradiction, to write that the Brotherhood believed in parliamentary democracy and was pro-British during the war. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood and the Arab-Palestinian leadership from Berlin were advocating massacres of the Jews in Egypt, and the government was providing maps of British fortification to the German army. 1941: The Palestinians’ Arab leadership asks for a safe haven in Berlin. For the next four years, this leadership organizes thousands of German Nazi troops and SS imams, advises the German government, sends delegations to concentration camps with an eye on setting up death camps throughout the Middle East, etc. 1941: Massacre of Jews in Baghdad; revolt by radical Iraq’s Nazi ally put down. 1948: Refusal of UN partition giving a Palestinian Arab state. 1956: Suez War: Israel pressed to pull back by U.S. victory but gets nothing. 1967: 1970 War of Attrition. 1970: Arab summit–no recognition of Israel, no negotiations, no peace. 1970-1982: Decades of terrorism; the murder of any Israeli in reach; yet relatively little retaliation. And there was the assassination of almost every Arab leader willing to make peace with Israel. 2000: Refusal of UN partition to receive a Palestinian Arab state. Now consider today. Well, it’s the same thing. It is obvious that despite the thinnest veneer, it is pretty much the same thing as 1929, 1941, 1948, 1979, 2000-2004, etc. That is a terrible and sobering situation, but it is true. Maybe not inevitable, but it is based on leadership. Remember Iran (34 years) and Turkey (about 12 years) are relatively new additions to existential conflict with Israel. When asked by a recent poll if Israeli-PA negotiations would ever lead to peace, 25 percent of Jewish Israelis said yes, while 73 percent of them said no. Remember, many of those Jews who were against still–or used to–vote for the left. It is angering that Israel and PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s “hard line” are being blamed for this, but it should be obvious that the conflict will not end. In the meantime, Iran is getting nuclear weapons while Israel is getting nothing but insults from Kerry as the–wait for it–“bad” guy after 65 years. He is unintentionally encouraging murders (two of four Israeli soldiers killed in two weeks were not killed in the territories–one was killed while visiting what he thought was an Arab “friend” and another while sleeping on a bus bench). Or as former U.S. Secretary of State Shultz explains what is really happening: Iranians will “cut your throat.” He is really encouraging this Iranian throat-cutting. Failure of the talks will increase Israel’s isolation in the world. The alternative to getting back to the talks is a potential of chaos. I mean, does Israel want a third intifada? I believe that if we do not find a way to find peace, there will be an increasing isolation of Israel. Two intifadas? Is he going to do something about this if there is a third intifada? Is Kerry going to protect Israel? Because there will be cross-border attacks, and they will only be covered in one-paragraph shorts, while any photos will be of Palestinian terrorists’ grieving families. So what is Iran doing in the meanwhile? Here are some public statements by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. First, Israel is “the rabid dog” of the region. Iranian leaders have also said that Israel wants genocide against all Muslims. In fact, antisemitism is justified on the basis of the Koran by Iranian leaders. Iran says that everybody in the Middle East wants to destroy Israel. And he continues, “We fight against the arrogance. Arrogance is a word in the Koran. It is used in the Koran for people like Pharaoh, malevolent groups which are hostile to truth and righteousness….” I think that pharaoh ended up being drowned in the sea. I don’t think that there is any good intention for the U.S. here, even though it is going to stop sanctions worth billions of dollars to Iran, and enable them to develop nuclear weapons. Zionist regime is doomed to oblivion. The Zionist regime is an imposed regime which is formed by force. None of the formations or creatures which are formed by force is durable, and neither is this one….Unfortunately, some European countries cringe before this creature which is not worthy of the name of a human being, before these leaders of the Zionist regime, who look like beasts and who cannot be called human. Sounds like he wants peace to me! But who cannot be called human? Where have we heard that before? Say, Nazi propaganda? Didn’t end well then. Any by the way, the Obama administration did not condemn these vicious anti-Israel statements nor did it alter any policy because of them. Meanwhile, the U.S. policy has also hardened Palestinian Arabs’ lines, as shown in statements by leaders. In turn, the Palestinian Arabs have hardened their policy, insulting the United States. Recently, there was a situation in which a Georgetown University session ditched a Nazi speaker but still featured a Nazi professor who denied that bin Ladin had played a role in September 11. And moreover, Professor Rima Najjar posted on her Facebook page: “What Brandeis University does not understand: Palestinian armed resistance to Zionist colonization is a path to liberation.” Brandeis University suspended its partnership with al-Quds University after the West Bank University had a rally that was meant to honor the martyrs of Islamic Jihad, in which the symbol of Israel, the Star of David, was symbolically stepped on by all demonstrators. This is going to justify the murder of any Israeli. "If we don’t end the presence of Israeli soldiers perpetually within the West Bank, then there will be an increasing feeling that if we cannot get peace with a leadership that is committed to nonviolence, you may wind up with leadership that is committed to violence." Well, what do you think has been happening for almost 90 years? There is something very strange about the political situation. You can call it a failure of "Profiles In Courage." Profiles In Courage was a book that people think was written by President John F. Kennedy, but in fact was written by Professor Jules Davids. Professor Davids, who was my dissertation advisor, was a wonderful man. I'm always irritated that he is not given the credit for what Kennedy pretended to write. Profiles In Courage is a book about the heroism shown by senators who took an unpopular position and even went against what was popular or partisan politically because they knew it was right–for example, the people who voted against the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson after the Civil War, because they knew it was the right thing to do (1868). What is shocking is that there are so few profiles-in-courage moments at present. In other words, in other words, the judgemetn of a statement is not whether its true but whether it serves indoctrination. Just think of how many Democrats are willing to publicly contradict Obama; how many people have rethought their assumptions; how many journalists are willing to report the truth, even if it is in contradiction of ideology. Just think how few people are even willing to prepare a balanced course for teaching or non-slanted teaching. How many New York Times stories are non-biased? It seems, I believe, that only 1% of the “Progressive” elite are doing this professional job. Also consider how few people are willing to contradict the cowardly leadership of the Republican Party, even though they must understand that it is only opportunism and careerism that make them follow the current leadership. This cowardice and dereliction of duty–by those who know that there's something wrong here–is calling public decency and democracy into question. That institutions are pretty broken, that money is being wasted, that lies are being told, that Obamacare is very dangerous, is often simply ignored. I am ashamed and shocked by this failure of the journalistic and academic system. By the way, I think it is significant that the last time I had a meeting with Blumenthal’s father, he was then a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton. Also, the last time I had lunch with him was with… Wolf Blitzer. Don’t forget these connections. I wonder whether his “anti-Semitic” training affected him in the heart of the Hillary Clinton camp. In 1948, there were hopes that the Arab-Israeli conflict would be resolved in the long-run. But it wasn’t. In 1967, there was hope that the magnitude of Israeli victory meant that the Arabs would eventually come to terms (Egypt and Jordan did in a way, although the final word has not been written). In 1982, people believed that the conflict could still be solved, but it wasn’t. And finally, during the negotiations from 1993-2000, there were renewed hopes that the conflict would be resolved. It wasn’t. Today, the conflict is even further from being resolved, especially with the entry of Iran, Islamism, and the radical government in Turkey. Maybe it is time to conclude the Arab-Israeli conflict will never be resolved. There have since been at least three more examples following the same pattern. The first is obviously Iran, its nuclear intentions, its trickery, and its desire to dominate the region. The statement from the Saudi ambassador to London also expressed in his Times of London interview an unusually abrasive criticism of the West for what he said was a too-soft approach toward Iran, calling Washington's "rush" to engage with Tehran "incomprehensible." A senior Saudi diplomat issued a rare direct threat to Iran, warning that "all options are available" should the international community fail to rein in Iran's alleged drive to acquire nuclear weapons. This statement could easily come out of the mouth of an Israeli politician. It is amusing that with this parallelism to Israel's viewpoint, the senior diplomat had to deny that he saw something in common with Israel. In other words, Saudi Arabia feels that it has been betrayed by the United States, and will respond to that betrayal. Then there is Egypt. Let's review American behavior. Two years ago, the United States basically helped and celebrated a Muslim Brotherhood electoral victory. Every anti-Islamist knows this. When the Egyptian military coup happened a year later, the U.S. opposed it. In other words, if the Muslim Brotherhood had won and crushed freedom by staying in office, it would be have been backed by the United States, but since there was a coup, the election was stolen. Doesn't everyone in Egypt know that if the coup had not taken place, the U.S. would have the supported the Muslim Brotherhood government? Don't the Egyptians know that the United States would be willing to sell Egypt into Islamic fundamentalist slavery? Would anyone believe the United States would protect any of its other allies? But suddenly, the U.S. turned around and Kerry actually said that the Muslim Brotherhood had "stolen" the revolution. And that is why the Egyptians are turning toward Russia today and do not trust the U.S. Frankly you would think that the Obama administration wants to sabotage U.S. Middle-East policy. By the way, the Egyptians were so angered by their perception of Turkey cuddling up to Iran and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, that they threw out the Turkish ambassador. *David Gerstman has kindly sent this three-year-old article to me, which is still relevant today. We must now face an extremely unpleasant truth: even giving the Obama Administration every possible break regarding its Iran policy, it is now clear that the U.S. government isn't going to take strong action on the nuclear weapons issue. Note that I didn't even say "effective" action, that is, measures which would force Iran to back down. I’m neither advocating nor do I think there was ever any possibility that the United States, even under Obama’s predecessor, might take military action. I'm saying that they aren't even going to make a good show of trying seriously to do anything at all. Some say that the administration has secretly or implicitly accepted the idea that Iran will get nuclear weapons and is now seeking some longer-term containment policy. I doubt that has happened. They are just not even this close to reality. From their behavior they still seem to expect, incredibly, that some kind of deal is possible with Tehran despite everything that has happened. Then, too, they may hope that the opposition—unaided by America–will overthrow the Iranian government and thus solve the problem for them. And they are too fixated on short-term games about seeking consensus among other powers two of which–China and Russia–are clearly not going to agree to do anything serious. This fact was clear many months ago, but the administration still doesn’t recognize it. Not only is the Obama administration failing the test, but it is doing so in a way that seems to maximize the loss of U.S. credibility in the region and the world. A lot of this comes from the administration's philosophy, almost unprecedented concepts of guilt, apology, defeatism, and refusal to take leadership never seen before among past liberal Democratic governments from Franklin Roosevelt through Bill Clinton. Yet the British, French, and Germans are ready to get tough on Iran, yearning for leadership, and not getting it. All of this is watered down in media coverage, focused on day-to-day developments; swallowing many of the administration's excuses plus its endlessly repeated rhetoric that action is on the way. When the history of this absurdly failed effort is written the story will be a shocking one, the absurdity of policy obvious. It was totally predictable that the Iranian government would not make a deal. It was totally predictable that Russia and China weren’t going to go along with higher sanctions. It was totally predictable that a failure by the United States to take leadership and instead depend on consensus would lead to paralysis. And it is totally predictable that a bungled diplomatic effort will produce an even more aggressive Iranian policy along with crisis and violence. First, the administration set a September 2009 deadline for instituting higher sanctions and then, instead of following a two-track strategy of engagement plus pressure, postponed doing anything while engaged in talks with Iran. Second, it refused to take advantage of the regime's international unpopularity and growing opposition demonstrations due to the stolen election. On the contrary, it assured the Iranian regime it would not do so. Third, the administration set a December 2009 deadline if engagement failed, then refused to recognize it had failed and did nothing. It is the failure even to try to meet this time limit by implementing some credible action that has crossed the line, triggered the point of no return. Fourth, the U.S. government kept pretending that it was somehow convincing the Chinese and Russians to participate while there was never any chance of this happening. Indeed, this was clear from statements repeatedly made by leaders of both countries. Now, this duo has sabotaged the process without any cost inflicted by the United States while making clear they will continue doing so. Here is something tremendously ironic: The British, French, and Germans want to act. Obama has the consensus among allies that he says is required. But he’s letting himself be held back by China and Russia. The three European allies now have the opposite problem they felt with Bush. They wanted to pull back the previous American president. Now with Obama, they can’t drag this guy forward! Fifth, high-ranking U.S. officials continually speak of their unending eagerness to engage Iran, begging it to fool them with more delays. But Tehran doesn’t have to do so since the same officials speak of at least six months more discussion before anything is done about sanctions. Sixth, the administration now defines sanctions as overwhelmingly focused on the Revolutionary Guards, which it cannot hurt economically, thus signaling to the Iranian regime that it will do nothing effective to damage the country's economy. This means that even if sanctions are increased, they will be toothless. The White House ignored the face-saving way out given it by Congress, where the vast majority of Democrats supported an embargo on refined fuel supplies and other doable measures. All of these steps tell Iran's regime: full speed ahead on building nuclear weapons; repress your opponents brutally, and the United States will do nothing. It isn’t a good thing when the world’s most dangerous dictator is laughing at you, and your friends in the region are trembling because they have been let down. An angry U.S. government that feels Iran's regime made it seem a sucker. A calculating administration that believes the American people want it to get tough, and thus it would gain politically from being seen as decisive. A great power strategy that it would make an example of Iran to show what happens to repressive dictators who defy the United States and spit on its friends and interests. And a diplomatically astute leadership that understands how threats and pressure must be used even by those who want to force an opponent into a compromise deal. There is not the slightest indication that the Obama administration holds any of these views. On the contrary, without any apparent realization of the absurdity of the situation, high-ranking officials keep repeating in January 2010 as in January 2009 that some day the United States might do something to put pressure on Iran. Perhaps those in the administration who do understand what's wrong don't have the influence to affect the policy being set in the White House. At a minimum, the administration should implement the tough sanctions envisioned by Congress and supported by its European allies, an attempt to cut off the maximum amount of fuel supplies, loans, and trade from Iran. If this hurts average Iranians, it also sends the signal that the current regime is unacceptable and aids the opposition. In diplomatic history, this is how sanctions have always been viewed. Instead, while the United States does nothing, Russia is completing Iran’s Bushire nuclear reactor and China is finishing up a massive oil refinery in Iran. While Obama fiddles, the regime is getting stronger, not more isolated. This sad debacle is going to be a case study of how failing to deal with a problem sooner, even if that requires some diplomatic confrontations, will lead to a much bigger and costlier conflict later involving military confrontations. When I read what I wrote back in September 2009–four months before the article you are reading now was written–I find that every point made has proven true. Unless a civilization or country has continuity, it cannot exist. And that goes for America, too. This is the basis of America and democratic government. If the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were defining moments of America, the second defining moment was the Civil War. This month, President Barack Obama did not go live to Gettysburg. Perhaps, he had a golf game or some banquet to attend, or some accusation of racism to level. But, in fact, the trip would have been incredibly convenient. He even could have dropped by the Camp David presidential resort. All he had to do was travel a short distance to Frederick, Maryland, and drive north to Gettysburg. I cannot tell you how upset and angry this has made me. Obama could have claimed this was a natural act to sell his agenda. For example, he could talk about racism that is at the heart of America, he claims. But there is a curiosity here, because in fact, if Obama had given this address, he would have actually proven the contrary: that America's history proved the opposite, that this was a central act to oppose racism, that it was risky but it would be worthwhile to wager the whole nation on this outcome. In other words, he would have shown that America was an anti-racist country and the first country that had a civil war to end slavery. If he had gone to Gettysburg, he would have needed to show the theme that America was against racism implicitly. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they were endowed by their Creator by certain inalienable right, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." But he wanted to hint that America's essence was pro-slavery. Second, he wanted to reject the interpretation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and to substitute this with the regulation, dependence, and the definition of others' idea of happiness. My ancestors did not arrive in the United States until after the Civil War. Still, I understand this centrality, just as I understand the Revolution, Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. It seems Obama does not understand these things. And incidentally, if center-stage commemoration of the Civil War does not exist today, will, for example, World War II–the victory over Nazism–be commemorated in future decades? I think that this is highly symbolic. It is time to call this the first officially atheistic regime in history. Note that in his Gettysburg Address speech (and in other speeches), Obama omitted the phrase “under God” from the quotes. May I point out that the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves, and Obama may have an interest in that. But then I assume that he wants to imply that the slaves were never freed and that racism in fact forever persists. I've always been amazed that anyone thought the United States would ever act against the Iranian nuclear threat. There was never any chance that such a thing would happen. The United States would never go to war with tens of millions of people. Moreover, there was never any chance the United States would let Israel "attack" Iran. "'I believe that we can now say that Israel has reached childhood’s end, that it has matured enough to begin approaching a state of self-reliance… We are going to achieve economic independence [from the United States].' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Joint Session of the United States Congress – Washington D.C., July 10, 1996 (Source: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs)." Unfortunately, today, almost 20 years later, this is not a fair statement to quote. Strauss continues: "In 1997, Israel received $3.1 billion in aid from the U.S. In 2012, Israel was still receiving $3.1 billion annually in U.S. aid." This, however, is not an appropriate comparison today. Let us look at the current situation: Egypt will receive $2 billion in U.S. aid; Saudi Arabia will receive military aid as well as the anti-Asad Syrian rebels; Turkey will receive billions of dollars and probably military equipment. Moreover, the United States and Europe will also reach out to Iran, and Hizballah and Syria will receive aid from Iran. In addition, the Palestinians have not made the least bit of commitment on a two-state solution. In other words, only Israel would lose. And this is the childhood's end? Strauss further notes, "Israel has become an affluent and developed country that can afford to pay for its own defense." But the point is that other hostile countries will be receiving more while Israel will get the same amount. He continues, "… Israel has a well developed economy in other ways." But again, Israel will be placed at much more of a disadvantage. The article's claim, "Other countries/programs could better use this aid money," does not state the reality. "Even domestically, the aid that goes to Israel could be useful. Detroit is bankrupt, and our Congress is cutting back on food stamps, and making other painful budget cuts." Again, the United States does not face an immediate threat from its neighbors, while Israel does. Moreover, this is shockingly implying that Israel is stealing money from poor people in the United States. In other words, this is not equivalent. "Israel and the United States have increasingly different visions about the future of the Middle East." But again, so what? This is absolutely irrelevant. "A major (bipartisan) goal of the United States has been the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Once again, this is a policy that is impossible, but the United States is going to try to force it on Israel anyway. Note that the less security the United States and the West provide to Israel, the more difficult it makes it to secure or promote a desirable two-state solution. Strauss adds, "However, the current Israeli government is clearly not committed to the U.S. vision, and has done everything possible to sabotage American efforts." The problem with this last point is that the Palestinians have always tried to sabotage this. If this concept hasn't gotten across in a quarter century, I can't imagine when it will get across. The current Israeli government has tried for many years to achieve a two-state solution and has made many concessions. And if Kerry can't take Israel's side on this issue, then I can't imagine how decades of U.S. policy has been carried out. To say that the Israeli government is not committed is a fully hostile statement. This claims Israeli settlement and not Palestinian intransigence has blocked the peace process. Note that the author of this article has "distinguished" credentials: "Steven Strauss is an adjunct lecturer in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government." Yet if this is what the U.S. government understands, it will end badly. Moreover, the issue of Iran and nuclear weapons is not the important point; rather, it is the transformation of the U.S. Middle East position that is significant. I do not believe there is any chance Iran will use nuclear weapons. The problem is that this is reversal of the U.S. policy. In other words, it is like going back to 1948 and opposing partition. Finally, what this is all about is money and greed. Many European countries are drooling about the money to be made. For example, Vittorio Da Rold writes (Il Sole 24 ore), "Italian SMEs are hoping for a rapid agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue in order to return as soon as possible to trade without limits with Tehran and the rich Iranian market in hopes of finding new markets in a time when the European market flirts with deflation." During the 1930s and 1940s, a unique and lasting political alliance was forged among Third Reich leaders, Arab nationalists, and Muslim religious authorities. From this relationship sprang a series of dramatic events that, despite their profound impact on the course of World War II, remained secret until now. In this groundbreaking book, esteemed Middle East scholars Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz uncover for the first time the complete story of this dangerous alliance and explore its continuing impact on Arab politics in the twenty-first century. Rubin and Schwanitz reveal, for example, the full scope of Palestinian leader Amin al-Husaini's support of Hitler's genocidal plans against European and Middle Eastern Jews. In addition, they expose the extent of Germany's long-term promotion of Islamism and jihad. Drawing on unprecedented research in European, American, and Middle East archives, many recently opened and never before written about, the authors offer new insight on the intertwined development of Nazism and Islamism and its impact on the modern Middle East. Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center of the Interdisciplinary Center, Israel. He is the author of many books and publishes frequently on Middle East topics. He lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. Middle East historian Wolfgang G. Schwanitz is visiting professor at the Global Research in International Affairs Center of the Interdisciplinary Center, Israel, and an associate fellow at the Middle East Forum of Pennsylvania. He lives in New Jersey. Published by Yale University Press. Available February 25, 2014. Pre-order here. Several students from Students for Justice in Palestine have just written a letter to the university newspaper. They asked why Jewish students on campus weren't open to a more moderate pro-two-state solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. I will tell you the secret of why that is. First of all, Israel has a great deal of experience, in fact, repeat experience for 50 years. Israel had many experiences that prove that the Palestinian leadership and the great majority of Palestinians are not interested in a long-term two-state solution. This is both in terms of Hamas and in terms of the Palestinian Authority. There have been tens of thousands of cases that show that both organizations want to destroy Israel. True, Israel often wanted to give them a chance–indeed, from 1983 to 1993, it certainly tried. I remember clearly on the day the Oslo agreement was signed, I reached out to shake the hand of a Fatah official, who (even then) reluctantly accepted. Three years later, I stood on the street corner watching ambulances race to the scene of a bus terrorist attack, which was not condemned by the PA. In fact, out of many thousands of articles, I can only remember one when a PA official, a military commander, explained why terrorism was really bad for the PA. Once at a private dinner with a PA official (who later became a PA foreign minister), he said Arafat was stupid for not agreeing to a compromise two-state solution. Again, even many liberal and left-of -center Israelis know that peace and a two-state solution are not going to happen, at least not without a major ongoing strategic threat to Israel and also terrorism. Certainly there are those individuals and groups open to peace with Israel, but these are mostly Turks, Kurds, Lebanese, Jordanians, Egyptians, Iranians, North African Arabs, Berbers, some Christian Arabs, and Druze. In addition, Israel has not been given real security by the UN and Europe and most recently the United States. It has no reason to feel secure even in the furthest extent of concessions that Israel can afford to make. Even if one is sincere, it appears there is no comprehension of what conditions Israel is facing nor of the hostility to ever accept Israel. This shows a lack of understanding of the structural situation. There is no concept or understanding of the situation, nor is any informed advice offered, yet such people want to risk the lives of Israelis. This is ludicrous. Maybe one will come to understand in the future how ridiculous this is or perhaps this is known already. Hamas will continue the violent conflict and stage as many episodes of violence as possible, even if a future state of Palestine doesn’t want to. Hamas will commit terrorist acts, and the government of Palestine will not do much to stop this or punish them. Whenever a future Palestinian state indulges in violence, it will do so with state support. If Fatah or other government coalition groups engage in terrorism, it the state will usually do nothing to stop it and will deny it. The West and Europe will usually ignore violence because they want to pretend and suggest the peace process really worked. It is unfortunately that this is true since the overwhelming majority of Israelis would prefer to have peace. –Most Israelis believe, on the basis of their experience during the 1990s' Oslo era and with the "peace process" generally, that Palestinian leaders cannot and will not make peace, and that most Arabs and Muslims still want to destroy Israel. As a result, they explain, past Israeli concessions have made Israel's situation worse, risks to show that Israel wants peace have not persuaded onlookers, withdrawals from territory have only led to that territory being used to launch attacks on Israel. –In justifying their stance, Israelis cite the extremism of Iran; the advances of Hamas and Hizballah; the growing radicalism and Islamist influence in the Egyptian revolution, and other such factors. In addition, they worry that the Obama Administration policy is undermining Israel and enabling a growing extremism in the region. This is a prevailing viewpoint across the political spectrum. –Peace would be easily and quickly obtained if not for Israel's policies. –Settlements and not Arab/Muslim positions are the factor preventing peace, even though it could be pointed out that if the Palestinians made peace all the settlements on their territory would be removed. –If Israel only had a different government the peace process would rapidly advance. –Obama and his supporters want to save Israel in spite of itself and they, not Israel' own leadership, knows what's best for the country. –Israelis "know" that Obama is right which is why public opinion polls, statements, and evidence to the contrary is suppressed or spun away. American Jews can support anti-Israel policies in the firm belief that they are really "pro-Israel" policies. –It is far more pleasant to believe that conflict can be made to disappear, hatreds quenched. If they are all our fault than we can easily fix them. Or, in short, "Why do they hate us?" because we've behaved so badly but we can fix it by behaving properly. Consequently, the systematic misrepresentation isn't because these people are mean or that they hate Israel as such (well, actually, a lot of academics but relatively few journalists or government officials do) but because their worldview and political line–including 100 percent support for Obama–requires it. Equally, their systematic view that revolutionary Islamism isn't a real threat but just a marginal movement of those who misunderstand Islam and want to hijack it, requires it. Equally, their systematic view that to portray certain peoples as hardline, intransigent, "irrational," etc., is a form of racism and Islamophobia. I constantly receive letters from Iranians, Turks, Lebanese, Egyptians, and Syrians about their despair at losing their country, being oppressed, or seeing so much bloodshed in their struggle for democracy and to avoid being crushed by Islamist or radical nationalist dictatorships. Genuinely moderate Muslims in the West have similar complaints and experiences. One case that typifies many is of a courageous man who is shunned by the politicians, virtually barred from the two mosques in his small city, and sees those who threaten him being praised in the media and feted by local politicians. These people often have similar symptoms. They are depressed, often close to tears, deeply frustrated, and bewildered. What makes their lot even more bitter is the lack of sympathy for the Western MUG that praises their enemies (and all of ours) at the same time. They, too, are victims of the same syndrome that Israel suffers from. One of the worst things in life is for someone to wake up and discover he's been supporting evil. Indeed, not only an evil in the abstract but forces and ideas that threaten his own freedom and happiness. A lot of people in the West have already woken up but many more need to do so.

2019-04-21T04:16:49Z

http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2013/11/

McMaster University (commonly referred to as McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on 121 hectares (300 acres) of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It operates six academic faculties: the DeGroote School of Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Social Science, and Science. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada. ACU, ATS, AUCC, CARL, COU, CUP, Fields Institute, IAU, U15. The university bears the name of William McMaster, a prominent Canadian senator and banker who bequeathed C$900,000 to its founding. It was incorporated under the terms of an act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1887, merging the Toronto Baptist College with Woodstock College. It opened in Toronto in 1890. Inadequate facilities and the gift of land in Hamilton prompted its relocation in 1930. The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec controlled the university until it became a privately chartered, publicly funded non-denominational institution in 1957. McMaster University is co-educational, and has over 25,000 undergraduate and over 4,000 post-graduate students. Alumni and former students reside across Canada and in 139 countries. Its athletic teams are known as the Marauders, and are members of U Sports. Notable alumni include government officials, academics, business leaders, Rhodes Scholars, Gates Cambridge Scholars, and Nobel laureates. As the university grew, McMaster Hall started to become overcrowded. The suggestion to move the university to Hamilton was first brought up by a student and Hamilton native in 1909, although the proposal was not seriously considered by the university until two years later. By the 1920s, after previous proposals between various university staff, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign to bring McMaster University to Hamilton. As the issue of space at McMaster Hall became more acute, the university administration debated the future of the university. The university nearly became federated with the University of Toronto, as had been the case with Trinity College and Victoria College. Instead, in 1927, the university administration decided to move the university to Hamilton. The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec secured $1.5 million, while the citizens of Hamilton raised an additional $500,000 to help finance the move. The lands for the university and new buildings were secured through gifts from graduates. Lands were transferred from Royal Botanical Gardens to establish the campus area. The first academic session on the new Hamilton campus began in 1930. McMaster's property in Toronto was sold to the University of Toronto when McMaster moved to Hamilton in 1930. McMaster Hall is now home to the Royal Conservatory of Music. Hamilton Hall was constructed in 1926 in preparation for the university's move to Hamilton. McMaster's oldest buildings are examples of Collegiate Gothic architecture, with architectural elements such as carved ornamentation, bas-reliefs, recessed arched entryways, and ashlar found throughout these buildings. McMaster University is in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, in the Golden Horseshoe along the western end of Lake Ontario. The main campus is bordered to the north by Cootes Paradise, an extensive natural marshland, to the east and west by residential neighbourhoods, and to its south by Main Street West, a major transportation artery. Its northern boundaries are a popular destination for walkers who use the many trails that connect the campus to Royal Botanical Gardens. While the main campus is 152.4 hectares (377 acres), most of the teaching facilities are centered within the core 12.1 hectares (30 acres). In addition to its main campus in Hamilton, McMaster owns several other properties around Hamilton, as well as in Burlington, Kitchener, and St. Catharines, Ontario. The university owns and manages 58 buildings, both on and off campus. The buildings at McMaster vary in age, with Hamilton Hall opening in 1926, to the university's new Bertrand Russel Archives and Research Centre, which opened 25 June 2018. McMaster main campus is divided into three main areas: the Core Campus, North Campus and West Campus. The Core Campus is where the majority of the university's academic, research and residential buildings are located while the North Campus is made up of the university's athletic precinct and a small number of surface parking. The West Campus is the least developed area of the main campus, containing only a few buildings, surface parking, and undeveloped land. Panoramic view of McMaster University's main campus from the southwest, taken on June 2008. The majority of the university's facilities are located on this campus. University Hall is one of the oldest facilities still used by the university. The university's campus has gone through continuous development since 1928. The main campus's six original buildings are of Collegiate Gothic architecture, designed by William Lyon Somerville, who also laid out the initial campus plan. They are now flanked by over fifty structures built predominantly from the 1940s to 1960s. The largest facility is the McMaster University Medical Centre, a multi-use research hospital that is home to the second-largest neonatal intensive care unit and the third-largest child and youth mental health unit in the country. It is connected to the Life Sciences building and the Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning & Discovery, which houses many well-funded research groups in areas of genetics, infectious diseases, and several specific conditions. The McMaster Museum of Art holds the highest attendance figures for a university-affiliated museum in Canada. The university's library system is a member of 31 organizations, including the Association of Research Libraries. Around 2.8 million articles were downloaded from the library system's electronic journal collection during the 2016 academic year. The university library employs a total of 138 professional, and support staff. The library's resource expenditure for the 2016–2017 academic year was approximately $11.5 million, with 81 per cent of the budget allocated to serial and e-resource subscriptions, 9 per cent on hard copy acquisitions, and 10 per cent to membership and collections support. The library system include four libraries housing 1,274,265 paper books and 3,689,973 total resources, including videos, maps, sound recordings, and microfilm. Mills Library houses the humanities and social sciences collections, with a wide range of print and digital resources. Innis Library houses content which supports the academic and research interests of the DeGroote School of Business. Thode Library houses academic material of various disciplines of science and engineering, while the Health Science Library houses books pertaining to medical sciences. The William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections at McMaster University consist of papers of Canadian publishers; British personalities and of Canadian literary figures such as Farley Mowat, Pierre Berton, Matt Cohen, and Marian Engel. It includes the archives of Bertrand Russell, and of labour unions. The McMaster Museum of Art's (MMA) principal role is to support the academic mission of McMaster University and to contribute to the discourse on art in Canada. The museum has the highest attendance figures for a university-affiliated museum in Canada, with 30,000 visitors in 2016. Established in 1967, the museum houses and exhibits the university's art collection. As of 2015, that collection of 5,971 pieces holds a total value of $98.7 million. The collection includes works by Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Walter Sickert and Vincent van Gogh. The museum also boasts the most comprehensive collection of German expressionist and Weimar period prints in Canada. As of March 2019, McMaster has twelve smoke-free student residences: Bates, Brandon, Edwards, Hedden, Les Prince, Mary E. Keyes, Matthews, McKay, Moulton, Wallingford, Whidden, and Woodstock Hall. McMaster's student residences can accommodate 3,685 students. The latest residence to be built was Les Prince Hall, a large co-ed building, completed in 2006. It was named for a long-time hall master in the residence system who lived with his family on campus until after his retirement in 1980. In September 2010, 50.19 per cent of first-year students lived on campus, with 15.54 per cent of the overall undergraduate population living on campus. Residences provide traditional room and board style, furnished apartment style, and suite-style accommodation. Brandon Hall houses the university's substance-free lifestyle living spaces. The residence system is supervised by Residence Life staff, who provide guidance and help the transition to university life for many first-year students. Residence students are represented by the Inter-Residence Council (IRC), which aims to build a sense of community among the residents through programming. Additionally, the IRC seeks to advocate for residence students on issues they may face, such as facilities, dining, environment, and more, and provide opportunities for residence students to gain valuable leadership opportunities. They are an integral part of the McMaster residence community. The McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) is the centre of student life and programming. It has a café, study space, common areas, and several administrative departments, including the CIBC Conference Hall. The MUSC contains the offices of a number of student organizations, including the McMaster Students Union and The Silhouette weekly newspaper as well as other services such as the Campus Health Centre and the campus dentist. The university has over twenty dining outlets throughout the campus, including two major residence dining facilities. The university has several vegetarian establishments, such as a completely vegetarian cafe known as Bridges Café and a farmers market stand. The university was voted as the country's most vegan-friendly university through People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for a number of years. Several other dining outlets at McMaster have garnered awards throughout the years for food services. As of 2010 McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business operates a 1.82-hectare (4.5-acre) site in the neighbouring city of Burlington. Consideration for the new building began in 2004, when McMaster University had announced its initial intent to construct a new arts- and technology-intensive campus in partnership with the city of Burlington. In 2009, the City of Burlington, Halton Region, and McMaster University signed an official agreement laying out the timelines and next steps for the university's expansion into Burlington. Construction began on 17 June 2009, and the official opening was on 7 October 2010. The four-story, 8,400-square-metre (90,000 sq ft) building is called the Ron Joyce Centre. The Ron Joyce Centre is home to DeGroote's MBA program and its business management program (both degree and non-degree programs). The David Braley Health Sciences Centre at the McMaster Health Campus in downtown Hamilton. The Centre is one of several off-campus facilities operated by the university. McMaster has a number of administrative offices at its Downtown Centre. The McMaster Centre for Continuing Education, which offers a variety of certificate and diploma programs as well as personal and professional development programs, is located within the former Bank of Montreal Pavilion at Lloyd D. Jackson Square. McMaster had also announced that construction of the McMaster Downtown Health Campus in downtown Hamilton had begun in December 2012. The Health Campus is expected to provide teaching spaces, exam rooms and clinical spaces for local residents. The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine is on the main campus as well as in two regional campses at St. Catharines and Kitchener. The Waterloo Regional Campus is located in downtown Kitchener, sharing facilities with the Health Sciences Campus of the University of Waterloo. The campus in St. Catharines is at Brock University's Niagara Health and Bioscience Research Complex. Approximately 30 medical students in each year of the program attend each campus. Those who apply to McMaster's School of Medicine are asked to rank their site choice (Hamilton, Niagara Region, Waterloo Region) from first to third, or no preference. Offers of admission to the medical school are made from a rank list irrespective of geographical preference. Subsequent to an applicant's acceptance, registrants to the class are placed based on their preference and geographical background. The offers given out by McMaster are bound to the assigned site. McMaster purchased a large industrial park three kilometres east of its main Hamilton campus in 2005 with the intention of creating an array of research facilities for the development of advanced manufacturing and materials, biotechnology, automotive, and nanotechnology. In July 2005 the federal government announced it would relocate CANMET, a federal government materials research laboratory, from its Ottawa centre to Hamilton. This decision helped spearhead the development of the McMaster Innovation Park. The United Nations University-International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is headquartered within the park. UNU-INWEH is the only United Nations agency headquartered in Ontario and the only North American host site for a United Nations University, after moving to McMaster Innovation Park on 23 April 2008. The senate is responsible for the university's academics, including standards for admission into the university and qualifications for degrees, diplomas, and certificates. The senate consists of 15 ex officio positions granted to the chancellor, the president, the vice-presidents of the university, the senior dean of each faculty, the dean of graduate studies, the dean of adult education, the principal of McMaster Divinity College, and the chairman of the Undergraduate Council. The senate also consists of 51 other members, appointed or elected by the various communities of the university, including elected representatives of the student body. Meetings of the board of governors and the senate are open to the public. McMaster University is affiliated with one post-secondary institution, McMaster Divinity College. The seminary is located within the campus of the university. As an affiliated institution, two members of the Divinity College sit on the university's senate, as well as appoint one representative to sit in the university's board of governors. However, the Divinity College operates with its own senate and board of trustees. Although Divinity College has the authority to confer their own degrees, students taking the College's Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies are awarded degrees by McMaster University. Students of Divinity College have access to the catalogue of McMaster University Library, while students of the university similarly have access to the Canadian Baptist Archives, managed by the university's library system. The university and the divinity college were incorporated as the same institution in 1887, a result of a merger between two Baptist institutions, the Canadian Literary Institute in Woodstock, Ontario, and Toronto Baptist College. McMaster University continued to operated as a Baptist-run institution until 1957, when provincial legislation allowed for the governance of the university to pass from the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec, to a privately chartered, publicly funded arrangement. McMaster's Faculty of Theology was spun-off into McMaster Divinity College, a separately-chartered affiliated college of the university. The total net assets owned by the university as of 30 April 2018 stands at C$1,209.1 million. The university had completed the 2017–2018 year with revenues of C$1,109.5 million, expenses of $985.7 million, for an excess of revenues over expenses of $123.8 million. McMaster's revenue comes from endowment income, gifts, fees, and annual grants from the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton-Wentworth Region, the Province of Ontario, and the Government of Canada. In the 2017–2018 academic year, the largest source of revenue for the university was tuition fees, followed by operating grants provided by the government. As of 30 April 2017, McMaster's financial endowment was valued at C$727.4 million. The financing of McMaster's scholarships and bursaries takes up 40 per cent of the endowments received. Financial Services comprises the following areas: Student Accounts & Cashiers, Financial Accounting and Reporting, and Budgeting Services. The university has been registered as an educational charitable organization in Canada since 1 January 1967. As of 2011, the university is registered primarily as a post-secondary institution, with 70 per cent of the charity dedicated to the management and maintenance of the university. The remaining 30 per cent has been dedicated under research. McMaster is a publicly funded research university, and a member of the Universities Canada. McMaster functions on a semester system, operating year-round on academic semesters, fall/winter and spring/summer. In the 2016–2017 academic year, the university had a total enrollment of 31,265 students; 26,780 undergraduate students, 4,485 graduate students. Programs, departments, and schools at McMaster are divided among six faculties, the DeGroote School of Business, the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Science, and the Faculty of Social Sciences. By enrolment, McMaster's largest faculty in September 2016 was the Faculty of Science, with 7,004 full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The Faculty of Humanities was the smallest faculty by enrolment, with 2,729 full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The Faculty of Health Sciences holds the highest graduate enrolment, with 1,144 graduate students. A number of university students are enrolled in interdisciplinary programs, administered by two or more faculties, including 549 graduate students. At the undergraduate level, the Arts and Science program is taught jointly by the six faculties at McMaster. Created in 1981, the program aims to provide a broad-based, liberal education, providing substantial work in both the arts and sciences. In September 2016, 278 undergraduate students were enrolled in the Arts and Science program. The university also jointly administers several undergraduate collaborative programs with Mohawk College, of which 2,697 students are enrolled in. The university also awards degrees to graduate students of McMaster Divinity College. The Divinity College was originally the university's Faculty of Theology, before it was reorganized into a separately chartered, affiliated college of the university in 1957. Students may apply for financial aid such as the Ontario Student Assistance Program and Canada Student Loans and Grants through the federal and provincial governments. The financial aid provided may come in the form of loans, grants, bursaries, scholarships, fellowships, debt reduction, interest relief, and work programs. In the 2016–2017 academic year, McMaster students received approximately C$100,972,910 in Ontario Student Assistance Program loans and C$40,061,756 in grants, approximately $140,981,009 in total. In the same year students received C$10,135,233.65 in bursaries. The McMaster Model is the university's policy for a student-centred, problem-based, interdisciplinary approach to learning, a policy which has been adopted by several other universities around the world. During the 1960s the McMaster University Medical School pioneered problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials that have since been adopted by other programs and faculties within the university. PBL is now used in medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, midwifery, and other allied fields. Most medical schools in Canada and more than 80 per cent of medical schools in the United States employ PBL in their curriculum, and many international universities do the same. In 1991, McMaster's School of Medicine adopted progress testing, developing the personal progress index (PPI), a system based on progress testing invented concurrently by the University of Missouri-Kansas City's medical school and the Maastricht University. The PPI is used as an objective method for assessing acquisition and retention of knowledge for students in the medical program. The PPI is administered at regular intervals to all students in the program, regardless of their level of training, and plots students' scores as they move through the program. Students typically score 20 per cent on their first examination, and increase by five to seven per cent with each successive examination. Students can monitor the changes in their scores and receive formative feedback based on a standardized score relative to the class mean. Due to the overwhelming success and research supporting the use of the PPI as an evaluation tool, it is now used in Canada, US, Europe, and Australia. McMaster University has placed in post-secondary school rankings. In the 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) rankings, the university ranked 84th in the world and fourth-highest in Canada. The 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed McMaster 77th in the world, and fourth in Canada. The 2019 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 146th in the world and fifth in Canada. In U.S. News & World Report 2019 global university rankings, the university placed 130th, and fourth in Canada. In 2011, Newsweek had also ranked McMaster as the 15th top university outside of the United States, and the fourth best university in Canada. In Maclean's 2019 rankings, McMaster placed fourth in both their Medical-Doctoral university category, and in their reputation ranking for Canadian universities. McMaster was ranked in spite of having opted out from participation in Maclean's graduate survey since 2006. McMaster also placed in a number of rankings that evaluated the employment prospects of graduates. In QS's 2019 graduate employability ranking, the university ranked 93rd in the world, and fifth in Canada. In the Times Higher Education's 2018 global employability ranking, McMaster placed 78th in the world, and fifth in Canada. In an employability survey published by the New York Times in October 2011, when CEOs and chairmans were asked to select the top universities which they recruited from, McMaster placed 61st in the world, and fourth in Canada. In 2018, Research Infosource named McMaster as the most research intensive university in the country with an average sponsored research income (external sources of funding) of C$434,700 per faculty member in 2017, the highest average in the country, and nearly double the average for universities in the "Medical-Doctoral" category. In the same year, graduate students averaged a sponsored research income of $82,800, the highest out of any full-service university. With a total sponsored research income of $379.959 million in 2017, McMaster has the seventh largest sponsored research income amongst Canadian universities. In the 2015–2016 academic year, the federal government was the largest source of McMaster's sponsored research income (excluding affiliated hospitals), providing 61.4 per cent of McMaster's research budget, primarily through grants. Corporate research income account for 7.3 per cent of the overall research budget. McMaster has been ranked on several bibliometric university rankings, which uses citation analysis to evaluate the impact a university has on academic publications. In 2018, the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities ranked McMaster 112th in the world, and sixth in Canada. The University Ranking by Academic Performance 2018–19 rankings placed the university 126th in the world, and sixth in Canada. Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery is a multipurpose building primarily used by Faculty of Health Sciences. Along with teaching facilities, it houses several research institutes for the Faculty. McMaster has received accolades for its research strengths, particularly in the field of health sciences. For five years in a row, McMaster has ranked second in for biomedical and health care research revenues by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. The Faculty of Health Science oversees $130 million a year in research, much of that research conducted by scientists and physicians who teach in the medical school. The Faculty of Health Sciences operates several research institutes, including the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, and the Population Health Research Institute. The university also operates a brain bank, whose collection includes a portion of Albert Einstein's brain, preserved and held for medical research. Researchers there have identified differences in his brain that may relate to his genius for spatial and mathematical thinking. In addition to traditional forms of research, members of Faculty of Health Sciences have also been credited with developments within the medical practice. A McMaster research group led by David Sackett and later Gordon Guyatt had been credited for establishing the methodologies used in evidence-based medicine. A titan arum blooming inside the McMaster Biology Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is one of many facilities used for research at the university. Other notable research facilities include the McMaster Biology Greenhouse, and the Brockhouse Institute for Material Research (BIMR). The Biology Greenhouse holds 217 plants in a 780-square-metre (8,400 sq ft) facility, and is used as a teaching and research facility by the Department of Biology. In addition to maintaining its permanent collection, the Biology Greenhouse also grows plants for both short term research studies. The Brockhouse Institute was created in 1960 by Howard Petch, the institute was named after McMaster alumnus Bertram Brockhouse. The BIMR is an interdisciplinary research organization with the mandate to develop, support, and co-ordinate all materials research related activities at McMaster. Its membership of 123 faculty members is drawn from 13 departments in the Faculties of Science, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as several Canadian and international universities. Facilities of the BIMR include the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, Centre for Crystal Growth, McMaster Analytical Xray Facility, Electronic and Magnetic Characterization Facility, and the Photonics Research Laboratories. The Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy is home to the world's most advanced microscope. The Titan 80–300 cubed microscope has a magnification of 14 million and is used for material, medical, and nanotechnology research. The McMaster Nuclear Reactor is the largest research reactor in the Commonwealth of Nations. In addition, the university also operates the McMaster Nuclear Reactor, used for nuclear science and engineering research since 1959. The university regularly acquires an operating license for the reactor from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, with the latest 10-year license issued on 1 July 2014. The strength of nuclear science at McMaster was augmented in 1968 under the presidency of Dr. H.G. Thode by the construction of a 10MV Model FN Tandem particle accelerator. The 3MV Model KN single-ended accelerator was added the same year. The academic direction of the laboratory fell to the Physics Department in the early days, as it was primarily a nuclear structure laboratory. During the next 28 years, the nuclear research effort was extensive, with hundreds of graduate students trained and many publications generated. The Pool-type Reactor is used for research, educational, and commercial applications such as neutron radiography, and medical radioisotope production; Iodine-125 is used in cancer therapy. The reactor at McMaster produces 25 per cent of the world's supply of iodine-125, an isotope used in nuclear medicine to treat prostate cancer. The production of molybdenum-99 at Chalk River Laboratories has occasionally been moved to the university's reactor, when Chalk River's National Research Universal reactor is forced to shut down. The requirements for admission differ between students from Ontario, other provinces in Canada, and international students due to the lack of uniformity in marking schemes. The acceptance rate at McMaster for full-time, first-year applications in 2018 was 52.6 per cent. In September 2014, the secondary school average for full-time first-year students at McMaster University was 87.7 per cent. Students entering McMaster's more selective undergraduate programs, including the Integrated Sciences program and the Arts and Science program, had a secondary school average of 96.3 per cent. McMaster received 28,079 applicants in the 2016. McMaster's medical school is the most competitive medical program in Canada by application numbers, with more than 5,200 applicants competing for 204 positions. The Michael DeGroote School of Medicine has notably developed admission tests that has since become adopted by other schools. In 2001, they developed the multiple-mini interview in an effort to address long-standing concerns over standard panel interviews; viewed as poor reflectors for medical school performance. This format uses short, independent assessments in a timed circuit to obtain aggregate scores in interpersonal skills, professionalism, ethical/moral judgment, and critical thinking to assess candidates. The multiple-mini interview has consistently shown to have a higher predictive validity for future performance than traditional interviews. The multiple-mini interview process has since been adopted by the majority of Canadian medical schools, as well as a number of medical schools in the United States. In 2010, the medical school developed the Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics, in order to better assess the personal characteristics of the applicant. A number of other medical schools have since adopted the CASPer test, including New York Medical College, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. In the 2016–2017 academic year, the university had an enrollment of 31,625 students: 26,780 undergraduate students, 4,485 graduate students. The student body is largely made up of Canadians, making up 90.27 per cent of the student population. International students represented, respectively, 9.73 per cent of the student population. Full-time students make up about 93.8 per cent of the student body. Among full-time students, the university has a first-time student retention rate of 90.9 per cent. The McMaster University Student Centre plaza. The Student Centre, to the right, houses a number of student groups, including the McMaster Students Union. The main student unions on administrative and policy issues are the McMaster Students Union for full-time undergraduates, the McMaster Association of Part-Time Students for part-time undergraduates, and the McMaster Graduate Students Association for postgraduates. In addition, each faculty has its own student representative body. There are more than 300 student organizations and clubs, covering a wide range of interests such as academics, culture, religion, social issues, and recreation. Many of them are centred on the McMaster student activity centre, the McMaster University Student Centre. The Silhouette, the student-run newspaper, is the oldest student service at McMaster University, in publication since 1929. Since 1968, the McMaster Engineering Society has published The Plumbline, the main satire magazine of McMaster University. The campus radio station CFMU-FM (93.3 FM) is Canada’s second-oldest campus radio station, and has been broadcasting since 1978. MacInsiders, a popular online student-run forum and information network, has been operating since 2007 and has over 18,000 registered members. The McMaster Marching Band, created in September 2009, is a brass, reed and percussion marching band composed of 45 graduate and undergraduate students as well as members of the surrounding community who wish to participate. Athletics at McMaster is managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics and recreation department. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports (formerly called Canadian Interuniversity Sport). The university's team sports programs include baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, swimming, volleyball, and water polo. The first major sport game played at McMaster was in 1889, when a group of alumni from Toronto Baptist College and Woodstock College played an exhibition game against one another, sparking an early intercity rivalry between McMaster students. In 1897 the university placed all physical activity and sports under the jurisdiction of a central executive committee. The varsity teams have been known as the McMaster Marauders since 1948, through a contest run by the student newspaper, The Silhouette, to name the university's men's basketball team. In 2016–2017 academic year, McMaster had over 1,100 student-athletes in either varsity or club teams. The McMaster Marauders football team at Ron Joyce Stadium. The Marauders have won 11 national championships and 139 provincial champions since 1961. The men's water polo team has won the Ontario University Athletics championship 25 times, making it the Marauders' most successful team at the provincial level. The men's wrestling team has been the Marauders' most successful team at the national level, winning the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship four times. McMaster University has graduated 34 Olympic athletes, eight Olympic coaches, two Olympic administrators and two Olympic officials. As is mandatory for all members of U Sports, McMaster University does not provide full-ride athletic scholarships. The fireball is the emblem of the Faculty of Engineering. The emblem is based off the coat of arms of the defunct Hamilton College. In addition to the visual representations of the institution, the university's individual departments, faculties, and schools also employ symbols to visually represent them. One such example is the Faculty of Engineering's fireball emblem, adopted by the faculty in 1960. The fireball was adopted from the coat of arms of the defunct Hamilton College. The coat of arms consists of a shield, a crest, and a motto, together with a helmet. The shield contains an eagle, symbolic of the heavenly vision, with a cross on its breast to indicate Christianity as the inspiration for the university's vision. The chief of the shield bears an open book, a common symbol of learning. A golden maple leaf is situated on each side of the book, signifying the university's charter was granted by the Province of Ontario. The helmet, above the shield, has the open visor and forward-facing style typically used by universities. The mantling surrounding the shield and helmet represents the cloak worn over a knight's armour as protection from the sun. The crest, located above the helmet, is a stag and oak tree, which serves as a tribute to the Canadian senator, William McMaster, who also used a stag and oak on his insignias. The motto is located above the crest, as is common in Scottish heraldry. Tihomir Orešković, 11th Prime Minister of Croatia. Tommy Douglas, 7th Premier of Saskatchewan and first leader of the NDP. Bertram Brockhouse, Nobel laureate in physics, for his work with neutron scattering. Myron Scholes, Nobel laureate in economics for his work with the Black–Scholes model. Harold Innis, contributed to the staples thesis and Toronto School of communication theory. Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of the Nokia Corporation. Cyrus S. Eaton, founder of Republic Steel and chairman of C&O Railway. In the year 2016, McMaster University has over 184,000 alumni residing over 139 countries. Throughout McMaster's history, faculty, alumni, and former students have played prominent roles in many fields, accumulating a number of awards including Nobel prizes, Rhodes scholarships, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and the Lasker Award. Nobel Prize winners include alumnus Myron Scholes, awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1997 for his work with the Black-Scholes model. Two individuals from McMaster were also award the Nobel Prize in Physics, faculty member Bertram Brockhouse in 1994 for his work in neutron scattering; and alumna Donna Strickland in 2018 for her work on laser physics. Alumnus James Orbinski accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 on behalf of Doctors Without Borders as the organization's president. Prominent alumni in the field of science include Douglas L. Coleman, who discovered leptin; Richard Bader, noted for his work on the atoms in molecules theory; Harold E. Johns, who pioneered the use of cobalt-60 in the treatment of cancer, Karl Clark, who pioneered the separation method to extract bitumen from the oil sands; Steve Mann, a researcher and inventor in the field of computational photography; Peter R. Jennings, computer programmer and developer of Microchess; and Simon Sunatori, an engineer and inventor. Notable faculty members include chemist Ronald Gillespie, who helped shape VSEPR theory, as well as David Sackett and Gordon Guyatt, whose research team was credited for establishing the methodologies used in evidence-based medicine. Notable alumni and faculty members in the field of social sciences include Harold Innis, who helped shape communication theory and the staples thesis, and sociologist Henry Giroux, one of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy. Two medical researchers, and members of McMaster had travelled in space; faculty member Dafydd Williams, and alumna Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space. Many former students have gained prominence for serving in government. Croatian Prime Minister, Tihomir Orešković was an alumnus of the university. Lincoln Alexander, the former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, as well as the first visible-minority Lieutenant Governor in Canada was another alumnus of the university. Canadian premiers that have graduated from the university include the former premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, and the former premier of Saskatchewan, Tommy Douglas. Many graduates have also served in the House of Commons of Canada, including, Tony Valeri, the Government House Leader; and Lawrence Pennell, the Solicitor General of Canada. Roy Kellock, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada was a graduate from the university. Charles Aubrey Eaton, a member of the United States House of Representatives, and signor of the United Nations Charter on behalf of the United States, was an alumnus of the university. A number of prominent business leaders have also studied at McMaster. Examples include David Braley, owner of the Toronto Argonauts and BC Lions of the Canadian Football League; Stephen Elop, former president and CEO of Nokia; Cyrus S. Eaton, founder of Republic Steel and chairman of Chesapeake and Ohio Railway; Paul D. House, current executive chairman of Tim Hortons; Lynton Wilson, chairman of Bell Canada, CAE Inc., and Nortel; Michael Lee-Chin, current chairman, CEO of AIC Limited;, Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators, and Rob Burgess, former chairman and CEO of Macromedia. A number of McMaster alumni had also had successful sports careers, including Syl Apps of the Toronto Maple Leafs; and NHL coach Roger Neilson. The university has had 34 of its graduates compete in the Olympic games, including Olympic medalists Larry Cain; Adam van Koeverden; and Mark Heese. McMaster faculty member Norman Lane was also an Olympic medalist. Several alumni of the university have also become prominent in the entertainment industry, including comedians, actors and directors. Such alumni include Eugene Levy; Martin Short; Jonathan Frid; Ivan Reitman; Dave Thomas; and John Candy. ^ a b c Statutes of the Province of Ontario. 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Retrieved 4 July 2011. ^ "Golden Key International Honours Society McMaster University Chapter". Golden Key McMaster Chapter. 2004. Retrieved 2 December 2010. ^ "Mac Thespians". McMaster Thespians. 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2010. ^ Minelli, Simon (19 March 2009). "Engineering students perform musical for eleventh year". McMaster Daily News. McMaster University. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2009. ^ "Policy" (PDF). Policies, Procedures and Guidelines. McMaster University. 11 October 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2010. ^ Beta Chapter - Hamilton. Delta Pi Sorority (2012-02-25). Retrieved on 2013-10-31. ^ "Chapter Roll". Alpha Epsilon Pi International Fraternity. 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010. ^ "Club and chapter locator". Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity. 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. ^ "Mu Delta McMaster August 2014". Pi Kappa Alpha Mu Delta. ^ Founding Mothers Message. Nu Omega Zeta Sorority. Retrieved on 2015-07-29. ^ "A History of Football at McMaster" (PDF). McMaster Marauder Football 2010 Media Guide & Record Book. McMaster University. 2010. p. 6. Retrieved 15 May 2011. ^ "What's a Marauder?". McMaster University. Retrieved 15 May 2011. ^ "Past Championships". McMaster University. Retrieved 15 May 2011. ^ a b "McMaster Olympians". McMaster University. Retrieved 15 May 2011. ^ "Facilities & Venues". McMaster University. Retrieved 15 May 2011. ^ "Ron Joyce Stadium". McMaster University. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011. ^ "Up Front Offensive Line Development Camp". Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Club. 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010. ^ "Intramural Sports". McMaster University. Retrieved 15 May 2011. ^ "Visual Identity Guidelines". McMaster University. Retrieved 12 January 2016. ^ "McMaster to raise first University flag". McMaster University. Retrieved 29 September 2015. ^ "The Rituals of Convocation" (PDF). Five hundred and Forty-eighth Convocation for the conferring of degrees. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016. ^ "McMaster University Brands Standards Manual" (PDF). McMaster University. October 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2016. ^ "Culture and Traditions". The McMaster Engineering Society. Retrieved 12 January 2016. ^ a b "Registration of Arms". Canadian Heraldic Authority. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ^ a b "The Motto". McMaster University. Retrieved 4 November 2010. ^ Green, Rebecca (2011). "College Songs and Songbooks". The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Historica Foundation of Canada. Archived from the original on 22 August 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2011. ^ a b c d "The Coat of Arms". McMaster University. Retrieved 4 November 2010. ^ "The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada". The Canadian Heraldic Authority. 28 July 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2011. ^ a b c "The Shield". McMaster University. Retrieved 4 November 2010. ^ Innes, Thomas (1956). Scots Heraldry. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8063-0478-6. ^ Nolan, Daniel (7 December 2011). "Mac student on the Rhodes to Oxford". The Hamilton Spectator. Metroland Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 7 December 2011. ^ "Coleman receives Lasker Award". The Jackson Laboratory. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2012. ^ "Canadian among trio awarded Nobel Prize in Physics". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018. ^ "Coleman receives Lasker Award". The Jackson Laboratory. The Jackson Laboratory. Retrieved 3 October 2011. ^ "Richard Bader, FCIC". The Chemical Institute of Canada. 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2017. ^ Shorter, Edward (2013). Partnership for Excellence: Medicine at the University of Toronto and Academic Hospitals. University of Toronto Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-1-4426-4595-0. ^ Sheppard, Mary Clark (1989). Oil Sands Scientist: The Letters of Karl A. Clark, 1920-1949. University of Alberta. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8886-4228-8. ^ Ryan, Suzan Elizabeth (2014). Garments of Paradise: Wearable Discourse in the Digital Age. MIT Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-0-2620-2744-1. ^ "Computer History Museum - Chess For Everyone - Early Microcomputer Chess". ^ "US6830402: Auto-retractable pen mechanism with a cushion effect". The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). ^ "US7748569: Self-sealing auto-aligning magnetically-hanging spice dispenser". The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). ^ "Innovation150 Highlights". Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. ^ "Ronald Gillespie: A Lifetime in Chemistry". McMaster. December 1999. Retrieved 16 September 2016. ^ Watson, A. (2006). Marginal man: the dark vision of Harold Innis. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-8020-3916-3. ^ "McMaster attracts widely acclaimed U.S. scholar Henry Giroux". McMaster University. 27 May 2004. Retrieved 27 November 2010. ^ "Canadian astronaut lands at McMaster". McMaster Daily News. McMaster University. 28 July 2005. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011. ^ "New Croatian PM Tihomir Oreskovic is a McMaster graduate". CBCNews. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016. ^ "The Lincoln M. Alexander Award". Ontario Bar Association. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2010. ^ "InDepth: Dalton McGuinty". CBCNews. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 October 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2010. ^ Tommy Douglas. Formac Publishing Company. 1983. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-88780-121-1. ^ "Hon. Tony Valeri". Canadian Club of Toronto. Canadian Club of Toronto. 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011. ^ McMaster University (2008). "PENNELL, LAWRENCE T." McMaster Alumni Association. McMaster University. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2011. ^ "The Honourable Mr. Justice Roy Lindsay Kellock". Supreme Court of Canada. 7 April 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013. ^ "Charles Aubrey Eaton". Dictionary of American Biography (fee, via Fairfax County Public Library)|format= requires |url= (help). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1977. GALE|BT2310014222. Retrieved 25 March 2015. Gale Biography In Context. ^ "David Braley". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013. ^ "Microsoft Corp". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011. ^ Gleisser, Marcus (2005). The World of Cyrus Eaton. Kent State University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-8733-8839-9. ^ "Paul D. House". Tim Hortons. 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2011. ^ "WILSON, LYNTON RONALD "RED" O.C." McMaster Alumni Association. McMaster University. 2008. Archived from the original on 17 December 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2010. ^ "LEE-CHIN, MICHAEL". McMaster Alumni Association. McMaster University. 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2010. ^ "Kathy Bardswick". The Co-operators. 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016. ^ "Rob Burgess". Forbes.com LLC. 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. ^ Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley (2003). Who's Who in Hockey. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-7407-1904-2. ^ "Neilson, Roger". Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum. 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2013. ^ McMaster University (2008). "Dr. Eugene Levy". McMaster Alumni Association. McMaster University. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011. ^ Thomas S., Hischak (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarlan. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-7864-6271-1. ^ Donald M., Whaley; James Michael, Welsh (2012). The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-8108-8352-9. ^ "REITMAN, IVAN". McMaster Alumni Association. McMaster University. 2008. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2011. ^ McMaster University (2008). "THOMAS, DAVID". McMaster Alumni Association. McMaster University. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011. ^ "Biography for John Candy". The Internet Movie Database. The Internet Movie Database. 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011. Gidney, Catherine Anne (2004). A Long Eclipse: The Liberal Protestant Establishment And The Canadian University, 1920–1970. McGill-Queen's Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-2805-5. Graham, R. P. (1985). The Insignia of McMaster University. McMaster University Press. ISBN 978-0-920603-00-0. Johnston, Charles M. (1976). McMaster University: The Toronto Years - Volume 1. University of Toronto Press. Johnston, Charles M. (1981). McMaster University: The Early Years in Hamilton - Volume 2. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-7837-4291-5. Jenkins, Herb (2004). Combining Two Cultures: McMaster University's Arts And Science Programme. 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2019-04-23T06:08:54Z

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Patient clinical responses and changes in tumor burden during treatment reflect the cumulative effects of diverse phenomena that occur at the cellular level. Therefore, it is useful to describe treatment responses at the level of patients, tumors and cells. A large majority of cancer deaths are attributable to metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread throughout the body to form new tumors in distant vital organs1. Despite its central importance to patient outcomes, the cellular and molecular basis of metastasis is incompletely understood. Burkitt Lymphoma (BL) is an aggressive B-cell lymphoma involving dysregulation of the MYC oncogene by chromosomal translocations. It is most common in children but also affects adults and occurs in sporadic, endemic, and HIV-associated forms. For over seven years, the Office of Cancer Genomics (OCG) has supported recent doctoral graduates through internship and fellowship programs. Jaime M. Guidry Auvil, Ph.D., Malcolm A. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., and Daniela S. Gerhard, Ph.D. The Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET), a large-scale pediatric genomic characterization initiative, continues to demonstrate the importance of integrative analyses using comprehensive data and metadata generated from high-quality patient tissues in both solid and hematologic cancers. March is National Kidney Cancer Awareness month, and a good time to reflect on the successes of TARGET in renal tumors, such as Wilms tumor (WT) and other childhood cancers. TARGET investigators published papers in 2017 integrating the genomic and clinical data of cases with high-risk subsets of WT and cases with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and in February 2018 published an analysis across the spectrum of childhood cancers studied to date. These publications (and previous reported findings from TARGET) proved what many oncologists suspected: many pediatric cancers have distinctive molecular characteristics from adults, and therefore it will likely be important to develop specific treatments for these childhood cancers. The TARGET initiative’s approach is to provide molecular characterization of each patient’s tumor genome, transcriptome, and epigenome through analysis of both primary and, when available, relapsed tumor tissues together with their matched normal tissue. The TARGET project teams (PTs) had access to cases for which both tumor and normal tissues were available along with the patient’s clinical and outcome data, predominantly from clinical or biological studies run through the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). The PTs integrated the molecular and clinical data to discover mechanisms of disease development and potential areas for improved therapeutic intervention strategies substantiating the critical need for large-scale research studies of similar design for the pediatric cancer community. Here we summarize some of the results recently published. The genes most commonly mutated in the TARGET WT cohort are TP53 (47.5% DA, 1.7% FH), CTNNB1 (13.5%), DROSHA (10.1%), and FAM123B (13.5%), most of which were already known to be associated with WT. Novel genes uncovered included certain miRNA processing, transcription, and renal development genes [e.g. DGCR8 (4.5%), XPO5 (1.5%), DICER1 (2.5%), SIX1 (3.8%), SIX2 (2.9%), and MLLT1 (3.7%)]. Other mutated genes with novel association to WT included BCOR (2.6%), BCORL1 (3.8%), NONO (2%), MAX (1.7%), COL6A3 (3.2%), ASXL1 (1.7%), MAP3K4 (1.7%), and ARID1A (1.8%). The WT PT also reported that chromosome copy number changes were found in a number of discovery cases [e.g., recurrent 1q gain (56/117 patients; 47.9%), MYCN amplification (19/117 patients; 16.2%), LIN28B gain (24.8% in discovery cohort), and loss of MIRLET7A family members (5.1%-22%; up to 4x more prevalent in DA than FH)]. Germline mutations were found in about 10% of the WT high risk cases studied as well (PALB2 (1.2%) and CHEK2 (1.2%) being novel). Given the relatively high number of genes with candidate driver mutations, future treatment protocols targeting the common processes or pathways affected by the gene mutations may be more efficient than focusing on individual gene mutations. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – a blood cancer arising in the bone marrow with 50% treatment failure rate – occurs in patients of all ages. The TARGET AML PT published in December 2017 the first large-scale study establishing the prevalence of and relationships among recurrent, somatic genetic and epigenetic alterations in pediatric AML, including how the frequency of these mutations changed as the patients’ age of AML onset increased. The AML PT observed several features common to pediatric and adult AML, including low overall rate of mutation compared to other cancers and overlap of some recurrently mutated genes. Fewer than 40 genes were mutated in more than 2% of cases. Pediatric and young adult AML exhibit critically important molecular characteristics that are distinct in three age-related groups (<2yrs, 3-14yrs, and 15-39yrs). TARGET investigators identified novel gene fusions, many involving known partner NUP98 and focal deletions (MBNL1, ZEB2, and ELF1) that were more prevalent in young individuals as compared to adults. In addition, novel variants in GATA2, FLT3, and CBL, along with recurrent mutations in MYC, NRAS, KRAS, and WT1 appeared more frequently in pediatric AML. In contrast, targetable IDH mutations that are relatively common in adult AML are practically nonexistent in the childhood disease, reducing the potential role of IDH inhibitors for pediatric AML. Similarly, mutations in other genes commonly observed in adult AML such as DNMT3A and TP53 were nearly absent in pediatric cases. The AML PT discovered that certain combinations of variants affect patient prognosis, for example FLT3-ITD in combination with a mutation in NPM1 confers a probability of improved survival. FLT3 ITD by itself, or even in combination with other mutations (which are important in AML on their own), are associated with highly aggressive disease. The TARGET PT further found that certain deletions, mutations, and hypermethylation of promoter DNAs cooperatively impacted key signaling pathways in growth, immunity, and alternate splicing that can lead to leukemogenesis. These results suggest that the development of future therapeutic strategies may benefit through an age-tailored, targeted approach to the treatment of pediatric AML. In February 2018, the first trans-TARGET study3 of somatic alterations in 1,699 pediatric leukemia and solid tumors across six histotypes was published online. The analyses were performed on samples from young patients (most <20yrs and enrolled on COG trials). The manuscript was published back-to-back with a study from German investigators analyzing European childhood cancer cohorts. The studies were complementary inasmuch TARGET’s cohort was >50% hematologic cancers, while the European cohort included >50% brain cancers. The molecular characterization details were not identical, but the “big picture” conclusions agreed remarkably well. Here we summarize the TARGET results. The median somatic mutation rates among all TARGET pediatric cohorts generally range from 0.17 per million bases (MB) to 0.7/MB and are substantially lower than those observed in common adult cancers (1-10/MB). The frequency of germline variants which are risks for tumor development are ~10%. Somatic copy number alternations (sCNAs) and structural variations (SV) comprised the majority (62%) of events observed, specifically single nucleotide mutations or small indels were less frequent. This finding provided strong support to the initial design of the project, to utilize whole genome sequencing whenever possible, since whole exome sequencing would not have allowed detection of sCNAs and SVs mutations. In many patients these genomic alterations are the driver events. The genomes of 11% of TARGET patients revealed chromothripsis (i.e. massive rearrangements caused by a single catastrophic event). Analyses revealed a large number of low frequency drivers within and among disease cohorts. Driver gene alterations produced disruptions in pathways that may be targetable with existing treatments. Specifically, TARGET investigators found 21 biologic pathways disrupted by driver alterations, across cancers (i.e. cell cycle, epigenetic regulation) or histotype-specific (i.e. JAK-STAT, Wnt/ β-catenin, and NOTCH signaling). Of clinical significance, the genes mutated in shared or separate pathways were different among histotypes. Certain signaling pathways (RAS, JAK-STAT, and PI3K) show distinctive somatic alterations between solid tumors (primarily ALK, NF1, and PTEN) and leukemias (nearly all mutations in FLT3, PIK3CA, PIK3R1, and RAS genes). The somatic alterations with highest prevalence across certain disease groups occurred in CDKN2A (predominantly as deletions): mostly affecting T-ALL (78%), B-ALL (42%), and OS (11%). Over half of the pediatric driver genes observed across TARGET cohorts were specific to a single histotype (e.g. TAL1 for T-ALL and ALK for NBL). The trans-TARGET analyses outlined some known and novel, statistically significant co-occurrences (e.g., USP7, TAL1 in T-ALL; ETV6, IKZF1 in AML, and CREBBP, EP300 in B-ALL) or mutual exclusivities (e.g. MYCN, ATRX, or SHANK2 in NBL; PAX5, TP53 in B-ALL) among more than 300 gene-pairs. TARGET findings further indicate that subclonal mutations could be contributing to tumorigenesis in various childhood cancers, with nearly half of point mutations in leukemia and NBL driver genes showing low mutant allele frequencies (MAFs, <0.3). The TARGET initiative and other large-scale genomics projects are transforming precision oncology for childhood cancers by identifying therapeutic strategies based on insights that can only be gleaned through high-quality, large-scale integrative data analyses. By creating a comprehensive molecular compendium of molecular alterations from large cohorts of cancer patients and by making these data available for investigators who will continually improve upon the knowledge base of these cancers, more effective classification and treatment strategies can be developed. Additional integrative manuscripts will be published for TARGET in the coming months, and the community is encouraged to use and follow-up on those important observations as they become available. For more information, including additional TARGET publications and data used for these analyses, please visit and explore the TARGET website and Data Matrix at the Office of Cancer Genomics. Patient clinical responses and changes in tumor burden during treatment reflect the cumulative effects of diverse phenomena that occur at the cellular level. Therefore, it is useful to describe treatment responses at the level of patients, tumors and cells. Here, we will discuss the terminology that is used to describe the drug responses at each of these levels with a focus on heterogeneity between individual cancer cells. Clinical responses for patients with solid tumors are judged based on changes in tumor sizes compared to a pretreatment baseline. Depending on cumulative changes across all measurable tumors, patients are judged to have a complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), or progressive disease (PD). Each of these response categories apply to a single time point during treatment and can subsequently change. For example, a patient who experiences a CR or PR may subsequently relapse into PD. Also, distinct tumors within the same patient may respond differently. During treatment, tumors can undergo shrinkage, stasis, or growth. Tumors shrink if they are composed primarily of drug-sensitive cancer cells. However, a shrinking tumor may contain a minority of surviving non-proliferative or actively proliferating cells embedded in a larger population of drug-sensitive dying cells, giving the appearance of tumor shrinkage. Tumor stasis, or lack of change in size, can result from a bulk population of non-responsive and non-proliferative cells, an equilibrium state of dying and proliferating cells, or a mixture of these two scenarios. A related but not an identical term is tumor dormancy which is used to refer to cancer cells which disseminate throughout the body and remain undetected in microscopic groups or as single cells for months or years. These so called dormant “disseminated tumor cells” are thought to be the source of tumor recurrence in the cases where tumors reemerge years after cessation of therapy. Alternatively, cancer cells can have variable drug response due to non-genetic mechanisms. Distinct from genetic mutations, non-genetic mechanisms of drug resistance are transient and reversible. The clinical observation of secondary responses in patients who have been treated with the same drug they developed resistance to, after a temporary period of time without treatment (drug holiday), supports the concept that reversible, non-genetic mechanisms of drug resistance play an important role in tumors. At the cellular level, emerging evidence indicates that a subpopulation of tumor cells can reversibly enter a non-proliferative (quiescent) “persister” cell state with decreased sensitivity to a range of cancer therapies. These persister cells are affected by drug treatment and stop proliferating, but do not die, hence they are referred to as drug-tolerant rather than drug-resistant. Persister cells have been found to have increased stemness, or capacity to regenerate new tumors, highlighting their potentially important role in tumor regrowth and dissemination after an initial therapeutic response. Recent evidence also indicates that persister cells have increased DNA mutation rates, possibly serving as a cell reservoir from which drug-resistant mutant cells with distinct mutations may emerge during treatment. If this occurs in patients, then a clinical approach to prevent the formation or elimination of persister cells before resistance-conferring mutations are acquired may be essential to achieve durable responses. Figure: Tumor heterogeneity and drug responses. This discussion has focused on responses to small molecule drugs in solid tumors. Relative to our understanding of responses to small molecules, our understanding of the intricacies of responses to immunotherapy is at its infancy. However, it is likely that similar principles apply to antibody- and cell-based immunotherapies. Cell to cell genetic or non-genetic heterogeneity is likely to contribute to the emergence of drug-tolerant or drug-resistant cancer cells which are not recognized by or do not respond to effector immune cells. Therefore, continued efforts to characterize responses to therapy are important to identify approaches to overcome drug resistance and provide patients with durable responses from a variety of treatment modalities. Andrew J. Ewald, Ph.D. and Joel S. Bader, Ph.D. A large majority of cancer deaths are attributable to metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread throughout the body to form new tumors in distant vital organs1. Despite its central importance to patient outcomes, the cellular and molecular basis of metastasis is incompletely understood. Surprisingly, metastatic cancer has also been relatively understudied compared to earlier, more treatable stages of the disease2. This discrepancy may in part be attributable to metastasis involving the entire body, occurring deep inside the patient over long periods, and involving many different cells types and molecular pathways in complex combinations. These challenges come together to make metastasis difficult to study in the laboratory. There has therefore been an urgent need to develop model systems that enable the analysis of key processes in metastasis at cellular and molecular resolution3. We set out to solve this problem inspired by progress with tissue organoid assays originally developed to study normal mammary gland development4,5. The essential concept is to surgically remove a portion of an organ, mechanically disrupt it with a scalpel, digest with enzymes, and then process by centrifugation to separate single cells from the tissue pieces or organoids. The single cells consist mostly of immune cells or fibroblasts and can be included or excluded from the culture as desired. Organoids usually consist of 100-500 epithelial cells. Our approach contrasts with the stem cell organoids pioneered by Hans Clevers: our tissue organoids are freshly isolated, are not generally expanded, do not require Wnt ligands for short term culture, and are available for immediate use. The basic approach of mechanical and enzymatic processing to generate tissue organoids is very flexible, and we have adapted it for use with normal mammary glands, primary breast tumors, and metastatic site breast tumors. We have also extended these methods to liver, pancreas, and lung tumors and can start from fresh human tumors, patient derived xenografts (PDXs), or genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs). We routinely generate ~2,000 organoids per clinical sample, ~20,000 per PDX tumor, and ~200,000 per GEMM model. Accordingly, we can explant organoids from the same sample into a wide range of experimental conditions. We have applied this approach both to understand molecular pathways in the cancer cell and also to interrogate the functional role of specific elements of the tumor microenvironment6,7,8,9. Figure: Human breast tumor organoid invades collectively into a 3D collagen I microenvironment. One of the main advantages of our approach is the ability to maintain a tumor's cellular and phenotypic diversity in convenient, multi-well plate compatible assays. Metastasis requires many steps, each of which poses quite distinct challenges for the cancer cell. Accordingly, we have developed a range of assays modeling primary tumor growth, invasion, dissemination, intravasation, and secondary tumor formation. We use highly automated microscopy to image the behavior of cancer cells at subcellular resolution in these assays, which enables us to develop hypotheses for how these processes take place at the cellular level. To understand the underlying molecular regulation, we can introduce signaling perturbations, shRNA, CRISPR, inducible gene expression, or Cre-lox based gene deletion. We have also optimized nucleotide and protein-based molecular analyses in these cultures, enabling mechanistic dissection of the molecular basis of phenotypes. We then integrate the results of the experimental interventions using network analysis and computational modeling. We have projects analyzing the molecular basis of normal, primary tumor, and metastatic site growth and motility that enable us to identify the truly cancer-specific processes. Our newly launched Center for Cancer Target Discovery and Development (CTD2) builds on our track record of success and provides substantial new resources to exploit these model systems to develop novel therapeutic targets. Breast cancer is particularly challenging in exhibiting a very wide range of suspected driver mutations, with relatively few present in large percentages of patients10,11. Accordingly, the understanding of which genes are the most important for breast tumor initiation and particularly for metastasis remains largely incomplete. The key insight guiding our CTD2 Center is that quantitative analysis of phenotypes within these 3D organoid assays enables us to adopt the mathematical framework of population genetics to identify genes and mutations responsible for breast cancer growth, invasion, and metastasis. The large number of organoids isolated, combined with quantitative imaging and applied mathematics, enables us to systematically analyze the molecular basis of variation among different clones within the same tumor and between tumors from different individuals. Based on our previous analyses of molecular programs driving collective invasion in breast cancer6 and our past work in population genetics12,13, we anticipate that our approach will enable us to appreciate the underlying molecular logic of metastasis. We will then use techniques from network analysis and graph theory14,15 to prioritize targets for intervention. Our goals are to understand metastasis at the molecular level, to apply these insights to identify patients at the greatest risk of metastatic recurrence, and ultimately to improve patient outcomes by identifying new anti-metastatic therapies. Past and current support from the BCRF, the JKTG Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute has been critical to the development of these techniques and to their current application in translational cancer research. Schoger J. VOICES:‘Changing the Landscape for People Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer’—New Report from the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance. Oncology Times. 2014 Nov 10;36(21):36-37. Burkitt Lymphoma (BL) is an aggressive B-cell lymphoma involving dysregulation of the MYC oncogene by chromosomal translocations. It is most common in children but also affects adults and occurs in sporadic, endemic, and HIV-associated forms. The Epstein-Barr virus-associated BL (eBL) endemic subtype is the most common pediatric cancer in equatorial Africa but also occurs in other parts of the world (e.g. the rainforest of Brazil). The National Cancer Institute (NCI) established a collaboration with the Foundation for Burkitt Lymphoma Research to develop a genomic databank for BL. One goal of the Burkitt Lymphoma Genome Sequencing Project (BLGSP) is to conduct comprehensive molecular characterization of BL by sequencing DNA and RNA from a large BL cohort–including endemic, HIV-associated, sporadic, pediatric, and adult cases–in order to define the genetic and phenotypic features that drive these cancers. These data will be analyzed and published; the goals are to develop new therapeutic strategies that can be deployed worldwide. BL in Brazil is characterized by geographically distinct clinical and pathologic features1. In central and southern Brazil, adult BL cases occur with similar diagnosis as in the United States and western Europe. In the northeastern and Amazonian regions of Brazil, eBL-associated infections overlap with either Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax malaria similar to cases in equatorial Africa. Intensive chemotherapy is effective, but the associated toxicity requires supportive care that is not readily available in resource-poor regions. NCI’s Office of Cancer Genomics (OCG) identified, after extensive search, the Hospital das Clinicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (HdC-UFMG) as a potential tissue source site in Brazil and became a member of the project working group (WG). The regulatory process was initiated in November 2013, and all necessary documents (e.g. protocol, informed consent form, etc.) were submitted to the local Institutional Review Board (IRB). Ethical approval was obtained in March 2014; however, the challenge arose because the BLGSP is an internationally-sponsored project involving sample storage and shipping outside of Brazil, and a national IRB approval for biobanking and biorepository (CONEP) was requested. This was a newly developed process, and therefore required extensive (two year) to- and from- exchange to ensure that all required materials were provided in the right format. The approval was obtained in July 2016. Once we had the approval in hand, Dr. Frederico Melo (a pathologist), the principal investigator (PI), and staff evaluated the availability of cases at the HdC-UFMG in the spring of 2017. It was decided that to ensure the accrual of the promised number of cases, a partnership with the Instituto Nacional do Cancer (INCA), with PI Dr. Fabio Leal, was established. The BLGSP utilizes SOPs to enhance the ability to integrate results for tissues obtained across multiple collection sites. The TSS are required to collect and store the tissues, perform site-capable pathology analysis to determine the BL diagnosis, and provide the BLGSP-required clinical data. Based on the SOPs, an overview flowchart was developed by the TSS coordinator in Brazil to understand the process. A challenge for the TSS in Brazil was to develop mechanisms and strategies to identify retrospective samples which was successfully overcome at both sites. Below we describe what was done at HdC-UFMG. Figure. Outline of the Brazil BLGSP Flowchart. The BL case biobank of retrospective samples is located at the Anatomy and Pathology Unit at UFMG. The Unit has a large bank of samples and diagnostic reports for patients diagnosed from 2005 to 2017. The PI and staff first developed preliminary inclusion criteria to be: (i) patients diagnosed with BL confirmed through laboratory results (i.e. histopathological and immunochemistry exams); (ii) patients with “possible BL” (i.e. B-cell lymphoma in germinal center where turnover cells Ki67 >95% are searched); and (iii) patients with other types of lymphoma (e.g. B-cell with low turnover, T-cell, gray zone, anaplastic large cell, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, mantle cell). The identification process starts with reading the clinical reports, selecting the patients with a positive diagnosis for lymphoma, and identifying the sample in the biobank. Clinical report forms for each case are available as paper copies, and cases which match the inclusion criteria are selected. Then, the patient ID code, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue block number, and the slice number are recorded. This information is vital to facilitate initial contact with the patient and obtain informed consent to get permission to use their tumor and normal samples in the study. Finally, the samples, which were selected by the Anatomy and Pathology Unit staff, are confirmed to match the BLGSP SOPs by the PI. To date at both sites, 26 cases of BL in Brazil have been submitted to BLGSP, of which seven cases have both tumor and germline paired-samples. Currently, eight cases have passed diagnostic pathology review, three did not pass, and 15 are still being analyzed. Challenges of the Brazil TSS have been the identification of prospective BL cases, which require logistical steps and complex operational procedures carried out by clinical staff and a study team involved at the hospital. The TSS have now improved the identification process for the retrospective BL cases from the past 12 years through expanding the search of diagnostic reports and FFPE blocks stored in the Anatomy and Pathology Unit at HdC-UFMG. The TSS are learning about the technical issues with molecular characterization data, and they can continue to use what they have learned today, from identifying the retrospective cases, to improve the collection process of prospective BL cases. Additionally, young investigators in the research community will use the molecular characterization data from BL patients identified through BLGSP to better understand the molecular alterations of BL in Brazil. This breakthrough has steered the TSS teams to improve the operational procedures in Brazil that have led to the current success of the BLGSP. For over seven years, the Office of Cancer Genomics (OCG) has supported recent doctoral graduates through internship and fellowship programs. This past September, I became the newly appointed Health Communications Fellow for OCG through a Cancer Research Training Award under the Health Communications Internship Program (HCIP). The HCIP provides highly qualified graduate students and recent graduate degree recipients the opportunity to participate in vital health and science communications projects through host offices at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Applicants are required to have some science background and experience and/or education in at least one of the following areas: public health, epidemiology, public relations, health education, communications, science writing, statistics, social marketing, and/or journalism. After the eight-week selection process, fellows are offered either a six-month or one-year full-time internship with the possibility of renewal for a second-year term. HCIP offers enrichment opportunities through a professional development series of events. Trainings include Managing Up: How to Be Effective with Your Boss, Giving and Receiving Feedback Effectively, and To the Point: Make an Impact by Saying Less. ‘Brown Bags’ are also held throughout the first year as networking events providing the opportunity to interact in a casual environment with individuals from the NCI Presidential Management Fellows program. As part of the HCIP, I was assigned a mentor and a supervisor within OCG, who function as an advisor and day-to-day point of contact, respectively—both also sharing their knowledge and setting fellowship performance expectations that help progress towards my defined goals and objectives at the NCI. Before coming to the NCI, I had recently earned my Ph.D. degree in Public Health and, prior to that, received an M.P.H. in Global Health Practice with a graduate certificate in Disaster Management from the University of South Florida in Tampa. I also received a B.S. in Exercise Science from Florida State University in Tallahassee and became a Certified Health Education Specialist in 2015. My doctoral dissertation focused on understanding Latina breast cancer survivors’ perceptions of the importance of diet and nutrition in helping them cope with the effect of cancer treatment and survivorship. My research study revealed unmet information needs; Latina breast cancer survivors relied on organizational and online nutrition-related resources but identified a gap in culturally and linguistically tailored information related to diet and nutrition following diagnosis. Understanding the limitations that individuals face in their ability to function in daily life roles through cancer survivorship heightened my interest and influenced my decision to come to the NCI. While in the doctoral program, I was also employed as Project Coordinator of the Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program evaluation. The Florida MIECHV initiative is funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration with the goal of improving health and developmental outcomes for at-risk children through evidence-based home visiting programs. Our evaluation team was required to collect data and submit quarterly performance reports which served to assist the Maternal and Child Health Bureau in monitoring our grant and providing oversight. Throughout my four years working on the MIECHV program evaluation, I came to understand how organizations apply for, meet the requirements of, and report on federal research funding and competitive grants. My current position at the NCI now affords me a glimpse of how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) award and monitor the success of grants and contracts distributed to the extramural research community and help to disseminate the information achieved through such awards—the other side of the spectrum. As part of the OCG team, I currently collaborate with OCG program managers in supporting innovative scientific programs. OCG aims to advance the molecular understanding of cancer by funding and managing national and international cancer genomics and translational research programs, with the goal of improving clinical outcomes, and thereby contributing to precision medicine. OCG currently supports four collaborative programs: the Cancer Genome Characterization Initiative (CGCI), Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET), Cancer Target Discovery and Development (CTD2), and the Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI). My responsibilities as Health Communications Fellow include managing and creating website content; collaborating with OCG program managers on updating guidelines and manuals; interpreting website engagement analytics; and developing topics, writing articles, and editing the OCG e-Newsletters. I also collaborate with the Center for Cancer Genomics (CCG) Communications team regarding the development of video tutorials, tweets for the NCI Genomics Twitter page, and posts for the Insights and Innovations Blog. Throughout the past seven months, I have become actively involved in assisting with communications initiatives for the CTD2 program. CTD2 is a collaborative Network of 12 research teams called Centers. Through robust cross-Network collaborations, the Network Centers use a combination of computational and experimental approaches to advance cancer research by translating large-scale genomic datasets into clinically-relevant information. For this program, I attend monthly steering committee teleconferences where presentations are given by each Center on a rotating basis to provide updates on their research. I also work closely with the CTD2 Dashboard and Data Harmonization Informatics Portal working groups. Through my OCG tasks and communications activities, I have come to better understand extramural federal grants from the award and management end. My passion in the field of public health stemmed from my drive to help underserved and vulnerable populations through culturally and linguistically tailored health education programs. From my experience so far as part of the OCG team, my future career goals entail working in a government research-entity, ideally NIH, that would provide me the opportunity to develop targeted research and subsequently implement and manage specific programs. My current 12-month Health Communications Fellowship is just a starting off point to improving my understanding of cancer genomics research, bioinformatics, and precision medicine. It is important for me, through the HCIP, to build upon the community-based and analytic research skills I have attained as an evaluator in Florida and apply that knowledge to my work and collaboration activities at the OCG. I am now eager to continue contributing to research that will ultimately improve the health of the people in the cancer community for years to come.

2019-04-25T11:03:42Z

https://ocg.cancer.gov/news-publications/e-newsletter-issue/issue-18

The presumption that people with health insurance plans, under the Affordable Care Act, will be healthier may be a farce. It often follows the idea that consumers with a particular illness will get the right drugs at their disposal, if they get health insurance plans. An Oregon research for people selected randomly by lottery, for health insurance plans or coverage, showed a major impact on financial health and mental health by Medic pressure and cholesterol level, experienced no significant change. Another study shows less child and infant mortality, because of Medicaid expansion to pregnant women in the 80’s and 90’s. We can infer that, health insurance play an important role in improving health, to a degree depending on how the research is conducted or questions asked. I suppose one of the major motivations for us in doing this study is there’s been so much debate about the Affordable Care Act and relatively little discussion of health, whereas there’s been quite a bit of discussion about financial outcomes. said Joshua Salomon – a global health professor, at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. They analyzed the health status of participants, by comparing the health of those with health insurance plans and those don’t have it. The participants were extracted from a National survey between 1999 and 2012. The result showed that the likelihood of being diagnosed and getting the chronic disease under control is higher within the insured (with health insurance plans). insurance, which is not a direct contributing factor to health. Sharon Long, of the Urban Institute health policy center, said that the large survey numbers, can overestimate the importance of having a health insurance plans. In general, researchers do agree on the benefits of health insurance plans. A health economics professor from Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Katherine Baicker feels that having health insurance plans are better than not been insured. What seems much less clear to me is how that option compares to other options. None of these studies say which is better: expanding Medicaid, or vouchers for private insurance. The ideal question now, should be how to restructure health insurance plans, in other to make people get the best from it, and not how big is the effect of health insurance plans on health. Also, there are growing interest involving health insurance coverage and the best way to improve health like poverty eradication. Poverty is mostly associated with poor health. In response to this, Sharon Long asks whether if pollution (air and water) are addressed, what do we see? Rather than expanding health insurance plans, can there be new strategies? A high deductible health plan is a low premium insurance plan that comes with higher deductibles. They are designed to take care of more serious, calamitous or catastrophic ailments, while offering less coverage for consistent checkups involving prescription medication. The high deductible health plan can exceed $6,000 within a calendar year, and once completed the medical insurance plan will begin. During this period, the high deductible health plan has additional co-payments, unlike other medical insurance plans. It comes into play once the deductible is met. A flexible or health saving account (HSA) is usually connected to a high deductible health plan, in several cases. A specific sum is deposited into your flexible account every payday, while a tax deferral solitary yearly contribution, to a health saving account is made. A high deductible health plan using flexible spending account, comes with restriction. You either use all the cash in the flex account within the calendar year, or you lose them. Strict measures do apply to how you utilize the cash, so there will be no room for an end of the year spending spree, just to consume all of it. A tight budget is ideal to avoid depositing more money, than you can actually spend within the calendar year. Using a high deductible health plan with a HSA, any cash commitment made is removable on the basis of tax deferral. Also, certain expenses like for medical are not taxed, while interest accrued in the process, is subject to tax deferral. The balance (unused money) might be rolled over and utilized for future health expenses. The healthier you are, the better the choice of a high deductible health plan with HSA. It can result in a maximum balance. Your medical insurance policy will be greatly reduced, if more money is left in the HSA. This can be re-used in future. Numerous retirees utilize the cash for bill payments, as well as paying for medical insurance policies amid times of unemployment. High Deductible Health Plan: Who is it for? Buying a health plan involves a substantial investment. Money is needed for paying medical expenses. So anyone with difficult financial standings, may find it hard should an on-foreseeing medical condition occur. Clients or individuals who need regular medical appointments, is not an excellent fit for high deductible health plan. In the event that medication is required regularly, the monthly cost should be considered prior to investing in a high deductible health plan. Choosing the right medical insurance plans will help you overcome troublesome times. A high deductible health plan is the ideal choice for many clients. It’s HSA, offers excellent investment opportunity, although it was particularly created for individuals with calamitous medical condition. 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By default, TravMed Abroad offers coverage for people up to 85 years of age. It is a short term travel medical option with evacuation coverage too. If you are affected by health conditions and injuries during a trip, the medical plan will help you. TravMed Abroad is helpful across different nations. And, the service provides annual coverage too. Another interesting MEDEX International travel medical insurance plan would be TravMed Choice. This is a special coverage for people who are travelling outside their country. The plan lets customers handpick their medical benefit and deductible. It is ideal for global travelers who want sickness and accident insurance. There are many optional services offered by TravMed Choice. This includes package benefits like interruption, trip cancellation and lost luggage. On the whole, MEDEX is a wonderful International travel medical service provider. It has an experience that spans across three long decades. The service provider is loaded with many enticing features for those who are ought to travel across the world. Also, the plan has facilities for travelers who are ought to reach 85 years of age (this is a rare facility in the industry). However, you should be aware of your needs and wants. This is when you can make the most out of the MEDEX International travel medical insurance scheme. For a lot of people, holidays are all about spending time with their loved ones and feeling relaxed. However, the process of planning for a successful trip is easy said than done. Regardless of where, how and when you travel, it is quite important to have MEDEX International travel medical insurance policy. An ideal policy will make sure you are taken care at all times. If you are a novice International traveler, here are few important things you must keep in mind. In accordance with the old adage, “The sooner the better” – you must plan ahead of time. Take off few hours from your busy schedule and start planning. Look for the towns’ best International travel medical insurance. Remember that there are many service providers with exquisite features. You must compare and contrast as many as possible to bag the best deal. When you opt for an International travel medical insurance policy, make sure the details are shared and stored properly. Always carry a copy of the papers with you, leave a copy with your dear ones back home and at the hotel room. Additionally, you must provide details of emergency contact too. Medical insurance service providers are known for a comprehensive range of assistance. Before you go on an international tour, make sure you are aware of the nation’s health risks. There are several nations with identified health problems. If you are ought to visit these countries, you must be physically and mentally prepared. Never make assumptions with your travel medical insurance scheme. If you are confused or worried about something, read through the policy’s terms and conditions. For example, it would be wiser to inquire if the policy covers luggage and accidents like slipping on ice. After all, it is always wise to be safe than sorry. At all times, try to buy your medical insurance plan as early as possible. Never wait for last minute offers and deals. Also, take time and read through the policy’s cancellation formalities. Insurance companies have a unique way of reimbursing costs and covering medical conditions. To be safe, you must choose the right policy with the right features. A lot of ardent travelers tend to extend their period of stay in the travel destination. This is when your travel medical insurance scheme should be modified too. Check if the policy lets you buffer and extend the cover. Do you know that some travel medical insurance schemes offer comprehensive coverage to gears? There are plenty of credit cards and policy providers with special coverage facilities. These covers will ensure the product is replaced or funded when lost or stolen. Regardless of the policy you pick, make sure you know what you are getting. If you have doubts about the coverage, ask for help from professional healthcare service providers. They will give you a comprehensive insight on what should be done before, during and after the trip for a successful cover. Are you looking for healthcare insurance quote? We can help. Read up our tips to find out how to find cheap insurance quotes online. We will help you to make the right choice and get the medical insurance plan that will best fit your needs. Choosing the best health insurance does not have to be hard. When involved in a healthcare insurance, be sure to get as many quotes as possible on your own. This will ensure that you can stand your ground versus an insurance adjuster as well as ensure you are getting a fair quote. If there is a debate, be sure to calmly confront your adjuster and assume that they are not trying to cheat you. If you can afford to do so, it is cheaper to pay your healthcare insurance premiums all at once rather than by making monthly payments. Most medical insurance companies will charge interest and other fees in addition to your monthly payments, or may offer a discount for paying in a single lump sum. Healthcare insurance is like any profession: it uses a lot of specialized words (indemnification, liability, etc.) So if you don’t understand something about a policy you’re about to buy, STOP. Ask the health insurance professional you’re talking with to back up and explain in simpler understandable terms. Let them continue or do it again and again, if you still don’t it. Nothing is far worse than buying a health insurance policy with little coverage or costs too much, because you weren’t comfortable in asking the right questions beforehand. If you have filed a claim for whatever it is, the job of the insurance company is to try minimize that claim, while it’s your job to get back what you lost. If you are fortunate to work in a trustworthy and principled company, you should understand that you and the company are effectively at cross purposes and that you need to be an advocate for recovering your own loss. The wise consumer will take their own loyalty into account when comparing health insurance companies. An insurer that has provided years of effective, reliable and trouble-free service should not be abandoned the instant a slightly cheaper alternative becomes available. It is quite likely that a healthcare insurance company that offers rock-bottom prices is cutting corners somewhere in the service they provide their clients. Healthcare insurance, car insurance, renter’s insurance, pet insurance, travel insurance, you name it. All of those things are necessary and they insure one’s peace of mind. It is easy to think that paying a minimal monthly amount is ridiculous, but when something catastrophic happens, insurance saves the day. Medical insurance will reimburse one for or pay medical bills. Purchasing healthcare insurance is necessary and it should factor into everyone’s budget. One hundred dollars every month is far easier to handle than one hundred thousand because something unexpected happened. With a little knowledge and research you will be better able to find the healthcare insurance you need. Now that you are better equipped to find the healthcare insurance that will best fit your needs you won’t be caught in the trap of making mistakes that many make as they are looking to get a new healthcare insurance policy. Purchasing reliable health insurance policy is always a great way to have help on the way, when you need it the most, because you never know when you are going to get diagnosed with a disease. You can go through any kind of medical issues and through the financial stress associated with it, if you have the right kind of medical insurance plans. Read these tips to learn more about health insurance policy. treatment by a dentists, is crucial in preventing further spread down the body, which could ultimately affect the digestive system and other organs. A greater number of Americans lack proper dental care because they do not have dental insurance, so try to stay healthy by buying a proper health insurance policy. Healthy habits like Exercise, play an important role in lowering a health insurance policy. Cash bonuses are given out by corporations, mostly to employees to fill out a questionnaire about one’s lifestyle; such as exercise and smoking. A favorable score on this questionnaire, can greatly reduce the company employee’s health insurance policy. So it’s essential, you verify all possible perks provided by your employer in your insurance policy. If you are not careful enough, plenty discounts can pass by without you knowing it. Discounts from exercise equipment, recreation centers, gyms, from non-smoking or even just answering a questionnaire on healthy habits, are usually given out. More on: what is the best coffee maker? Nutrition often provides an opportunity for you to lower health insurance policy, just by per-taking in special nutrition programs. To be eligible, you need to consult your health insurance agent. Also losing weight can attract added incentives to your health insurance coverage. The above health insurance tips, should guide you in your choice of medical insurance plans. Your budget and personal need, should come to mind when searching for the best health insurance plans. The choice of health insurance policy is based on necessity and not a luxury. So go search for an affordable medical insurance plans now! Free health insurance will help you meet up with high medical bills and protect you from expensive physician appointments. No one intends to fall ill or meet up with an accident; however, no one can stay away from visiting medical facilities or health care industries in the long run! This is when free health insurance policies become useful. Generally, this insurance scheme will make sure you pay little for health care units that are classed as a part of its in-network hospitals. Some free health insurance plans offer preventive care like check-ups, vaccines and screenings. Even before the deductibles are applied, you will receive preventive care. Above all, the health insurance scheme will take care of your dear one’s medical coverage too. to individual, there are plenty of policies with fine-tuned requirements. With this being said, you must handpick a policy that best suit your needs and wants! Always remember that there is a thin line between the actual needs & wants. Free Health Insurance: Commonly Asked Questions! To begin with, you should come in touch with your parent’s health insurance service provider. Verify if the company offers coverage for dependents too. If yes, you must inquire how long the coverage would be provided. In most cases, free health insurance schemes are offered till the dependents turn 26. Also, you will be eligible for the insurance scheme till you live with your parents and are unmarried. Meanwhile, if the service provider does not offer coverage for dependents, you must wait for a different plan or enroll in a separate health insurance policy. 1) You should be a legal resident or citizen of USA. Several terms and conditions should be satisfied by immigrants. One should read through the state’s local statements to know if they are eligible for the free health insurance. For instance, US citizens who are outside the country for more than 300 days are not expected to avail the free health insurance coverage. Thus, you are not expected to pay any annual fees that is expected from other non-insured citizens. 2) You must have a stable source of income. Generally, if you are single, you should earn at least 11,000 USD. If you have a family of three, you must make 23,000 USD every year. 3) You should be more than 18 years of age. 4) You should be prepared to by an effective coverage health insurance policy from a reliable Marketplace like Exchange. 5) You should be at least living in United States. 6) You must not be incarcerated. This is a fundamental requirement of the free health insurance policy. There are different types of health insurance policies for people who earn lessor than 16,000 USD. When compared against many health schemes in the market, Medicaid offers affordable health schemes for potential buyers. If you get hold of a free health insurance scheme, you can free yourself from tax credits. In case your employer offers a scheme that costs 10% more than your annual income or if it does not cover 50% of the possible medical expense, you should opt for better health insurance schemes that can delight you with enticing tax benefits. As mentioned previously, remember that there are many free health insurance schemes in the market for potential buyers. Meanwhile, the process of filling health insurance forms is easy said than done. The applications are based on many important details like the family size and your income. If you don’t fill in the right information, you may not qualify for the free health insurance policy. In case you are unable to visit the service provider, opt for online assistance. These professionals will state if you are eligible for the health benefit or not! As mentioned previously, Medicaid is one of the finest health insurance policies you can obtain. It offers coverage to people with very little income. In most cases, pregnant women, little children and families are covered. Over the years, Medicaid has witnessed many changes. Experts state that the policy’s rules change once in every three years. Hence, people who did not qualify for the free health insurance scheme several years ago, may qualify now! Above all, the policy does not have a limit on how many times it can applied for. Another interesting free health insurance scheme would be CHIP alias Children’s Health Insurance Program. It is a low/free coverage for little ones from families that do not qualify for Medicaid. In some states, even pregnant women are allowed to avail the benefits of this free health insurance scheme. Conversely, CHIP is one of those most wanted health insurance benefits in the market. If you qualify for anyone of these free health insurance policies (Medicaid or CHIP), you can apply for its actual benefits at any time of the year. Nevertheless, you must make sure you are eligible for the free insurance scheme. Though the facilities offered by free health insurance policies differ from one to another, there are few basic offerings. As mentioned previously, the policies will give free preventive services, at least three free visits to the hospital and plenty of deductibles. Nevertheless, you must read through the policy’s terms and conditions before opting for any free health insurance coverage. Compare USA companies with the best medical insurance plans for 2015. Everybody is keen on reliable healthcare insurance coverage. Over the years, medical bills have become expensive and complicated. This has increased the need for legit healthcare support. If you are searching for reliable health coverage schemes, here is a quick walk through best medical insurance plans for 2015 in USA. The list of best medical insurance plans begins with “Express Scripts”. The American based company is extremely famous for its drug utilization program, management services, drug data analysis services and exquisite benefit-design consultation help. It is an ideal plan for government agencies, self insured employers and individuals from the military. the largest healthcare carrier in the nation. It has more than 7+ million people in its directory. Apart from fine-tuned health insurance schemes for individuals, United Healthcare supports Medicaid programs and state-sponsored initiatives too. The collection of best medical insurance plans will remain incomplete without “Blue Cross Blue Shield”. It is a federation that combines 37 healthcare companies (separate) and organizations in United States. Conversely, they offer health insurance coverage to more than 100+ million people. BCBSA serves as one of the prime administrators of Medicaid in many regions of United States. In terms of numbers (enrolled number of insurance policy holders), Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is the biggest in the nation (or even in the world). Another prominent player in offering best medical insurance plans would be Aetna. Some of its best medical insurance plans are out-of-the-box and truly useful. Aetna has being in the industry for a very long time! Being one of the largest healthcare insurance providers in the market, Aetna covers a wide range of health issues. From dental to group life disability to drug services to employee benefits to long term care insurance, Aetna has a plan for everyone in the family. Hence, it is one of the finest health insurance companies to work with! In fact, Aetna delights employers with special benefit programs and insurance facilities through Medicare. Architecture (MITA). Molina uses a special Health PAS system to help insurance policy holders on the go! Health PAS is a web based solution that uses a local MMIS unit to find patient data, plan benefit and authorize services. Additionally, the PAS System has a comprehensive online portal that provides essential details in just few clicks of a button. Cigna is ranked amongst the very few companies with best medical insurance plans that can support you when expenses that are not covered by your major healthcare policy arise. For instance, some medical insurance schemes don’t handle accidents or unexpected diseases. In such situations, Cigna’s Supplemental insurance will lend you a hand of help. The insurance service providers will support you with direct cash, when the need arises. This cash can be used for daily expenses and out-of-the-pocket medical bills. Supplemental insurance from Cigna is certainly one of the best medical insurance plans you can avail, since it pays during both recovery and treatment! Next in the line of best medical insurance plans comes from “Humana”. The insurance policy is meant for families and individuals. The service provider focuses on a discreet motto. It revolves around health and gives people a choice to live well! Humana offers a wide range of best medical insurance plans. This covers vision plans, medical assistance, dental schemes and life insurance policies. Humana stresses on the need for personalized support and affordable insurance help. For instance, individuals who combine vision plans and dental schemes will save at least 35 USD. Humana has many Veteran Packages that are meant for families and US Veterans. As a result, you will have the wit to pull together a healthier you and stronger tomorrow! Moving on, Kaiser Permanente has some of the best medical insurance plans in the market. The service provider makes life easier by offering better coverage and care. They are not deemed as typical healthcare providers with best medical insurance plans. Instead, they thrive hard to support everyone with health needs! To be more precise, Kaiser Permanente has paired with local communities like fitness establishments and farmers’ markets to promote health. Kaiser Permanente is a healthcare company that focuses on preventive wellness and overall care. They provide many wellness programs, routine appointments and preventive screenings that can remove sicknesses from your life! Round the clock nursing services. Endless amount of care, physical support, spiritual assessment and emotional upliftment. Celtic offers a special Palliative care program. It has exquisite inpatient hospice facilities too! Last in the list of best medical insurance plans comes from Altius. They offer different types of products like prescription coverage, network coverage and special services. As suggested by its name, prescription coverage deals with dependable health care that handles medical prescriptions. It will help you by drugs at an affordable price! And, in terms of network coverage, Altius has more than 5000+ participating hospitals. The trend of major medical insurance plans from top companies, is hitting hard though plenty of insurance firms are now emerging with the most innovative approach. Thus, no matter how in debt you are, there is always a solution to your problems. There is no doubt that you will come across affordable medical insurance plans. Always find out and ask them to send you the conditions, total costs, etc. Compare products listed from other major medical insurance plans and take your time. By contrast, remember to stay tuned to enjoy medical insurance deals that appear online and beware on fine prints and details. Reading policies and insurance plans will help you avoid frustration in the future. Now, let’s move forward. Let’s proceed by analyzing everything you need, to feel at your best. Thanks to the most affordable medical insurance plans, you can now start taking care of your body; with an espresso maker. innovations in development or use after your signing up, will no longer be a problem. Since you have the power to make selection prior to selecting any major medical insurance plans. It is typically to see in the offers of major medical insurance plans, big letters on their medical insurance plans offerings and basic aspects of their health coverage. But in the fine print, is where you are expected to put down all the exclusions in medical insurance coverage or information such as vesting periods (must be taken into account especially in pregnancies) that may affect the type of coverage you want to employ. It is very unpleasant to learn what is not covered, by medical insurance plans once hospitalized or whenever you require the health care services. It is about having confidence in the health insurer, and what looks too good to be true or attractive should be well investigated. For this reason, it is important to take time to read all kinds of details in the contract or plan. Many major medical insurance plans experts make emphasis on the fine print and recommend you ask questions. You need to clear all your doubts from the medical insurance plans before signing any insurance contract. Before formalizing the medical insurance plans, the Policy holder and or insured must make and sign the statement. This statement is necessary for the insurer to know in advance if there is a medical risk to evaluate and assess. Depending on your age, change your strategy. If you are a young adult, opt for one with low deductibles. If you are older than 50 years, go for the high deductible health plan. Thus, analyze carefully and avoid problems. You can go ahead and start by comparing extras, premiums, travel assistance, major medical insurance plans discounts and much more. Begin now and change your lifestyle! Obamacare is an affordable healthcare act that was passed by the congress and signed by the President during early 2010. The act comprises of a set of reformed health insurance schemes and policies. It was promoted to increase the number of individuals with legit health coverage. Obamacare works by overhauling current health insurance service providers and expanding Medicaid. Officially, Medicaid is meant for citizens with very low incomes. The policy offers minimum essential coverage. Conversely, it falls in line with medical facilities offered by employer-based-coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, and many more players in the marketplace. Nevertheless, Obamacare is much more than any ordinary health coverage policy. It covers almost everyone in the healthcare industry, from doctors to patients to restaurants to hospitals or even chocolate shops (this is because all food joints are expected to display calorie listings)! “Obamacare is working. I talk to a lot of hospital directors. It is working. Obamacare 101: How does it Work? It expands Medicaid in a strategic manner. New insurance exchange policies are designed. Many online portals are set up to help Americans search and buy coverage. All individuals in the country are expected to have a health insurance policy. Else, they will be forced to pay a hefty penalty. Obamacare 101: Who Gets Benefited? Obamacare 101: How Do You Enroll? According to the Act, individuals can buy a private medical insurance plans only through open enrollment. However, you will be exempted from this condition if a major change has happened in your life. This en covers over marriage, shifting locations or losing your current source of income. In such situations, you can opt for special enrollment. The Act decides Cost assistance based on your annual income. Individuals qualify for cost assistance if their income falls between 138% and 400% of FPL (Federal Poverty Level). Meanwhile, “Out of Pocket Assistance” is provided only to individuals with silver plans. People who have availed the Cost Assistance benefit must fill a special file called Form 8962 during taxes. While choosing a healthcare plan from Obamacare, you must keep the plan open till next enrollment (open). Always verify if the plan meets all your requirements. For instance, check if drugs, doctor visits, medical services and major surgeries are covered by the healthcare plan. Five people, including a former hospital executive and two surgeons, are charged with a massive kickback scheme that resulted in billing $580 million to the government and insurance companies, authorities announced Tuesday. Two already pleaded guilty and the others have agreed to plead guilty in connection to the scheme, which involved paying tens of millions of dollars to dozens of doctors, chiropractors and others to refer patients to two Southern California hospitals for spinal surgeries, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office. Over an eight-year period, Pacific Hospital of Long Beach and Tri-City Regional Medical Center in Hawaiian Gardens billed thousands of operations to California’s workers’ compensation system, the U.S. Department of Labor and workers’ compensation insurers. informed that medical professionals had been offered kickbacks to induce them to refer the surgeries to Pacific Hospital,” the U.S. attorney’s statement said. “Injured workers were treated like livestock by doctors and hospitals who paid or accepted kickbacks and bribes in exchange for referrals,” California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement. Pacific Hospital’s former owner, Michael D. Drobot, pleaded guilty last year to taking part in the fraud. He also has acknowledged bribing state Sen. Ron Calderon, who has pleaded not guilty to bribery, fraud and money laundering charges that carry a maximum sentence of 396 years in federal prison. Calderon is awaiting trial next year. Calderon (D-Montebello) allegedly accepted about $100,000 in exchange for promoting legislation to expand Hollywood tax credits and to protect the financial interests of Pacific Hospital, which benefited from a provision of the workers’ compensation law. In the other cases, charges were filed against two people on Tuesday, and three previous cases were unsealed Monday. James L. Canedo, Pacific Hospital’s former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to engage in fraud, money laundering and other crimes. Paul Richard Randall, a health care marketer previously affiliated with Pacific Hospital and with Tri-City Regional Medical Center, pleaded guilty in April 2012 to conspiracy for recruiting chiropractors and doctors to refer patients to Tri-City. Orthopedic surgeons Philip Sobol of Studio City and Mitchell Cohen of Irvine and Alan Ivar, a Las Vegas chiropractor who used to live in Southern California, have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy or other charges. Under terms of their plea agreements, Sobol could be sentenced to up to 10 years in federal prison while Canedo, Ivar and Randall could get up to five years. Cohen faces up to three years for filing a false tax return. “Health care fraud and kickback schemes burden our health care system, drive up insurance costs for everyone, and corrupt both the doctor-patient relationship and the medical profession itself,” U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement. The five defendants will have to pay restitution, which in Canedo’s case will be at least $20 million, authorities said. WASHINGTON — Cancer researchers say there has been a substantial increase in women under the age of 26 who have received a diagnosis of early-stage cervical cancer, a pattern that they say is most likely an effect of the Affordable Care Act. Starting in 2010, a provision of the health law allowed dependents to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26. The number of uninsured young adults fell substantially in the years that followed. The share of 19- to 25-year-olds without health insurance declined to 21 percent in the first quarter of 2014 from 34 percent in 2010 — french press coffee, a decrease of about four million people, federal data show. leading to more early-stage diagnoses. Early diagnosis improves the prospects for survival because treatment is more effective and the chance of remission is higher. It also bolsters women’s chances for preserving their fertility during treatment. And women with health insurance are far more likely to get a screening that can identify cancer early. Researchers used the National Cancer Data Base, a hospital-based registry of about 70 percent of all cancer cases in the United States. They compared diagnoses for women ages 21 to 25 who had cervical cancer with those for women ages 26 to 34, before and after the health law provision began in 2010. Early-stage diagnoses rose substantially among the younger group — the one covered by the law — and stayed flat among the older group. About 79 percent of the younger group had an early-stage diagnosis in 2011-12, up from about 71 percent in 2007-09. For the older group, the percentage dropped to 71 percent from 73 percent, a change that is not statistically meaningful. The effect for younger women looked even stronger when analyzed by year. About 84 percent of the younger group had early-stage diagnoses in 2011, compared with 68 percent in 2009. Early-stage diagnoses dropped to 72 percent of the group in 2012, a drop that Dr. Jemal said was typical during increases in screenings, because many of the early-stage cases have already been detected. For several years, researchers have been trying to test whether the law is working to improve health, but isolating its effects has been tricky. A study this spring found that the number of new diabetes cases identified among poor Americans had surged in states that embraced the Affordable Care Act, but not in states that had not. Since November 2009, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that cervical cancer screening begin at age 21, the only cancer screening recommendation for that age group. Dr. Jemal said that change made it impossible to compare the total number of women who got screened before and after the health care law came into effect.

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https://medicalinsuranceplans.org/page/2/

aExact breakdown for exclusion not documented. bThe Institute of Medicine 1990 guidelines differ from the 2009 guidelines. In the 1990 guidelines, the recommended weight gain range was 12.5 to 18 kg for women with a body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) less than 19.8; 11.5 to 16 kg for women with a BMI of 19.8 to 26.0; 7 to 11.5 kg for women with a BMI between 26.0 and 29.0; and at least 6.8 kg for women with a BMI higher than 29.0. Pooled ORs are shown for the association between gestational weight gain below (A) and above (B) guidelines with adverse outcomes. Reference group is women with recommended weight gain in each category of body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared). For each outcome, the sample size represents the total number of women in the studies that assessed the outcome. For each BMI category, the sample size represents the total number of women with gestational weight gain below or above the guidelines. LGA indicates large for gestational age; SGA, small for gestational age. Pooled ORs are shown for the association between gestational weight loss (A), gestational weight gain below guidelines (B), and gestational weight gain above guidelines (C) with adverse outcomes. Obesity classes indicate body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) as follows: class 1, BMI of 30 to 34.9; class 2, BMI of 35 to 39.9; and class 3, BMI of 40 or higher. Reference group is women with recommended weight gain in each category of BMI. For each outcome, the sample size represents the total number of women in the studies that assessed the outcome. For each obesity category, the sample size represents the total number of women with weight loss, gestational weight gain below the guidelines, or gestational weight gain above the guidelines. Institute of Medicine. Nutrition During Pregnancy: Part I: Weight Gain, Part II Nutrient Supplements. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1990. Rasmussen K, Yaktine AL, eds; Institute of Medicine; National Research Council. Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2009. Committee on Obstetric Practice, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Weight gain during pregnancy: committee opinion 548. January 2013, reaffirmed 2015. https://www.acog.org/-/media/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/co548.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20160723T0702247216. Accessed July 23, 2016. Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation. Evidence Synthesis Program Template for Critical Appraisal of a Cohort Study. Melbourne, Australia: Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation; 2014. World Health Organization. WHO Recommendations on Antenatal Care for a Positive Pregnancy Experience. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2016. Teede H, Harrison C, Lombard C, Boyle C, East C, Brown W. Case for Action proposal: obesity prevention through preventing excess weight gain during pregnancy and postpartum. September 2014. https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/research/research-translation/research-translation-faculty/ideas-research-translation-faculty-cases. Accessed August 31, 2016. Question What is the association between gestational weight gain above or below the Institute of Medicine guidelines and maternal and infant outcomes? Findings In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 1 309 136 pregnancies, gestational weight gain below recommendations (in 23% of women) was associated with higher risk of small for gestational age (odds ratio [OR], 1.53) and preterm birth (OR, 1.70) and lower risk of large for gestational age (OR, 0.59) and macrosomia (OR, 0.60). Gestational weight gain above recommendations (47%) was associated with lower risk of small for gestational age (OR, 0.66) and preterm birth (OR, 0.77) and higher risk of large for gestational age (OR, 1.85), macrosomia (OR, 1.95), and cesarean delivery (OR, 1.30). Meaning Gestational weight gain below or above the Institute of Medicine guidelines was associated with higher risk of some adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Importance Body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain are increasing globally. In 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) provided specific recommendations regarding the ideal gestational weight gain. However, the association between gestational weight gain consistent with theIOM guidelines and pregnancy outcomes is unclear. Objective To perform a systematic review, meta-analysis, and metaregression to evaluate associations between gestational weight gain above or below the IOM guidelines (gain of 12.5-18 kg for underweight women [BMI <18.5]; 11.5-16 kg for normal-weight women [BMI 18.5-24.9]; 7-11 kg for overweight women [BMI 25-29.9]; and 5-9 kg for obese women [BMI ≥30]) and maternal and infant outcomes. Data Sources and Study Selection Search of EMBASE, Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews, MEDLINE, and MEDLINE In-Process between January 1, 1999, and February 7, 2017, for observational studies stratified by prepregnancy BMI category and total gestational weight gain. Data Extraction and Synthesis Data were extracted by 2 independent reviewers. Odds ratios (ORs) and absolute risk differences (ARDs) per live birth were calculated using a random-effects model based on a subset of studies with available data. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcomes were small for gestational age (SGA), preterm birth, and large for gestational age (LGA). Secondary outcomes were macrosomia, cesarean delivery, and gestational diabetes mellitus. Results Of 5354 identified studies, 23 (n = 1 309 136 women) met inclusion criteria. Gestational weight gain was below or above guidelines in 23% and 47% of pregnancies, respectively. Gestational weight gain below the recommendations was associated with higher risk of SGA (OR, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.44-1.64]; ARD, 5% [95% CI, 4%-6%]) and preterm birth (OR, 1.70 [1.32-2.20]; ARD, 5% [3%-8%]) and lower risk of LGA (OR, 0.59 [0.55-0.64]; ARD, −2% [−10% to −6%]) and macrosomia (OR, 0.60 [0.52-0.68]; ARD, −2% [−3% to −1%]); cesarean delivery showed no significant difference (OR, 0.98 [0.96-1.02]; ARD, 0% [−2% to 1%]). Gestational weight gain above the recommendations was associated with lower risk of SGA (OR, 0.66 [0.63-0.69]; ARD, −3%; [−4% to −2%]) and preterm birth (OR, 0.77 [0.69-0.86]; ARD, −2% [−2% to −1%]) and higher risk of LGA (OR, 1.85 [1.76-1.95]; ARD, 4% [2%-5%]), macrosomia (OR, 1.95 [1.79-2.11]; ARD, 6% [4%-9%]), and cesarean delivery (OR, 1.30 [1.25-1.35]; ARD, 4% [3%-6%]). Gestational diabetes mellitus could not be evaluated because of the nature of available data. Conclusions and Relevance In this systematic review and meta-analysis of more than 1 million pregnant women, 47% had gestational weight gain greater than IOM recommendations and 23% had gestational weight gain less than IOM recommendations. Gestational weight gain greater than or less than guideline recommendations, compared with weight gain within recommended levels, was associated with higher risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. The purpose of this review and meta-analysis was to compare gestational weight gain with IOM guidelines from diverse international cohorts and to evaluate associations between gestational weight gain above and below guidelines with maternal and infant outcomes. This systematic review, meta-analysis, and metaregression was prospectively registered with PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO identifier CRD42015023325). A systematic search string of relevant terms was developed (eAppendix 1 in the Supplement). Searched databases in Ovid included EMBASE, all Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews, MEDLINE, and MEDLINE In-Process from January 1, 1999, to January 28, 2016 (Figure 1). The search was limited to articles from 1999 onward to represent more current populations. The search was later updated to February 7, 2017. Of 7 newly identified studies, 4 were included in the analyses. Three studies were excluded because the data were not in the required format, and there was insufficient time to obtain data from the authors. Bibliographies of included studies were reviewed to identify additional studies. Details of the search strategy and data extraction are shown in eAppendix 2 in the Supplement. Observational studies published in English and assessing singleton pregnancies in women aged 18 years or older were included. Study sample sizes larger than 500 women were required to identify outcomes present across the BMI categories. We postulated that small studies would have insufficient sample size to detect outcomes within each BMI group. Studies were included if they presented data examining women by prepregnancy BMI category, stratified by the total gestational weight gain. Studies that categorized by mean weight gain per week were excluded. Only studies presenting odds ratios (ORs) stratified by maternal BMI and gestational weight gain were included. Studies that simultaneously adjusted for categories of BMI and gestational weight gain to estimate the independent associations of weight change with outcomes were excluded because the aim of this review was to assess the association of gestational weight gain (specific for each BMI category) and outcomes. Studies meeting these criteria used different BMI categories (eg, Metropolitan Life Insurance Tables, WHO classifications, or Chinese classifications11 [BMI for underweight, <18.5; normal weight, 18.5-23.9; overweight, 24-28; and obese, ≥28]) and gestational weight gain categories (eg, 1990 IOM, 2009 IOM, population-specific, or study-specific categories) to classify participants. Additionally, some studies used a reference of normal gestational weight gain within each BMI group, whereas others used a reference of normal-weight women with normal weight gain. In this review, BMI was defined by WHO categories and/or Chinese BMI categories. Gestational weight gain was defined by 2009 IOM criteria; thus, authors of identified studies were contacted to reanalyze data using these categories. The ORs were calculated using recommended gestational weight gain within each BMI category as the reference. Gestational weight gain was defined as the difference between the final weight and the prepregnancy weight and was classified as below, within, or above the 2009 IOM guidelines. The prepregnancy weight was either self-reported (which correlates well with measured weight12,13) or measured at first antenatal visits. Final pregnancy weight was measured at the last antenatal visit or the time of delivery or was self-reported within 1 year of delivery. Two authors assessed risk of bias (R.F.G. and S.K.A.). Discrepancies were resolved by consensus in discussion with a third reviewer (M.M.). Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation evidence synthesis appraisal assessment tool.15,16 Individual quality items were assessed using a descriptive approach including exposure and outcome measures, reporting bias, confounding, and conflict of interest. Each study was classified as low, medium, or high risk of bias. Findings were synthesized by target population characteristics, study type, and outcome. Outcome measures were produced for each study by calculating ORs and 95% confidence intervals, using recommended gestational weight gain within each BMI category as the reference. When 2 or more studies assessed the same outcome, results were pooled using both fixed- and random-effects meta-analysis. There were no significant differences between fixed- and random-effects analyses. Random effects are presented given heterogeneity among studies. Extracted pooled ORs for individual outcomes were combined to construct summary pooled ORs. Crude data were used where possible, given variable control for confounding factors. However, some articles presented adjusted ORs only.17-24 Absolute risk differences (ARDs) per live birth were calculated from event rates (available for a subset of studies) using random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic, where I2 > 50% indicated substantial heterogeneity.25 Metaregression was performed to investigate sources of heterogeneity (percentage of smokers during pregnancy, mean age, and percentage of nulliparous women). Race/ethnicity data were not available for the metaregression. Where 5 or more studies were available, publication bias was assessed using Egger test plots.26,27 Statistical significance was defined as 2-sided P < .05. Statistical analysis used Stata software version 14 (StataCorp LP). A subgroup analysis was performed in specific population groups identified a priori (studies using Chinese or Korean BMI categories, not presented herein). Obesity subclasses were included after reviewing studies that stratified by obesity class. Tests for trend based on the Cochran-Armitage test in Stata were used to assess trends in this subgroup analysis. Of 5874 studies identified by the initial search, 302 were selected for full-text review; 261 of these were excluded, leaving 41 (Figure 1). These studies grouped women by prepregnancy BMI category, stratified by total gestational weight gain. One study28 did not meet inclusion criteria as published; however, prior collaboration had made data available in the required format. Of 41 identified studies, 18 were excluded because data could not be obtained in the required format. Of these 18 studies, authors of 15 were contacted and unable to reanalyze and authors of 3 were not contacted from the updated search because of insufficient time prior to publication (eAppendix 2 in the Supplement). Overall, 23 cohort studies17-24,28-42 were included, involving 1 309 136 women. Of these 23 studies, 7 were included without contacting the authors because data were in the required format. Of 16 authors contacted, 13 reanalyzed data and were included; 3 provided additional information, thereby avoiding reanalysis. Table 2 and Table 3 list characteristics of the studies (descriptive characteristics are shown in eTable 1 in the Supplement). Eighteen studies were retrospective, and 5 were prospective.20,29,32,33,42 Ten were from the United States,18-20,23,28,31,35,38,40,41 8 were from Asia (4 from China,21,29,32,36 2 from Korea,34,39 and 1 each from Taiwan24 and Japan22), and 5 were from Europe (1 each from Norway,33 Belgium,30 Italy,37 Denmark,42 and Sweden17). Sample sizes ranged from 1034 to 570 672 women. Underweight women composed 7% (n = 94 399); normal-weight women, 55% (n = 720 456); overweight women, 18% (n = 235 295); and obese women, 20% (n = 258 986). Gestational weight gain was below, within, or above guidelines in 23% (n = 300 723), 30% (n = 387 409), and 47% (n = 621 004), respectively. Figure 2 shows pooled ORs for primary and secondary outcomes. eFigure 1 in the Supplement shows pooled ORs for individual outcomes. eTable 2 in the Supplement reports event rates. eTable 3 and eFigure 2 in the Supplement report ARDs and P values. The ARDs are expressed as percentage difference per live birth. Across BMI categories, gestational weight gain below guidelines was associated with higher risk for SGA than gestational weight gain within guidelines (OR, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.44 to 1.64]; I2 = 82.8%; ARD, 5% [95% CI, 4% to 6%]). This association was greatest in lower prepregnancy BMI (underweight: OR, 1.89 [95% CI, 1.67 to 2.14]; ARD, 8% [95% CI, 6% to 11%]; normal weight: OR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.54 to 1.71]; ARD, 5% [95% CI, 4% to 6%]; overweight: OR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.24 to 1.44]; ARD, 3% [95% CI, 3% to 4%]; and obese: OR, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.06 to 1.45]; ARD, 2% [95% CI, 2% to 3%]). Compared with gestational weight gain within guidelines, gain above guidelines was associated with lower risk for SGA (OR, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.63 to 0.69]; I2 = 56%; ARD, −3% [95% CI, −4% to −2%]). The association was similar across BMI categories (underweight: OR, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.53 to 0.72]; ARD, −6% [95% CI, −8% to −3%]; normal weight: OR, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.62 to 0.68]; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −3% to−1%]; overweight: OR, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.59 to 0.71]; ARD, −3% [95% CI, −4% to −2%]; and obese: OR, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.65 to 0.80]; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −3% to −1%]). Compared with gestational weight gain within guidelines, weight gain below guidelines was associated with higher risk for preterm birth (OR, 1.70 [95% CI, 1.32 to 2.20]; I2 = 97.3%; ARD, 5% [95% CI, 3% to 8%]). This association was greatest with lower BMI (underweight: OR, 2.41 [95% CI, 1.01 to 5.73]; ARD, 8% [95% CI, 1% to 15%]; normal weight: OR, 1.96 [95% CI, 1.17 to 3.29]; ARD, 6% [95% CI, 0% to 11%]; overweight: OR, 1.55 [95% CI, 1.10 to 2.19]; ARD, 4% [95% CI, −1% to 9%]; and obese: OR, 1.20 [95% CI, 1.03 to 1.40]; ARD, 3% [95% CI, 1% to 5%]). Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with lower risk for preterm birth (OR, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.69 to 0.86]; I2 = 78.7%; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −2% to −1%]). This association was significant for normal-weight and overweight women (underweight: OR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.50 to 1.28]; ARD, −1% [95% CI, −3% to 0%]; normal weight: OR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.59 to 0.97]; ARD, −1% [95% CI, −2% to 0%]; overweight: OR, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.53 to 0.93]; ARD, −3% [95% CI, −5% to −1%]; and obese: OR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.62 to 0.93]; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −5% to 2%]). Gestational weight gain below guidelines was associated with lower risk of LGA than gestational weight gain within guidelines (OR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.55 to 0.64]; I2 = 78.9%; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −10% to −6%]). This was significant for underweight and normal-weight women (underweight: OR, 0.41 [95% CI, 0.34 to 0.50]; ARD, −3% [95% CI, −5% to −1%]; normal weight: OR, 0.58 [95% CI, 0.54-0.62]; ARD, −3% [95% CI, −4% to −2%]; overweight: OR, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.62 to 0.70]; ARD, −11% [95% CI, −33% to 10%]; and obese: OR, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.64 to 0.76]; ARD, 13% [95% CI, −34% to 60%]). Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with higher risk of LGA (OR, 1.85 [95% CI, 1.76 to 1.95]; I2 = 74.6%; ARD, 4% [95% CI, 2% to 5%]). The association increased as BMI decreased (underweight: OR, 2.17 [95% CI, 1.81 to 2.60]; ARD, 4% [95% CI, 4% to 5%]; normal weight: OR, 1.95 [95% CI, 1.83 to 2.08]; ARD, 6% [95% CI, 5% to 7%]; overweight: OR, 1.79 [95% CI, 1.61 to 1.98]; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −14% to 9%]; and obese: OR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.56 to 1.70]; ARD, 7% [95% CI, 5% to 8%]). Gestational weight gain below guidelines was associated with lower risk of macrosomia (OR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.52 to 0.68]; I2 = 66.3%; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −3% to −1%]). The association was strongest in underweight women (underweight: OR, 0.43 [95% CI, 0.27 to 0.69]; ARD, −1% [95% CI, −3% to 0%]; normal weight: OR, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.43 to 0.68]; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −5% to 1%]; overweight: OR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.60 to 0.89]; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −6% to 2%]; and obese: OR, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.59 to 0.82]; ARD, −3% [−4% to −2%]). Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with higher risk of macrosomia (OR, 1.95 [95% CI, 1.79 to 2.11]; I2 = 58.2%; ARD, 6% [95% CI, 4% to 9%]). This association was strongest in underweight women according to the ORs, and all associations were significant according to the ARDs (underweight: OR, 2.31 [95% CI, 1.62 to 3.29]; ARD, 3% [95% CI, 2% to 4%]; normal weight: OR, 2.01 [95% CI, 1.77 to 2.27]; ARD, 10% [95% CI, 5% to 15%]; overweight: OR, 1.90 [95% CI, 1.54 to 2.33]; ARD, 5% [95% CI, 1% to 10%]; and obese: OR, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.52 to 2.22]; ARD, 6% [95% CI, 1% to 12%]). Eight studies assessed cesarean delivery. Seven included emergency and elective deliveries,22,28,29,33,36,37,39 and 1 did not specify.24 One study28 included repeated cesarean delivery (total cesarean deliveries), 1 included primary cesarean delivery only,24 and 6 did not distinguish these. Gestational weight gain below guidelines was not significantly associated with cesarean delivery (OR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.96 to 1.02]; I2 = 62.6%; ARD, 0% [−2% to 1%]). Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with higher risk of cesarean delivery (OR, 1.30 [95 CI, 1.25 to 1.35]; I2 = 21.9%; ARD, 4% [95% CI, 3% to 6%]). The ARD was significant for underweight women only (underweight: OR, 1.45 [95% CI, 1.22 to 1.71]; ARD, 6% [95% CI, 1% to 12%]; normal weight: OR, 1.30 [95% CI, 1.24 to 1.36]; ARD, 0% [95% CI, −4% to 3%]; overweight: OR, 1.29 [95% CI, 1.21 to 1.39]; ARD, 1% [0% to 3%]; and obese: OR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.05 to 1.42]; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −5% to 1%]). Six studies assessed GDM, but they did not use consistent definitions and had different findings for gestational weight gain above guidelines and GDM risk. Black et al28 defined GDM by International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups criteria and included only women not treated for hyperglycemia (the center used different criteria in clinical practice and excluded those treated). They found no association between weight gain above guidelines and GDM in the underweight, normal-weight, and obese groups but reported lower risk in overweight women. Enomoto et al22 used International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups criteria, with higher risk in normal-weight women and lower risk in overweight women. Durst et al23 used Carpenter-Coustan criteria and found no association. Hung and Hsieh24 used Carpenter-Coustan and International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups criteria and found an association of gestational weight gain above guidelines with lower risk of GDM in overweight and obese women. Li et al36 included both impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes by WHO criteria, with weight gain above guidelines associated with lower risk of GDM in all groups except obese women. Shin and Song31 used self-reported GDM and found an association of gestational weight gain above guidelines with lower risk in all groups except underweight women. An intended meta-analysis of gestational weight gain and its relationship to GDM could not be completed because of inconsistent definitions and treatments. Obesity classes include the following: class 1, BMI of 30 to 34.9; class 2, BMI of 35 to 39.9; and class 3, BMI of 40 or higher. Obese studies generally included a subgroup-defined weight loss as well as gestational weight gain below, within, or above guidelines. Three studies assessed outcomes stratified by BMI classes 1 through 3.17,18,30 Another study35 investigated only superobese women (BMI ≥50) and was included in the obesity class 3 analysis. These 4 studies were included in the subgroup analysis only (not in the overall meta-analyses). Class 1 included 67% of women; class 2, 22%; and class 3, 11%. Weight loss and gestational weight gain below, within, or above recommendations occurred in 6%, 13%, 25%, and 57% of pregnancies, respectively. Figure 3 summarizes pooled ORs for primary (SGA and LGA) and secondary (macrosomia and cesarean delivery) outcomes. eFigure 3 in the Supplement shows pooled ORs for individual outcomes. eTable 4 in the Supplement reports ARDs and P values. Only 1 study35 assessed preterm birth and GDM in the obese subgroups, preventing meta-analysis. Kominiarek et al18 provided separate ORs for nulliparous and multiparous women (multiparous values used herein), whereas other studies combined women with different parity into 1 group. Weight loss and weight gain below guidelines were associated with higher SGA risk (weight loss: OR, 1.79 [95% CI, 1.56 to 2.05]; I2 = 0%; ARD, 3% [95% CI, 1% to 5%]; weight gain below guidelines: OR, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.14 to 1.41]; I2 = 20.7%; ARD, 1% [95% CI, 1% to 1%]). Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with lower SGA risk (OR, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.57 to 0.67]; I2 = 13.5%; ARD, −1% [−2% to 0%]). Weight gain in class 1 had the strongest association with lower SGA risk (lowest OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.72]; P for trend < .001). Weight loss and gestational weight gain below guidelines were associated with lower LGA risk (weight loss: OR, 0.58 [95% CI, 0.52 to 0.66]; I2 = 11.6%; ARD, −5% [95% CI, −7% to −3%]; weight gain below guidelines: OR, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.71 to 0.84]; I2 = 0%; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −3% to −1%]). Weight loss in class 3 had the strongest association with lower LGA risk (lowest OR, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.41 to 0.67]; P for trend < .001). Weight gain above guidelines was associated with higher LGA risk (OR, 1.79 [95% CI, 1.70 to 1.89]; I2 = 69.3%; ARD, 5% [95% CI, 5% to 6%]). LGA was most strongly associated with class 1 obesity compared with the other classes (highest OR, 1.87 [95% CI, 1.75 to 2.00]; P for trend < .001). Three studies assessed macrosomia, defined as birth weight greater than 4000 g in 1 study,30 greater than 4500 g in 1 study,18 and both greater than 4000 g and greater than 4500 g in 1 study.35 Meta-analysis used data for birth weight greater than 4000 g. Weight loss and gestational weight gain below guidelines were associated with lower macrosomia risk (weight loss: OR, 0.46 [95% CI, 0.36 to 0.58]; I2 = 34.0%; ARD, −5% [95% CI, −9% to −2%]; weight gain below guidelines: OR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.68 to 0.86]; I2 = 0%; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −3% to 0%]). Low weight gain in class 3 had the strongest association with lower macrosomia risk (lowest OR, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.49 to 0.85]; P for trend = .046). Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with higher risk of macrosomia (OR, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.46 to 1.75]; I2 = 66.9%; ARD, 3% [95% CI, 0% to 6%]). Four studies assessed cesarean delivery. They included emergency,30 emergency and elective,18,35 and undefined17 indications for cesarean delivery. Weight loss and gestational weight gain below guidelines were associated with lower risk of cesarean delivery (weight loss: OR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.72 to 0.85]; I2 = 34.3%; ARD, −4% [95% CI, −6% to −3%]; weight gain below guidelines: OR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.82 to 0.93]; I2 = 0%; ARD, −2% [95% CI, −3% to −1%]). Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with higher risk of cesarean delivery (OR, 1.21 [95% CI, 1.16 to 1.25]; I2 = 0%; ARD, 2% [95% CI, 0% to 3%]). Substantial heterogeneity (I2 > 50%) was present for gestational weight gain below and above guidelines for SGA, preterm birth, LGA, and macrosomia and for gestational weight gain above guidelines for cesarean delivery. When sufficient data were available, metaregression analysis was performed to investigate possible sources of heterogeneity: percentage of smokers during pregnancy, mean age, and percentage of nulliparous women (eTable 5 in the Supplement). The obese subgroups had insufficient studies to perform metaregression. Gestational weight gain above guidelines and LGA demonstrated a source for heterogeneity (P = .04); specifically, there was an association between the treatment effect and the covariate smoking (P = .02). For gestational weight gain below guidelines and preterm birth, mean maternal age was the only covariate associated with outcome, where the risk for preterm birth varied by maternal age due to the heterogeneity in maternal age in included studies (P = .03); however, the overall P value was not significant (P = .09). Heterogeneity was unexplained for remaining outcomes. There was no evidence of publication bias for SGA, LGA, macrosomia or cesarean delivery (eFigure 4 in the Supplement). Assessment for publication bias was not performed for preterm births (<5 studies). Participants were selected from maternity clinics or from large data sets (Table 4). Apart from 3 studies,19,23,32 inclusion and exclusion criteria were adequately described. Performance bias (a potential difference in the care provided between BMI groups) was difficult to assess. Very few studies provided information regarding diet and/or exercise advice given and whether this differed between groups. Overweight and obese women were possibly treated more intensively, which could introduce bias. Three studies demonstrated moderate bias risk19,21,31 and 20 demonstrated low bias risk.17,18,20,22-24,28-30,32-42 Reasons for moderate bias risk included self-reported final weight (detection bias), self-reported outcome measures (detection bias), failure to report all outcomes (report bias), and insufficient adjustment for confounding variables (confounding bias). Nineteen studies reported no conflict of interest. Quiz Ref IDIn this analysis of 1 309 136 pregnancies from diverse international cohorts, gestational weight gain below or above 2009 IOM guidelines among women across the BMI range was associated with greater risk for maternal and infant adverse outcomes. Underweight women composed 7%; normal-weight women, 55%; overweight women, 18%; and obese women, 20%. For gestational weight gain, 23% gained below and 47% gained above guidelines. Compared with recommended gestational weight gain, gain below guidelines was associated with 5% higher risk of both SGA and preterm birth and 2% lower risk of both LGA and macrosomia. Weight gain above guidelines was associated with 3% lower risk of SGA and 2% lower risk of preterm birth and 4%, 6%, and 4% higher risk of LGA, macrosomia, and cesarean delivery, respectively. Gestational weight gain below guidelines was associated with higher SGA risk, with greatest risk in underweight women, as shown previously.43,44 Obesity was associated with higher risk of SGA, with weight loss and gestational weight gain below guidelines increasing risks, similar to prior systematic reviews.26,45,46 Underweight status combined with gestational weight gain below recommendations as well as obese status combined with gestational weight loss present the highest risk groups for SGA, at 8% and 3%, respectively. Gestational weight gain below guidelines was associated with lower risks of LGA and macrosomia. This association was lowest in underweight women. Weight gain above guidelines was associated with higher risks of LGA and macrosomia, with ARDs of 4% and 6% greater risks, respectively. Underweight status was associated with the greatest risk. This is similar to the 2009 IOM report6 that stated, “the lower the prepregnancy BMI, the stronger the association between increased gestational weight gain and birthweight”; it may be related to higher absolute weight gain in underweight women.1 Animal studies suggest that baseline maternal BMI and gestational weight gain are associated with changes in the hormonal milieu, including insulin resistance.50 Similarly, excess weight gain in underweight women may be associated with greater changes in the hormonal milieu and placental function than in normal-weight or overweight women. Weight gain above guidelines was associated with increased risk of cesarean delivery across the BMI spectrum. Quiz Ref IDSimilarly, within the obese subgroups, weight loss was associated with a 5% lower risk for both LGA and macrosomia and 4% lower risk for cesarean delivery. Weight gain below guidelines was associated with 2% lower risk across all these outcomes. Class 3 obesity combined with weight loss was associated with the greatest LGA risk reduction. Gestational weight gain above guidelines was associated with increased LGA risk. Class 1 obesity was associated with the greatest risk for LGA, which may be partly due to higher absolute weight gain in less obese women.10 While other systematic reviews have assessed gestational weight gain below guidelines,26 to our knowledge, this is the first review exploring relationships between weight gain above guidelines and outcomes within obesity classes. While GDM has adverse maternal and infant outcomes51 and is related to maternal BMI and possibly to gestational weight gain, associations could not be assessed because of heterogeneity of diagnosis and treatment as well as the potential effect of GDM treatment on gestational weight gain. Prior systematic reviews have not demonstrated that healthy lifestyle and gestational weight gain reduced rates of GDM,14 even in high-risk populations.52 Consistent diagnostic criteria and reporting of gestational weight gain at GDM diagnosis are needed to study associations between gestational weight gain and GDM. Lifestyle interventions in pregnancy can help women attain recommended gestational weight gain.14 Optimal interventions and effects on outcomes are currently being studied in a large-scale international individual patient data meta-analysis.53 The WHO has prioritized achievement of ideal BMI prior to conception and prevention of excess gestational weight gain.54 Identification of women prior to conception and implementing healthy lifestyle strategies before and during pregnancy have yet to be integrated into routine health care,55 requiring research implementation. Strengths of this review are the inclusion of common maternal and infant risks associated with gestational weight gain below and above the 2009 IOM guidelines in women across the prepregnancy BMI spectrum and across international cohorts. Four databases were searched, a risk of bias appraisal was performed, and reanalyses were undertaken, allowing inclusion of data from more than 1.3 million pregnant women globally. Collaboration with other authors facilitated more homogeneous data, data integration, and meta-analysis. This study has limitations. It lacks studies from developing countries and excluded non-English-language articles. Fifteen of 31 authors contacted were unable to reanalyze data, so these studies were excluded from the meta-analysis. A meta-analysis could not be performed for GDM because of inconsistent primary data. Some outcomes were assessed in only 1 study, precluding meta-analysis. Inconsistent definitions of preterm birth, cesarean delivery, and macrosomia limited interpretation of findings. Study heterogeneity may have affected reliability of results, although the metaregression did not identify characteristics responsible for this heterogeneity. Studies published before 2009 IOM guidelines were included, and gestational weight gain targets before and after these guidelines may have differed. Preterm birth was not adjusted for gestational age, potentially resulting in less total gestational weight gain than would have been otherwise attained. Spontaneous and induced preterm birth were not clearly differentiated, and studies did not distinguish between emergency and elective or primary and repeated cesarean deliveries. These factors may limit interpretation and underscore the importance of improving outcome definition reporting. Event rates were not available for all studies, limiting interpretation of ARDs. Findings from this review are based on observational data and no causal links may be concluded. They may be applicable on a population level, but recommendations need to be individualized when applied clinically. Quiz Ref IDIn this systematic review and meta-analysis of more than 1 million pregnant women, 47% had gestational weight gain greater than IOM recommendations and 23% had gestational weight gain less than IOM recommendations. Gestational weight gain greater than or less than guideline recommendations, compared with gestational weight gain within recommended levels, was associated with higher risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Corresponding Author: Helena J. Teede, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, Monash University, 43-51 Kanooka Dr, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria 3168, Australia ([email protected]). Accepted for Publication: May 10, 2017. Author Contributions: Dr Goldstein and Mr Ranasinha had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Concept and design: Goldstein, Abell, Ranasinha, Misso, Teede. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Goldstein, Abell, Ranasinha, Boyle, Black, Li, Hu, Corrado, Rode, Y. J. Kim, Haugen, Song, M. H. Kim, Bogaerts, Devlieger, Chung, Teede. Drafting of the manuscript: Goldstein, Teede. Administrative, technical, or material support: Goldstein, Ranasinha, Teede. Conflict of Interest Disclosures: All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Dr Boyle reported serving on the Women’s Health Global Advisory Board for Pfizer. No other disclosures were reported. Funding/Support: Dr Goldstein is supported by a Research Training Program scholarship from the Department of Education and Training. Dr Abell is supported by a scholarship from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Drs Boyle and Teede are supported by fellowships from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Additional Contributions: Tiffany Moore Simas, MD (University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester), Sohyun Park, PhD (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, Georgia), and Michelle Kominiarek, MD (University of Illinois at Chicago), assisted in providing additional data.

2019-04-18T16:27:12Z

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2630599

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This paper proposes a modified Genetic Programming method for forecasting the mobile telecommunications subscribers’ population. The method constitutes an expansion of the hybrid Genetic Programming (hGP) method improved by the introduction of diffusion models for technological forecasting purposes in the initial population, such as the Logistic, Gompertz, and Bass, as well as the Bi-Logistic and LogInLog. In addition, the aforementioned functions and models expand the function set of hGP. The application of the method in combination with macroeconomic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product per Capita (GDPpC) and Consumer Prices Index (CPI) leads to the creation of forecasting models and scenarios for medium- and long-term level of predictability. The forecasting module of the program has also been improved with the multi-levelled use of the statistical indices as fitness functions and model selection indices. The implementation of the modified-hGP in the datasets of mobile subscribers in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries shows very satisfactory forecasting performance. Forecasting is an endogenous process intertwined with the evolution of science. Forecasting methodology is divided into two categories: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative methods employ the judgment of experts group to produce forecasts . These procedures are mainly applied without using historical data. Quantitative forecasting methods are used when historical data are available as well as the assumption that some of the past patterns will be repeated in the future . There is a variation of quantitative methods such as the time series forecasting which use past trend to forecast the future values of the variable and causal methods that, besides the past trend assumption, also examine the correlation of the variable with other indicators. The adoption of innovative technologies by a society such as the mobile telecommunications adoption has been discussed and some widely used forecasting models have been proposed. The diffusion processes as well as the produced models are described in the literature [3–8]. The most commonly used diffusion models are Gompertz, Logistic, and Bass which are dynamic models and follow a sigmoid curve against time. In order to follow the overall diffusion process of the mobile wireless penetration in time, we also employ the Bi-Logistic and LogInLog models which are described in the next section of this paper. The parameters of the models have been estimated by regression analysis with the Least Squares Method . In addition to time response, we investigate the relationship of the produced models with some macroeconomic indicators such as GDPpC and CPI. The core work is an expansion, modification, and implementation of the hybrid Genetic Programming (hGP) method which was presented in in terms of the insertion of new diffusion models as well as the macroeconomic indicators dependence. The term Genetic Programming (GP) method is a generalization of the Genetic Algorithm (GA) which represents a heuristic method that employs the Darwinian principle of natural selection in finding an appropriate solution of a well-defined problem and every produced solution corresponds to a new program [10, 11]. The basic structure of the paper follows. Firstly, a brief reference to the GP method and the diffusion models are presented. The hGP technique analysis follows as well as the description of the modifications and expansion on it. The next section analyses the results of the hGP implementation. After that, we discuss the forecasting results, and, finally, the conclusion is presented. GP was introduced by Koza in . In his work, the solution of a problem corresponds to a chromosome-program. The main difference between GP and GA is the representation of solutions. The tree-based representation is adopted by GP method, while a string of numbers represents the solution in GA methodology. The tree-based representation consists of nodes. The nodes represent functions or leaves which correspond to the terminals of the solution, such as variables or constants [12, 13]. The steps for the GP construction are generally the following. Firstly, GP produces an initial population of random programs-solutions composed of the functions and terminals of the problem. The next step iteratively performs the following substeps until a termination criterion will be satisfied: execution of each program and assignment of fitness value according to the precision of each solution . Then, GP generates a new generation of solutions by applying the operations of reproduction, crossover, and mutation. The selection of the candidate solution is performed by probability-based criteria on the fitness value. Reproduction refers to the copy of a solution to the new population. In crossover operation, the selected chromosomes are randomly combined per two and, recombining its chosen parts, generate new chromosomes (offspring) . The mutation changes a function in a chromosome structure with another function. The chromosomes of the new generation have better overall fitness value. The whole process is repeated until a termination criterion is satisfied [9, 11, 12]. Rogers considers that the adoption of an innovative product by a society follows the diffusion process and it has the sigmoid curve format. In this paper, besides the well-known Logistic, Gompertz, and Bass models, we investigate the Bi-Logistic [14, 15] and the LogInLog which is inspired by the solution of the Dodd model in [16, 17]. A diffusion process is described by dynamic or nondynamic models according to whether the level of saturation is changing over time (“carrying capacity”) or constant, respectively. The differential equation which describes the fundamental diffusion model follows the following formulation: where is the estimated diffusion saturation level for time and is the diffusion penetration and function is the diffusion coefficient. The Logistic model is the solution of the differential equation (1) which describes the diffusion process. The Logistic model is described by where is the diffusion of a new product in a society, at time . Also, is a time dependent function and are constant parameters. The constant is the upper limit of the function , known as the saturation level. When time , then . Also, a variation of (3) format is the following Gompertz II format with constant, in where, in both formats, is a time dependent function and are constant parameters . Bass proposes that the adoption of a new product by a market consists of two major categories: innovators and imitators. The overall diffusion process starts with the innovators adoption of the new product or the innovative technology and then the imitators follow. In (5), parameter corresponds to initial purchasers of the new technology product. Parameter is the sum of the innovators and imitators coefficients, and , respectively, . Parameter is , where is a constant and parameter is [6, 9]. In some cases, the overall life of a product, like mobile telecommunications, has many phases-generations. For this purpose we employ the Bi-Logistic curve which is the sum of two Logistic curves . So, where and . In the first generation, saturation is constant as well as of the second generation. Parameters , , , and are constants and and are the introduction time of the first and second generation, respectively [15, 17]. In this case, the saturation level is time dependent and it follows the Logistic diffusion model until the upper saturation of [15–17]. The whole diffusion process follows the Logistic model , as where and ; parameters are constants. The saturation level follows in where parameter is a constant. This model describes the diffusion process when an innovative technology has created generations which are not clearly separated . It should be noted that this model is derived by the generalization of the solution of the Dodd model in [16, 17]. The parameters of the model are optimized by the least square regression. The hybrid Genetic Programming method in fitting and forecasting was presented in a previous work . In this paper, the modified-hGP is presented extensively. The modified hGP implements a strategy which consists of three parts, the nonlinear regression analysis, the genetic algorithm part, and the final model selection. The flowchart of Figure 1 shows the parts of the modified hGP. Figure 1: Flowchart of the modified hGP. This stage of the method contains the preparation steps for the program execution process [11, 12, 18]. The first step is the function set definition. In the modified hGP, the set has two subsets for the arithmetic and mathematical functions, and , respectively, . So, , where and . It should be noted that division is zero protected for the denominator and is the natural logarithm. In the second step, the terminal set of the variables and constants sets is defined. The variables set and , where , GDPpC, and PCIn are the variables for time, GDP per Capita, and normalized CPI, respectively, and is the randomly generated constants with domain in . The next step is to define the fitness function for each solution. Various statistical indicators can be used for the fitness function during the evaluation process. Following the previous implementation of the hGP , two different fitness functions are used as follows. In (9), the sum is over the time period . Also, is the real data for time and is the model’s value . In this function, a weight is used, in order to give greater weight at the time interval near the last training data . Finally, the maximum number of generations is defined to end the execution of the GP. As mentioned before, the function set of the modified hGP is extended compared to hGP. Apart from the primary arithmetic functions set , a mathematical functions set has been inserted; . So, the modified hGP has simplified the chromosomes structure, Figures 2 and 3, while, at the same time, their mathematical efficiency has been improved. Figure 2: Representation of chromosomes in modified hGP as strings. Figure 3: Representation of chromosomes in modified hGP as parse trees. The expressions of the randomly created solutions combine the following primary block format, whereas each part is randomly chosen. Block: . The solutions of the initial population are the combination of random chosen functions, variables, constants, and primary blocks. Also, the optimized Logistic, Gompertz I, Gompertz II, Bass, Bi-Logistic, and LogInLog diffusion models are being inserted in the population. The parameters of the diffusion models are optimized by nonlinear regression analysis and the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm has been used . In modified hGP, each chromosome is a string of characters and corresponds to a program that is a possible solution to the problem . The inner representation of a string of characters is considered as a parse tree using the abstract syntax trees of Python Programming Language. For example, the chromosomes and are presented in Figures 2 and 3 as strings and parse trees, respectively . The parse tree consists of nodes. There are two types of nodes, the terminal and nonterminal nodes. The terminal nodes (leaves) of the tree contain the variables or the constants. In contrast, the nonterminal nodes of the tree consist of the modified-hGP functions . As stated above, the best solution is selected according to (9) for fitting and (10) for forecasting purposes. The evaluated solutions are inserted into a sorted Python’s list. The solutions that are not satisfying a precision limit criterion are removed. The remaining accepted solutions of the list are sorted according to their fitness value and they are candidates to become parents for the crossover operation or to be chosen in mutation. In Figure 4, the structure of the list is depicted. It should be noted that the problem of the solutions trapping into local optimum is solved keeping one of all the individuals having the same fitness value in the list. Figure 4: Representation of the solutions’ sorted list in the selection operation of the modified-hGP. In tournament selection, a number of solutions from the sorted solutions’ list are selected at random and, then, the best is chosen for the crossover or mutation operation. In the crossover operation, two parents are randomly selected, according to the tournament selection process, from the sorted by the best fitness value solutions’ list. In each parent solution, a crossover point is randomly chosen. The substring of each parent beginning at the crossover point is interchanged between two parents’ solutions and the children (offspring) are generated. The crossover operation is presented in Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5: Crossover of the modified-hybrid Genetic Programming method (string representation). Figure 6: Crossover of the modified-hybrid Genetic Programming method (parse tree representation). In the mutation process, a solution is chosen by tournament selection from the tournament list. Once again, a string’s point, which depicts a function, is randomly chosen. The mutation replaces the chosen function from the , set, with a new random function in the solution. The mutation operation is presented in Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7: Mutation of the modified-hybrid Genetic Programming method (string representation). Figure 8: Mutation of the modified-hybrid Genetic Programming method (parse tree representation). The fitness function of each individual in the modified hGP method is the Sum of Squared Error (SSE) for the fitting process, as in (9), and the Weighted Sum of Squared Error (wSSE), as (10) presents. The statistical indices in the modified hGP are the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), the Mean Square Error (MSE), the Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). In (15), , , and correspond to Fitness Function Value (wSSE for forecasting), parameters of the model, and the number of data points, respectively. It should be noted that in the final selection process of the appropriate forecasting model we use the half of dataset before the last observed data point. In this section, the macroeconomic indicators of Gross Domestic Product per Capita (GDPpC) and normalized Consumer Prices Index (CPI) will be presented. The GDPpC is a macroeconomic index for the productivity of a country and it could not be considered as index of personal income. According to , the basic index of the value of the goods and services produced by a country is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDPpC indicates the living standards of the economy in a country. In general, CPI indicates a weighted average of basic consumer goods prices. Moreover, in this study, the CPI relies on the individual consumption expenditure of households, less energy, and food consumption . It should be noted that CPI is normalized on the CPI of the year 2005. In Figure 9, the yearly GDPpC and CPI for the time period between the years 1997 and 2009 are presented. Figure 9: Yearly growth of the GDPpC (in 100000$) and CPI (normalized on the year 2005). It should be noted that, after the year 2008 (“economic crisis year”), the OECD’s GDPpC is decreased for 2009, but, on the other hand, the CPI has bigger tolerance. According to , the first mobile telecommunications were introduced with analogue networks in the early 1980s, for voice transmission. The second generation (2G) mobile network (Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM) followed in the early 1990s and digital mobile networks were born with the first SMS service. In the late 1990s, enhanced digital generation (2.5G) was introduced for data services. The data services were changed from circuit switched transport (GSM) to packet data transport with General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and, later, data rates grew with enhanced digital technologies such as Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). Also, in 2003, the next generation (3G) of mobile networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), emerged with the first video-calls and, later, (around 2006) was upgraded to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) with data rates of 14 Mbps in the downlink and 5.76 Mbps in the uplink. Then, HSPA was upgraded to HSPA+ with theoretically 168 Mbps and 22 Mbps for downlink and uplink, respectively, and data services as videos, mobile email, and music. In 2009, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) was launched for commercial usage, while a new generation (4G) of technology is coming . Figure 10 depicts the evolution of mobile technologies generations in parallel with the overall OECD mobile subscribers, contract, prepay, and 3G subscribers, from the year 1997 to 2009 . Figure 10: OECD mobile subscribers (in billions). It should be noted that the number of the mobile subscribers is growing through the technology generations evolution. The results will be analysed in order to provide a satisfactory prediction for mobile subscribers which consist of mobile contract subscribers and mobile prepay subscribers in OECD countries, as well as mobile 3G subscribers. This study investigates the implementation of modified hGP on four different datasets. The datasets present the total yearly number of OECD mobile subscribers, the yearly number of mobile contract subscribers, the yearly number of mobile prepay subscribers, and finally the yearly number of mobile 3G subscribers. The observation period begins from the year 1997 to 2009, which is comprised of 13 data points. Table 1 contains the initialization parameters for the execution of the modified-hGP concerning the data sets in OECD countries. Table 1: Initialization parameters of the modified-hGP. The fitting performance of the first modified-hGP model for the total number of OECD subscribers, according to its fitness value (SSE), is presented in Figure 11. Also, Figure 12 presents the errors of the models in time (residuals). The relative statistical indices SSE, MAPE, MSE, RMSE, and MAE of the modified-hGP models are presented in Table 2. Table 2: Statistical indices in fitting process of the modified-hGP model for the total number of OECD subscribers. Figure 11: The fitting performance of the modified-hGP model for the total number of OECD subscribers. Figure 12: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in fitting of the total number of OECD subscribers. As one can see, this method combines different variables like GDPpC or CPI with the independent variable of time. In Table 2, the modified-hGP method achieves excellent statistical performance, showing an SSE value of . The fitting performance and the residuals for the remaining data sets are presented in Figures 13 and 14 for contract subscribers, Figures 14 and 15 for prepay subscribers, and Figures 16 and 17 for 3G users, respectively. The relative statistical indices SSE, MAPE, MSE, RMSE, and MAE of the produced modified-hGP models are presented in Table 3 for contract, Table 4 for prepay, and Table 5 for 3G subscribers. Table 3: Statistical indices in fitting process of the modified-hGP model for the OECD mobile contract subscribers. Table 4: Statistical indices in fitting process of the modified-hGP model for the OECD mobile prepay subscribers. Table 5: Statistical indices in fitting process of the modified-hGP model for the OECD 3G mobile subscribers. Figure 13: The fitting performance of the modified-hGP model for the OECD mobile contract subscribers. Figure 14: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in fitting for the OECD mobile contract subscribers. Figure 15: The fitting performance of the modified-hGP model for the OECD mobile prepay subscribers. Figure 16: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in fitting for the OECD mobile prepay subscribers. Figure 17: The fitting performance of the modified-hGP model for the OECD 3G mobile subscribers. It should be noted that this method combines different variables like GDPpC or CPI with the independent variable of time and a variation of diffusion models’ blocks. The performance of the model corresponds to a good enough behavior in fitting process. The error performance in fitting is depicted in Figure 14. Finally, the modified-hGP model yields a satisfactory fitting performance. The error performance in fitting is depicted in Figure 18. Figure 18: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in fitting for the OECD 3G mobile subscribers. The forecasting results of the generated models by the modified-hGP method are presented in this section, as well as the combined diffusion models with the modified-hGP models. As mentioned before, the statistic indicator wSSE has been used for the forecasting process. The initialization parameters for the execution of hGP are presented in Table 6, for the forecasting process. The forecasting method for a 2-year prediction uses 11 data points as training set of the GP method, except for the 3G training set which consists of 7 points. The forecasting performance of the modified-hGP models concerning total OECD mobile subscribers, contract, prepay, and 3G is depicted in Figures 19, 22, 24, and 25, respectively. In every graph, the forecast period window is presented in the blue rectangle. Table 6: Initialization parameters of modified-hGP. Figure 19: The forecasting performance of modified-hGP (forecast period—2 years ahead). The forecasting performance of the optimized diffusion models, according to their fitness value (wSSE) for the 11 training points, is presented in Figure 20. Also, the relative statistical indices, concerning the whole dataset, of the produced forecasting modified-hGP and diffusion models are presented in Table 7. Table 7: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and diffusion models for the total number of OECD subscribers. Figure 20: The forecasting performance of the diffusion models (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the total number of OECD subscribers. Considering Table 7, it can be concluded that the modified-hGP method achieves good statistical indices combining some optimized diffusion models. We can see that the first hGP model achieves a wSSE value of 0.000226, while the best of diffusion models, Bi-Logistic, has a similar 0.000281. It should be noted that modified-hGP model residuals against time (data points), especially for the 2 last data points (the forecast period), show the error response of the GP model (see Figure 21). Figure 21: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in forecasting (2 years window period) of the total number of OECD subscribers. Figure 22: The forecasting performance of the modified-hGP (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile contract subscribers. The forecasting performance of the diffusion models is presented in Figure 23. Also, the statistical indices of the produced forecasting modified-hGP and diffusion models are presented in Table 8. Table 8: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and diffusion models for the number of OECD mobile contract subscribers. Figure 23: The forecasting performance of the diffusion models (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile contract subscribers. Figure 24: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in forecasting (2 years window period) of the number of OECD mobile contract subscribers. Figure 25: The forecasting performance of the modified-hGP (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile contract subscribers. From Table 8, one can conclude that the modified-hGP method as well as diffusion models achieves good statistical indices. We can see that the hGP model achieves a wSSE value of and the Bi-Logistic 0.000116. Once again, the modified-hGP model residuals against time (data points), especially for the 2 last data points (the forecast period), show the error response of the GP model (see Figure 24). The forecasting performance of the diffusion models is presented in Figure 26. Also, the statistical indices of the produced forecasting modified-hGP and diffusion models are presented in Table 9. Table 9: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and diffusion models for the number of OECD mobile prepay subscribers. Figure 26: The forecasting performance of the diffusion models (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile prepay subscribers. Table 9 shows that the modified-hGP method achieves a satisfactory performance. The modified-hGP model achieves a wSSE value of 0.000725 and the Bi-Logistic 0.000938. Once again, the modified-hGP model residuals against time (data points), especially for the 2 last data points (the forecast period), show the error response of the modified-hGP model, as Figure 27 depicts. Figure 27: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in forecasting (2 years window period) of the number of OECD mobile prepay subscribers. Figure 28: The forecasting performance of the modified-hGP (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile 3G subscribers. The forecasting performance of the diffusion models is presented in Figure 29. Also, the statistical indices of the produced forecasting modified-hGP and diffusion models are presented in Table 10. Table 10: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and diffusion models for the number of OECD mobile 3G subscribers. Figure 29: The forecasting performance of the diffusion models (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile 3G subscribers. Table 10 shows that the modified-hGP method achieves a good performance. The modified-hGP model achieves a wSSE value of similar to the Logistic and LogInLog. The MAPE indicator has the specific performance cause of the initial error at the first data point. As Figure 30 depicts, the modified-hGP model residuals against time (data points), especially for the 2 last data points (the forecast period), show the error response of the modified-hGP model. Figure 30: Residuals of the modified-hGP model in forecasting (2 years window period) of the number of OECD mobile 3G subscribers. The forecasting results of the generated models by the modified-hGP method are compared with those of the ARIMA method derived. As mentioned before, the statistic indicator wSSE has been used for the forecasting process. The operator stands for the order of the autoregressive part and operator for the degree of the derivative of part and the is order of the moving average part of (16). The are the parameters of the autoregressive part of the model, the are the parameters of the moving average part, and are the errors . The ARIMA models that are derived by the implementation of the “Gretl, Gnu Regression, Econometrics and Time-series Library” for the aforementioned datasets are depicted below. The forecasting performance of the same modified-hGP models and ARIMA models concerning total OECD mobile subscribers, contract, prepay, and 3G, is depicted in Figures 31, 32, 33, and 34, respectively. In every graph, the forecast period window is presented in the blue rectangle. In Tables 11, 12, 13, and 14, the comparison results of the statistical indices MAPE, MSE, RMSE, and MAE for the two predicted points are presented. Table 11: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and ARIMA model for the total number of OECD subscribers. Table 12: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and ARIMA model for the total number of OECD contract mobile subscribers. Table 13: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and ARIMA model for the total number of OECD prepay mobile subscribers. Table 14: Statistical indices in forecasting process of the modified-hGP and ARIMA model for the total number of OECD 3G mobile subscribers. Figure 31: Comparison of the forecasting performances of modified-hGP with ARIMA model (forecast period—2 years ahead). Figure 32: Comparison of the forecasting performances of modified-hGP with ARIMA model (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile contract subscribers. Figure 33: Comparison of the forecasting performances of modified-hGP with ARIMA model (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD mobile prepay subscribers. Figure 34: Comparison of the forecasting performances of modified-hGP with ARIMA model (forecast window—2 years ahead) for the number of OECD 3G mobile subscribers. Considering Table 11, it can be concluded that the modified-hGP method achieves better forecasting performance than ARIMA model. From Table 12, one realizes that the hGP method presents better performance than ARIMA model. Also, in Tables 13 and 14, the modified-hGP method achieves better forecasting statistics than ARIMA model. It could be concluded that the overall performance of the modified-hGP achieves better statistic indices than ARIMA model for the predicted data points. The proposed method has been tested for the stability and the robustness. The program was executed 20 times in the same dataset of the mobile subscribers. The mean gap between the best and worst solutions was decreasing as the generation was increasing. Also, the curve of the total average of fitness value per generation was decreasing. It should be noted that in Table 15 the program parameters for the testing process are presented. In Figure 35, the mean value for the fitness value for the best and worst solutions (mean gap) per generation of the testing modified-hGP and the average fitness value per generation for the program executions are presented. Table 15: The hGP parameters for the testing process. Figure 35: Testing the robustness of the forecasting modified-hGP. The difference between the worst and the best solutions is decreasing. In particular, after the 25th generation, the indices above are converging. The mean gap of wSSE for the worst-best solution begins from value 0.004146752 and ends up to 0.000165101. The introduction of GDPpC and CPI outside the time variable leads to the creation of causal forecasting models. This method provides a scenario based approach to forecasting. In order to study the future of mobile subscription in OECD countries, three scenarios are presented, according the GDPpC and CPI growth. The pessimistic one concerns a continuing crisis scenario, so that the GDPpC and CPI growth rates are not increased. The second is a moderate growth scenario and the last one is the optimistic scenario, with GDPpC and CPI getting increased. A variation of models is generated by the implementation of the modified-hGP method. According to Bayesian’s criterion as well as the wSSE criterion, two models which combine all the variables, GDPpC, CPI, and time, are chosen. Figures 36, 37, and 38 depict the pessimistic, moderate, and optimistic scenario, respectively. Figure 36: The forecasting performance (5 years ahead) of modified-hGP models—the pessimistic scenario. Figure 37: The forecasting performance (5 years ahead) of modified-hGP models—the moderate scenario. Figure 38: The forecasting performance (5 years ahead) of modified-hGP models—the optimistic scenario. In Table 16, the selected models and their statistics are presented. Table 16: Models’ expression and statistical indices of two modified-hGP models in forecasting the total number of OECD subscribers. The BIC depends on the number of the parameters. The generated models with one variable, like time dependent models, in many cases, have better BIC performance, but not always better forecasting performance. In contrary, multivariable models, with good enough BIC, yield a good enough forecasting performance. In the pessimistic scenario, the first model (most likely) achieves 1.538472 billion of OECD mobile subscribers, in the year 2014. The second has a total number of 1.415613 billion subscribers. It should be noted that the GDPpC and CPI growths are unchanged. In the moderate scenario (the most likely scenario), the first model achieves 1.8 billion of OECD mobile subscribers, in the year 2014. The second has a total number of 1.58 billion subscribers. It should be noted that the average GDPpC rate is 2.5% and average CPI rate growth 1.7%. In the optimistic scenario, the first model achieves 1.948 billion of OECD mobile subscribers, in the year 2014. The second has a total number of 1.686 billion subscribers. It should be noted that the average GDPpC rate is about 4.4% and average CPI rate growth 2.2%. This paper is a modification of our previous work where the dataset was bigger, but in different area of interest. In this paper, an improved-hGP method was presented. The improved program achieved interesting forecasting models with more variables than one. This GP method was implemented in dataset concerning the mobile subscribers of the OECD countries. The forecasting performance of the modified-hGP as well as the diffusion and ARIMA models was presented and the method presented satisfactory statistical indices. The proposed method differs from the hGP in some points. Firstly, the diffusion models’ set is extended with Bi-Logistic and LogInLog except for Logistic, Gompertz, and Bass so that the forecast horizon is improved, for long-term forecasting. Also, the functions’ set of the method is extended by the insertion of new functions and function blocks. According to this technique, chromosomes with complicated syntax expressions can be presented with short length expression stings. The tournament selection is implemented for the crossover and mutation operations in order to maximize the algorithm’s efficiency. Finally, a Bayesian inspired criterion has been implemented which, in combination with wSSE, improves the final selection of the forecasting models. In general, the method could be considered as a forecasting tool that produces time dependent models and causal models for long-term forecasting with more variables than one. It should be noted that this method is compared with ARIMA model and achieved satisfactory performance. Also, the robustness of the proposed method has been analyzed. The implementation of the method is going to be continued on more datasets and it will be compared with other prediction methods in future work. The authors wish to express their acknowledgments to Professor Imed Kacem, University of Lorraine, France, for his constructive comments and suggestions, which helped to improve the quality of this paper.

2019-04-21T00:22:52Z

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aor/2014/568478/

In-vivo images including three-dimensional or surface orientation information may be captured and viewed An in-vivo site is illuminated by a plurality of sources, and the resulting reflected images may be used to provide three-dimensional or surface orientation information on the in-vivo site. The system may include a swallowable capsule. In one embodiment, a method for presenting images includes: accepting a series of images from an in-vivo imager, the series of images including surface orientation information; and outputting graphics images displaying such images to a user such that the user may perceive surface orientation aspects of the images. The in-vivo imager may be contained in a capsule. For each image the surface orientation information may be recorded by at least a plurality of sub-images, each sub-image including an image of a site using a different lighting perspective. FIG. 6 depicts a portion of a filter used with an embodiment of the present invention. Reference is made to FIG. 1, which depicts an in-vivo image capture device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, the in-vivo image capture device is a capsule 1 which comprises a plurality of illumination sources 12 and 12′, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), for illuminating the body lumen, and an imager 14, such as a CMOS imager, for obtaining images of an in-vivo site 100. In an embodiment where the image capture device is a capsule 1 which moves through the GI tract, the view of the in-vivo site 100 captured changes with the movement of the image capture device. Preferably, periodically, a representation of a view of the site 100 is captured including stereoscopic, three-dimensional, surface orientation or image depth information. The illumination sources 12 and 12′ and the imager 14 are preferably positioned behind an optical window 8. An optical system, including, for example, lenses or mirrors (not shown), or including optical window 8, may aid in focusing reflected electromagnetic energy onto the imager. A control unit 5 is connected to each of the illumination sources 12 and 12′ and to imager 14, to synchronize the preferably non-overlapping periodic illumination of the in-vivo site by each of illumination sources 12 and 12′ with the capturing of images by imager 14. The capsule preferably includes a power source 16, such as a battery, which provides power to elements of the capsule 1, and a transmitter and antenna 18 for transmitting images obtained by imager 14 and possibly other information to a receiving device (FIG. 2) via a wireless link. The control unit 5 may be any sort of device or controller enabling the control of components. For example, a microchip, a microcontroller, or a device acting on remote commands may be used. While in an exemplary embodiment, the illumination produced by the illumination sources 12 and 12′ is substantially white light, in alternate embodiments different illumination may be produced. For example, infra-red, red, blue or green light may be produced. Furthermore, while in one embodiment illumination sources 12 and 12′ produce the same spectrum of illumination, in alternate embodiments each may produce different spectra. Each of illumination sources 12 and 12′ may be, for example, individual sources, such as lamps or LEDs, may be sets of sources, such as certain LEDs in a ring of LEDs, or may be overlapping sets of sources. Preferably, the capsule 1 is swallowed by a patient and traverses the patient's GI tract. Preferably, the capsule 1 is a swallowable capsule capturing images, but may be another sort of device and may collect information in addition to image information. For example, system and method according to an embodiment of the present invention may employ a device implanted within a patient's abdomen. Furthermore, in an embodiment including a capsule different configurations of components and systems may be included the capsule. For example, the control unit may be incorporated in the transmitter, and an imager other than a CMOS imager may be used. In an exemplary embodiment, while the capsule 1 traverses a patient's GI tract, the capsule 1 transmits image and possibly other data to components located outside the patient's body which receive and process the data. Preferably, two images using different illumination sources are captured 20 milliseconds apart, stored in the capsule 1, and transmitted as one burst of information; one second later another two images are captured. Other time differentials may be used. The two images may be transmitted as two separate images or, alternately, processed and interlaced or combined into one image before transmission. The images may be combined by interleaving by bit or by pixel before transmission, or otherwise interleaved or combined. Alternately, the images may be multiplexed through known methods. In alternate embodiments, other rates of imaging and other timing schemes may be used. Since the capsule 1 moves through the GI tract (with possibly stationary periods), typically each image frame is different; thus successive images of the in-vivo site 100 differ. Reference is made to FIG. 2, which depicts a schematic diagram of an in-vivo imaging system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Located outside the patient's body in one or more locations are an image receiver 20, for receiving image information from an image capture device, an image receiver storage unit 22, for storing image data at the image receiver 20, a data processor 24 for processing image data, a data processor storage unit 26, for storing image data used by the data processor 24, and an image monitor 28, for displaying, inter alia, the images transmitted by the capsule 1 and recorded by the image receiver 20. The image receiver 20 preferably includes an antenna or antenna array 15. Preferably, the image receiver 20 and image receiver storage unit 22 are small and portable, and are worn on the patient's body during recording of the images. Preferably, the data processor 24, data processor storage unit 26 and monitor 28 are part of a personal computer or workstation which includes standard components such as processor 24, a memory, a disk drive, and input-output devices, although alternate configurations are possible. Other systems for capturing, processing and recording image and other data from the in-vivo image capture device according to embodiments of the invention may be used. For example, an in-vivo image capture device may be attached by a wire to a recording device. Preferably, for each view or site, information is gathered which includes a plurality of sub-images, each sub-image including an image of a site using a different lighting perspective. Referring to FIG. 1, in-vivo site 100 includes irregularities 110 and may include pathologies, such as polyp 120. Irregularities 110 and polyp 120 have three-dimensional characteristics. During operation, electromagnetic radiation from the illumination source 12, such as visible light rays, illuminates the in-vivo site 100 during a first period at a first angle. The imager 14 is synchronized to obtain an image of the in-vivo site during the period of illumination by illumination source 12. Preferably, the illumination sources 12 and 12′ and the imager 14 are under the control of control unit 5. The image obtained by imager 14 depicts the in-vivo site 100 as illuminated from the first angle, including shadows. The image captured by imager 14 is transmitted by way of the transmitter and antenna 18 to the receiver 20. Electromagnetic radiation from the illumination source 12′ illuminates the in-vivo site 100 during a second period, preferably not overlapping with the first period, at a second angle. Since the illumination sources 12′ and 12 are preferably spaced from one another and separated by a certain distance the first angle is different from the second angle and the orientation of the illumination beams differs. In an exemplary embodiment, the illumination sources are 1.5 to 3 millimeters apart, in another embodiment the illumination sources are approximately 1 centimeter apart; in alternate embodiments other distances may be used. In general, the greater the distance, the more three dimensional or surface orientation information captured. When used herein, that the illumination sources are spaced from one another indicates that the sources of the illumination at the point the illumination is projected from the device are spaced from one another. The imager 14 is synchronized to obtain an image of the in-vivo site during the second period of illumination. The image obtained by imager 14 depicts the in-vivo site 100 as illuminated from the second angle, including shadows. In one embodiment, the illumination of illumination source 12 and illumination source 12′ is sequential, and occurs with a brief separation of time, in order that the view captured by imager 14 does not change significantly in between the capture of the two images. Preferably, there is a separation of approximately 10 to 20 milliseconds between the capture of the two images. In alternate embodiments, the illumination periods of illumination sources 12 and 12′ may overlap. Data representing the images captured by imager 14 are transmitted by way of the transmitter and antenna 18 to image receiver 20 using, for example, electromagnetic radio waves. For each view of an in-vivo site a set of images (where the set may include only one image) are captured and transmitted. In one embodiment the set of images includes multiple images, each based on illumination from one of multiple illumination sources, are captured and transmitted. In other embodiments, the set of images may include only one image. In one embodiment, each of illumination source 12 and 12′ are individual electromagnetic radiation sources; in further embodiments, each of illumination source 12 and 12′ may include multiple electromagnetic radiation sources; for example, multiple lamps. For example, each of illumination source 12 and 12′ may comprise half of a ring of illumination sources. In further embodiments, more than two illumination sources may be used, and in addition more than two views per in-vivo site may be generated. In certain embodiments, illumination sources 12 and 12′ may be positions close together, but may project electromagnetic energy in different angles. In alternate embodiments other devices for illumination may be used; for example, other types of lamps, fiber optic cables, or individual illumination devices capable of altering the direction of illumination. Image receiver 20 transfers the image data to image receiver storage unit 22. After a certain period of time of data collection, the image data stored in storage unit 22 is sent to data processor 24 or data processor storage unit 26. For example, the image receiver storage unit 22 may be taken off the patient's body and connected, via a standard data link, e.g. a serial or parallel interface of known construction, to the personal computer or workstation which includes the data processor 24 and data processor storage unit 26. The image data is then transferred from the image receiver storage unit 22 to the data processor storage unit 26. Data processor 24 analyzes the data and provides the analyzed data to the image monitor 28, where a health professional views, for example, the image data and possibly other information. In alternate embodiments, the image data need not be stored, but may be transferred directly to a data processor, or may be displayed immediately. The image data collected and stored may be stored indefinitely, transferred to other locations, or manipulated or analyzed. A health professional may use the images to diagnose pathological conditions of the GI tract, and, in addition, the system may provide information about the location of these pathologies. While, using a system where the data processor storage unit 26 first collects data and then transfers data to the data processor 24, the image data is not viewed in real time, other configurations allow for real time viewing. The image monitor 28 presents the image data, preferably in the form of still and moving pictures, and in addition may present other information. In an exemplary embodiment, the various categories of information are displayed in windows. Multiple monitors may be used to display image and other data. Preferably, the image data recorded and transmitted by the capsule 40 is digital color image data, although in alternate embodiments other image formats may be used. In an exemplary embodiment, each frame of image data includes 256 rows of 256 pixels each, each pixel including data for color and brightness, according to known methods. For example, in each pixel, color may be represented by a mosaic of four sub-pixels, each sub-pixel corresponding to primaries such as red, green, or blue (where one primary is represented twice). The brightness of the overall pixel is recorded by a one byte (i.e., 0-255) brightness value. Preferably, images are stored sequentially in data processor storage unit 26. The stored data is comprised of one or more pixel properties, including color and brightness. In alternate embodiments, the data processor 24 or another data processing unit may process the image data to create from each image pair a two-dimensional or stereoscopic image portraying the three-dimensional and surface orientation information. The data processor may, for example, subtract aspects one image from another image to highlight differences between the images; other types of processing may be performed. The user may view the resulting images as two-dimensional images, or may view the images as stereoscopic or three-dimensional images. For example, known methods may be used, such as switched glasses, polarized glasses, or colored glasses, or any other suitable manner of delivering distinct images to the left eye and right eye of a viewer. Using switched glasses, a data processor controls which lens is opaque and which is clear at different times, allowing image data from one screen to be sent to different eyes. Using polarized or colored glasses, different image data may be sent to each eye. In some embodiments, data processor 24 may process the image using, for example, known shape from shadow methods such as that described in 3-D Stereo Using Photeinetic Ratios, Lawrence B. Wolff and Elli Angelopoulou, SPIE Vol. 2065 pp. 194-209. In such embodiments, data processor 24 compares the shadows depicted in each image pair to generate data surface orientation of the in-vivo site 100. The data processor 24 may process the images according to other methods. Referring to FIG. 3, in step 300, an imaging device illuminates a site to be imaged from a first perspective. Preferably, the imaging device is a swallowable capsule; in alternate embodiments other imaging devices, such as endoscopes, may be used. In step 310, an image is captured by the imaging device while the site is being illuminated from the first perspective. In step 320, an imaging device illuminates a site to be imaged from a second perspective. Preferably, the illumination from the first and second perspective is provided by two illumination devices separated spatially. In alternate embodiments other methods of illumination may be used; for example, fiber optic cables, illumination devices which are co-located but which project illumination at different angles, or individual illumination devices capable of altering the direction of illumination. In step 330, an image is captured by the imaging device while the site is being illuminated from the second perspective. In alternate embodiments more than two images may be captured for each site. In step 340, the images are transferred from the image capture device. Preferably the images are transmitted after each set corresponding to a view of an in-vivo site are captured. In alternate embodiments, each image may be transferred after each is captured, or in other manners. In step 350, the image data may be viewed by a user in a manner allowing the user to see the three-dimensional and surface orientation aspects of the in-vivo site. Reference is made to FIG. 4, which depicts an in-vivo image capture device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The capsule 1 functions in a similar manner to that depicted in FIG. 1, and includes a plurality of illumination sources 12 and 12′, an imager 14, and an optical window 8. The capsule includes a control unit 5, a power source 16, and a transmitter and antenna 18. Each of illumination source 12 and illumination source 12′ generate electromagnetic radiation of different wavelengths. The imager 14 is fitted with a filter such as a mosaic filter 122 divided into alternating segments that are sensitive to the designated bandwidths of the electromagnetic spectrum generated by the each of illumination source 12 and illumination source 12′. Each alternating segment of the mosaic filter 122 permits electromagnetic energy to reach the imager 14 only in the designated bandwidth of the electromagnetic spectrum for which it is sensitive. Each of illumination source 12 and illumination source 12′ is operated simultaneously. Each image obtained by the imager 14 is composed of a plurality of segments, each segment including information from either illumination source 12 or illumination source 12′. One image containing three dimensional or surface orientation information is transmitted per view, rather than multiple images. In alternate embodiments other types of filters may be used, and the mosaic filter shown may be of a different configuration. For example, a mosaic filter with different colors or a different pattern may be used. For example, illumination source 12 may emit red light and illumination source 12′ may emit green light. In such an embodiment, the filter 22 on the imager 14 is sensitive in alternating segments to red and green light. The segments on the mosaic filter that are sensitive to red will permit red light emitted by the red illumination source during its period of illumination and reflected by the in-vivo site 100 to reach the imager. Likewise, the segments on the imager's mosaic filter that are sensitive to green will permit green light emitted by the green illumination source during its period of illumination and reflected by the in-vivo site 100 to reach the imager. The images obtained by the imager during the respective periods of illumination may be processed (for example, by data processor 24) and displayed to the user in various manners. For example, the user may view three-dimensional images using red-green glasses. In alternate embodiments, the multiple perspective image data in the image may be used to create three-dimensional images or two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional images, such as those as described above. In further embodiments, information on surface orientation or three-dimensional aspects may be presented to the user in other manners, for example in textual form or in graph form. For example, a graph may be created which presents the user with a depiction of the depth (positive or negative, relative to the surface of the in-vivo site 100) at various points. Such indication may be numerical, for example, a −10 to 10 scale depicting indentation or protrusion at various points, or color, with each of various colors depicting indentation or protrusion. In alternate embodiments, a view of the in-vivo site 100 may be depicted, labeled at various points with depth data (e.g., numbers on a −10 to 10 scale depicting indentation or protrusion data). Further embodiments may describe the orientation of a view or various sections of a view as categories such as, for example, concave, convex, smooth or rough according to pre-defined criteria. Such data may be generated from, for example, known shape from shadow algorithms. Reference is made to FIG. 5, which depicts an in-vivo image capture device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The capsule 1 functions in a similar manner to that depicted in FIG. 1, and includes a plurality of illumination sources 12 and 12′, an imager 14, and an optical window 8. The capsule includes a control unit 5, a power source 16, and a transmitter and antenna 18. Preferably, each of illumination source 12 and illumination source 12′ generate electromagnetic radiation of the same wavelength. Capsule 1 includes additional source 13, providing marker illumination from a position and angle substantially similar to that of illumination source 12; in effect additional source 13 adds marker illumination to illumination source 12. Rays 200 represent electromagnetic radiation produced by illumination source 12, rays 210 represent electromagnetic radiation produced by illumination source 12′, and rays 220 represent electromagnetic radiation produced by source 13. Preferably, rays 220 are projected onto the in-vivo site 100 at substantially the same angle and from substantially the same position as rays 200. In one embodiment, illumination sources 12, 12′ and 13 are operated simultaneously and one image is captured and transmitted. The image may be separated into different views, providing three dimensional and surface orientation information. The imager 14 is fitted with a filter such as a mosaic filter 122 divided into alternating segments that are sensitive to different bandwidths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Certain segments allow the passage of electromagnetic radiation generated by source 13. Other segments allow the passage of electromagnetic radiation generated by illumination sources 12 and 12′. In certain embodiments segments may filter the illumination generated by sources 12 and 12′ into different spectral bands, such as the red, green and blue spectra; in other embodiments segments may allow substantially the entire spectrum generated by sources 12 and 12′ to pass. Each alternating segment of the mosaic filter 122 permits electromagnetic energy to reach the imager 14 only in the designated bandwidth of the electromagnetic spectrum for which it is sensitive. Preferably, each of illumination source 12 and illumination source 12′ is operated simultaneously. Each image obtained by the imager 14 is composed of a plurality of segments, each segment including information from either illumination source 12 and source 12′ (or a portion thereof) or source 13. In one embodiment, source 13 produces electromagnetic radiation of a certain frequency which is used to mark a perspective, such as infra-red radiation, and illumination sources 12 and 12′ produce other illumination, such as visible light. In alternate embodiments, the illumination sources may produce different spectra, and thus a separate marker source may not be needed. The marker illumination may include spectra other than infra-red radiation, for example UV radiation. Reference is made to FIG. 6, which depicts a portion of a filter used with an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the filter 22 includes a repetitive pattern of sections, each section including a plurality of cells. Each cell allows a certain spectrum of electromagnetic radiation to pass to the imager 14. For example, cells 230 allow red light to pass, cells 240 allow blue light to pass, cells 250 allow green light to pass, and cells 260 allow infra-red radiation to pass. Preferably, the filter 22 includes many sections and cells; in one embodiment one section is included for each pixel recorded by the imager 14. After capture, the images obtained may be displayed to the user in various manners, for example using the methods described above. In one embodiment, electromagnetic energy from one section, including all cells of the section, is recorded by each pixel of the imager 14. During the processing of the image, the known frequency of the source 13 is used along with the information provided by cells 260 to produce different pixel representations for each of the two views desired. For example, the intensity of the source 13 for each pixel may be used as a marker for percentage of the electromagnetic energy for that pixel which is produced by illumination source 12. In a further embodiment, electromagnetic energy from each cell is recorded by one pixel of the imager 14. During the processing of the image, the known frequency of the illumination source 13 is used along with the information provided by cells 260 to produce different pixel representations for each of the two views desired. For example, the intensity of the source 13 for each pixel may be used as a marker for percentage of the electromagnetic energy for certain associated pixels gathering light in the frequency of the source (e.g., source 12) associated with source 13. a plurality of illumination sources, wherein each of the plurality of illumination sources are operated in a separate time period. 2. The system according to claim 1 wherein at least two of the plurality of illumination sources are configured to illuminate an in vivo site from different angles. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of illumination sources produces an illumination level which differs from the illumination level produced by a different one of the plurality of illumination sources. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of illumination sources produces illumination of the same spectrum. 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the capsule comprises a transmitter for transmitting image data. 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the capsule comprises a battery. 7. The system of claim 1 comprising a controller configured to control the illumination sources in a selective manner. 8. The system of claim 1 comprising a receiving unit configured to receive transmitted image data. 9. The system of claim 8 comprising a processor configured to create from an image pair a single image portraying three-dimensional and surface orientation information. a plurality of illumination sources, wherein each of the plurality of illumination sources is capable of producing a different spectrum. 11. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the illumination sources produces illumination in the infra-red spectrum. 12. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the illumination sources produces illumination in the UV spectrum. 13. The system of claim 10 wherein the capsule comprises a transmitter. 14. The system according to claim 10 wherein the capsule comprises a mosaic filter. 15. The system of claim 10 comprising a receiving unit configured to receive transmitted image data. 16. The system of claim 15 comprising a processor configured to create from an image pair a single image portraying three-dimensional and surface orientation information. capturing a set images of the site using an imager contained within a swallowable capsule, at least two images in the set illuminated using different subsets of illumination sources. 18. The method of claim 17 comprising transmitting the images via a wireless link. 19. The method of claim 17 comprising passing light through a segmented filter. 20. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of illuminating an in vivo site comprises illuminating in at least two different illumination levels. capturing a set of images of the site using an imager contained within a swallowable capsule. 22. The method of claim 21 comprising transmitting the images via a wireless link. 23. The method of claim 21 wherein at least one of the illumination sources produces illumination in the infra-red spectrum. 24. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the illumination sources produces illumination in the UV spectrum. 25. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the illumination sources produces substantially white light. when capturing a first image using a first of the illumination sources, providing illumination from a third illumination source, wherein the illumination from the third illumination source differs in its spectral content from that of a second of the illumination sources. a plurality of illumination sources, wherein the plurality of illumination sources are spaced from one another and selectively operable, such that the combination of the plurality of reflected images produced by illumination from the plurality of illumination sources provides information on the three-dimensional aspects of the in-vivo site. 28. The system of claim 27, wherein each of the plurality of illumination sources are operated in a separate time period. at least one of the plurality of illumination sources produces illumination in a spectrum which differs from the spectrum of illumination produced by a different one of the plurality of illumination sources. 30. The system of claim 27, wherein each of the plurality of illumination sources produces illumination of the same spectrum. 31. The system of claim 27 wherein the capsule comprises a transmitter. 32. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one of the illumination sources produces illumination in the infra-red spectrum. 33. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one of the illumination sources produces substantially white light illumination. a plurality of illumination sources, wherein at least one of the plurality of illumination sources produces illumination in a spectrum which differs from the illumination produced by at least a second one of the plurality of illumination sources. a plurality of illumination sources, wherein each illumination source provides light from a different angle, each illumination source being selectively operable. 36. The system of claim 35, wherein each of the plurality of illumination sources are operated in a separate time period. a processor accepting a series of images from an in-vivo imager, the series of images including surface orientation information, and outputting graphics images displaying such images to a user such that the user may perceive surface orientation aspects of the images. 38. The system of claim 37, wherein the in-vivo imager is contained in a capsule. 39. The system of claim 38, wherein for each image the surface orientation information is recorded by at least a plurality of sub-images, each sub-image including an image of a site using a different lighting perspective. a processor means accepting a series of images from an in-vivo imager, the series of images including surface orientation information, and outputting graphics images displaying such images to a user such that the user may perceive stereoscopic information. outputting graphics images displaying such images to a user such that the user may perceive surface orientation aspects of the images. 42. The method of claim 41, wherein the in-vivo imager is contained in a capsule. 43. The method of claim 41, wherein for each image the surface orientation information is recorded by at least a plurality of sub-images, each sub-image including an image of a site using a different lighting perspective. a plurality of illumination sources, wherein each of the plurality of illumination sources are operated in a separate time period; wherein at least two of the plurality of illumination sources are configured to illuminate an in vivo site from different angles. a controller means for operating the illumination sources so that the imager captures three dimensional information. a plurality of illumination sources, at least two of the illumination sources producing light of a different spectrum, at least one illumination source producing UV light. capturing a set images of the site using an imager contained within a swallowable capsule, at least two images in the set illuminated using different subsets of illumination sources, the imager including a segmented filter. a processor capable of accepting a series of sets of images from an in-vivo imager, each set including of images taken using different lighting, and capable of outputting graphics images displaying such images to a user such that the user may perceive surface orientation aspects of the images. a processor means for accepting a series of images from an in-vivo imager, the series of images including surface orientation information, and for outputting graphics images displaying such images to a user such that the user may perceive surface orientation aspects of the images.

2019-04-20T03:37:57Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030174208A1/en

Systems and methods for delegating access to resources hosted in a distributed computing environment are described. In one aspect, a server hosts a set of resources. The server receives a request from a user to perform an operation with respect to one of the hosted resources. Responsive to receiving the request, the server determines whether the user has already been delegated authority to perform the operation. The delegated authority is independent of whether the user is a member of an administrators group associated with any resource of the server. This patent application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/281,083, titled “Role-Based Authorization Management Framework”, filed on Oct. 26, 2002, commonly assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby incorporated by reference. The invention pertains to administration of network service provider hosted resources. Administrating Web sites can be time consuming and costly, especially for entities that manage large Internet Service Provider (ISP) installations. To save time and money, many ISPs support only large company Web sites, at the expense of personal Web sites. One reason for this is because computer security has become increasingly important not only to businesses and other organizations, but also to individuals. To meet such security needs, computer and Web site security strategies must be selected and enforced for each administrative scenario. Such selection and enforcement make it considerably labor and time intensive and expensive to support personal Web sites. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary computing environment within which systems and methods for delegating administration of a hosted resource may be implemented. FIG. 2 shows further exemplary aspects of system memory of FIG. 1, including application programs and program data for delegating administration of a hosted resource. FIG. 3 shows an exemplary procedure for delegating administration of a hosted resource. Reliable, scalable, manageable, and secure systems and methods to delegate and implement remote administration of Web sites are described. In particular, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) computer server administrator utilizes the following described Internet Information Services (IIS) Delegation Administration (DA) framework to delegate specified Web site administration tasks to authorized users for execution. Such an authorized user may include, for example, a user that owns a personal Web site hosted by an ISP. User authorization is determined in view of specified role-based access permission(s) to perform specified application operations associated with the hosted Web site. This IIS DA framework obviates existing trends involving computer security, wherein personal Web sites are not supported due to the inefficiencies of time and cost, as described above. One reason for this is because an administrator is not required to intervene (i.e., to ensure computer security and authorized access) every time a hosted personal Web site is modified or tested. Such modifications may include, for example, change of Web site content/functionality such as deployment of a new application on the Web site, etc. These and other aspects of the systems and methods for delegated Web site administration are now described in further detail. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a suitable computing environment 120 on which the subsequently described systems, apparatuses and methods for delegating administration of a hosted resource may be implemented. Exemplary computing environment 120 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of systems and methods the described herein. Neither should computing environment 120 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in computing environment 120. The drives and associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for computer 130. Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk 148 and a removable optical disk 152, it are appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROM), and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. A user such as an ISP Web site administrator may provide commands and information into computer 130 through input devices such as keyboard 166 and pointing device 168 (such as a “mouse”). Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, serial port, scanner, digital camera, etc. These and other input devices are connected to the processing unit 132 through a user input interface 170 that is coupled to bus 136, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 172 or other type of display device is also connected to bus 136 via an interface, such as a video adapter 174. The monitor can be utilized, for example, to present a user interface (UI) associated with the described systems and methods to delegate Web site administration, for example, by defining application access policies and rules as described below. In addition to monitor 172, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers, which may be connected through output peripheral interface 175. Depicted in FIG. 1, is a specific implementation of a WAN via the Internet. Here, computer 130 employs modem 178 to establish communications with at least one remote computer 182 via the Internet 180. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to computer 130, or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memory storage device. Thus, e.g., as depicted in FIG. 1, remote application programs 189 may reside on a memory device of remote computer 182. The network connections shown and described are exemplary. Thus, other means of establishing a communications link between the computing devices may be used. FIG. 2 is a block diagram that shows further exemplary aspects of system memory 134 of FIG. 1, including application programs 160 and program data 164 for delegating administration of a hosted resource. In this implementation, application programs 160 include, for example Authorization Module 202, Delegation Module 204, Remote Client Web Site Administration (RCWA) module 206 (i.e., the “requesting application”), Execution Module 208, and Authorized Process(es) 210. For purposes of discussion, these application programs in conjunction with selected other features of the system 100 of FIG. 1, are hereinafter often referred to as the “Internet Information Services (IIS) Delegated Administration (DA) Framework, or “framework”. The Authorization Manager 202 provides security support for delegating administration of a hosted resource of IIS metabase nodes (i.e., nodes of the IIS metabase 212). The IIS metabase 212 identifies nodes for applications, resources, or objects hosted, deployed, and/or managed by the computer 130 of FIG. 1. More particularly, the metabase is a hierarchical store of configuration information and schema that are used to configure IIS. In existing systems, only users who are members of the Administrators group can view and modify a resource represented by a metabase node. In contrast to such conventional systems, the IIS DA framework, which is now being described, allows users other than those in the Administrators group (e.g., application administrators) such as Web site owners to view and/or modify particularly specified portion(s) of the IIS metabase 212. For purposes of this description, a “user” is an individual that is not assigned to the Administrative group, although a user could also be of the Administrators group. To this end, the Authorization Manager Module 202, via selective interaction with the Delegation Administration (DA) module 204, allows an administrative entity (i.e., a member of the Administrators group) to specify (e.g., specify via a UI displayed on the display device 172 of FIG. 1) user access permissions to nodes of the IIS metabase 212. The Authorization Manager Module 202 writes such user access permissions (i.e., policies/rules) to Authorization Policy Store 214. In one implementation, such access permissions are represented, for example, in Extended Markup Language (XML), Active Directory, Software Query Language (SQL), or some other data format. An application queries the APS 214 (via API's 216 exposed by the Application Manager 202) at run time to confirm that a client is authorized to perform a requested operation on a resource. Authorization Manager provides APIs for managing authorization policy and validating access control and a user interface for administrators so that they can manage the authorization policy store. An application as specified by the Authorization Policy Store (APS) 214 is a top-level node of the Authorization policy store 214. An application specifies the operations or tasks that the application can perform and declares them in the APS 214, for instance, when the application is installed. An application specification includes administrator identified application specific roles in terms of the task and operations that are needed to perform a job (e.g., in an organization). The definitions of roles, tasks and operations (methods), and scopes are stored in the APS 214. A role is an authorization or resource configuration role (e.g., an organizational permission on some set of resources). An authorization role is based on a user's job function. A resource configuration role is based on a computer's function. A task is a collection of low-level operations. The purpose of the task is to determine which low-level operations do some unit of work that is meaningful to administrators. An example of a task might be Change Password. Tasks can also contain other tasks. For example, a task called Manage User Accounts may include the tasks Change Password, Reset Password, Disable Account, and so on. An operation is a low-level permission that a resource manager uses to identify security procedures. Several operations may be used to perform a meaningful task. (Operations are often not exposed or meaningful to administrators). An example of an operation could be WriteAttributes or ReadAttributes. A scope is collection of one or more physical or logical resources (e.g., a folder and/or files) associated with a respective authorization policy. An application can use the scope to group resources, to map a user requested resource to a scope (e.g., when an application checks for user access), and so on. In this implementation, the Authorization Manager 202 allows specification of zero (0) or more groups and corresponding roles for each specified group member. A group corresponds to a user's role, and an application administrator specifies the permissions that are needed by the role by granting the group permission in an ACL for an object (e.g., application, resource, etc.). TABLE 1 shows an exemplary application definition of the APS 214, which in this implementation, is in an XML data format. Each application includes numerous attributes such as a substantially globally unique identifier (a “GUID”, e.g., d9089f17-5fa6-4ae9-bddf-8ca6cd1c06fb), a name (e.g., SiteAdminApp), and so on. Application attributes are used, for instance, to identify particular ones of the applications specified in the authorization policy store 214. In the example, of TABLE 1, the application includes a group (e.g., see tag pair “AzApplicationGroup”) to specify one or more users assigned to one or more “roles” with respect to the application. A role is a set of permissions assigned to a user to enable the user to perform a set of tasks. Each application group includes a GUID attribute (e.g., value bf9d00f0-2be3-4367-a931-680038b51d0a) and a name attribute (e.g., GroupMetabaseChangeDefaultDoc). This exemplary group illustrates a single member identified by SID: S-1-5-21-3131233723-616130271-937215924-1032. For the purpose of this example, assume that this is the SID is associated with a user, “User1”. In this implementation, a role is applied to a set of associated objects, and then a group of users is assigned to the role. The application of TABLE 1 includes an application group (although any number of such groups could be defined) with a scope. A scope is collection of one or more physical or logical resources (e.g., a folder and/or files) associated with a respective authorization policy. An application can use the scope to group resources, to map a user requested resource to a scope (e.g., when an application checks for user access), and so on. The following is an exemplary syntax to define a scope: <AzScope Guid=“ce010982-6b6f-4e93-804e-d04bf1ddff78” Name=“Site Access for “User1””/>. Each scope has a unique identifier (e.g., ce010982-6b6f-4e93-804e-d04bf1ddff78) and a name (e.g., Site Access for “User1”) that can be used with an Application Programming Interface (API) to access the scope. For purposes of discussion, the illustrated scope has a metabase site ID of “w3svc/1”. A role is defined when at least one (1) task has been specified with respect to an application group having access to a scope to which the role belongs. A task is one or more low-level operations to perform some unit of work for an administrator. For instance, a task might be “Change Password.” A task can encapsulate one or more other tasks. For example, a task called “Manage User Accounts” may include tasks “Change Password,” “Reset Password,” “Disable Account,” and/or so on. TABLE 3 shows an example role definition. The role shown in TABLE 3 includes an AppMemberLink attribute that references an application group based on its unique identifier, in this example, bf9d00f0-2be3-4367-a931-680038b51d0a. TABLE 4 shows a scope with a related role. A role may define one or more tasks. A task consists of one or more low-level “operations” that the user is given permission to perform, together with a business rule. An operation is a low-level permission that identifies security level(s) associated with a task. Several operations may comprise a meaningful task. Examples of operations include “WriteAttributes” and “ReadAttributes”. The following example of TABLE 5 illustrates a task allowing a user to change a property (e.g., the “DefaultDoc” property) for a Web site. The task contains two operations: one to set the value of this property, and one to get the value of this property. In the example of TABLE 5, an operation is assigned a unique identifier and a name, as is the case with the definitions of the previous attributes. One of the most important characteristics of an operation is the OperationID attribute. A task can refer to one or more operations through the OperationID. TABLE 6 illustrates how to define an exemplary task. The example of TABLE 6 shows two operations that are referenced by one task. This is to illustrate how a policy file can be defined. It is possible to have a task that refers to multiple operations. In one implementation, however, to ensure that the IIS Delegated Administration framework works as expected, within a policy file used with the tool, a task references only one operation. In such an implementation, when an operation is referenced by a task inside a role, the operation is not referenced by a different task inside the same role. Note, however, that the operation can be referenced by a task that is inside another role. For more information on exemplary syntax of the authorization policy store, see TABLE 11, below. A task is defined one or more operations (e.g., the two operations defined in TABLE 6) identified by their unique IDs, and a business rule, or BizRule. A business rule is also called an authorization script written in a scripting language such as Jscript or VBScript. In this implementation, scripts that are attached to a task object that is run when an AccessCheck API is called to verify that the user can execute a given method. In this implementation, the AccessCheck API is implemented by a known Private Object Security (POS) API of an operating system 158 (FIG. 1). The POS API looks at a user's group memberships in a token and compares them to contents of an Access Control List (ACL) to determine if the user has the requested access. Scripts may use information that is available only at run time, such as “time of day” or “dollar amount requested,” to make an authentication decision. For compliancy with the Authorization Manager 202, Delegated Administration (DA) module 204 uses one set of input values when interfacing with the Authorization Manager 202 and another set of values that are the parameters for the operation that the user wants to perform with respect to a hosted resource (e.g., a Web site) via a requesting application (e.g., the Remote Client Web Site Administration Application 208). For instance, in the preceding example of TABLE 6, for the SetDefaultDoc operation, the DA 204 utilizes as input the scope name, the operation or method name, and a value that is the value of the DefaultDoc parameter referred to in the BizRule above. The DA 204 uses configuration file 218 to determine which Authorization Policy Store(s) 214 contains the input scope and to map the input operation or method name to an OperationID. In this implementation, the configuration file 218 is an XML file that specifies/defines each method assigned to a given set of users and maps the method to the corresponding operation identifier(s) (IDs) in the authorization policy store 214. The configuration file 218 also includes method parameters, scope mappings, log file data format, and command-line templates. When mapping scope name, DA 204 obtains from the configuration file 218 the path of the authorization policy store 214 where the scope is located, and the name of the application in this authorization policy store under which the scope is defined. After the DA 204 parses the configuration file for such information, the DA 204 initializes the Authorization Manager 202 using the store path, opens the desired application, and gets the client context object that will be used to call determine whether the user has access to the requested function/resource. IIS Delegated Administration Framework uses a registry entry of type “String” to store the full path to the configuration file 218 (e.g., HKLM\Software\Entity\IISDelAdmin\DelegAdminMappingPath (REG_SZ)). Such a string is stored in registry 220. TABLE 7 shows an exemplary configuration file 218. In this exemplary implementation, the configuration file 218 includes the following entries: an entry for each method that will be allowed for a user; an entry for each scope, used in a store that contains a task referring to an existing method in the configuration file 218. Each scope entry corresponds to a user that has a scope in an authorization policy store. Additionally, an entry defines desired and/or default log file data format. In this implementation, all of the attributes except Description are utilized. If an attribute is missing from a node definition to be used by ExecuteMethod, the method will return an error. (ExecuteMethod is an APi 222 exposed by the DA module 204 to performs an operation requested by the user—if authorized). PublicName—The method name as it will be exposed to the user, the name that the tool will validate as an entry (a parameter of the ExecuteMethod method of a Dynamic Link Library object (e.g., a COM) accessed via API 222, exposed by the DA module 204). ExePath—Defines either the path to the executable or command-line script that will be used to execute the method requested by the user or the ProgID of a COM object that is designated to perform the operation through one of its methods. AZStoreID—Defines the OperationID that corresponds to this method in the authorization policy store. CmdLine—Defines the way the command line for the executable module will be built, or the name of the method if ExePath specifies the ProgID of a COM object. For an executable module, in this attribute one can specify a keyword, an attribute name/value (method, parameter, and scope attributes) and a parameter index. For more information about defining CmdLine values, see the CmdLine Field Format below. WaitTimeout—Indicates to the DA 204 how many seconds to wait after calling a CreateProcess API before exiting and logging the result. After a successful call to CreateProcess, the tool calls WaitForSingleObject (processHandle, timeout) to wait for that process to finish. This attribute is not used if the operation is associated with a COM method. ProcessType—Specifies the type of process to be used to execute the method. The valid values for this attribute are “COM” (to specify that a COM method will execute the method) and “CMD” (to specify that a command-line executable will execute the method). Separator—Assists in making the output of the executable module more granular. For special characters (such as “\r” and “\n”), this field includes the escaped version of the character (for example, “%0D” and “%0A”). The tool always reads the value of the Separator field and then unescapes it, so one can specify these special characters to be recognized as separators by the tool. For example, suppose a result will be a string containing a set of IP addresses that are denied for a site, and also that the result is a string containing all of these addresses separated by a “CRLF”(“\r\n” sequence). If the Separator=“%0D%0A” is defined in the IISDAMethod node, instead of the OutputArray function returning the whole string with the IP addresses, the function returns an array of strings, each corresponding to an IP address from the result string. Description—Adds a description of the method, which can be used in the application that exposes the method to the user. For example, it is used by the sample ASP.NET application, Admin, to display the description of the method when the user moves the mouse over a method name on the page. If a Parameter XML tag is defined, all of the attributes except Description are utilized. If one attribute is missing from a definition of the node and the node will be used by ExecuteMethod, the method will return an error. Name—Sent by the tool as a parameter to the AccessCheck function. The same name is be used in the BizRule of the tasks that reference the operation ID corresponding to the method where the parameter is defined. MetabaseProperty—Can be used if the execution module will request a specific metabase property as part of its command line, for example: “adsutil.exe get w3svc/1/AnonymousUserName”. In this example, the parameter has the attribute MetabaseProperty=“AnonymousUserName” and “w3svc/1” is the MetabaseNode defined in the scope. For more information about defining a scope, see Scope Syntax below. Description—Associates a description with the parameter. For example, an application exposing the method to which such a parameter belongs to can use this field to display restrictions imposed on the parameter values. One can specify the interfaces that will be used to execute a BizRule inside of a task that refers to an operation by using the Interface node. The following example shows the syntax of the Interface node: <Interface Name=““Flag=” “ProgID=””/>. Interface nodes are optional, and are used when COM objects are used in the business rule of a task, which references the method. If the Interface node is defined, all of the attributes are utilized. If one attribute is missing from the node definition and the node will be used by ExecuteMethod, the method will return an error. Name—Identifies the name of the object as it is going to be used in the business rule. Flag—Specifies the flag that will be used to create the object in the BizRule script. ProgID—Specifies the independent version ProgID of the COM object. The corresponding Name in this node is, in fact, an instance of this object. The BizRule uses the object only through the Name provided. Each attribute corresponds to a parameter utilized by AccessCheck related to interfaces. <IISDAScope PublicName=““AZName=” “MetabaseNode=” “AZStorePath=” “AZApplicationName=” “GenerateAudits=” “AuditName=””/>. All of the attributes are utilized. If one is missing and the node will be used by ExecuteMethod, the method will return an error. PublicName—the name provided to the user when the scope is created, and the name the user will provide to identify at what level in the metabase 212 the changes are made (because a user can have more than one site assigned, for example). AZName—the name of the scope in an authorization policy store file that corresponds to this scope. The MetabaseNode defines the actual scope, which is, in fact, a metabase node where the user has access. AZStorePath—the path of the authorization policy store where this scope are located. This attribute specifies the authorization policy store where the DA module 204 will search for this scope. AZApplicationName—specifies the application, in the store, under which this scope is defined. GenerateAudits—specifies whether an attempt to access this scope generates auditing. AuditName—specifies the key string used in auditing to identify the object that was accessed (in this implementation, it confirms that this scope, in particular, was accessed). Path—defines the path where the log file is stored. This attribute is utilized. The tool returns an error if it is not present. This attribute value points to a valid and accessible folder; otherwise, the tool of this implementation does not log anything, but will generate an exception. When creating the log file for the first time, the application uses the security settings inherited from the parent folder (identified by the value of the Path attribute), which means that the identity of the COM+ application (see, other module 210) has read/write access to this folder. Field—identifies each field in the log file, using an associated Name attribute. For more information about fields, see Log File Fields below. The result of the ExecuteMethod (ExecuteMethod is an APi 222 exposed by the DA module 204 to performs an operation requested by the user—if authorized. The operation or task implemented by ExecuteMethod is shown as the Execution Module 208) is logged using the comma-separated values log format. In this implementation, if a logging section is not present in the configuration file 218, DA 202 does not log anything and throws an exception. A date and time (Date field) of the request (call to ExecuteMethod). A name of the user (User field; for example, if the ExecuteMethod is called inside an .aspx page, the name of the user to whom access to the .aspx page was granted will be logged). A method name (Method field) provided by the caller. A scope name (Scope field) provided by the caller. A value of the ExePath attribute corresponding to the method (ProcessType attribute, which is an attribute of the method definition in the configuration file attribute). A value of the CmdLine attribute corresponding to the method (CmdLine field). Delegated Administration 204 also logs in the last two positions the result (Result field) of the ExecuteMethod function 208 and the exception information (Exception field). The exception information provides details on the context of the exception (that is, in which step of the method execution the exception occurred) and the exception code that was caught by the tool. The sixth field, CmdLine, utilizes a special mention. In the case of an IISDAMethod node with ProcessType=“COM,” the value logged in this field is as it appears defined in the configuration file 218 in the CmdLine attribute. In the case of an IISDAMethod node with ProcessType=“CMD,” the value logged in this field will be either as it appears defined in the configuration file 218 in the CmdLine attribute or (in case the string refers to IISDACmdLineKeys) the value of the full command line of the executable module, if ExecuteMethod actually built the command line for the module before returning. This provides more information in the log file to help one figure out as many elements of a request as possible and to ease the troubleshooting process. If there is no Field node defined, the DA module 204 logs, for example, the eight (8) fields mentioned above, and the IISDALog node is used only to get the log file path. Usually, the field name is in the form “Param1,” “Param2,” and so on, because, in addition to the above-mentioned fields that are logged by default, these are the other fields that one might find useful. In this implementation, “Param” fields are logged after the first six fields described above. If the list of parameter values contains more elements than the actual number of Field/nodes in the IISDALog node, not all of the parameter values are logged. However, if there are fewer parameter values for a method than the number of Field nodes in the IISDALog node, the rest of the field values in the log entry will consist of a space (“ ”). Name—Used in the command-line string as a key. AttributeName—Specifies the name of an attribute inside the configuration file, under the IISDAMethod, IISDAScope, or Parameter nodes, to which the key refers. This attribute enables one to specify either the attribute name itself or the attribute value to which it refers. The command-line template allows Delegated Administration 202 to support tokens inside the command-line definition for a method (the CmdLine attribute of the IISDAMethod node). Such tokens include for example, the tokens shown in TABLE 9. In this implementation, because # and $ are used for building the command line, these characters are restricted in the sense that if there is a sequence of two of these characters (like #string# or $string$), the tool will try to find an IISDACmdLineKey node that has a Name attribute equal to “string.” This is an implantation dependent feature that can be modified as design architecture implies. This technique of defining the command-line parameters enables one to specify environment variables, such as % SYSTEMROOT %, in the module command line. When an IISDACmdLineKey node is created, all attributes are utilized. Otherwise, ExecuteMethod will fail when trying to parse the node. For more information about defining IISDACmdLineKey nodes and how they are interpreted at run time, see CmdLine and IISDACmdLineKeys Examples. Parameters Method—sets the parameters associated with an operation. The parameters of this method is be a variant of type VT_ARRAY (where each element in the array is be of type VT_BSTR) or of type VT_BSTR. This method is called before calling ExecuteMethod. ParamError Method—checks whether the parameters were set correctly by the Parameters method. If the parameters were set successfully, it returns 0. Call this method to avoid calling ExecuteMethod if parameters were not set correctly by the Parameters method. Scope name—the scope associated with the user that is requesting the execution of the operation. The application that exposes the methods to the user collects this scope from the user. For example, using the sample ASP.NET application, the user specifies the name of the site to administer. This name is stored as a session variable and used whenever ExecuteMethod is invoked. The type of the parameter is BSTR. Method name—the name of the method that the user will try to execute. This name corresponds to the value of a PublicName attribute of an IISDAMethod node inside the configuration file. The type of the parameter is BSTR. LogResult—Boolean value specifying whether the method is to log the result of the operation. ExecuteOperation—Boolean value specifying whether ExecuteMethod executes the command line or calls the COM method associated with the method. This parameter is useful when one want to use ExecuteMethod up to the point where AccessCheck decides whether the user is granted access to execute the method. If one choose not to execute any method or command line (by setting this parameter to FALSE), one can leave the values of the corresponding attributes of the IISDAMethod node as empty strings. After AccessCheck returns, the result is logged. FIG. 3 shows an exemplary procedure 300 for delegated administration of a Web site. In particular, the procedure illustrates exemplary processing that occurs when a user attempts to modify properties of a Web site, wherein the Web site is hosted by an ISP that implements the described IIS Delegation Administration Framework of FIGS. 1 and 2. Accordingly, and for purposes of illustration, the operations of the procedure are described with respect to the features of FIGS. 1 and 2. As noted above, in the figures, the left-most digit of a component reference number identifies the particular figure in which the component first appears. At block 302, an administrative entity (e.g., a member of the Administrative group) provides one or more parameters for an operation with respect to an application and/or resources hosted by computer 130 (FIG. 1). Such provision is provided via the API 216 exposed by the Authorization Module 202 (FIG. 2). At block 304, a user executes an application such as the Remote Web Site Administration (RWSA) application 206 (FIG. 2) hosted by the computer 130 (FIG. 1). The RWSA application 206 allows a user, such as a Web site owner, to modify, test, or otherwise administer content and/or functionality, or any other aspect of a Web site or resource hosted by the computer 130 (FIG. 1). As described below, authorization for such administration is dynamically determined by the Delegation Administration (DA) module 204. For purposes of this example, the user is not a member of an Administrator group with respect to administering the configuration and/or resources associated with the computer 130 of FIG. 1, although the user could be a member of such an Administrators group. At block 306, the user requests to perform at least an operation with respect to the hosted resource (e.g., Web site, etc.). To this end, the application (e.g., the RWSA application 206) invoke one or more of the APIs 222 exposed by the Delegation Administration (DA) module 204, to requests access to the operation. As already noted, user operation access to a hosted resource is controlled by several layers of functionality, as shown in TABLE 10. TABLE 11, an exemplary Authorization Manager Policy Store. command-line module or a COM method. At block 308, the Delegated Administration module 204, determines whether the user is authorized to access the resource via the requested operation. This determination is made completely independent of whether the user is a member of an Administrators group with respect to administering the resources of computer 130 (FIG. 1). To this end, the DA module 204, via the Parameters method API 222, sets ExecuteMethod parameters. ExecuteMethod looks for an entry in registry 220 providing the path to the configuration file 218. The configuration file 218 specifies all possible methods that can be performed by all of the users and where an administrative entity can add an entry (that is, an IISDAScope node) for each user. At this point, at block 306, ExecuteMethod reads the configuration file 218 and attempts to map the requested operation name, scope, and parameters to entries in that file. If these entries are found, the information related to the authorization policy store 214 (i.e., derived from the IISDAScope node attribute) is retrieved. The ExecuteMethod retrieves the information from the Authorization Policy Store 214 and verifies (e.g., a call to AccessCheck) whether the user has access to the specified scope, based on the method and provided parameters. To accomplish this, ExecuteMethod impersonates the caller to present a client's identity to resources it hosts on the client's behalf, for access checks or authentication to be performed against the client's identity. (Impersonation is the ability of a thread to execute in a security context different from that of the process owning the thread). At block 310, if the user is determined to not be authorized to perform the requested operation, the user is denied access to the operation. However, at block 312, if the user is granted access to the scope and if the method referred to is in a task within the user's scope, ExecuteMethod executes a process (i.e., Authorized Process 210) or builds a Command Line 210 to execute a process that performs the user requested operation (i.e., execute via an object (e.g., a COM object) or Command Line). For instance, the DA module 202 either builds the command line for the executable module that will actually execute the operation/method, or attempts to initialize a COM object associated with the operation and get the DISPID of the specified method. Then, DA module 202 calls either CreateProcess or the COM method associated with the operation, depending on what is specified in the first Boolean parameter. In the case of CreateProcess, DA module 202 uses the command line 210 just built and the process starts under the user context of an application (e.g., a COM application). For purposes of discussion, such an application is shown as Authorized Process 210. At block 314, if the requested operation runs successfully, the authorized process 210 builds an output array and logs the output array to the log file 224. For purposes of discussion, such an output array is shown as a respective portion of “other data” 226. In this implementation, if the return type of the method is VT_BSTR or VT_ARRAY, all of the elements in the array are of type VT_BSTR. TABLE 11 shows an exemplary format of the Authorization Policy Store 214. For more information about the syntax of this type of file, see Authorization Policy Store File Format. The following examples show how a command line is built for a module, based on the settings in a configuration file 218 and the parameters passed to the ExecuteMethod and Parameters methods. The following example shows exemplary syntax of a configuration file 218 from which the exemplary command line of TABLE 11 is derived. In view of the above, the following actions take place to produce this command line: “SET” is used as it is because it is not delimited by # or $ characters; #mn# is replaced by “w3svc/1”; “/” is used as it is because it is not delimited by # or $ characters” #mp@1# is replaced by “AccessFlags”; and, #1# is replaced with the value of the parameter of index 1, which is 3. The following example shows exemplary syntax of a configuration file 218 from which the exemplary command line of TABLE 12 is derived. In summary, the following actions take place to produce this command line: “SET” is used as it is because it is not delimited by # or $ characters; $mn$ is replaced by “MetabaseNode”; #mp@1# is replaced by “AccessFlags”; and, #1# is replaced with the value of the parameter of index 1, which is 3. The following example shows configuration file syntax from which the command line of TABLE 12 is derived. The following parameters are passed to ExecuteMethod: (“Scope1”, “SetFlags”). The following parameters are passed to Parameters: An array containing the following strings: “1”, “1”, “1”. Refer to the configuration file syntax to understand the following discussion of how this command line is built. The value of the CmdLine attribute of the method is “SET #1# #2# #3#.” The tool looks at the first sequence delimited by two # or $ characters, in this example #1#. Because there is a number between the two # characters, the tool replaces this token with the value of the first parameter. The tool performs the same procedure for the next two tokens: #2# and #3#. The following example shows a command line that causes an error by providing an incorrect number of parameter to the Parameters method. Configuration file syntax from which the command line of TABLE 14 is derived follows. The following parameters are passed to ExecuteMethod: (“Scope1”, “SetFlags”). The following parameters are passed to Parameters: An array containing the following strings: “1”, “1”, “1”. In this example, the Delegation Administration module 202 returns an error because the command line refers to a parameter with index 4 (by specifying #4# in the CmdLine attribute), but Parameters receives only three parameters. Accordingly, no command line is built. In the example of TABLE 15, this method corresponds to a method with OperationID=1 in the authorization policy store 214. The path of the executable or command line 210 that performs the requested action is “C:\Adsutil.exe.” The command-line template for this method is “SET #mn# #1#”. The time-out for this method to be executed is 10 seconds. No separator or description is defined. The method has only one parameter, named “Flags,” which corresponds to the “AccessFlags” property in the IIS metabase. The method defines the “MyObject” object name (corresponding to an instance of the “Scripting.FileSystemObject” object) as being able to be used by the BizRule associated with the task that refers to the operation with ID 1 in the authorization policy store. In the example of TABLE 15, the scope, defined as “www.fabrikam.com”, corresponds to the scope named “Scope1” in the store located at “C:\Store.xml.” This scope inside this store is defined under the “SecurityApplication” application. Access to this scope generates an audit using the “Scope1” name to identify the entry in the EventLog. This template specifies that the CmdLine attribute of the “SetProperty” method can use (beside “keywords” and #D# tokens for the parameter values) only tokens that include the “mn” key, which identifies by name (using $mn$) or by value (using #mn#) the attribute with the name “MetabaseNode” defined under the “IISDAScope,” corresponding to the scope specified as a parameter to ExecuteMethod. The following assumptions apply to this exemplary scenario: The registry entry HKLM\Software\Microsoft\IISDelAdmin\DelegAdminMappingPath (REG_SZ) is defined and contains the following string: “C:\DelegAdmin\Config\Config.xml”—the configuration file 218. The Delegadm.dll object runs inside a COM+ application (i.e., the authorized process 210) whose identity has read access to this registry entry. This code will attempt to allow user1 to set the AccessFlags property to 1 for the site corresponding to “ScopeUser1” by calling the “SetAccessProperty” method and using the Authorization Manager APIs. To accomplish this task, the following steps are performed inside ExecuteMethod: The specified parameters are validated. As noted in “Parameters” method syntax, a parameter for the Parameters method can be either a string or an array of strings. In this example, the parameter is accepted, because it is a string. If the parameter is rejected, the corresponding error code is logged. The object attempts to get the value of the registry entry HKLM_Software_Microsoft_IISDelAdmin_DelegAdminMappingPath. In this example, the value is defined as C:\DelegAdmin\Config\Config.xml. The identity of the COM+ application has access to this value. If the application cannot read the registry entry value, it logs an error. Because the operation was not executed, the CMDLine field in the log file will contain the value of the CmdLine attribute of the IISDAMethod node that corresponds to the SetAccessProperty method. After the application gains access to the configuration file, it searches the configuration file for the scope “ScopeUser1,” which is specified as a parameter. If the scope is not found, an error is logged. An error may appear even if there is an “IISDAScope” node that contains the PublicName attribute with value “www.fabrikam.com” if this node does not have all of the utilized attributes. After the public scope name is validated, the method name is validated. The application looks for the specified method name in the configuration file 118, which is “SetAccessProperty” in this example. If the method is not found, the appropriate error code is logged. An error may appear even if there is an “IISDAMethod” node that contains the PublicName attribute with value “SerAccessProperty” if this node doesn't have all of the utilized attributes. After the method name is found, the corresponding IISDAMethod node is read. The tool now maps the “SetAccessProperty” method to the operation defined in the AZStoreID attribute, which in this example is “1.” As specified in syntax of the policy file, only one task in the authorization policy store can refer to this method. If more than one task in the authorization policy store refers to this method, AccessCheck may deny the access to the scope. This may occur because the business rule on one of the tasks has denied the access to the scope. Along with the attributes, the subnodes of the IISDAMethod node are read to retrieve information about the parameters of the method and the interfaces that will be used in the business rule of the task that refers to this operation (in this example, the operation with ID “1”). If an error occurs in the validation process, a corresponding error code is logged. An error can occur because utilized attributes inside the Parameter or Interface subnodes are missing from the definition of the IISDAMethod node. The number of parameters defined in the configuration file matches the number of parameters that are set before ExecuteMethod is called (using the Parameters method). Otherwise, a specific error code is logged. The application attempts to initialize the Authorization Store object using the store path, which in this example is “C:\DelegAdmin\Stores\User1.xml” and to open the corresponding application inside this store, which in this example is “SiteAdminApp.” If one of the operations fails, the exception is caught and the result will be logged. The application collects information about the caller (which in this example is user1) and builds the parameters for AccessCheck. The following TABLE 16 describes the AccessCheck parameters used in this example. of this parameter for AccessCheck. are interested in, which in this example is 1. Flags attribute in the Interface subnode, which is 9600. cannot be created, a specific error code is returned. If the process of building the parameters for AccessCheck succeeds, the function is called and the result is checked. In this example, the user1 is granted access to the “Scope1” scope based on the parameters and the two XML files defined. If this function fails, an exception is generated. If AccessCheck denies access to the user, a specific error code is logged. In general, if an error occurs while building the command line (for example, if invalid sequences, such as defining a key as #KEY$, were used, or if undefined keys were used), the application logs an error. The described systems and methods for generating a contrast-based saliency map for image attention analysis. Although the systems and methods have been described in language specific to structural features and methodological operations, the subject matter as defined in the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or operations described. Rather, the specific features and operations are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claimed subject matter. determining whether to authorize the operation as a function of whether the user has been delegated authority to perform the operation with respect to the resource, the authority being independent of whether the user is a member of an administrators group associated with any resource of the server. 2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining whether to authorize the operation is performed by a secure delegation administration framework. 3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the operation is associated with modification of content and/or functionality of the resource. 4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the resource is represented as an Internet Information Service (IIS) metabase node. 5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the request comprises a scope associated with the user, and a name of a method associated with the operation. 6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the resource is a Web site hosted by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and wherein the user is not authorized to perform administrative activities on any resources associated with the ISP except by sending the request to the ISP for permission evaluation by the secure delegation administration framework. 7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the request further comprises an indication of whether the user desires to execute the operation via a dynamically built command line or via an executable object already associated with the operation. 8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the request further comprises an indication of whether the user desires to log a result of the operation. 9. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the secure delegation administration framework is secure at least because it does not allow the user access to a mapping of user role-based permission to perform the operation directed to the resource. wherein determining further comprises the application utilizing the mapping to identify whether the user has permission to perform the operation. responsive to the presenting, identifying whether the user has been delegated a role-based access permission to perform the operation with respect to the resource. executing the operation within a scope associated with the user. determining whether to authorize the operation as a function of whether the user has been delegated a role-based scope of authority to perform the operation, the role-based scope of authority not requiring the user to be a member of an administrators group associated with any resources of the server. 14. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the operation is associated with modification of content and/or functionality of the resource. 15. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the resource is represented as an Internet Information Service (IIS) metabase node. 16. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the request comprises a scope associated with the user, and a name of a method associated with the operation. 17. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the resource is a Web site hosted by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and wherein the user is not a member of the administrators group. 18. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the request further comprises an indication of whether the operation is to be executed via a dynamically built command line or via an executable object already associated with the operation. 19. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13, wherein operations associated with determining whether to authorize the operations are secure at least because the user does not have access to user role-based permission(s) to perform the operation. wherein the instructions for determining further comprise instructions for utilizing the mapping to identify whether the user has permission to perform the operation. determining whether to authorize the operation as a function of whether the user has been delegated a role-based scope of authority to perform the operation, the role-based scope of authority not requiring the user to be a member of an administrators group associated with resources of the server. 24. A server as recited in claim 23, wherein the request is generated by at least one resource of the resources. 25. A server as recited in claim 23, wherein the operation is associated with modification of content and/or functionality of the resource. 26. A server as recited in claim 23, wherein the resource is represented as an Internet Information Service (IIS) metabase node. 27. A server as recited in claim 23, wherein the request comprises a scope associated with the user, a name of a method associated with the operation. 28. A server as recited in claim 23, wherein the resource is a Web site hosted by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and wherein the user is not a member of the administrators group. 29. A server as recited in claim 23, wherein the request further comprises an indication of whether the operation is to be executed via a dynamically built command line or via an executable object already associated with the operation. 30. A server as recited in claim 23, wherein the secure delegation administration framework is secure at least because it does not allow the user access to a mapping of user role-based permission to perform the operation directed to the resource. means for determining whether to authorize the operation as a function of whether the user has been delegated a role-based scope of authority to perform the operation, the role-based scope of authority not requiring the user to be a member of an administrators group associated with the server. 35. A server as recited in claim 34, wherein the operation is associated with modification of content and/or functionality of the resource. 36. A server as recited in claim 34, wherein the resource is an Internet Information Service (IIS) metabase node. 37. A server as recited in claim 34, wherein the resource is a Web site hosted by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and wherein the user is not a member of the administrators group. means for executing the operation within a scope associated with the user. MXPA04007143A MXPA04007143A (en) 2003-08-28 2004-07-23 Delegated administration of a hosted resource. GB2353875A (en) 1999-09-04 2001-03-07 Hewlett Packard Co Computer access control system.

2019-04-24T11:41:36Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20050050354A1/en

I think it is accurate to state that the flood story in the bible is both myth and a forgery. It is obviously a myth for reasons too numerous to mention here, but it is also copied from other cultures/religions, thus making it a forgery. It could very well be a myth. While some scholars believe the story is a myth, National Geographic put together a documentary called “In Search for Noah’s Flood”. They discuss various flood stories, and make the case that a large, localized flood must have influenced these various cultures to write of this flood. While there is no proof of a flood, it seems like a plausible explanation. I wonder whether there is a sense in which archaeological evidence fits a normal distribution, i.e. the more you dig the more you confirm the norm. In addition, I think the difficulty of archaeology and the bible concerns the way that the authors and redactors have used contemporary (to them) references, sites and concerns to illustrate the position that they have assumed. Hence trying to unpack how these texts have been assembled will be a major problem in trying to assign archaeological dates or evidence to them. btw, Ronan Head gives an excellent presentation on Biblical Archaeology. I learned Biblical Archaeology digging in Israel. I was caught off guard recently when one of the schools I attended (a Baptist and Evangelical school) published a pro-Book of Mormon article! Really! Reading this blog, then that article is like reading opposite worlds collide. Have you heard of a Baptist journal publishing a pro-Book of Mormon article? I know LDS apologists love parallels, and they’re great at finding them. The next step is to harness the parallel-finding to some rigorous statistical analysis, trying to actually quantify the odds of Joseph Smith coming up with “Nahom” on his own. The odds of the latter scenario, I’ve just calculated through a proprietary algorithm as 1 in 10. “In his landmark collection Leaves of Grass, famed poet Walt Whitman wrote of a “strange huge meteor-procession” in such vivid detail that scholars have debated the possible inspiration for decades. I have links to the articles, but I am not sure how to link in the post, sorry. I find it very interesting that so much remains to be discovered, and sometimes rediscovered. I am certainly less than convinced by general no-evidence claims. More compelling than the external evidence for the Book of Mormon is the internal evidence for the Book of Mormon. Finding ancient cultures in the Book of Mormon has been much easier than finding the Book of Mormon in ancient cultures. That is to be expected. Now the question is whether your proprietary algorithm accurately predicts the odds. What if it is more like 1/100 instead of 1/10? Now it becomes even more impressive. I think we gamble when we attempt to assign specific numerical likelihoods in this manner. All it will take is one obscure children’s book from Joseph Smith’s immediate culture, one 1820s newspaper article, one heretofore unnoticed Bible dictionary quoting Carsten Niebuhr or those who came after him (describing Nehhm, near Sana, before 1829), and the odds will be shot all to goodness-gracious. I find an average of one fresh and interesting new Mormon parallel source every couple of weeks, and I am only one researcher. The jury is still out. Steve, a few years ago, Grace for Grace published an article about a Baptist Preacher that believes in the Book of Mormon. The old world findings are exciting, but the quoted enthusiasm is a bit over stated. The letters NHM were found carved into stone in lower Saudi Arabia near the Red Sea. As I understand it, NHM is thought to be a tribal name, not necessarily a place name. There is a semi-suitable Wadi directly East of where NHM was found as a possible location for Bountiful. That’s it. If fits nicely into our Book of Mormon narrative, but I withhold my enthusiasm until this evidence gains traction in a secular peer reviewed publication. The Book of Mormon, as a secular history, would be the most astounding document is secular American studies ever known if it’s historicity were supported by evidence. Until we see Book of Mormon scholarship accepted by and spread into a secular forum, I withhold my exuberance over perceived evidence. I also withhold my enthusiasm. The probability of rolling 4 sixes in a game of Yahtzee may be 1/1296, but you have to account for how many rolls you get. How many rolls do you get to find one that matches the BofM NHM? I can’t really say how many place names there are in the area and time period that would count as a hit. I think the analogy between the “history” of the BoM and the “history” of the Bible is a little misleading. The Bible is a collection of books written over centuries based on centuries’ old telling of stories passed through oral tradition. It’s not a great leap to acknowledge that (a) it is unlikely these stories represent, or are even supposed to represent actual occurrences and (b) it is likely that there is some historical truth to them and “close” archeological evidence will exist to support he genesis of these stories. The Book of Mormon, on the other hand, was presented by an individual claiming to have been given the book through supernatural means. One can draw no conclusions as to the veracity of the stories therein without first accepting the claims of the individual. To illustrate using your example of Sodom vs. Nahom. The evidence indicating a city that my have been Sodom is easier to digest because no one questions that this story was indeed told for centuries and was indeed written down by someone. That there may be some truth to the story is highly believable, even likely. Nahom, on the other hand, would need far more evidence to a non-believer. In the case of Sodom, the bible is evidence (not necessarily high quality, but evidence nonetheless) of the potential for such a city to exist – so when you add archeological evidence, you increase the likelihood of existence. Without belief in JS Jr first, the fact that the BoM discusses a city named Nahom offers no objective evidence of its existence – so any archeological evidence would have to stand on its own. I love your posts! While I am interested in BoM archaeology, it is lower on my priority lists right now. Since I stopped viewing everything through the “BoM is historical” lens, I think it’s pretty hard to convince anyone (non-believer) that the BoM is historical via archaeology. I think it relies very heavily on apologist enthusiasm and fun hypothetical statistics that impress. However, I do want to mention what I think is a problem (though I confess I have not read much into BoM archaeology). It seems to me that most of the work done in BoM and Biblical archaeology is done by believers (since they believe they’ll find something). How many “impartial” archaeologists for the BoM or the Bible are there? 1, 2, 10 maybe? Does that mean anything? I think it does. But what would we expect from archaeologists who have an unquestioning loyalty to their goal of proving their book? I don’t want to cast doubt on all the good scientific work done by the likes of John Sorenson, I just think there needs to be more divested scholarship looking at the issues and evidence. chicken, one issue I have with you comment is the fact that sodom was around 3000 years ago. if we wait another 3000 years, then the bom may seem plausible as well based strictly on the fact that we have been telling stories about lehi and laman for 3000 years. jmb, when I look at biblical archaeology, there are no ‘unbiased’ archaeologists (just like the bom). I really like william dever of the university of arizona because he seems pretty unbiased to me, but even he allows that the story of samson could be based in fact because of a philistine vase that shows a man standing between 2 pillars. it could represent the fantastic story of samson collapsing a philistine temple. yet I think most scholars question whether a person could really collapse a building. the story bears more resemblance to hercules than fact, yet there are some biblical apologists that say the story could be plausible. I think that mormons are so used to defending the bom, that we aren’t even aware of similar criticisms about the bible. after all, evangelicals aren’t going to volunteer unflattering info about the bible, and it is easy for both mormons and evangelicals to write off atheists. … Dr. John Clark of the New World Archaeological Foundation has compiled a list of sixty items mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The list includes items such as “steel swords,” “barley,” “cement,” “thrones,” and literacy. In 1842, only eight (or 13.3%) of those sixty items were confirmed by archaeological evidence. Thus, in the mid-nineteenth century, archaeology provided little support for the claims made by the Book of Mormon. In fact, the Book of Mormon text ran counter to both expert and popular ideas about ancient America in the early 1800s. As the efforts of archaeology have shed light on the ancient New World, we find in 2005 that forty-five of those sixty items (75%) have been confirmed. Thirty-five of the items (58%) have been definitively confirmed by archaeological evidence and ten items (17%) have received possible—tentative, yet not fully verified—confirmation. That’s a decent trend line. Essentially, the best available evidence is never perfect evidence, it is merely “best available.” When scholars and scientists mistake “best” evidence for “perfect” evidence they overstate their own knowledge in a kind of hubris, not seeing what they don’t know, and giving too much weight for what they think they do know. (Rhetorially) Just ask “experts” in geocentric astronomy, biologic spontaneous generation, or phrenology. It’s not that Sodom has been talked about – its about the chicken and the egg. What I mean is, Bible stories were stories passed down for generations and then written down. The discussions about the BoM are not a result of stories and experiences, they are a result of an individual writing the stories down first, beginning a discussion. Under the former, the experiences and stories beget a writing evidencing the experiences and stories, under the latter, a writing begat stories, evidencing only what we choose to believe. n, thanks for your comment. I think it well illustrates the idea that ‘the more you dig, the more you find.’ there are far too many that seem to have closed the book on future discoveries, and think that the current lack of evidence is evidence of lack. chicken, I agree that this is a bit of a chicken or egg argument. but I think the main concept remains. can a bible or bom believer convince a non-bible/bom believer that his position is correct (and vice versa)? I think the answer is ‘no.’ bible and bom believers have a supposition of historicity. non believers have a supposition of non historicity. therin lies a problem-conflicting assumptions. I don’t know of a way around that. for example, if you believe noah’s flood is a myth, is there any amount of evidence that can change your mind? The 1/10 odds were of the alternative scenario I hypothesized (Joseph Smith uses a variant on the known-to-him Semitic name name “Nahum” (“comforter”), whose meaning he reasonably could have learned from his Bible-infused culture, in connection with an event — the death of a beloved family member — where comfort is typically sought. The “proprietary algorithm” consists of me pulling the number out of a hat. Re: Peterson’s description of the “exact name” of Nahom and the “exact place,” we don’t have either. We have three letters — NHM — which may “Nahom”, or it may be Nihm or Nahm or Nuhum or any other variation. Not quite “exact.” As for “exact place,” we have — southern Arabia. A big bulls-eye, especially given Lehi’s party’s literally years of wandering. So: What are the odds of a Semitic placename existing somewhere in the Semitic-occupied territory in which Joseph Smith set the Book of Mormon, that has some potential similarity to a placename that might be invented by someone who was trying to invent Semitic-sounding placenames, with the Bible and potentially Biblical commentary or others’ knowledge as a reference? If “NHM” is evidence that the Book of Mormon is a record of activities in the Old World, because of a passable resemblance of a Book of Mormon placename to an Old World placename, then why is not the Hill Onidah (cf. “Oneida,” a New York State Indian tribe) evidence that it is the product of contemporary upstate New York? As long as we’re calculating odds, what are the chances of an Indian tribe in Joseph’s neighborhood sharing a name with a place in (presumably) Mesoamerica? I’m not aware of any connection between the Iroquoian language group and any of the Mesoamerican language families. If “NHM” is the crown jewel of apologetics, that’s not a good sign. I’d like to see the definition of “confirmed” used here. I’ve seen apologists get excited about a Mesoamerican quarry of ochre (a reddish iron-containing pigment), as if it helped confirm the Book of Mormon’s reference to use of iron and steel metal. There’s a fair gap between a bunch of half-naked tribesmen smearing reddish ochre on their faces, and a blacksmith making a steel sword. MH – I think you are talking apples and oranges. Everyone “believes” in the Bible – ie. that the Bible is a series of writings complied over centuries about the faith journey of multiple people over that time. Some of taken this to the extreme and view that, through divine intervention, the Bible is literally the Word of God and miraculous historical, others don’t. But no one disputes the history of the Book itself and how it was written and compiled. The BoM, on the other hand, is the opposite. This a book where even the most ardent believer acknowledges that it was a newly found document claiming to be written by particular individuals of particular historial facts. If you believe JS Jr’s story, then you can start comparing the tales of the BoM with the tales of the Bible and applying archeological and historical references. But that’s a big leap. Most of us will deny the divinity of any religious tome not of our own religion (ie. most Christians don’t believe in the divinity of Muhammed notwithstanding a perfectly good book attesting to that fact). What you are noting is that one cannot convince someone else of something supernatural if they do not believe. I agree. But the very existence of the BoM “relies” on the supernatural event. Not so with the Bible. As such, if archeological evidence suggests, even peripherally, the existence of the city of Sodom – even a skeptic may say “sure, maybe such a city did exist, that would explain the oral tradition involving the city that was recorded by ancient people.” But if you have archeological evidence that suggests the city of Nahom exists, most objective observers would assume their was an alternatiev explanation, as there is no long-standing and multi-generational historical tradition, merely a book that is admittedly in existence by supernatural means. Sure. A worldwide flood layer dated prior to 2000 BC. It doesn’t exist. Although absence of evidence is not always evidence of absence, where evidence should reasonably likely have been left, then yes, absence of evidence that ought to be there is evidence of absence. Alternatively, you could present geological evidence that the continents were virtually flat in antediluvian times, and Mt. Ararat was a molehill, such that you could possibly have enough water in the atmosphere to raise sea levels enough to actually drown people (as opposed to making the wicked mildly annoyed at sloshing around ankle-deep floodwater for forty days) without having to posit an atmospheric pressure similar to Venus’s, which would have cooked and imploded Noah and his fellows. So there is evidence that could change my mind re: Noah. It’s just that the best evidence is that we’re extremely unlikely ever to find it, and so the best working hypothesis is that Noah’s flood is a myth. Well, yes and no. It’s possible, and much argued over, that the Book of Deuteronomy was invented out of whole cloth by religious partisans long after its supposed writing by Moses, similar to how critics of the Book of Mormon suggest Joseph may have done with the Book of Mormon. Well said. And again, we are talking about evidence of stories withing the Bible, where the BOM itslef (as opposed to its contents) requires substantial evidence of its supernatural origins. So while stories of even some books of the Bible must overcome “the best working hypothesis” it is the BoM itself which, absent extraordinary evidence, will be presumed mythical by non-believers. This is why archeological “proofs” fall so far short from convincing objective reviewers of the BoM’s authenticity. D’Anville’s 1751 map of Asia and Niebuhr’s 1771 map of Yemen are the basis for most of the accurate maps of Arabia from 1751 to 1814. With D’Anville’s indisputable reputation for accuracy and with Niebuhr’s firsthand experience and use of scientific instruments, in addition to the difficulty in mapping Arabia, most reputable cartographers relied on D’Anville and Niebhur in publishing maps of Arabia. Bonne, Cary, Darton, and Thomson, however, all seemed to have their own sources for information on Arabia and Nehem. Not really so, in many instances. To take steel swords, the first example above, they were quite dramatically described in the James Macpherson’s Ossian poems beginning in the mid-1700s (and very widely published and accepted throughout Europe and America). Cement was certainly a part of young Joseph Smith’s world, used to construct the Erie Canal. Another of Dr. Clark’s claims I have seen is his notion that the idea of a King (Benjamin) working with his own hands would have seemed unlikely to someone of Joseph Smith’s time: most certainly not the case. Such things are readily available in the nineteenth century culture, but to know about them, one has to want to find them. Regarding the easily-accessed names of Naham and Nahum -and many others for the Book of Mormon, the following .pdf document may be of interest to some readers . . . Chicken #20, “But the very existence of the BoM “relies” on the supernatural event. Not so with the Bible” Yes, Chicken, but there are some very supernatural events–primarily in the Book of Genesis that all rely on supernatural events. Your point that “the Bible is a series of writings complied over centuries about the faith journey of multiple people over that time” will be similar to the Book of Mormon in 3000 years. Thomas, I think most Biblical apologists assume the flood was a large localized flood, rather than a worldwide flood as I mentioned about the National Geographic special in the OP. Certainly it would be easier to find a localized flood than a worldwide flood. Your point about Deuteronomy is well taken. I’ve been planning to write on that for quite some time, but I haven’t had enough time to research it good enough to put a post together. It’s been called a “pious fraud” just like the Book of Mormon. Doug, welcome back. It’s been a while, and we’re sparring about Nahom again. If Emma states that Joseph didn’t know there were walls around Jerusalem, how did he have a chance to look at these expensive maps? Rick, your points are well taken, but my question to Doug applies to you as well. What about the ark? Pretty skeptical but when this popped up a few months ago, it really startled me. MH – you’re not understanding me and it’s probably because I’m not being clear. I’m not talking about events recorded in, or stories recounted. Yes the bible contains stories of supernatural, but the telling, collecting and writing of those stories was done by very natural means. The BoM, even if it contained nothing more than recipes would still be more suspect as the actual discovery and writing of the BoM is supernatural. I can disregard the supernatural stories of the Bible as myth, exagerration, etc. and still believe the Bible is a record of the stories and spiritual journey of the people who wrote it – I may also believe that other stories contain truth.. If I similarly disregard the supernatural with respect to the BoM, then it means JS Jr. is fraudulent. If that is the case, I don’t even get to whether Nahom exists or whether cows can cross the ocean in a clam shell. There’s one other issue I’d like to weigh in on with regards to archaeology and the BoM and Bible. Suppose you were an independent, impartial observer, and were interested in the historicity of the BoM. You ask where it supposedly took place. You ask where Joseph Smith said it took place. A large group of believing scholars have a whole mess of evidence, statistics, quotes, etc. that go some way in convincing you that it happened somewhere in Central America. But you then learn there is an entirely other crowd of believing scholars who also have a whole mess of evidence, statistics, quotes, etc. that it happened in North America near the Northeast. Now what? My point is that the apologists themselves do not even have a cohesive cogent argument for a single theory. Rather, there’s a whole mess of theories, even amongst believers. How are we supposed to convince non-members, or doubting members about the historicity of a book when we can’t even agree on the evidence amongst believers? They would have a much better argument if they all backed a single theory. But the fact that there are a myriad theories is evidence that there isn’t that much convincing evidence! My experience is that most members sort of tacitly believe that the events of the BoM took place in Central America somewhere. They haven’t really investigated, but that’s what they would loosely claim to a non-member. Yet, there is no official church position, no internal agreement among non-believing scholars, or even believing scholars. ok chicken, I see your distinction, but I must confess that it seems a bit of splitting hairs to me. at least you’re consistent in calling both the bible and bom as myth. quite often, most bible believers are willing to call the bom myth, but bristle at calling the bible myth. jmb, you points are well taken. it would be nice to have a single, unified theory. but I am not bothered by all the theories, because the brainstorming is a good, necessary process. if we put all our eggs in one basket, we may miss something important. multiple geography theories are not without precedent. there are at least 13 theories that I am aware of detailing the route of the exodus. there are several locations for mount sinai. my personal belief is that mt sinai is located at jebel-musa in saudi arabia. scholars hotly contest these locations, but nearly everyone agrees that the traditional mt sinai is incorrect. I think all the bom geography theories are similar to the exodus/sinai debate. I don’t know if you remember my malay post (311 comments), but that theory removes nearly all anachronisms that american theories have. of course it has its own problems as well. I quite like Chicken’s point. The Bible has more “truth,” as it were (at least to a non-Mormon), from the get-go because it has been with us for years and because it is couched in familiar mythological tales that have been woven into a well known book. So even if you believe it’s all myth, the archeology has a chance of having a shred of truth just because myths generally have some scrap of truth. Hence, it’s not hard to buy into a potential site for Sodom even if the actual facts surrounding the city are not even close to what’s in the OT. The BoM, OTOH, is not a collection of myths (at least that’s not the claim). It’s origin is supernatural to begin with, not based on myths. It’s not as if Mormon handed down some book or oral tradition to his progenitors who perhaps wrote it down or rewrote it, changed, and/or modified it eventually falling into the hands of JS. No, the entire story begins with an angel and gold plates buried in a hill. There’s a major discontinuity between what allegedly happened with the Nephites and when the book came into existence as we know it. It’s a “new” myth, story, civilization, etc. that originated with Joseph (even if you believe it’s historical, the BoM, as we know it in English, originated with Joseph). So when archeology is presented as evidence it is easy to postulate an alternative explanation as there is no agreed upon mythology about this civilization. To the independent scholar, to use the BoM as a guide to the civilization in Central America is to concede the supernatural events and belive Joseph Smith. On the contrary, for the Bible archeologists, he/she need not believe the bible to be historical and still find evidence of a city mentioned therein. Oh, I absolutely agree with you. I’m not personally bothered by the many theories either. I’m just saying that to the non-believer it is hard to make a convincing argument about the historical nature of the BoM (of which we are so sure) when there is not even an internally consistent theory about the historical nature of it. I am going to disagree with jmb and chicken about the bible not being supernatural in origin. there was no bible prior to moses. he received the original scripture-the 10 commandments by the finger of the lord. surely this is just as fantastic as the gold plates. then they wrote the story of moses life with the plagues etc. then moses had the fantastic story of adam and eve revealed to him. I did a post about a recent book (published by oxford I believe) asking if moses plagiarized hammurabi’s code. if moses were contemporary and joseph smith were ancient, I think we would have just as many questions about the supernatural events of moses as we do the gold plates. I agree – but I don’t think it’s splitting hairs. The Bible is NOT a myth – it CONTAINS mythical stories. If you don’t believe in the supernatural at all – you would still beleive the bible exists and contains stories told for ages – but you wouldn’t beleive anything about the BoM. And this is how it relates to archeology. Archeologists might use the Bible as clues to what archeological finds mean or even evidence to search for archeological items – because the Bible, is in fact, ancient stories and therefore at least theoretically points to ancient places and events – even if oune discounts entirely supernatural claims. But, if one discounts supernatural claims, then one would not use the BoM as evidence of historical fact or relate archeological evidence to BoM claims. In an unsensitive analogy, if one does not believe in the supernatural in general, or JS Jr’s claims specifically, one would consdier the BoM to be entirely fictional – just like, say the Chronicles of Narnia. If one were to discover through archeological means, an ancient site with 4 thrones and statues of giant lions – one would not consider that this was a an indication that this was Narnia – any more than the finding of a plaque with NHM upon it would indicate the existence of a fictional place. With the BoM – belief must come first. Everything else hinges upon that. With the Bible, belief is optional – because everyone understands it is a work containing ancient writings – not so with the BoM. But you’re not suggesting that ALL of the Bible is supernatural in origin? And that’s the difference. The whole of the BoM is in the supernatural-origin camp. Perhaps there was no bible prior to moses, but there were, in fact, numerous myths about deluges, myths about God creating man and woman, etc. Besides, Moses didn’t come down from Mt. Sinai and write about it. There is considerable doubt as to the authorship and chronology of the pentateuch, which COULD mean it is also CONTAINS myth. I don’t think any of this discredits the archeology or anything. It’s just easy to see why there would be non believing bible archeologists who still try to fit their findings with the Bible (to some degree) and why there would likely be no such non believing BoM archeologists. Maybe I’m not seeing Chicken’s argument either, I dunno. Mh – you’re even assuming there was such a person as Moses – he could be made up out of wholecloth. Nontheless, ancients kept record of their spiritual journey. Eventually these were written down and, more recently compiled into the old Testament. Again though, your only talking about particular portions of the bible and, more to the point, particular things IN the Bible. THe Bible itself was not pulled from a tree or dug from the gound. It was compiled from anceint records. JMB275 – so you think non-believers would consider the archeological find similar to Narnia proof of the historicity of C.S. Lewis’ books? Would you condone further searchers for additional archeological proofs? Of course not – because we know the Narnia books are fiction. Non-believers similarly know the BoM is ficition. Hmmm, you should read my comments again. I’m agreeing with you. chicken, I still think you’re looking at this too narrow. the book of mormon is more like the book of genesis than the entire bible. (perhaps we could include the bible up until the time of jeremiah, since the archaeological data prior to david/solomon is scant. now, assuming that mosos (or perhaps baruch) was the first to write down oral traditions into the bible, then the bible can be considered a collected of myths. there is little, if any proof of biblical archaeology prior to 700 bc (some may push that back to 1100 bc). after 700 bc, we do seem to have some evidence. so the origins of the bible can be considered just as supernatural as the bom. now the bible post 700 bc is more like the d&c period of mormonism. we can find proof of locations of independence, slc, manti, just as we find jericho, jerusalem, and armageddon. 3000 years from now, archaeologists may confirm slc as a headquarters, and may discover lds and rlds versions of d&c. perhaps they may never discover the garden of eden or the city of zarahemla-perhaps they will find zarahemla in malaysia. bom archaeology is infantile compared to the 3000 years of the bible, or at least the past 2700 years. Assumes Emma and/or Joseph didn’t make that episode up, in an early effort to bolster the “Joseph was so ignorant, he couldn’t possibly have invented the Book of Mormon himself” argument. are you saying that emma made it up? #42 — Emma or Joseph. And yes, most likely. I find it impossible to believe that Joseph Smith, who was clearly familiar with the King James Bible even if it’s not clear when he first read it through, could possibly have overlooked all the biblical references to Jerusalem’s walls. Alternatively, even if Emma were accurately relating a conversation that actually took place, there’s no reason why Joseph couldn’t have had a gap in his knowledge about Jerusalem’s city infrastructure, and still had access to a map. NHM is a weak reed. No. The origins of the bible is that people wrote down oral tradition and long-told stories. The origins of the BoM is that a young man claims to have been given the book by an angel. If all Genesis discussed was supernatural fantasy and all the BoM discussed were 100% proven facts, the origin of the former would be natural and the latter would be supernatural. If one were to disregard the supernatural – one would look at the writings of Genesis and disregard them as fantasy – one would not even look at the BoM as they would disregard it as fantasy ab initio. That’s the difference. chicken, I still don’t think you’re looking at time here. if the bom was 3000 years ago and genesis was 200 years ago, we would have 3000 years of oral history of the bom. genesis would have no such history, and would be seen just as unreliable as you view the bom today. I agree that Joseph Smith would not likely have seen the more expensive maps. But here, we must begin to espouse a more sophisticated philosophy of cultural background if we are ever to transcend the somewhat adolescent stage of Mormon historiography whenever it explores parallels. Specific parallel sources (like the above expensive maps) are not so much candidates of particular borrowing, as they are indicators of a general, broad and available culture. I was somewhat troubled – maybe amused – by a wholly unimaginative approach offered on this topic by S. Kent Brown in his article, “New Light from Arabia on Lehi’s Trail” in Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson and John W. Welch, eds., Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon. (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies [FARMS], ), 55-125. Dr. Brown there reviewed published sources of Joseph Smith’s time that mentioned or discussed the NHM region in southern Arabia, or showed it on maps. He rendered a valuable service by summarizing such works he had located (Brown, 72-75). But since his focus was entirely faith-promoting, calculated to minimize potential significance to Joseph Smith’s environment, Brown became as mathematical as some commenters on the present post here, and suggested that information from pre-1829 sources could not have reached Joseph Smith unless Joseph personally read those actual books –and then only at one of two specified libraries, named in the article, near which Joseph lived when he was a boy or a young man. Dr. Brown went to considerable effort to demonstrate that those libraries did not have Niebuhr’s work (Brown 2002, 69-75). I will stipulate readily that Joseph Smith probably seldom thought of visiting Dartmouth College’s library when he was ten years old, even though it was only an hour’s walk from home. And, I probably have even less confidence than might Dr. Brown, that Joseph Smith likely spent any time patronizing the Manchester, New York membership lending library. But to ask the wrong questions (or to limit potential sources so) is as bad as to erect a straw man, and it gets us no closer to responsible history than if we were to hide our heads in the sand. As I wrote in my own work . . . History has given us an “American Prophet” who needs to be explained in terms of divine revelation, rational synthesis, or something in between. It really does not matter whether Joseph Smith actually read any specific manuscript or book, because an entire culture is on display. We are scarcely dealing here with issues of pointed study or conscious borrowing. No single one of these writings was essential to the work of Joseph Smith, and this Bibliographic Source hangs upon no individual concept – upon no particular text. It is, rather, the very existence of the Mormon parallels which these sources display – in such great number, distribution, and uncanny resemblance to the literary, doctrinal and social structures which Joseph formed – which may command our attention. interesting quote rick. I should check out your book. it seems to me that we have 2 versions of joseph smith: (1) a dumb guy with a 3rd grade education that translated only by the power of god, or (2)a man with an encyclopedic mind that remembers small details of solomon spaulding’s manuscript, niehbur’s maps, etc. even if we assume that joseph never saw niehbur’s map but simply heard about it, it seems to me that we must say that joseph had a photographic memory to remember all these details, yet miss important facts such as jesus born at jerusalem. while I am comfortable believing that joseph was no dummy, I am not comfortable believing he had a photographic memory either. it seems to me that if joseph did remember nhm, he must lean toward photographic memory. yet I see real problems with that line of reasoning as well. There may come a day when the ramblings of some 1990s teenager about life in outer space may appear fantastically prevenient – to future readers who have little understanding of popular culture of an earlier era. That which to us is esoteric data was often common to people of earlier times. And perhaps most importantly, if the burden of discovering all these things devolves upon us, it was never the burden of Joseph Smith. Whatever he saw and liked may have entered his writings. The Arabian place names that never struck him as interesting would not make it into the Book of Mormon. I still think it’s more likely that Joseph might have used a variant on the Old Testament name “Nahum” (“comforter”) to describe the place where Ishmael died, and his family sought comfort in their mourning, than that Joseph saw “Nehm” on an old map. The point is that there are plausible naturalistic explanations (we’ve covered at least two here) for the coincidence of “NHM” and “Nahom.” It’s just not the slam-dunk evidence it’s cracked up to be. but thomas, then it makes joseph smith as a genius like dan brown of da vinci code fame. dan compiled all this religious information into a book, but it took him years to put his book together. joseph smith is doing the same thing in a few months, and doesn’t seem to have the benefits of google like brown does. is it really that plausible that joseph got it all right with egyptian names pahoran and paanchi, while figuring out nhm too? at the same time he makes anachronisms with horses, chariots, and silk. this genius title seems to have some big problems, all while joseph is writing a book of theology. Many people conclude that, since we haven’t found it all, Joseph Smith could not have found it either, except through revelation. They emphasize Joseph as an educationally-deprived lad chosen to restore the gospel. They add that no one, in fact, could have found the words and power of Mormonism without the help of God. Such a conclusion is convincing to the convinced – fully relevant, satisfying and final – IF one presumes the final product before the fact: supposing, in advance of the process, no possible “correct” development but Mormonism as it finally turned out, as we have known it in its various stages, complete with only the “Mormon” elements discerned or blended successfully out of a vast and confusing world. If this sounds just right, it is a dangerous back-door defense that falls apart the moment one sees we are dealing with a farm boy whom the twentieth century never knew. Not a genius, but one derived from a culture that was surprisingly rich, varied and available. There was so much there from which to choose, and indeed, as you note (#50), Joseph did not necessarily get it all right. My last semester at BYU, I took a Shakespeare class for the fun of it. The class consisted of 3 guys and something like 17 women. This being the BYU English department, these women had what passes in Provo for a feminist streak. I was amazed to learn just how many modern feminist themes Will Shakespeare had salted away in his plays. The point is that people who go looking for useful parallels in a text, will usually find them. Coincidences are more statistically likely than people might expect; in fact, the more proper names you collect, the more likely there will be a remarkable coincidence between one of them and an utterly unconnected one. Like Onidah/Oneida, for instance, if you want to think Joseph didn’t get the former from the latter. If a culture or a history or a landscape is described broadly enough, there’s plenty of room for people to come in afterwards and identify specific details that fit within the broad scope of the writing. And no, Joseph wouldn’t have to be a “genius” to use “Nahom/Nahum” for a place of mourning. Mildly clever, at most. Ignores the fact that the Book of Mormon project was in progress for three whole years, if you count the project start date back when he started work with Martin Harris. The famous “three months” consists of the final draft produced with Oliver Cowdery. As a comparison. I once wrote the World’s Greatest Revolutionary War screenplay. The project dribbled on in outline form, coming together in my mind and partly on paper, over a period of three years — and then I finally buckled down and wrote out the last 4/5 in the course of two months, while simultaneously working a regular job. I suspect that a person reading it will find some parallels, and also some disparities, between what I wrote, and the history and geography of the Hudson River Valley setting (which I’ve never visited, and did precious little research on). If there are parallels, it won’t mean I was inspired. When Harold Bloom calls Joseph Smith an “authentic religious genius”, he ascribes to Joseph an almost incomprehensible ability to craft religious history and theology in ways that others cannot. A genius of any kind has a mind that operates in ways that normal people cannot fathom. That is why we call them geniuses. If JS was indeed such a genius, to compare JS to Dan Brown is silly. Not all authors practice their craft in the same way, and almost certainly JS didn’t research and write the book of mormon the way that we might suppose a historical novelist would write a story. I believe that JS was a religious genius in the same category as Muhammad, Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Jesus, or maybe even someone like Paramahansa Yogananda. These individuals were able to draw upon existing spiritual traditions around them and produce something new and compelling, and which spoke truth to the souls of those who listened to them or read their words. Whether what any of these spiritual geniuses said is, in fact, “truth” cannot be ultimately verified theologically (you cannot prove or disprove God’s existence, for example). In terms of relating historical or scientifically-verifiable facts, all religious genius will fall short because doing so isn’t really the point: these are not individuals who apply the scientific method or modern historical research methodologies to their messages. If we take Jesus’ word, for example, that the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, then we have to reclassify all the many thousands (millions?) of other plant seeds that are, in fact, smaller than a mustard seed, or else make Jesus either a liar or an ignoramus. In the end, if you get caught up on whether the seed is in fact the smallest, or whether Jesus really did in fact use a mustard seed as an object lesson (or if someone else writing the story down many decades after which supposed lesson was purported to have taken place just put words in Jesus’ mouth), you miss the message which might actually convey some truth or wisdom that could be beneficial to you in your life: that having just a little bit of faith gets you far in God’s kingdom. I’m in the camp that can’t really accept NHM as “proof” of Lehi’s existence any more than Joseph Smith’s public denials of polygamy were “proof” that he never entered its practice. Fact is, there are tons of references to names, places, and things in the Book of Mormon that one would expect to be easily corroborated by hundreds of years of collecting artifactual evidence in the Americas, but that are simply not there. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of 19th-century American-Protestant-influenced religious theology packed into the Book of Mormon, forcing the reader who believes in the book’s historicity to accept that ancient peoples 2,600 years ago had advanced understanding of Christian theology and doctrine, even though there exists no evidences of such understanding among any of the world’s contemporary inhabitants of the ancient world, even among the records we have that come from the Jews. Joseph either took extreme liberties with the text of the golden plates, or made huge theological mistakes in his “translation” of them, or else made the whole thing up (possibly with the help of friends and associates). That the Book of Mormon is as cohesive a narrative as it is testifies not to its historical truth, imo, as the religious genius of its creator. Still, getting caught up in questions of historicity and authenticity really dillutes the power of some of the words written in the Book of Mormon. Just as the Bible contains lots of stories and writings that get largely skipped over because they no longer represent the theological sensibilities of the modern reader, we _can_ pick and choose which portions of the Book of Mormon speak “truth” to our modern souls without getting caught up in the angst of a black-or-white, all-or-nothing dichotomy. I used to think that religion had to be all true or all suspect, but now I’m just happy when I find messages that ring “true” to me, and feel grateful that they actually speak to me among all the other stuff that is out there. That’s a net positive, imo. Here, here, SteveS (#53). My personal favorite passage in the Book of Mormon is found in modern 2 Nephi 2:25, “Adam fell, that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” When asked to write a completely middle-of-the-road introduction to Octavo Corporation’s digitized version of the 1830 Book of Mormon in the 1990s, one of my paragraphs went like this . . . There were works of equally imposing claim, of course, even in nineteenth-century America, and it would be unproductive to insist that this book is entirely unique. Indeed, much of the Book of Mormon speaks not merely from its own era, but indeed from its own decade and the very counties from which it emerged. This I have verified over the years in hundreds of texts examined and transcribed from the immediate world and culture of Joseph Smith. So when I point out that the Book of Mormon also has its exceptional moments, readers of all persuasions may allow that surprises wait between its leaves. But to me, coming from a physics background, that is the most interesting part of the Book of Mormon historicity question. I agree with BTC that the belief has to come first before one bothers to ask whether the historicity is worth pursuing (JMB can probably write a Bayesian about how different priors make historicity tests valuable or not!). But once I have the belief in the Book of Mormon as a motivator, I immediately see, just as BTC does, that you can’t “domesticate” it into a theory of scripture like modern scientific believers have adopted for the Bible. There’s then no separation between the natural and the supernatural that permits the notion of non-overlapping magisteria. The supernatural must be accepted by a believer, or (my preference) the notion of the natural must be expanded so the activity of God in history is in-your-face. That question is even more important, IMO, than trying to extract individual messages from the scriptures themselves. You make more progress when you can unify theories than when you are dealing with each idea separately. And the differences between revelation (or religious genius) as seen in the BofM and the Bible provide a really good arena for testing more general theories of scripture. I like your ideas of the pervasiveness of notions in a society as the raw materials for religious genius. But there’s a trap; it’s easier to see the sources of a prophet’s inspiration after the fact. All the materials were present for Einstein to think of relativity well before he did so. There are thousands of people today who understand relativity better than Einstein ever did. But few of those thousands could make the inspirational leap themselves. “Whether the virtues of parallels outweigh the vices is open to debate. The fact remains that the vices are considerable. 1. Any method of comparison which lists and underscores similarities and suppresses or minimizes differences is necessarily misleading. 2. Parallels are too readily susceptible of manipulation. Superficial resemblances may be made to appear as of the essence. 3. Parallel-hunters do not, as a rule, set out to be truthful and impartial. They are hell-bent on proving a point. 4. Parallel-hunting is predicated on the use of lowest common denominators. Virtually all literature, even the most original, can be reduced to such terms, and thereby shown to be unoriginal. So viewed, Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper plagiarizes Dickens’ David Copperfield. Both deal with England, both describe the slums of London, both see their hero exalted beyond his original station. To regard any two books in this light, however, is to ignore every factor that differentiates one man’s thoughts, reactions and literary expression from another’s. 5. Parallel columns operate piecemeal. They wrench phrases and passages out of context. A product of the imagination is indivisible. It depends on totality of effect. To remove details from their setting is to falsify them. 6. Parallels fail to indicate the proportion which the purportedly borrowed material bears to the sum total of the source, or to the whole of the new work. Without such information a just appraisal is impossible. 7. The practitioners of the technique resort too often to sleight of hand. They employ language, not to record facts or to describe things accurately, but as props in a rhetorical hocus-pocus which, by describing different things in identical words, appears to make them magically alike. 8. A double-column analysis is a dissection. An autopsy will reveal a great deal about a cadaver, but very little about the spirit of the man who once inhabited it. 9. Most parallels rest on the assumption that if two successive things are similar, the second one was copied from the first. This assumption disregards all the other possible causes of similarity. This isn’t to say, of course, that LDS apologists haven’t engaged in their fair share of the abuse of parallels – but, your mammoth work is not the kind of evidence that you put it forward to be. Parallels themselves are relatively meaningless. They don’t tell us much at all. It is the differences that allow for meaningful and interesting discussion. While some of your parallels are certainly of interest and worth considering, the compilation as a whole is fatally flawed. I have been absent for quite some time. Thanks for the welcome back! I really don’t have much to add to the discussion as others have covered what I would have posted even better than I in relation to NHM. I was told about Nahom while attending a leadership meeting in Japan by Neal H. Maxwell in 1995. He was very excited about the discovery and painted a picture of this place being just recently found and therefore impossible for JS to have known about it. That seemed like a bulls-eye to me as well back then. Imagine my shock in finding out just how long the area has been known and who had written about it and mapped it. The fact that it was known and written about now makes the argument shift from what he couldn’t have possibly known to what he probably didn’t know as a poor farmer in upstate New York. Even you must admit that’s a much weaker piece of evidence then if NHM had been discovered after the BoM was published. FireTag: The dilemma you mention applies more to an independently-verified or very widely-accepted theory or system. If we accept Einstein’s theory of relativity, then it may seem like genius to have ferreted it out from all the data in the Universe. But if we think like this about Mormonism, then we are essentially only saying that Mormonism is true because it is true. If we begin with the assumption that Mormonism (at whatever time period we wish to set it, for consideration) is true, then of course Joseph Smith’s task – apart from being inspired – would seem impossible. But Mormonism could have turned out to be almost anything else, as well. As I said in an earlier comment, if the burden of discovery of Joseph’s sources devolves upon us, that burden was never Joseph Smith’s. Ben McGuire: Your accusations are not really against me, but against some generic description you have espoused. I have more integrity and historical capability than you suggest. My book is a reference work, designed to supply raw data for researchers who need it. The work will stand, and I invite other readers to dig more deeply, and tear into my individual entries, comparing them carefully with similar sources, and exploring the portions I quoted very carefully to see if I twisted any contexts or authors’ original intents. Chuckle. Of all the time I am sure Ben McGuire spent reading that mammoth volume, I am surprised he (apparently) missed/forgot the title of the book, which very clearly states that it is “A Bibliographic Source.” I for one find the resource to be priceless, and look forward to using it in future projects to come. This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but in the end I actually hope your right about the BoM and the bible. I was assuming the starting point of belief in the supernatural (or, in my case, I should say, that nature is dominated at large scales by its personal rather than its impersonal aspects — I think God IS all of reality rather than separate from reality). The modern scientist, whether physical or social scientist, is trained to the notion that “natural” is the default position. It takes a conceptual leap to change to a notion of seeing the physical and spiritual as a unified whole, or perhaps a conceptual regression to get back to the notion that the spiritual is the important part of reality, even though we are one of the few cultures in history to hold the “modern” view. We don’t look for such a leap unless motivated by something — a religious teaching, a personal experience, or something else. So it takes prophetic genius to make the leap. It was in this context that I mentioned Einstein. The genius lies in REJECTING the notion of your everyday senses that space and time are a fixed stage and learning to see spacetime as an evolving character in the story itself. It wasn’t verified (or experimentally verifiable) for years afterward, and physicists only began training themselves to conceive of spacetime that way AFTER the verification. Now its obvious that even a bar magnet is a relativistic effect of electricity. Once motivated, exploring “anamalies” that stand the paradoxes of our belief systems out in the open are the way physical scientists make progress in looking for the right conceptual link — the right “crazy ideas”. In the Mormon faith, the Bible and the Book of Mormon present a huge anomaly because they each present an incompatible theory of scriptural transmission. There’s an analog in physics for that, too. The twin pillars of modern physics are quantum mechanics and general relativity. They are fundamentally incompatable on a conceptual basis because QM can’t be framed yet on anything but the “space and time as a fixed stage” basis, and unifying them is the biggest prize on the horizon. Well, I think there’s an underlying assumption here. You’re using the term “spiritual” as it relates to supernatural phenomena CAUSED externally by some force. One can easily view the physical and spiritual as a unified whole and still accept “spiritual” as being what benefits an individual “spiritually.” That is, one need not postulate external mystical CAUSAL relationships to explain spirituality. Nor does this, in my mind, invalidate the spiritual experience. Rather, it is a more honest acknowledgement of the experience. Of course, this distinction leads one nicely to a post-modern view which many find dissatisfying. I’m merely saying that the modern scientist is trained to reject the view described in the quote. The possibility you describe is CERTAINLY one way of relating the physical to the spiritual. The attraction of such views to the modern is that the “spiritual” is CONTAINED or ISOLATED to the metaphorical or the psychological and potentially subsumable to the modern worldview as our understanding of the arts, the social sciences, or the physical sciences grow. It keeps God in the gaps. It requires no conceptual leap. Our reality may work that way. The universe may be non-relativistic, too; I am aware of at least two theories that attempt to merge relativity and quantum mechanics by making relativity go away at extremely small length scales. Maybe Einstein’s conceptual leap turns out to be, at best a useful approximation. But we test those fundamental assumptions anyway, because that’s how we learn. What I am suggesting is that we need to look for new solutions to the problem of unifying the spiritual and physical that do NOT contain the spiritual within the physical any more than they contain the physical within the spiritual. At the moment I am sitting in my office looking at the cover of a book on my bookshelf, titled “The Gold of Exodus”. It was given to me by an investigator on my mission, so settled down an knocked it on a P-Day. It was about two men, Larry Williams (yes the world famous, yet superstitious investor/advisor, and apparent grave robber) and Bob Cornuke, founder of B.A.S.E. (Biblical Arcaeology & Search Exploration). These two men apparently set on a quest to discover the “true” Mount Sinai sometime either in the 80’s or 90’s, and ended up hiking to the summit of Jabal-al-lawz in Saudia Arabia. Apparently the traditional site for the location is somewhere in Ethiopia. I would tend to agree that the prevailing sentiment, no doubt influenced by the subtle endorsements via Church media, is the Central American theory. This seems to be the position most widely accepted by those of the F.A.I.R. crowd, but there has been a vehement disagreement between this group and those associated with the theories of a former meat salesman by the name of Rod Meldrum. The evidences sited both groups are so quickly dismissed by the others, that it clearly demonstrates that the evidence is far, far, from conclusive for even those who ultimately share the same position. The same goes for the Bible. Yes, it may have a stronger foothold in antiquity, but it is one thing to say Sodom may have reference to some ancient city, and completely another to say that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt as they fled. They main problem with all of this inquiry, is that evidence is fitted to the conclusion. This is true of both Bible and BoM scholars. In order to justify scientifically the parting of the Red Sea, we have theories that suggest that the Israelites had a much greater lead on the Egyptians, and passed through a wadi during conveniently timed moon-tides. Some have suggested that Soddom and Gomorrah lay beneath the Salt Sea, suggesting a metaphor for the whole salt business. At the end of the day however, the evidence of the wadi’s, or the salt content of Old World locations, do not independently lead to conclusions about the stories we teach. Just like NHM – depending on liberal we want to be on proximities, we can eventually find a beach that satisfies expectations of a percieved Bountiful. It’s not as if Mormon handed down some book or oral tradition to his progenitors who perhaps wrote it down or rewrote it, changed, and/or modified it eventually falling into the hands of JS> — the whole point of my deconstructing the Book of Mormon posts and a number of other analytical approaches to the text involve the fact that Mormon did indeed take various traditions, writings and such and edit/collect/summarize them into a book that he passed on to Joseph Smith, through Mormon’s son Moroni. Ben McGuire — interesting thoughts, thanks for sharing them. MH — look forward to your posts. Some interesting posts here, enjoyed reading the comments. cowboy, I think we are talking about the same mountain. jebel al-lawz sounds familiar to me. I know that jebel musa literally translates to ‘mount of moses.’ simcha jacobovici put together a documentary on the exodus and he has a location in israel for mount sinai in a restricted military zone. he got into a battle on a blog I read as to why his mount sinai was a better site than the saudi site. it was interesting to view the debate and reminded me of the meldrum-sorensen debates. I think few mormons delve into these biblical debates, but I think there are some really similar debates to book of mormon archaeology debates.

2019-04-25T19:55:04Z

https://www.mormonmatters.org/religious-archaeology-and-evidence/

Purpose: Loss of integrity of either the inner or outer mitochondrial membrane results in the dissipation of the mitochondrial electrochemical gradient that leads to mitochondrial membrane permeability transition (mMPT). This study emphasizes the role of glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK-3β) in maintaining mitochondrial membrane potential, thus preventing mitochondrial depolarization (hereafter termed mitoprotection). Using 3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (SB216763), an inhibitor of GSK-3β, and drawing a distinction between it and 1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1,4-bis[2-aminophenylthio] butadiene (UO126), an inhibitor of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, the means by which GSK-3β influences mitoprotection in cultured human lens epithelial (HLE-B3) cells and normal, secondary cultures of bovine lens epithelial cells, maintained in atmospheric oxygen, was investigated. Methods: Virally transfected human lens epithelial cells (HLE-B3) and normal cultures of bovine lens epithelial cells were exposed to acute hypoxic conditions (about 1% O2) followed by exposure to atmospheric oxygen (about 21% O2). Specific antisera and western blot analysis was used to examine the state of phosphorylation of ERK and GSK-3β, as well as the phosphorylation of a downstream substrate of GSK-3β, glycogen synthase (GS, useful in monitoring GSK-3β activity). The potentiometric dye, 1H-benzimidazolium-5,6-dichloro-2-[3-(5,6-dichloro-1,3-diethyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-ylidene)-1-propenyl]-1,3-diethyl-iodide (JC-1), was used to monitor mitochondrial depolarization upon exposure of inhibitor treatment relative to the control cells (mock inhibition) in atmospheric oxygen. Caspase-3 activation was scrutinized to determine whether mitochondrial depolarization inevitably leads to apoptosis. Results: Treatment of HLE-B3 cells with SB216763 (12 µM) inactivated GSK-3β activity as verified by the enzyme’s inability to phosphorylate its substrate, GS. SB216763-treated cells were not depolarized relative to the control cells as demonstrated with JC-1 fluorescent dye analysis. The HLE-B3 cells treated with UO126, which similarly blocked phosphorylation of GS, were nevertheless prone to mMPT relative to the control cells. Western blot analysis determined that Bcl-2-associated X (BAX) levels were unchanged for SB216763-treated or UO126-treated HLE-B3 cells when compared to their respective control cells. However, unlike the SB216763-treated cells, the UO126-treated cells showed a marked absence of Bcl-2, as well as phosphorylated Bcl-2 relative to the controls. UO126 treatment of bovine lens epithelial cells showed similar results with pBcl-2 levels, while the Bcl-2 content appeared unchanged relative to the control cells. HLE-B3 and normal bovine lens cell cultures showed susceptibility to mMPT associated with the loss of pBcl-2 by UO126 treatment. Conclusions: Mitochondrial depolarization may occur by one of two key occurrences: interruption of the electrochemical gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane resulting in mMPT or by disruption of the integrity of the inner or outer mitochondrial membrane. The latter scenario is generally tightly regulated by members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Inhibition of GSK-3β activity by SB216763 blocks mMPT by preventing the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. UO126, likewise, inhibits GSK-3β activity, but unlike SB216763, inhibition of ERK phosphorylation induces the loss of intracellular pBcl-2 levels under conditions where intracellular BAX levels remain constant. These results suggest that the lenticular mitoprotection normally afforded by the inactivation of GSK-3β activity may, however, be bypassed by a loss of pBcl-2, an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family. Bcl-2 prevents the translocation of BAX to the mitochondrial outer membrane inhibiting depolarization by disrupting the normal electrochemical gradient leading to mMPT. The dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ψ) occurs in a process termed mitochondrial permeability transition (mMPT) . Lens epithelial cells represent an ideal model for studying mMPT because the lens thrives in a naturally hypoxic environment, and introducing atmospheric oxygen increases the formation of reactive oxygenated species (ROS), which, in turn, may cause a loss of ∆Ψ [1,2]. The current literature suggests that mMPT is mediated via the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore [3-5]. Studies have shown that glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK-3β) is immediately proximal to the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and acts as a point of integration for many protective signals . Thus, GSK-3β is a crucial enzyme involved in preventing mMPT through regulating the opening and closing of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore [7,8]. Additional studies involving ischemic reperfusion of cardiac myocytes have demonstrated that inhibiting GSK-3β can prevent the dissipation of ∆Ψ during oxidative stress [9-11]. One of the multiple protective proteins that converge on GSK-3β is the phosphorylated form of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) . Flynn et al. has previously demonstrated that after RNA suppresses ERK ∆Ψ collapses during oxidative stress in human lens epithelial cells (HLE-B3) cells. Furthermore, studies conducted on metastatic carcinoma cells have shown that phosphorylated ERK can cause GSK-3β to become phosphorylated at its inhibitory serine, thus inactivating the enzyme . Combined, these studies suggest that ERK can prevent the disruption of ∆Ψ by inactivating GSK-3β, presumably blocking the opening of the mitochondrial transition pore. However, as will be demonstrated in this study, inhibiting ERK phosphorylation can, itself, cause mitochondrial depolarization regardless of the activity of GSK-3β. To date, the role that GSK-3β plays regarding preventing mitochondrial depolarization has not been established in an ocular system. In the current study, we demonstrate that inactivating GSK-3β activity (as monitored by its failure to phosphorylate glycogen synthase) using the pharmacological inhibitor SB216763 has a regulatory function in preventing mitochondrial depolarization. Furthermore, this study will reveal that the mitoprotection normally afforded by GSK-3β inactivation may be circumvented by inhibiting ERK phosphorylation, which culminates in inhibition of Bcl-2 phosphorylation, an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family. The Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase-1/2 (MEK1/2) inhibitor 1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1,4-bis[2-aminophenylthio] butadiene (UO126) was purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA). The glycogen synthase kinase inhibitor 3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (SB216763) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO). The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitors SP600125 (JNK Inhibitor II) and AS601245 (JNK Inhibitor V) were purchased from EMD Millipore Chemicals (Billerica, MA). Stock inhibitors were prepared by adding to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as follows: 20 mM for UO126, 16 mM for SB216763, 40 mM for SP600125, and 40 mM for AS601245. The mitochondrial dye 1H-benzimidazolium-5,6-dichloro-2-[3-(5,6-dichloro-1,3-diethyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-ylidene)-1-propenyl]-1,3-diethyl-iodide (JC-1) was obtained from Life Technologies (Grand Island, NY). All other reagents were acquired from other commercially available sources as previously reported . HLE-B3 cells, a human lens epithelial cell line immortalized by the SV-40 virus , were obtained from U. Andley (Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, St. Louis, MO). Authentication of the HLE-B3 cell line was verified with STR profile analysis (American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA), which confirmed that the cell line was human and of female origin, as originally reported by Andley et al. . A copy of the STR profile is available upon request. All studies with HLE-B3 cells were performed with prefrozen stock cells (maintained in liquid nitrogen) between passages 14 and 17. No experiments exceeded five passages beyond the initial stock cell passage. The cells were maintained in minimal essential media (MEM) containing 5.5 mM glucose supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (Gemini Bio-Products, Sacramento, CA), 2 mM L-glutamine, nonessential amino acids, and 0.02 g/l gentamycin solution (Sigma-Aldrich) and cultured at 37 °C and 5% CO2–95% O2 . Cells were sub-cultured 4 to 5 days before the experiment and placed in MEM containing 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Twenty-four hours before the day of the experiment, the cells were switched to serum-free MEM. Unless otherwise specified, all experiments followed a common protocol: Cells were maintained in atmospheric O2 (about 21%) for 90 min, then switched to hypoxic conditions (about 1% O2) for 180 min, followed by reintroduction to atmospheric O2. Each experiment was executed with control DMSO-only cells (mock inhibitor treatment) and cells treated with inhibitors. The DMSO concentration per experiment never exceeded 0.05%. Bovine eyes obtained from a local abattoir were transported on ice to the laboratory, where the lenses were removed aseptically. Bovine lens epithelial cells (BLECs) were isolated and cultured in 20% bovine calf serum–supplemented Eagle’s minimal essential medium. All studies with BLECs were performed on cells of passage 2. Whole cell lysates were collected from HLE-B3 cultures using the hot protein extraction method as described by Henrich et al. . The cell cultures were rinsed at room temperature in final concentration: 150 mM sodium chloride, 10 mM sodium phosphate monobasic, 40 mM sodium phosphate dibasic), pH 7.4, before the monolayers were lysed with hot lysis buffer (about 100 °C), subsequently scraped into 1.7 ml micro centrifuge tubes, and immediately sonicated. The lysis buffer consisted of 0.12 M Tris-HCl (pH 6.8), 4% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and 20% glycerol . Part of the lysate samples were removed and used to determine the protein concentration. The protein concentration was calculated by using a DC protein assay kit from Bio-Rad (Hercules, CA). The lysate samples contained 25 µg of protein, 1X SDS laemmli buffer, and 1.5 µl 2-mercaptoethanol (Sigma-Aldrich). The lysate samples were then boiled for 5 min and the proteins resolved on 12% SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The proteins were then transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane (Bio-Rad). The electrophoresis and western blot apparatus were from Hoefer Scientific (Holliston, MA). For western blot analysis, nitrocellulose membranes were blocked with 0.1% BSA and 0.02% Tween-20 in Tris-buffered saline (TTBS) for 60 min. These membranes were probed overnight at 4 °C with primary antibodies at a 1:1,000 dilution. The blots were then rinsed in TTBS for 5 min 4X and then incubated in either goat anti-rabbit horseradish peroxidase conjugate or goat anti-mouse horseradish peroxidase conjugate at 1:10,000 dilution (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA) for 60 min at room temperature. Blots were again rinsed in TTBS (4X 5 min washes), and proteins were detected using a SuperSignal West Pico chemiluminescent kit from Pierce (Rockford, IL) . Probed membranes were visualized on a Fluoro Chem TM 8900 imager (Alpha Innotech, San Leandro, CA). Primary antibodies were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA). The antibodies used in this study included rabbit anti-Bcl-2-associated X (BAX), rabbit anti-glycogen synthase, rabbit anti-phosphoglycogen synthase (Ser641), rabbit anti-phospho-GSK-3β (Ser9), rabbit anti-GSK-3β, mouse anti-phospho-p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (Thr202/Tyr204), rabbit anti-p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase, rabbit anti-phospho-Bcl-2 (Ser70), rabbit anti-Bcl-2, and rabbit anti-phospho-c-Jun (Ser63). Rabbit anti-actin was provided by Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA). After the HLE-B3 cells were subjected to inhibitor treatments, the cells were stained with JC-1 to determine the mitochondrial membrane potential. JC-1 is a membrane permeant lipophilic dye that exists as J-aggregates in the mitochondrial matrix (red fluorescence) and as monomers in the cytoplasm (green fluorescence). During mitochondrial depolarization, the red J-aggregates flow out of the mitochondria and accumulate in the cytosol as green monomers . Thus, depolarization can be measured as an increasing green fluorescent/red fluorescent intensity ratio. The JC-1 assay was performed as follows. HLE-B3 cell monolayers were maintained in serum-free MEM with or without inhibitor treatment, brought through atmospheric oxygen into hypoxia, and then later switched back to atmospheric oxygen as described above. At the end of the hypoxic exposure, the hypoxic media on cells (oxygen depleted) were poured off, and fresh (oxygen rich) serum-free MEM (with or without an inhibitor) was added containing 5 µg/ml JC-1 for 30 min in a tissue culture incubator. The stained HLE-B3 cells were then rinsed twice using serum-free MEM, and fresh oxygenated serum-free MEM (with or without inhibitor, but no JC-1 dye) was added. A random field of cells was imaged every 2.5 min for 60 min using an X10 objective on a confocal microscope (Ziess LSM410, LSM410, Thornwood, NY). The excitation wavelength was 488 nm, and the microscope was set to simultaneously detect green emission (540 nm) and red emission (595 nm) channels using a dual bandpass filter . A caspase-3 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Invitrogen, Camarillo, CA) was used to determine apoptosis. HLE-B3 cell monolayers were maintained in serum-free MEM with or without treatment and brought through our experimental protocol, which included atmospheric oxygen into 3 h of hypoxia, and then subsequently switched back to atmospheric oxygen. Treatment included SB216763 (12 µM), UO126 (10 µM), staurosporine (100 nM), or 0.05% DMSO vehicle maintained throughout the course of the experiment. Sixty minutes after atmospheric oxygen was reintroduced, all samples were then lysed using our lysis buffer (0.12 M Tris-HCl [pH 6.8], 4% SDS, and 20% glycerol). Part of the lysate samples was removed and used to determine the protein concentration. The protein concentration was calculated by using a DC protein assay kit (Bio-Rad). Apoptotic activity was determined following the manufacturer’s protocol using 10 µg of protein. Images from JC-1 confocal microscopy were separated into individual red and green channels using ImageJ (Baltimore, MD). The background fluorescence was removed from each image before the intensity was measured. The fluorescence intensity signal from each image was quantified for the entire image and expressed as the ratio of green fluorescent intensity over red fluorescent intensity. Western blot densitometry was determined using ImageJ, and related statistics was determined using GraphPad Prism 5 (La Jolla, CA). JC-1 analysis of the DMSO mock-treated cells exposed to various cell culture conditions was implemented to determine whether environmental stress (i.e., hypoxia, atmospheric oxygen, or reversal from one condition to the other) elicited mitochondrial depolarization. Four conditions were tested: cells grown in constant atmospheric oxygen, cells switched from atmospheric oxygen to hypoxia, cells switched from hypoxia to atmospheric oxygen, and cells maintained in continuous hypoxia. Under all tested conditions, the cells did not depolarize, indicating that continuous hypoxia, atmospheric oxygen, and switching cell culture environments (hypoxia to atmospheric oxygen or atmospheric oxygen to hypoxia) do not induce depolarization (Figure 1). To investigate the role GSK-3β plays in regulating cellular mitoprotection with cells maintained in hypoxia and subsequently exposed to atmospheric oxygen, HLE-B3 cells were treated with the GSK-3β inhibitor, SB216763. Non-phosphorylated GSK-3β is the active form of the enzyme, and in this form, the enzyme is capable of phosphorylating numerous downstream substrates including glycogen synthase (GS) . The phosphorylation of GS is thus a useful parameter for monitoring GSK-3β activity. Cultures of HLE-B3 cells were grown on 100 mm dishes until >85% confluence. Cells were treated with 12 µM SB216763 or mock-treated with DMSO (control). After 90 min in ambient oxygen, the cells were placed under hypoxic conditions (about 1% O2) for 3 h and then switched back to atmospheric oxygen (about 21% O2) for 3 h. Samples were collected from cells consistently maintained in atmospheric oxygen (control), immediately after hypoxic exposure and 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h of reexposure to atmospheric oxygen. Western blot analysis showed that the HLE-B3 cells subjected to SB216763 treatment had levels of GSK-3β and phosphoglycogen synthase kinase-3beta (pGSK-3β) similar to those of the controls (Figure 2). However, treatment with SB216763 resulted in inhibition of phosphorylation of GS. The failure to phosphorylate GS indicates the active site of GSK-3β was inactivated. The continued presence of pGSK-3β in the treated cells was because the autophosphorylation site of GSK-β was unaffected by SB216763 . A key question that we wished to address in this study was whether inhibiting GSK-3β activity positively correlated with preventing mitochondrial depolarization. In a recent related study , we observed that SB216763-treated cells monitored for mMPT using emission spectroscopy displayed suppressed mitochondrial depolarization relative to the control DMSO mock-treated cells. A parallel experiment, using the MEK1/2 inhibitor, UO126, was also conducted on HLE-B3 cells to determine whether inhibiting ERK1/2 phosphorylation had any impact on the phosphorylation of GSK-3β and GS. Lens cells were treated with 10 µM UO126 or DMSO and subsequently placed in hypoxic conditions for 3 h. Following the hypoxic exposure, new media were added to the culture dishes, and the cells were exposed to atmospheric oxygen for up to 3 h in the continued presence and absence of UO126. Lysates of these cells were collected from cells maintained consistently in atmospheric oxygen, after the hypoxic exposure and 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h after atmospheric oxygen was reintroduced. Analysis of the western blot membranes showed marked inhibition of p42 ERK1/2 and p44 ERK1/2 (Figure 3, upper panel, left) relative to the control cells. The loss of ERK1/2 phosphorylation did not affect the relative levels of GSK-3β or pGSK-3β compared with the DMSO controls (Figure 3, upper panel, right), whereas inhibiting ERK phosphorylation prevented the downstream phosphorylation of GS. Therefore, the configuration of the ratio of pGSK-3β/GSK-3β and pGS/GS appeared identical irrespective of whether SB216763 or UO126 was used (compare the bar graphs of Figure 2 and Figure 3). Given the similarity in the profile of the ratio of pGSK-3β/GSK-3β and pGS/GS, a critical question was whether UO126-treated cells, similar to SB216763-treated cells, likewise prevented mitochondrial depolarization relative to the control DMSO mock-treated cells or whether UO126-treated cells were prone to mMPT. Parallel studies were conducted using JC-1 analysis. HLE-B3 cells were treated with 10 µM UO126 or DMSO and then placed under hypoxic conditions for 3 h. The cells were exposed to the JC-1 dye for 30 min in atmospheric oxygen. Following the JC-1 application, fresh media with U0126 or DMSO were added to the culture plates. The cells were subsequently observed with confocal microscopy and the green and red intensities recorded every 2.5 min for 60 min. The green to red ratio of the UO126-treated cells markedly increased over the time course relative to the control cells, indicating the loss of ∆Ψ (Figure 3, bottom panel). As discussed above, comparison of the western blots for pGSK-3β/GSK-3β and pGS/GS between the two inhibitor treatments generated profiles that were similar, if not, identical (compare Figure 2 and Figure 3). However, whereas treatment with the GSK-3β inhibitor, SB216763, likely blocked opening of the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pores, effectively suppressing depolarization , treatment with UO126 elicited profound depolarization relative to the control cells (Figure 3, bottom panel). We therefore examined in greater detail the outcome of each inhibitor on the BAX, Bcl-2, and pBcl-2 levels. Lysates from all experimental treatments were evaluated to determine the levels of Bcl-2, pBcl-2, and BAX. Western blot membranes from the SB216763- and UO126-treated cells relative to their respective controls indicated no alteration in the levels of BAX for the treated and control cells (Figure 4, upper panel and Figure 5, upper panel). The relative levels of pBcl-2 and Bcl-2 were not altered for the SB216763-treated cells compared with the control cells (Figure 4, middle panel). In contrast, the UO126-treated cells displayed significantly diminished levels of pBcl-2 under all culture conditions, including normoxic control, hypoxic exposure, and the reintroduction of oxygen subsequent to hypoxic exposure (Figure 5, middle panel); a significant loss of Bcl-2 was also observed but, interestingly, only during the reintroduction of oxygen phase (Figure 5, middle panel). Of particular note, treatment with UO126 (Figure 5, upper panel, left and bottom panels) but not with SB216763 (Figure 4, upper panel left and bottom panel) prevented the phosphorylation of c-JUN, through all culture conditions. The phosphorylation of c-Jun is a useful parameter for monitoring JNK activity. That is, UO126, while effectively inhibiting ERK phosphorylation (refer to Figure 3, upper panel, left), was nonetheless equally effective in inactivating JNK activity. This observation imposed a burden of proof upon us to determine whether the ERK pathway or the JNK pathway negatively impacted the pBcl-2 levels. HLE-B3 cells were treated with JNK inhibitors, SP600125 (5 µM, 10 µM, or 20 µM), AS601245 (5 µM, and 10 µM, 20 µM), or DMSO vehicle (control). Phosphorylated JNK is the active form of the enzyme, and in this form, the enzyme is capable of phosphorylating numerous downstream substrates, including c-Jun. The phosphorylation of c-Jun is thus a useful parameter for monitoring JNK activity. Treated and control cells were placed in hypoxic conditions for 3 h and then switched to atmospheric oxygen for 3 h. After the switch to atmospheric oxygen, the hypoxic media were removed from the cultures, and fresh oxygenated media containing either inhibitor or vehicle were added. Lysates of all the cells were collected after 3 h exposure in atmospheric oxygen. SP600125 and AP601245 markedly reduced phospho-c-Jun at all concentrations relative to the control cells (Figure 6). Further analysis indicated no change in the levels of BAX, Bcl-2, or pBcl-2 for cells treated with SP600125 or AS601245 versus cells treated with DMSO vehicle (Figure 6). A slight increase in the levels of pERK were observed with either inhibitor treatment cells relative to the control cells, the meaning of which is not immediately evident to us. However, whereas UO126 negatively impacted JNK activity (Figure 5), the JNK inhibitors did not cross-inactivate ERK phosphorylation (Figure 6). We therefore concluded that inhibition of the ERK pathway, not the JNK pathway, elicited the inhibition of phosphorylation of Bcl-2 (Figure 5). To determine if the inhibition of ERK or GSK-3β activity influence the onset of apoptosis, an active caspase-3 ELISA was implemented. As above, the HLE-B3 cells were treated with either 12 µM SB216763, 10 µM UO126, or 0.05% DMSO. The 100 nM staurosporine concentration was used as a positive activator of caspase-3. Cells were incubated for 90 min and then placed in hypoxia for 180 min. At the end of the hypoxic exposure, the media were removed from the treated and untreated cells, and fresh media were added. The cells were then placed in atmospheric oxygen for 60 min. SB216763 and U0126 were administered throughout the duration of the experiment. At the end of this 60 min period, all samples were lysed with lysis buffer. The DMSO mock-treated cells displayed minimal capase-3 activation relative to the cells treated with staurosporine (positive control), which showed a significant increase in caspase-3 activity (Figure 7). The UO126- and SB216763-treated cells demonstrated levels of capase-3 activity similar to the DMSO mock-treated cells (Figure 7). The lack of caspase-3 activity in the UO126- and SB216763-treated cells indicate that apoptosis did not occur in the presence of either inhibitor, although the UO126 treatment elicited mitochondrial membrane permeability transition (refer to Figure 3, bottom panel). To determine that our results (and consequent interpretations) had not been compromised by the viral transformation of the HLE-B3 cells, we repeated the UO126 treatment, as described above with HLE-B3 cells, with secondary cultures of normal bovine lens epithelial cells. Inhibition of p42 ERK1/2 and p44 ERK1/2 relative to the control cells was noted (Figure 8, upper panel). As with the HLE-B3 cells (Figure 3, upper panel, right), neither GSK-3β nor pGSK-3β (Figure 8, middle panel) was diminished, compared with the DMSO controls. Likewise, inhibition of ERK phosphorylation prevented the downstream phosphorylation of GS (compare Figure 3, upper panel, right and Figure 8, middle panel). We further investigated the effect of UO126 treatment on BAX, Bcl-2, and pBcl-2 levels using secondary cultures of bovine lens epithelial cells. Lysates were evaluated with western blot analysis to determine the levels of BAX, Bcl-2, and pBcl-2. Western blot membranes from the UO126-treated cells relative to their respective controls indicated some lane loading variability, but no obvious loss, in the levels of BAX (Figure 8, bottom panel), similar to that of the HLE-B3 cells (Figure 5, upper left panel). As with the HLE-B3 cells (Figure 5, upper left panel), the UO126-treated cells displayed a significant reduction in pBcl-2 under all culture conditions: normoxic control, hypoxic exposure, and the reintroduction of oxygen (Figure 8, bottom panel). Of interest, unlike the HLE-B3 cells (Figure 5, middle panel) where a significant loss of Bcl-2 was noted (but only during the reintroduction of the oxygen phase), there was no dramatic reduction in the levels of Bcl-2 between the treated and untreated cells under any condition (Figure 8, bottom panel). Finally, as first observed with HLE-B3 cells (Figure 5, upper left panel), UO126 elicited the inhibition of phosphorylation of c-JUN, through all culture conditions (Figure 8, bottom panel). Parallel studies with UO126 were conducted using JC-1 analysis. Normal bovine cell cultures were treated with 10 µM UO126 or DMSO and then placed under hypoxic conditions for 3 h. The cells were exposed to the JC-1 dye for 30 min in atmospheric oxygen. Following the JC-1 application, fresh media with U0126 or DMSO were added to the culture plates. The cells were subsequently observed with confocal microscopy and the green and red intensities recorded every 2.5 min for 60 min. As with the UO126-treated HLE-B3 cells (refer to Figure 3, bottom panel) the green to red ratio of the UO126-treated bovine lens cells markedly increased over the time course relative to the control cells, indicating the loss of ∆Ψ (Figure 9). To establish our reference baseline, it was first necessary to demonstrate that the experimental manipulation of switching cells from hypoxia to atmospheric oxygen or vice versa, from atmospheric oxygen to hypoxia, was not, of itself, sufficient oxidative stress to elicit mitochondrial depolarization (Figure 1). Once established that the physical manipulation of switching cell cultures from one oxygen pressure to another did not impose mitochondrial depolarization, we investigated the regulatory function of GSK-3β insofar as its ability to convey mitochondrial resistance to depolarization. First, we sought to clarify whether blocking GSK-3β’s autophosphorylation site or inactivating its catalytic active site conferred prevention of mitochondrial depolarization. To monitor the enzyme’s active, catalytic site, we scrutinized the phosphorylation of a downstream substrate of GSK-3β, glycogen synthase (GS). Our data revealed that SB216763 did not block the autophosphorylation of GSK-3β relative to control cells, but successfully eliminated the phosphorylation of GS, indicating that the catalytic site of GSK-3β was inactivated (Figure 2). Stated another way, the failure to phosphorylate GS, but not the autophosphorylation site of GSK-3β, appears to be a better predictor of whether inhibiting GSK-3β’s enzymatic activity positively correlates with blocking mitochondrial membrane permeability transition. In a recent report using the specific GSK-3β inhibitor, SB216763, we demonstrated that “inhibition of GSK-3β activity by SB216763 blocked mitochondrial membrane permeability transition relative to the slow but consistent depolarization observed with the control cells.” We concluded that inhibiting GSK-3β activity with the GSK-3β inhibitor SB216763 provides positive protection against mitochondrial depolarization . The role of GSK-3β and how it may be influenced by upstream signaling mechanisms has been the focus of numerous studies. “There is evidence in different cell types that anti-apoptotic responses can be mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and the Akt/PKB serine-threonine protein kinase, p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinases or extracellular response kinases (ERKs), Raf, and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA).” To further delve into this issue, using the lens cell model, we compared and contrasted the pGSK-3β /GSK-3β, as well as the pGS /GS western blot profiles of cells treated with an inhibitor of ERK against the known catalytic site inhibitor of GSK-3β, SB216763 (refer to above). We followed up with a JC-1 evaluation to monitor whether ERK inhibitor treatment prompted mitochondrial depolarization or whether, like SB216763, inhibiting ERK phosphorylation imposed resistance to mitochondrial depolarization . Similar to the treatment with SB216763 (Figure 2), treatment with UO126 had no effect on autophosphorylation of GSK-3β relative to the control cells, but successfully eliminated the phosphorylation of GS (Figure 3, upper panel, right). However, whereas treatment with SB216763 resulted in suppression of mitochondrial depolarization , unexpectedly, the UO126-treated cells displayed profound depolarization (Figure 3, bottom panel). We therefore sought to explain the apparent discrepancy between the similarity of the SB216763 and UO126 profiles of pGSK-3β/GSK-3β and pGS/GS and the observation that the former but not the latter (Figure 3) conferred resistance to mitochondrial depolarization. Western blot analysis of HLE-B3 cells treated with SB216763 or UO126 showed that the BAX levels were unchanged relative to the untreated, control cells (compare Figure 4 versus Figure 5). Moreover, the BAX content of the UO126-treated normal bovine lens epithelial cells was similar relative to the control cells (Figure 8, bottom panel). These data support the notion that BAX does not play a direct role in lens epithelial cell resistance to mitochondrial depolarization. We therefore directed our attention to answering the question, “Is it the continuous expression of Bcl-2 or the phosphorylation of Bcl-2 that confers resistance to mitochondrial depolarization?” The UO126-treated virally transformed HLE-B3 cells, and the normal bovine lens epithelial cells demonstrated a propensity to depolarize (compare Figure 3, bottom panel and Figure 9). We took advantage of our observation that UO126 treatment with HLE-B3 cells instigated a loss of Bcl-2 (but only under the condition of reintroduction of oxygen (refer to Figure 5) whereas UO126-treatment with normal bovine lens epithelial cells did not diminish the levels of Bcl-2 (Figure 8, bottom panel), this although with both types of cells, a profound loss of pBcl-2 was apparent under all conditions (compare Figure 5, top panel, left with Figure 8, bottom panel). Therefore, since the bovine cells depolarized without the loss of Bcl-2, we conclude that pBcl-2 confers anti-depolarization resistance in lens epithelial cells. Lei et al. 2002 [20-24] stated, “this phosphorylation has been reported to inhibit the pro-survival function of Bcl. This conclusion, however, is controversial as other studies have indicated that phosphorylation may enhance the anti-apoptotic actions of Bcl-2” [25-27]. Data from our study lend support to the latter statement in that the depolarization observed with UO126 treatment is caused by a lack of pBcl-2 (compare Figure 3 and Figure 5 with Figure 8 and Figure 9). The lack of pBcl-2 likely results in a loss of Bcl-2’s antiapoptotic function as reported by others. Cellular apoptosis is regulated, in part, by maintaining a balance between the levels of the prosurvival protein, Bcl-2, and the proapoptotic protein, BAX. BAX is a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family. Activation of BAX causes its translocation to the mitochondrial outer membrane and induces mitochondrial depolarization. However, before BAX can initiate this process, the protein must first translocate from the cytoplasm to the mitochondria. Bcl-2 influences apoptosis by regulating the translocation of BAX to the mitochondria [28,29]. Any decrease in the levels of Bcl-2 (or in our case, pBcl-2) is likely to permit the translocation of BAX from the cytosol to the mitochondria and induce mitochondrial depolarization. Disruption of the integrity of the outer mitochondrial membrane would then be the cause of the initiation of the loss of ∆Ψ, often cited as an early predictor of the onset of apoptosis. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that UO126 inhibits not only ERK phosphorylation but also JNK activity (unpublished data). Studies have shown that pJNK mediates the phosphorylation of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 [20-25]. Thus, as this relates to the studies described here, one possible explanation for the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential could have been attributed to the loss of JNK activity. To determine whether this was the case, we analyzed JNK activity with UO126 treatment. A common measure of JNK activity is to monitor the phosphorylation of one of its downstream substrates, c-Jun, where inhibition of the phosphorylation of c-Jun indicates inactivation of JNK. The level of phospho-c-Jun was similar with SB216763 treatment relative to control cells (Figure 4). UO126 inhibited c-Jun phosphorylation (Figure 5). Moreover, the resulting inhibition of c-Jun phosphorylation with treatment by UO126 was accompanied by an apparent loss of pBcl-2, thus suggesting a potential connection between the JNK pathway and mitoprotection (Figure 5). UO126 treatment, since it inhibited JNK activity, complicated our ability to definitively interpret the data, in that our results would not permit us to immediately distinguish whether the inhibition of phosphorylation of ERK or JNK influenced the downstream reduction in pBcl-2 levels. It therefore became necessary to determine which of the two pathways, ERK or JNK, was influencing the phosphorylation of Bcl-2. HLE-B3 cells were treated with two specific inhibitors of JNK activation. Analysis of the levels of phospho-c-Jun revealed that SP600125 and AS601245 effectively reduced the levels of phospho-c-Jun relative to that of the controls without affecting the pBcl-2 levels (Figure 6). Collectively, the data reported in Figure 5 and Figure 6 allowed us to assert that inactivating JNK does not influence Bcl-2 phosphorylation. Instead, inhibiting ERK causes the loss of Bcl-2 phosphorylation. We therefore conclude that inhibiting ERK phosphorylation overrides the mitoprotection otherwise afforded by SB216763 presumably because of the loss of pBcl-2 (Figure 5 and Figure 8). Mitochondrial depolarization is often cited as an early indicator of the onset of apoptosis. However, our studies establish that despite the mitochondrial depolarization initiated by UO126 treatment for HLE-B3 cells (Figure 3, bottom panel) in conjunction with the loss of pBcl-2 (Figure 5), the degree of the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition was at an insufficient level to induce apoptosis in human lens epithelial cells, as indicated by the lack of active caspase-3 (Figure 7). Our result is not all that unexpected because it has previously been shown that there is considerable intracellular heterogeneity in mitochondrial membrane potential of mitochondria . In effect, the degree of mitochondrial depolarization as indicated by the JC-1 dye represents the collective states of depolarization from a heterogeneous population of mitochondria. We conclude that one must exercise caution when equating mitochondrial depolarization with the onset of apoptosis. Cellular apoptosis/necrosis should be determined only after examination with annexin V/propidium iodide, DNA fragmentation, or caspase-3 or -9 cleavage, or some combination thereof. In conclusion, the studies presented here further support our previous assertion that GSK-3β is a critical upstream regulator of mitochondrial membrane permeability transition for human lens epithelial cells cultured in atmospheric oxygen. In this study, we have established a direct relationship between the active catalytic site of GSK-3β and the normal functioning of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore to open and close. However, inhibiting ERK phosphorylation indirectly overrides the otherwise protective influence of GSK-3β to resist mitochondrial membrane permeability transition through a concomitant loss of pBcl-2 levels leading to mitochondrial depolarization. Restated, the fact that SB216763 and UO126 prevent the phosphorylation of GS suggests that GS phosphorylation, itself, may be regulated by one of the many signaling pathways activated by ERK independent of GSK-3β. At the same time, the ERK pathway also likely independently influences Bcl-2 phosphorylation. The mechanism by which UO126 administration leads to preventing phosphorylation of Bcl-2 is currently not understood and warrants further investigation. Recent studies in our laboratory have shown that UO126 treatment elicits a significant decrease in the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) but only upon reintroduction from hypoxia to atmospheric oxygen (unpublished observation). However, UO126 does not have an effect on VEGF expression in hypoxia-maintained cells . VEGF acts as a prosurvival factor in hypoxic lens epithelial cells by maintaining consistent expression of the prosurvival protein Bcl-2, which likely prevents the translocation of cytosolic BAX to the outer mitochondrial membrane, thus preventing the initiation of mitochondrial depolarization . Our laboratory is interested in regulating VEGF as a cell survival protein. Current studies in the laboratory are directed toward elucidating the potential role of GSK-3β in managing the sustained expression of VEGF and how VEGF expression regulates the levels of Bcl-2 and its phosphorylated counterpart as it influences downstream impact on lenticular mitoprotection in atmospheric oxygen (manuscript in preparation). The authors express their gratitude to Lawrence Oakford for the preparation of all figures and images in this manuscript and to I-Fen Chang for technical support in obtaining the JC-1 image analysis data.

2019-04-24T09:55:34Z

http://www.molvis.org/molvis/v19/2451/

The Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals (hereafter the "Association") is a business league of companies with common business interests in radionuclides, radiochemicals and other radioactive products primarily used in medicine and life science research, and radiopharmaceuticals. The purpose of the Association is: 1) to monitor and proactively respond to and to assist in regulatory and legislative processes at the International, U.S. Federal, State, or Local government levels that ensure reasonable controls on the development, manufacture, transportation, use, service, and disposal of radioactive products; 2) to develop and encourage the use of industrial standards to assure safe, reliable and high quality products and services; and 3) to promote and maintain public awareness of the benefits of these products and services to society. to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth above. Notwithstanding any provision of the Articles of Incorporation of the Association or any other provision of these By-Laws, the Association shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States internal revenue law). Except as provided otherwise by the Articles of Incorporation or by these By-Laws, the Association shall have all powers that a not for profit corporation has when organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended, and shall have all such additional powers as are permitted by any applicable law. The registered office of the Association in the State of Delaware shall be located at 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle. The name of its registered agent is the Corporation Trust Company. The Association may have other offices within or without the State of Delaware as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine. Section 4.1. Classes of Members, Qualifications. The Association shall have two classes of members. Section 4.1.1. Full Member. Any North American company that is in the business of manufacturing, distributing, or compounding radionuclides for biomedical research, or radiopharmaceuticals, or radioactive sources, has paid applicable membership dues, and has a representative on the Board of Directors shall be a full member of the Association for the term specified by the Board of Directors. A vote of greater than two-thirds of the directors is required for membership approval. Section 4.1.2. Affiliate Member. Any North American company that is in the business of manufacturing, distributing, or compounding radionuclides for biomedical research, radiopharmaceuticals, or radioactive sources, and any North American company that is in the business of manufacturing pharmacologically active agents used in Nuclear Medicine procedures, has paid applicable membership dues, and does not have a representative on the Board of Directors; shall be an affiliate member of the Association for the term specified by the Board of Directors. A vote of greater than two-thirds of the directors is required for membership approval. Section 4.2. Dues. The Board of Directors may determine the amount of an initial membership fee, if any, and annual dues payable to the Association by members. Section 4.3. Voting Rights. Each full member shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the members. Section 4.4. Resignation, Removal. Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the Secretary/ Treasurer. Any member may be removed, with just cause (such as nonpayment of dues), by affirmative vote of a majority of the directors, provided that thirty days' written notice is given to such member in advance of such vote and provided that such member is offered an opportunity to be heard by the Board of Directors before such vote. Section 4.5. Reinstatement. Upon written request signed by a former member and filed with the Secretary/Treasurer, the Board of Directors may by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the directors reinstate such former member to membership upon such terms as the Board of Directors may deem appropriate. Section 4.6. Annual Meeting. The annual meeting of the members for the election of Directors of the Association and for the transaction of such other business as may properly be brought before the meeting shall be held at such times as the Board of Directors may provide. Section 4.7. Special Meetings. Special meetings of members may be called by the Board of Directors or such officer as the Board of Directors may designate. Section 4.8. Place of Meeting. All meetings of members shall be held at such place, either within or without the State of Delaware, as the Board of Directors may provide. Section 4.9. Notice of Meetings. Written or printed notice, and an agenda stating the place, day, and hour of the meeting, and in the case of a special meeting or one required by law or by these By-Laws, stating the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be delivered to each member of record entitled to vote at such meeting not less than ten (10) nor more than ninety (90) days before the date of the meeting. Such notice shall be given by or at the direction of the Chairman, the Secretary/Treasurer, or the officer or persons calling the meeting. Section 4.10. Action Without a Meeting. (1) Any action required by law to be taken at any annual or special meeting of members entitled to vote, or any other action which may be taken at a meeting of members entitled to vote, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice, and without a vote if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed (i) by all members entitled to vote with respect to the subject matter thereof, or (ii) by the members having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all members entitled to vote thereon were present and voting. Prompt notice in writing of the taking of such action without a meeting shall be delivered to those members entitled to vote who have not consented in writing. Such consents shall be delivered to the Association by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal office, or the Secretary/Treasurer of the Association. Delivery made to the Association's registered office shall be by hand or certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. Section 4.11. Action at a Meeting. If a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes present and voted, either in person or by proxy, shall be the act of the full members, unless the vote of a greater number is required by law, the Articles of Incorporation, or these By-Laws. Section 4.12. Quorum. Unless otherwise provided by the Articles of Incorporation or these By-Laws, full members of the Association holding one-half of the votes entitled to be cast on a matter, represented in person or by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for consideration of such matter at a meeting of full members except that in the absence of a quorum, a majority of the full members present may adjourn the meeting to another time without further notice. Withdrawal of full members from any meeting shall not cause failure of a duly constituted quorum at that meeting. Section 4.13. Proxies. A full member entitled to vote may vote in person or by proxy executed in writing by the member or that member's duly authorized attorney-in-fact. No proxy shall be valid after eleven months from the date of its execution, unless otherwise provided in the proxy. The proxy must state the issue or motion that the vote is intended to cover. Section 5.1. General Powers. The affairs of the Association shall be managed by or under the direction of its Board of Directors. Section 5.2. Number and Qualifications. The maximum number of directors of the Association shall be the number of full members of the Association. Section 5.3. Appointment and Tenure. Directors shall be elected by vote of the members at each annual meeting, and each director shall hold office until the next annual meeting of members and until a successor has been elected and qualified. If the election of directors shall not be held at such meeting, such election shall be held as soon thereafter as conveniently possible. Elections of directors may be conducted by mail. Section 5.4. Resignation. A director may resign at any time by written notice delivered to the Secretary/ Treasurer of the Association. A resignation is effective when the notice is delivered unless the notice specifies a date later than the date of delivery. Section 5.5. Presiding Officer. The presiding officer at any meeting of the Board of Directors shall be the Chairman of the Board, or, in his absence, the Vice Chairman, or, in the absence of both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, any other director elected chairman by vote of a majority of the directors present at the meeting. Section 5.6. Executive Director. The Board of Directors shall contract with an individual, who is not a member of the Board, to serve as the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall perform functions as assigned by the Board of Directors. Section 5.7. Vacancies. A vacancy in the Board of Directors by reason of resignation, death, or removal shall be filled, as necessary, by the Board of Directors, taking into account the nomination of the member company represented by the former director. Any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors by reason of an increase in the number of directors may be filled by the Board of Directors. A director elected to fill a vacancy shall be elected for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor in office or, if the director is elected because of an increase in the number of directors, the term of such director shall expire at the next annual meeting of members entitled to vote. Section 5.8. Regular Meetings. A regular annual meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held without notice other than these By-Laws, immediately after, and at the same place as, the annual meeting of members. The Board of Directors may provide by resolution the time and place, either within or without the State of Delaware, for the holding of additional regular meetings of the Board without notice other than such resolution. Section 5.9. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by or at the request of the Chairman of the Board and may be conducted either within or without the State of Delaware. Section 5.10. Notice of Meetings. Notices and agenda of any special meeting of the Board of Directors shall be given in accordance with these By-Laws at least three (3) days in advance thereof by written notice to each director at the address shown for each director on the records of the Association. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors need be specified in the notice or waiver of notice of such meeting, unless specifically required by law, the Articles of Incorporation, or these By-Laws. Section 5.11. Action Without a Meeting. Any action required by law to be taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors, or any other action which may be taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors or a committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting, if a consent setting forth the action so taken shall be signed by all directors or by all the members of such committee entitled to vote with respect to the subject matter thereof, as the case may be. The consent shall be evidenced by one or more written approvals, each of which sets forth the action taken and bears the signature of one or more directors or committee members. All approvals evidencing the consent shall be delivered to the Secretary/Treasurer to be filed in the records of the Association. The action taken shall be effective when all the directors or the committee members, as the case may be, have approved the consent unless the consent specifies a different effective date. Any such consent shall have the same force and effect as a unanimous vote. Section 5.12. Quorum. One-half of the directors then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting, provided if less than one-half of the directors are present, a majority of the directors then present may adjourn the meeting to another time without further notice. Withdrawals of directors from any meeting shall not cause failure of a duly constituted quorum at that meeting. Section 5.13. Action at a Meeting. The act of the majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Directors, unless the act of a greater number is required by law, by the Articles of Incorporation, or by these By-Laws. Section 5.14. Proxies. At all meetings of the Board of Directors, a director may vote by proxy executed in writing by the director and authorizing a director in attendance at the meeting to act for such absent director or by designating a person to act as a director, in writing, on his/her behalf. A director may confer a limited or general proxy, which shall be valid only for the meeting and on such date identified therein, unless that meeting is continued for lack of a quorum. Before or at the time of the meeting, such proxy shall be filed with the Executive Director and the Chairman of the Board and shall state clearly the scope of authority granted. Any copy, facsimile or other reliable reproduction of such writing may be used for any and all purposes for which the original writing could be used, provided such writing is a complete reproduction of the original writing. Section 6.1. Committees of the Board of Directors. A majority of the Board of Directors may create one or more additional committees of the Board, which committees, to the extent specified by the Board and not otherwise prohibited by law, may have and exercise authority of the Board of Directors in the Management of the Association. The designation of any committee and the delegation thereto or authority shall not operate to relieve the Board of Directors, or any individual director, of any responsibility imposed upon it or him by these By-Laws. Section 6.2. Action of Committees of the Board. A majority of a committee of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum. The Act of a majority of committee members present and voting at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the committee. A committee may act by unanimous consent in writing without a meeting in the manner provided by these By-Laws for written consents of the Board of Directors. Some or all committee members may participate in and act at any meeting through the use of a conference telephone or other similar communications equipment. No member of a committee of the Board may act by proxy. Subject to these By-Laws and to action by the Board of Directors, a majority of the members of a committee of the Board shall determine the time and place of meetings and the notice required for meetings. Section 6.3. Advisory Committee. The Board of Directors may create one or more advisory committees or other advisory bodies and appoint persons to such advisory committees or bodies who need not be directors. Such advisory committees or bodies may not act on behalf of the Association or bind it to any action but may make recommendations to the Board of Directors or the officers. Section 6.4. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall be a standing committee of the Association. The Nominating Committee shall have the following responsibilities: to recruit qualified candidates for elective positions of the Association; and to recommend removal of a director. Section 6.5. Working Committees. The Board of Directors may from time to time, in its discretion, by resolution passed by a majority of the Board of Directors, designate, and appoint other committees of one or more directors which shall have and may exercise such lawfully delegable powers and duties conferred or authorized by the resolutions of designation and appointment. The Board shall have power at any time to change the members of any such committee, to fill vacancies, and the discharge any such committee. Section 6.6. Special Interest Committees. The Board of Directors, at their discretion, can also create Special Interest Committees, in which each Director is free to be a participating member. If any cost is incurred by a Special Interest Committee, the Special Interest Committee will levy an assessment to fund such Special Interest Committee activities. Section 6.6.1. Membership. A Director may appoint another employee of his/her company to represent him/her as a participating member of a Special Interest Committee or of a subcommittee of a Special Interest Committee. The maximum number of members of a Special Interest Committee or of a subcommittee shall be the number of full members of the Association. At least one Director must be a member of each Special Interest Committee. Section 6.6.2. Dues. The costs and expenses relating to the work of any Special Interest Committee or sub-committee shall be borne only by those member companies whose director so elects to participate. Section 6.6.3. Voting Rights. Each member of a Special Interest Committee or a sub-committee shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the members. Section 6.6.4. Tenure. The tenure of a Special Interest Committee member is the same as the tenure of the Director who participates in the Special Interest Committee or who appointed the committee member who participates in the Special Interest Committee or subcommittee. Section 6.6.5. Resignation, Removal. Any member may resign from a Special Interest Committee by filing a written resignation with the Chairman of a Special Interest Committee. Any member may be removed, with just cause (such as nonpayment of dues), by affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Special Interest Committee, provided that thirty days written notice is given to such member in advance of such vote and provided that such member is offered the opportunity to be heard by the committee membership before such vote. Section 6.6.6. Reinstatement. Upon written request signed by a former member and filed with the Chairman of a Special Interest Committee, the members may by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members reinstate such former member to committee membership upon such terms as the members may deem appropriate. Section 6.6.7. Vacancies. A vacancy in a Special Interest Committee membership by reason of resignation, death, or removal shall be filled, as necessary by the Board of Directors, taking into account the nomination of the member company represented by the former Director. Section 6.6.8. Presiding Officer of a Special Interest Committee. The presiding officer at any meeting of a Special Interest Committee shall be an elected Chairman by vote of a majority of Special Interest Committee members at a special meeting of a Special Interest Committee shortly before or after the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors. In the absence of the Chairman, the presiding officer of a meeting shall be any committee member elected chairman by a vote of a majority of the members present at the meeting. The Chairman shall hold office until a successor is elected and qualified or until such Chairman’s earlier death , resignation, or removal in the manner provided above. Vacancies may be filled at any meeting of a Special Interest Committee. Election or appointment of any member or agent shall not create any contract rights. Section 6.6.9 Presiding Officer of a subcommittee of a Special Interest Committee. The presiding officer of a subcommittee of a Special Interest Committee shall be any subcommittee member elected Chairman by vote of a majority of the subcommittee members. In the absence of the Chairman, the presiding officer of a meeting shall be any subcommittee member elected chairman by a vote of a majority of the members present at the meeting. The Chairman shall hold office until a successor is elected and qualified or until such Chairman’s earlier death, resignation, or removal in the manner provided above. Vacancies may be filled at any meeting of a subcommittee. Election or appointment of any member or agent shall not create any contract rights. Section 6.6.10. Role of Chairman of the Board in a Special Interest Committee. The Chairman of the Board is to be an ad-hoc non-voting member of every Special Interest Committee and subcommittee, and is invited to attend the meetings of a Special Interest Committee or subcommittee. Information exchanged at the Special Interest Committees’ or subcommittees’ meetings is not to be shared by the Chairman of the Board with those outside the committee membership unless so permitted by such committees. Section 6.6.11. Records. Special Interest Committees and subcommittee shall keep correct and complete books and records of account and shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of their members, and shall keep a record giving the names and addresses of the members entitled to vote. All books and records of a Special Interest Committee or subcommittee may be inspected by any member entitled to vote in a Special Interest Committee or subcommittee, or such member's agent or attorney, for any proper purpose at any reasonable time. Section 6.6.12. Access to Records. A Member company whose director does not elect to participate in a Special Interest Committee shall not be entitled to attend Committee or subcommittee meetings nor to have access to minutes and records or background information produced as a result of such meetings. A Special Interest Committee meeting may be opened to non-members by unanimous consent of the Special Interest Committee members. Minutes, records, and background information relating to work of a Special Interest Committee or subcommittee (including those in which all members do not participate) shall be provided only to the Executive Director, and to Legal Counsel, who would, in turn, make them available to member companies of the Special Interest Committee and to the Secretary¬/Treasurer in a sealed envelope for the Corporate archives. Section 7.1. Enumeration. The officers of the Association shall be a Chairman of the Board, Vice Chairman, Secretary/Treasurer, and such other officers or assistant officers as may be elected or appointed by the Board of Directors. Officers whose authority and duties are not prescribed in these By-Laws shall have the authority and perform the duties prescribed from time to time by the Board of Directors. Any two or more offices may be held by the same person. A director may be an officer. Section 7.2. Election and Term of Office. The officers of the Association shall be elected annually at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors, or as soon thereafter as conveniently possible. Each officer shall hold office until a successor is elected and qualified or until such officer's earlier death, resignation, or removal in the manner hereinafter provided. Vacancies may be filled or new offices created and filled at any meeting of the Board of Directors. Election or appointment of any officer or agent shall not itself create any contract rights. Section 7.3. Resignation and Removal. (a) Any officer may resign at any time by giving notice to the Board of Directors. A resignation is effective when the notice is delivered unless the notice specifies a date later than the date of delivery. The resignation of an officer need not be accepted in order to be effective. (b) The Board of Directors may remove any officer, either with or without cause, whenever in its judgment the best interests of the Association would be served thereby. Section 7.4. Vacancies. A vacancy in any office, however caused, may be filled by the Board of Directors for the unexpired portion of the term. Section 7.5. Compensation. The officers of the Association shall serve without compensation unless otherwise specified by the Board of Directors. Section 7.6. Chairman of the Board. The Chairman of the Board shall in general supervise and control all of the business and affairs of the Association. The Chairman of the Board or any other proper officer of the Association may sign any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts, or other instruments which the Board of Directors has authorized to be executed, except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the Board of Directors or by these By-Laws to some other officer or agent of the Association, or shall be required by law to be otherwise signed or executed, and in general he shall perform all duties incident to the office of the Chairman of the Board and such other duties as from time to time may be prescribed by the Board of Directors. When present, he shall preside at all meetings of the members and of the Board of Directors. Section 7.7. Vice Chairman. In the absence of the Chairman of the Board or in the event of his inability or refusal to act as Chairman of the Board, the Vice Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman of the Board and, when so acting, shall have all the powers of, and be subject to all the restrictions placed upon, the Chairman of the Board. (e) keep a register of the mailing address of each member, director, or committee member, which shall be furnished to the Secretary/Treasurer by such member, director, or committee member. The Secretary/Treasurer shall also have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and securities of the Association, receive and give receipts for moneys due and payable to the Association from any source whatsoever, deposit all such moneys in the name of the Association in such banks, trust companies or other depositories as shall be selected by the Chairman of the Board, disburse the funds of the Association as ordered by the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board or as otherwise required in the conduct of the business of the Association, and render to the Chairman of the Board or the Board of Directors, upon request, an account of all his transactions as Secretary/Treasurer and on the financial condition of the Association. The Secretary/Treasurer may contract with an individual, who is not a member of the Board, to perform certain functions with the prior approval by the Board. Any such contracted functions that involve the assessment, receipt, or transfer of moneys shall require periodic audits of all transactions by the Secretary/Treasurer. The Secretary/Treasury shall in general perform all the duties incident to the office of Secretary/Treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him by the Chairman of the Board or by the Board of Directors. If required by the Board of Directors, the Secretary/Treasurer shall give a bond (which shall be renewed regularly), in such sum and with such surety or sureties as the Board of Directors shall determine for the faithful discharge of his duties and for the restoration to the Association, in case of his death, resignation, retirement, or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money, and other property of whatever kind, in his possession or under his control belonging to the Association. Section 8.1. Contracts. The Board of Directors may authorize any officer(s) or agent(s) of the Association to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Association, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances. Section 8.2. Loans. No loans shall be contracted on behalf of the Association and no evidences of indebtedness shall be issued in the name of the Association unless authorized by a resolution by the Board of Directors or by action of a duly empowered committee of the Board. Such authority to make loans may be general or confined to specified instances. No loan shall be made by the Association to a director or officer of the Association. Section 8.3. Checks, Drafts, Etc. All checks, drafts, or other orders for the payment of money, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness, issued in the name of the Association, shall be signed by such officer(s) or agent(s) of the Association and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors. In the absence of such determination, such instruments may be signed by the Chairman of the Board. Section 8.4. Gifts. The Board of Directors may accept on behalf of the Association any contribution, gift, bequest, or devise for the general purposes or for any special purpose of the Association. The Association shall keep correct and complete books and records of account and shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of its members, Board of Directors, and committees having any authority of the Board of Directors, and shall keep a record giving the names and addresses of the members entitled to vote. All books and records of the Association may be inspected by any director, any member entitled to vote, or any director's or such member's agent or attorney, for any proper purpose at any reasonable time. The Board of Directors may provide a corporate seal which shall be in the form of a circle and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Association and the words "Corporate Seal" and "Delaware." Section 12.1. Manner of Notice. Whenever under the provisions of law, the Articles of Incorporation, or these By-Laws, notice is required to be given to any member, director or member of any committee designated by the Board of Directors, it shall not be construed to require personal delivery. Such notice may be given in writing by depositing it in a sealed envelope in the United States mails, postage prepaid and addressed to such member, director, or committee member at his or her address as it appears on the books of the Association, and such notice shall be deemed to be given at the time when it is thus deposited in the United States mails; or such notice may be effected by facsimile transmission with printed evidence of successful transmission or electronic mail with printed acknowledgment of receipt, or given in writing by any other means and if given by such other means, shall be deemed given when received. Such requirement for notice shall be deemed satisfied, except in case of meetings of members with respect to which written notice is required by law, if actual notice is received orally or in writing by the person entitled thereto as far in advance of the event with respect to which notice is given as the minimum notice period required by law, the Articles of Incorporation, or these By-Laws. Section 12.2. Waiver of Notice. Whenever any notice is required to be given by law, by the Articles of Incorporation or by these By-Laws, a waiver thereof in writing signed by the person or persons entitled to such notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to the giving of such notice. Each person who at any time is or shall have been a director, officer, employee, or agent of the Association or is or shall have been serving at the request of the Association as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, shall be indemnified by the Association in accordance with and to the full extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as amended from time to time. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which a person seeking indemnification may be entitled under any by-law, agreement, vote of members or disinterested directors, or otherwise. If authorized by the Board of Directors, the Association may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person to the full extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as amended from time to time. A vote of a majority of the number of Directors may alter, amend, or repeal the By-Laws or adopt new By-Laws. Such action may be taken at a regular or special meeting for which a quorum is present and for which written notice of the purpose shall be given. If such action is taken without a meeting, all of the Directors entitled to vote thereon must consent in writing. Upon dissolution of the Association, no funds shall be distributed, directly or indirectly, to any member, officer, or director of the Associa5tion, or to any private individual. Rather, after payment of any outstanding debts, any funds remaining shall be distributed as determined by the Board of Directors, in accordance with the purposes for which the Association was incorporated.

2019-04-23T12:18:29Z

https://www.corar.org/by-laws

Semple, K. E., Zhang, P. K., and Smith, G. D. (2015). "Stranding moso and guadua bamboo. Part II. Strand surface roughness and classification," BioRes. 10(3), 4599-4612. In this study OSB strands produced by a CAE 6/36 disk flaker from re-saturated moso and guadua bamboo tissue were classified by surface quality and compared with industrial aspen OSB strands. Strands were first classified into three groups based on surface appearance and texture. The topographic features that characterize the surface were then measured using a laser surface profiler to give two surface roughness indicators; average roughness (Ra) and average maximum roughness (Rz). Guadua strand surface quality was extremely poor compared to moso due to its very large, dense vascular bundles. Ra and Rz values for many bamboo strands, particularly guadua, exceeded the typical diameter of resin droplets dispensed during industrial OSB blending, meaning that excessive roughness could compromise bonding efficiency in bamboo OSB. In Part II of this series on stranding moso (Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel) and guadua (Guadua angistifolia Kunth) bamboo, the surface quality and roughness indices of strands were assessed. Part I (Semple et al. 2015a) covered strand production using a CAE 6/36 laboratory disk flaker, pole characteristics affecting strand size and quality, and compared frequency distributions for strand width and thickness against a standard industrial aspen OSB mill furnish. To minimize the amount (and cost) of resin required to manufacture OSB, strands are spot-welded together by very small, dispersed droplets of resin (Kamke et al. 1996; Smith 2003a,b). There is very little information available on the measured surface roughness of OSB strands, and none for bamboo strands. Information on how it may affect the efficiency of bonding of small droplet arrays deposited during the resin atomization and blending process is also lacking. The very rough surfaces of many of the bamboo strands observed in Part I may be different to and outside the range of surface roughness found in standard OSB furnish, and potentially reduce the bonding efficiency of very small adhesive droplet arrays. The surface of a machined piece of wood (such as a sliced OSB strand) is a complex function of three levels of texture (Marian et al. 1958): the woods’ own anatomical features (e.g., vessels), intentional machining features (e.g., smooth slicing by a planer or roughening from sand paper), and errors of form (e.g., material distortion and variability in tooling and machine performance that produces ‘background’ effects such as waviness or deep cracks). Notwithstanding errors of form, the induced surface roughness of wood adherends has significant effects on adhesive wettability and final adhesive bond strength and fracture toughness (Collett 1972; Ebewele et al. 1980; Nussbaum and Sterley 2002). To bond wood surfaces, specialized liquid adhesives have been developed that allow wetting and conformation with the surface, but limit seepage into the substrate and its resultant starvation of the glueline. Therefore surface characterization of wood and OSB strands commonly includes assessment of surface energy, with measurement of contact angles in relation to adhesive wettability (Shupe et al. 1998; Maldas and Kamdem 1999; Shi and Gardner 2001; Nussbaum and Sterley 2002). One of the biggest problems with defining wood surface roughness in relation to adhesion is the porous and permeable nature of the wood, giving it ‘internal roughness’ that is not picked up by stylus tracings (Ebewele et al. 1980). Some drawbacks of stylus tracings include slow measurement speed, surface damage, catching of the stylus in holes or deep fissures, 2-dimensional sampling, results being influenced by environmental vibrations, and stylus and arm variables (Devoe et al. 1992; Hu and Afzal 2005). Today, stylus tracings have largely been replaced by non-contact methods of laser displacement sensing of the surface to map the surface topography (Lundberg and Porankiewicz 1995; Sandak and Tanaka 2003; Sandak et al. 2004; Hu and Afzal 2005). A commercially available non-contact laser profiling system was used in this study, due to occasional deeply fissured surfaces, and detached tissue on bamboo strands susceptible to dislodgement by a stylus. The objective of this study was to measure the surface roughness indices (average roughness, Ra, and maximum roughness, Rz of bamboo strands classified by feel as ‘smooth’ or ‘rough’ and compare these indices with those measured on ‘smooth’ and ‘rough’ industrial OSB strands produced from aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx). The results are compared to and discussed in relation to the known size of resin droplets administered during OSB furnish blending. Assessment of strand surface quality was done in two ways. First, a qualitative classification using a combination of visual and tactile assessments of each measured strand from Part I was made as to whether each strand fell into one of three surface roughness groupings: (1) rough on both sides, (2) smooth on one side and rough on the other, or (3) smooth on both sides. Tactile assessment of surface roughness can be subjective, particularly if there are several categories, and the boundaries between categories are indistinct. For this reason, the number of categories was restricted to three, with most sampled strands easily classified into one of the three. Second, a laser surface profiler from LaserScan LT (Solaris, San Francisco, USA), fitted with a Keyence K2000 Series LK-031 sensor head, was used to measure the topographic features, i.e., the height and depth of the ridges and valleys running parallel to the length of the strand. This was done to quantitatively characterize surfaces assessed subjectively by touch as either ‘rough’ or ‘smooth’ in each type of sliced tissue (aspen, moso, and guadua). Surface profile data were mapped and analyzed using Solar Map Universal 3.2 software. Six specimens, each of seven types of surface, were scanned for a total of 42 scans. The seven surface types were (1) aspen ‘smooth’, (2) aspen ‘rough’, (3) moso ‘smooth’, (4) moso ‘rough’, (5) guadua ‘smooth’, (6) guadua ‘rough’, and (7) a ‘smooth’ reference surface of sliced moso bamboo veneer. This cabinet-quality veneer is produced in China by pre-softening large laminated billets and using a large sharpened wedge blade to slice thin veneer sheets measuring 2400-mm × 1200-mm × 0.6-mm in thickness. The veneer is kept intact by a layer of high tear strength paper adhered to the back. and Rpi and Rvi are the ith highest peak and lowest valley, respectively. A DX100 Olympus Digital Light Reflection Microscope (5x magnification) was used to examine the sliced transverse cross-sections through the culm wall of moso and Guadua tissue. This was to provide a visual comparison of the morphology of the vascular bundles likely affecting the surface quality of the sliced strands. Cursory examination of both industrial aspen mill strands and bamboo strands suggested considerable visual and tactile variation in the surface roughness of strands. The surface quality of wood products is still often assessed by feel (tactile) judgment, but due to the complexity and variability of the material no universally accepted standard parameter for characterizing and comparing the roughness of wood surfaces has ever been developed (Fujiwara et al. 2004). The macroscopic visual appearance of strand surfaces of moso, guadua, and aspen mill strands subjectively assessed ‘rough’ and ‘smooth’ to touch is shown in Figure 1a to c. Figure 1d shows the surface condition at the site of node tissue in the culm wall. Note the much wider zone of node tissue in the guadua strands. Slicing through the site of the embedded node tissue in the culm wall of guadua resulted in a very uneven, and in many cases broken up, surface. Fig. 1. Surface appearance of: (a) moso, (b) guadua, (c) aspen mill strands. The top strand surface in the images was classified as ‘rough’, and the bottom strand surface was classified as ‘smooth’. (d) shows the appearance of the sliced node tissue in moso and guadua. The proportions of moso and guadua strands falling into each of the three surface quality categories, stranded using the same flaker operating parameters, are given in Table 1. The majority (60%) of industrial aspen strands could be classified as ‘smooth’ on both sides, and 10% were classified as ‘rough’ on both sides. Experiments (Semple et al. 2014) in adjusting tissue MC and flaker operating parameters to optimize the thickness distribution and quality of strands from moso bamboo found that strand surface quality for moso was very sensitive to tissue moisture content, knife protrusion settings, material feed rates, and whether the pieces were stranded horizontally or vertically, i.e., slicing across or along the grain, respectively. Full tissue saturation above 130% MC, low knife protrusion settings, slower feed rates, and stranding parallel to the fiber direction are all necessary to maximize the proportion of ‘smooth-both-sides’ strands. Despite these efforts, no more than about a quarter of the bulk moso strands could be classified as ‘smooth’ on both sides. Another quarter of the bulk moso strands were distinctly smooth on one side and rough on the other. The rough surface of these moso strands is characterized by the presence of very thin and flat strips of parenchyma tissue that has sheared away from the bulk strand tissue, as seen in Fig. 1a and close-up in Fig. 2a. The observed generation of rough surfaces is believed to be due to tensile stress and shearing forces acting on the backs of strands. This may be caused by the angled back of the cutting blade. The counter knife angle is designed to force sliced wood veneers to break up along the grain into narrower pieces to ensure most strands end up between about 25 and 50 mm in width (Maietta et al. 2011). A higher angle is used for denser, stronger woods. A schematic diagram of the slicing action is shown in Fig. 3. Three factors that were unable to be changed during stranding were the knife profile, counter knife angle, and the need to boil the pieces to re-saturate them prior to stranding. According to De Vallance et al. (2012), two adjustable process variables — MC and knife angle, directly impinge on the strand size and surface quality of ‘difficult-to-strand’ hardwoods like red oak. Knife angle critically affects the surface quality of veneer sliced from blocks (Spelter 1991). De Vallance et al. (2012) were able to make significant improvements to the size and quality of red oak strands by reducing knife speed down from current industrial flaker settings and using blades with a lower counter knife angle, thus placing less fracture stress on the material. Here, the bamboo tissue was saturated to its maximum capacity to ensure that tissue dryness was not a limiting factor, but it was not possible to adjust the counter knife angle. It is therefore possible that further improvements in the quality of both guadua and moso strands could be had by reducing or eliminating the counter knife angle, as well as other adjustable parameters such as cutting speed. The profiled counter knife is also unnecessary since the width of bamboo strands is already constrained by the limited culm wall thickness. Strand quality in guadua was markedly lower than that of moso, despite using the same stranding parameters used to produce the best outcome for moso. From Table 1 only 5% of the sampled bulk guadua strands could be classified as ‘smooth’ on both sides. The majority of guadua strands (65%) were both visually and tactilely ‘rough’ on both surfaces. Many of these were split apart, as seen in Fig. 2b (top strand), rather than sliced cleanly, as seen in Fig. 2b (bottom strand). The appearance of the transverse surface across the grain of the culm wall of moso and guadua is shown in Fig. 4. The very large and solid vascular bundles present in guadua give it higher average density and far superior flexural stiffness than moso. From Part I, the average basic density of the stranded guadua and moso culm tissue was 533 kg/m3 and 447 kg/m3, respectively. Comparative tests on the two species by De Vos (2010) showed guadua to be 75% higher in MOE (14 GPa) of internode tissue than moso, but only slightly higher in MOR (130 MPa compared to 115 MPa for moso). Interestingly, De Vos (2010) found guadua to be less than half the Janka hardness of moso (2500 N compared to almost 6000 N for moso internode tissues). Despite this apparent difference in hardness, guadua was still far more problematic to strand than moso, likely because of its greater average density and the more extreme differences in density and hardness of the two main culm wall tissue components: the fiber bundles, and the surrounding parenchyma ground tissue. Many of the guadua strands tended to split apart rather than slice cleanly, producing a rough surface with lots of raised ridges that correspond to the separation of the very large and solid fiber bundles (also known as vascular bundles) from the much softer and weaker parenchyma tissue. The largest of the vascular bundles of guadua were around 1.1 mm high and 0.5 mm wide, similar to those observed and measured by Aijazi (2013) in scanning electron microscopy images though the culm wall cross section of guadua. These very large, closely spaced fiber bundles in guadua tissue are in contrast with the much smaller and more discrete vascular bundles of moso tissue of the transverse section of the culm wall. In contrast, moso vascular bundles are approximately 40 µm high and 300 µm wide (Dixon and Gibson 2014). In the moso tissue sampled, many of the fiber sheathes (there are four in a whole fiber bundle) appeared not to be fully solidified, as shown by the light brown zones. This suggests that the fibers may have not yet reached their full maturity and density, and helps explain the much lower basic density of the moso (447 kg/m3). After 1 year, bamboo fibers are hollow and thin walled, and over several subsequent years the fiber walls thicken and the cells solidify almost completely, leaving minimal lumen space (Leise and Weiner 1996). While the volume fraction of fibers in the culm wall of bamboo is strongly gradational across the culm wall, the average volume fraction for guadua ranges from about 42% to 49% (Estrada et al. 2014). Fiber volume fraction for moso is on average around 40% (Osorio et al. 2010), and ranges from 15 to 20% in the inner wall to 60-65% at the outer wall (Amada et al. 1997). Guadua fibers are not only more voluminous compared to moso, but they are also very dense at 1440 kg/m3 (Trujillo et al. 2010). The fibers are extremely tough and strong with a reported tensile strength and elastic modulus (tensile) of chemically extracted fibers of 234 MPa and 20.6 GPa (Ramirez et al. 2012), and for fibers extracted using optimized mechanical extraction, 800 MPa and 43 GPa, respectively; these values are comparable to those of glass fibers (Van Vuure et al. 2009; Trujillo et al. 2010). The parenchyma cells of the ground tissue surrounding the vascular bundles are very short and blocky with thin walls (Leise and Grosser 1972; Leise 1998), and the tissue density is just 330 kg/m3 (Dixon and Gibson 2014). Its strength is only a tenth of that of the vascular bundles themselves (Amada et al. 1997). Unless the blade is very sharp and slices cleanly through the fiber bundles longitudinally, the shearing force exerted along the culm wall will simply rupture the parenchyma tissue surrounding the fibers, leaving them exposed on the surfaces of strands, giving the kind of surface seen in Fig. 2b (top strand). In the stranded culm materials the frequency of nodes in the culm was less for guadua (3.3 nodes per m) than moso (3.8), but the node plates and embedded node tissue in guadua was over twice as thick (Semple et al. 2015a). Note in Fig. 2d the much greater damage to the surface caused by slicing through embedded node tissue in guadua compared with moso. Previous research (De Vos 2010) has noted the very poor planed surface quality of solid guadua tissue, especially at the nodes. In the node zone of the culm wall the anatomy of the vascular bundles changes considerably, becoming extensively branched, intertwined, and interconnected by repeated anastomoses (Grosser and Leise 1971). Fiber length is also shortest at the nodes, leading to greater tissue weakness (Leise and Grosser 1972; Shao et al. 2010). Sampling of the noded strands from guadua found up to 45% of the bulk strands broken into two shorter pieces. Slicing this tissue would be akin to trying to slice through a knot of very thick rope. The only known previous attempt to convert guadua tissue to strands was conducted by Dagilis (1999), similarly using a disk flaker. The author found that wafer quality was so poor as to preclude the fabrication of waferboards (the precursor to OSB), but did not elaborate on any wafer quality parameters such as breakage or surface characteristics. Short of simply cross cutting guadua culms into shorter rounds and discarding the node sections, there appears to be currently no practical way of removing the node plates. Since docking culms into short lengths is impractical and wasteful, a purpose-designed corer with a hardened steel or diamond-tipped tooling head would be a useful development for the guadua processing industry. The nodes are also largest and most numerous in the bottom portion of each whole culm, so one relatively simple strategy for minimizing the effects of nodes on OSB boards may be to separate the lower portion of each culm and only use the strands from these in the core layers of boards where consistency of strand length and strength properties is not as critical. Average Ra and Rz values, and coefficient of variation (CV) for the six specimens from each of seven surface types are given in Table 2. A visual example of the raw surface roughness profiles (Fig. 5) and the typical 3-D topographic map constructed for a surface (Fig. 6) is shown for the ‘smooth’ and ‘rough’ surface of guadua strands. For the purpose of this study, a characteristic average roughness index was measured to characterize the two subjective tactile roughness groupings ‘rough’ and ‘smooth. The smoothest of the ‘smooth’ to touch surfaces was the fine sliced moso cabinet-makers veneer, Ra = 7.19 µm, followed by the ‘smooth’ moso strands, Ra = 7.70 µm. Corresponding Rz values for these two surfaces were 37.63 µm and 43.97 µm, respectively. Interestingly, the industrial aspen strands classified by touch as ‘smooth’ were similar in measured surface characteristics to the guadua strands classified as ‘smooth’; Ra = 10.11 µm and 10.70 µm, and Rz = 57.98 µm and 57.33 µm, respectively. The strands from the three tissue types classified by touch as ‘rough’ were more variable in their measured surface characteristics. The roughest surfaces were found on guadua strands, Ra = 23.38 µm. It is interesting to note that all the strand surfaces subjectively classified by feel as ‘rough’ were remarkably similar in the measured topographic feature that makes them noticeably rough to feel, i.e., the average vertical distance of the five highest and lowest peaks and valleys of the surface, represented by Rz. Average Rz values are 113.83 µm, 115.43 µm, and 115.22 µm for the ‘rough’ to touch aspen, moso, and guadua strands, respectively. However, note also the very high CV values in Table 2, especially for Rz of ‘rough’ surfaces indicating the large variation in measured roughness within the two groups. Accurately correlating measured (contact or non-contact method) surface roughness parameters with tactile roughness has proven very difficult (Fujii et al. 1997; Fujiwara et al. 1998, 2001, 2004). A surface rated very smooth to the touch can have a few very narrow, but deep, fissures caused by slicing along a vessel element that can greatly skew mathematically derived roughness parameters obtained directly from a measured profile. An example of this is the ‘smooth’- rated surface of guadua strands, whereby there is a deep valley caused by slicing lengthways though a vessel element within a fiber bundle (Fig. 2a and Fig. 3a). Topographic features as this had an upwards skew effect on the Ra for ‘smooth’ guadua strands compared with ‘smooth’ moso strands, both of which felt similar to the touch. Better linkage of tactile roughness with measured roughness indices is possible using a Robust Gaussian Regression Filter (RFRF) (Brinkmann et al. 2000). This reduces or eliminates ‘outlier’ effects that cannot be discerned by, or affect, the feel of the overall surface (Fujiwara et al. 2004). However, if considering surface roughness in relation to adhesion, such filters can mask the presence of topographic features that strongly influence adhesive interaction with the surface and the ability to form adequate bonds. The results from the surface roughness measurements has potential implications for the efficiency of bonding with small resin droplets dispensed from spinning disk atomizers during OSB strand blending. Numerous studies have shown that for a given dose of resin, many very small droplets or particles of solid resin and wax lead to superior flake or OSB board properties rather than fewer, larger resin spots (Schwarz et al. 1968; Kasper and Chow 1980; Ellis 1993; Kamke et al. 1996; Saunders and Kamke 1996; Smith 2003 a,b). The size and spacing of the droplets is critical. Optimum resin spot diameter has been shown to be between about 300 µm and 400 µm, with spacing no greater than 300 µm (Smith 2003b). There is no information directly linking the size of the pits and fissures in machined OSB strands with the size of the droplets administered during blending of strands with resin. A recommended droplet diameter for a typical PF resin used in OSB manufacture, dispensed from a spinning disk atomizer (SDA) is 94 µm (Smith 2003b). Experiments using industrial blender operating parameters (resin flow rate, SDA disk rotational speed) by Zhang et al. (2008) found much smaller droplet diameters ranging from 0.25 to 60 µm. 90% of the spray volume consisted of droplets <30 µm, and up to 15% of the spray volume consisted of droplets <10 µm in diameter. This was smaller than the average peak-valley difference (Ra), and certainly smaller than the average maximum roughness (Rz) of the rough-surface bamboo strands. If the strands being blended have high peaks and deep valleys, then the very small droplets administered by SDA during blending are likely to disappear into fissures, and will be unable to contribute to bonding. A deeply fissured surface (such as the loose side of a veneer) also creates the opportunity for adhesive over-penetration and starvation of the glueline, particularly for resins with low surface tension (Shupe et al. 1998). Therefore, surface roughness and topography of wood adherends, such as veneer or strands, could greatly affect the bond strength depending on the adhesive system, and its amount and distribution on adherends. The bond strength of discrete and scattered resin spots between OSB strands relies on the ability of strands to plasticize and deform sufficiently during hot pressing to form very tight, continuous wood-wood contact (Wolcott et al. 1990). The vast majority of bonds between strands result from a resin spot on one strand contacting a resin-free area on an adjacent strand (Smith 2003b). If smooth, intimate contact between the two surfaces is not made, then a bond is unlikely to be formed, and that resin is wasted. Aspen strands soften, compress and conform tightly to one-another during hot pressing, and administering very small droplets during blending does not appear to pose any significant problems for product quality. Investigations on pressing bamboo strand boards (Semple et al. 2015b) found that, unlike aspen, the harder and denser bamboo strands do not compress and conform to each other under normal OSB hot pressing conditions, leaving visible gaps between strands. This means that bonding by tiny, discrete droplets in bamboo strand boards could be more sensitive to the surface roughness of bamboo strands. Further work is required to examine the interactions between bond strength formation and the surface roughness of bamboo strands. Moso and guadua bamboo produced different strand surface quality when stranded using a disk flaker designed for relatively soft, low density woods such as aspen. The majority of guadua strands were visually and tactilely classified as ‘rough’ on both sides, and only 5% could be considered ‘smooth’ on both sides. The remainder had one ‘rough’ and one ‘smooth’ surface. About a quarter of moso strands were ‘smooth’ on both sides, compared with 60% of aspen mill strands. Average measured surface roughness (Ra) of the ‘smooth’ moso strand surface was 7.7 µm, while that of aspen mill strands and guadua were similar at 10.1 µm and 10.7 µm, respectively.The Ra value of ‘rough’ strand surfaces was 17.4 µm, 20.9 µm, and 23.4 µm for aspen, moso, and guadua, respectively. The average maximum roughness (average distance between the five largest peaks and valleys, Rz) values were similar for all three strand types classified as ‘rough’; approximately 115 µm. The average and maximum roughness values for the strand surfaces exceeded the reported diameter of most droplets dispensed by spinning disk atomizers used in OSB furnish blending. This could potentially affect bonding efficiency, particularly in the case of the bamboo strands, in which there was a much greater proportion of very rough strands, and which do not conform and compress during hot pressing. 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https://bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu/resources/stranding-moso-and-guadua-bamboo-part-ii-strand-surface-roughness-and-classification/

2015 NBA Power Rankings: Who's on Top Heading into Playoffs? No, Jim Mora. We're not kidding you. We, too, are excited for the NBA playoffs. After five-and-a-half months of back-to-backs, TNT Thursday nights and countless hours debating who's better and who's best, it's finally time to let the players and coaches decide a true champion. To be sure, you'll hear no complaints from me about the season that was. The 2014-15 campaign was arguably the most exciting and intriguing one the Association has seen in some time. From the rise of the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks to the depth of competition out West to the scramble to fill out the Eastern Conference bracket, there was nary a dull moment from start to finish in the league's schedule. That being the case, it might seem like a tall order for the playoffs to live up to the regular season that just transpired. But without a clear-cut favorite to take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy, this postseason is shaping up to be every bit as captivating as the slate that preceded it, if not more so. Before we get wrapped up in all the best-of-seven series to come, let's look back to see how the NBA as a whole finished up by ranking each of the 30 teams based on how they played down the stretch and which players they had available. Another year, another sad slate of basketball for the Minnesota Timberwolves. An incessant spate of injuries—from Kevin Martin's wrist to Kevin Garnett's knee to Shabazz Muhammad's finger to the ankles of Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic and beyond—doomed the Wolves to their 11th straight trip to the lottery from start to finish in 2014-15. LaVine might (eventually) be one of those teammates. The UCLA product nearly averaged 19 points, five rebounds and five assists while shooting better than 40 percent from three over his final 18 games (17 starts). The Wolves can look forward to a summer marked by growth from their youngsters, rather than one consumed by the inevitable ouster of an anxious franchise cornerstone. That, in itself, could be enough to ignite a productive offseason in Minnesota, along with whatever the team yields from its latest lottery pick. And if the Wolves can exterminate their infestation of injury bugs before October, they just might make something meaningful of 2015-16. Nerlens Noel won't likely wind up as the NBA's Rookie of the Year, but unlike last year's winner (Michael Carter-Williams), the Kentucky product can probably count on a long-term future with the Philadelphia 76ers. Noel did plenty to make up for lost time after missing what would have been his maiden campaign in 2013-14 while recovering from a torn ACL. He led all rookies in double-doubles and was the only player in the league to finish in the top 10 in both steals and blocks, all while missing a mere six of his team's 82 games. Each game, eight Sixers staffers would track different metrics, including shot contests, hustle plays and how quickly players attacked different areas after an offensive miss and filled sections of the court defending in transition. After the game, the overall team and each player would receive a grade, 1-20, with the latter being the highest. Brown said more than 60 percent of the time in games this season, the team finished at a respectable 16. As for Noel, more than 60 percent of the time he was better than 12 in games. But the most significant number is this: When he was an 18 or higher, the Sixers won 15 of the 18 games. Noel may not be the star of the future for the Sixers, but if everyone else plays as hard as he does, the team should still be in good shape long-term. The Orlando Magic were never likely to so much as sniff the playoffs this year, even in the weak East. From the get-go, their roster was more smorgasbord of useful pieces than cohesive whole and wasn't likely to move much from the former toward the latter under the uninspired auspices of Jacque Vaughn. The team's decision to can Vaughn during the season confirmed as much. Whoever fills Orlando's void on the bench more permanently will be charged with that same daunting but doable task—of molding the likes of Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and the fruit of the Magic's lottery pick into an honest-to-goodness team. James Borrego, who replaced Vaughn on an interim basis, will get a look at the gig, following a so-so second-half audition. "I absolutely believe that I can do this," Borrego told NBA.com's John Denton. "My confidence is very high, and this position has forced me to get there. Give our players credit and our staff credit because they have helped me get through this." Granted, Borrego isn't out of the woods just yet. According to the Orlando Sentinel's Brian K. Schmitz, Michael Malone, who was one of the finalists to succeed Stan Van Gundy three years ago, is among those eager to interview for the gig. If there's any consolation for Orlando's post-Dwight Howard doldrums, it's that the team's job opening could be the most desirable one in the NBA this summer. If the Los Angeles Lakers didn't, in fact, hit rock bottom this season, then they're going to need some sturdier digging equipment. After losing a then-franchise-record 55 games last year, the purple and gold managed to fall even further in 2014-15. They registered their first 60-loss campaign and their lowest single-season winning percentage while logging more games lost to injury than 2013-14's snakebitten bunch. Steve Nash was done before the schedule began. Rookie Julius Randle broke his leg in Game 1. Kobe Bryant's shoulder gave way in January. By the time the Lakers made it to the finish line, four more guys (i.e., Nick Young, Ronnie Price, Wayne Ellington and Dwight Buycks) would suffer season-ending injuries. Lin really wanted this to work, entering this season with one of the most unstable career paths in sports history. And in search of feel-good stories in an unquestionably dry spell for the franchise, the Lakers hoped bringing Lin back to his birthplace would spark the sort of special stuff we all know he's had in the past. Instead, Lin was downright disappointing night after night early in the season. He was unnerved by Lakers coach Byron Scott's lack of belief in his game and discouraged by the rising negativity all around him. Chances are that Lin will find employment elsewhere this summer. In his place, the Lakers will likely turn to rookie Jordan Clarkson, the lone bright spot amid this year's cloudy misery, or a high-priced free agent of some sort to run point. And, with any better luck, the Lakers will have the pieces in place to restore some of their signature shine next season. Like the Lakers, the New York Knicks came into the 2014-15 season intending to win, even though the circumstances were ripe for failure. Injuries and roster turnover all but assured the Knicks of a return trip to the lottery, as did the 5-36 start that the instability precipitated. Carmelo Anthony's decision to undergo knee surgery after the All-Star Game was merely another nail in New York's orange-and-blue coffin. As miffed as many folks in the Big Apple may be with the job Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher have done in leading the Knicks so far, not everyone in town is so down on the team's prospects. Nobody expected the season to be like this. We all expected at least to somewhat compete in the Eastern Conference. At the end of the day we wanted to make a playoff push, but that's not how the season played out. This next season for me and for the organization and for Phil this is where we earn our money. This is where it starts. We got to put our money where our mouths (are) at. We've been put in a situation where the pieces are broken and a lot of things have been changed around here. Now we got a clean plate. We got a chance to get a top draft pick. We got a lot of money in the cap. So we got to put that to work. We got to put something together. The Charlotte Hornets could have easily blamed their 5-16 finish to the 2014-15 season—and the playoff shortfall it sealed—on the incessant spate of injuries, but they didn't. "This is a disappointing year. We took a step back," head coach Steve Clifford admitted, per The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell. "We weren't as disciplined, we made too many mistakes, more nights when we weren't ready to play. We're not a 33-win team. And I'm primarily responsible for that." The players, to their credit, aren't running from their failures. Lance Stephenson, for one, doesn't intend to shoot 17 percent from three forever. "My three-point percentage was the lowest ever in history. That's terrible," Stephenson said, per The Charlotte Observer. "I have to come in and figure out how to be a better shooter. Being a good shooter will help my overall game. When people sag off of me (playing him to drive), it's harder for me to be successful. "It's confidence—just wanting the shot to go in so bad and then you lose your confidence. That plays a major part when you don't have confidence in your shot. This summer I'm going to find my confidence." While Stephenson spends his offseason trying to gain confidence, Al Jefferson will be doing his darndest to lose weight—before and after he officially opts into the final year of his contract. "I've got unfinished business here. That's not even an option for me," Jefferson said, per The Observer. "Unless something dramatic changed, I can't see myself opting out, and leaving that bad taste in my mouth. And in the Charlotte Hornets' mouth. I can't walk away from that." What could be worse than a ninth straight year without playoff basketball for the Sacramento Kings? How about another tumultuous summer, perhaps one featuring DeMarcus Cousins' departure? Rumors are already swirling about Boogie's availability, courtesy of head coach George Karl's candid comments on Monday. "I've had some great players and I've never had one player that I have said is untradeable," Karl said, according to CSNBayArea.com's Bill Herenda. "You always got to be ready for the possibility of a great trade that could come your way. "I know I respect him (DeMarcus Cousins) a tremendous amount...I think our give and take and our communication has been almost on a daily basis...until we can really get to a special place together, I think we've got to continue to communicate, what he wants and what I want." The relationship between star player and coach will be crucial to the Kings' fortunes going forward. Cousins and the Kings seemed ready to thrive early on, when they got off to a 9-6 start under Mike Malone. But Boogie's 10-game absence on account of viral meningitis gave Sacramento's higher-ups the daylight they needed to part ways with Malone. That move ushered in two months of rote mediocrity under interim coach Tyrone Corbin, before Karl came aboard during the All-Star break. Though a lukewarm convert to a faster tempo, he has thrived in a system that emphasizes spacing, passing and movement, not unlike Mike Krzyzewski's philosophy last summer with Team USA. It isn't a coincidence that Cousins had triple doubles in two of his last three games and is ranked fifth in the league in scoring (24.1), third in rebounding (12.7) and 11th in blocks (1.75). And, of course, first in the hearts of Sacramentans. Coaching played a pivotal role in the Denver Nuggets' ongoing doldrums this season. Head coach Brian Shaw continued to push his square-peg/round-hole approach by playing slow with a team and in a city for which a faster pace would have made more sense. His philosophy backfired, to the tune of a 20-39 start and a subsequent pink slip. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nuggets' search for a long-term replacement is already underway. Melvin Hunt, the Nuggets' interim coach, will get a crack at it, though he'll hardly be the only one to get an interview. His competition will likely include former head coaches (Michael Malone, Mike D'Antoni, Alvin Gentry, Scott Skiles), current NBA assistants (Portland's David Vanterpool) and eager college guys looking to make the jump (Florida's Billy Donovan, Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg). "I'm not a coach, but I do think we're Denver," said general manager Tim Connelly, per The Denver Post's Chris Dempsey. "We've got to play with pace, we've got to play uptempo basketball. And uptempo basketball can take on various styles. We're certainly looking for a coach that understands how we've been successful in the past and probably how we'll be successful in the future, with fast basketball and playing with pace." Whatever hopes the Phoenix Suns had of battling for the West's No. 8 seed for the second year in a row went right out the window during a 1-10 stretch over the final three weeks of the 2014-15 season. "I don't think that truly reflects where we are and the season we had," said Suns president Lon Babby during the team's exit interviews, according to AZCentral.com's Paul Coro. Perhaps not, though the fact that Phoenix bobbed its way into and out of the playoff race as often as it did was reflective of an unsteady situation on the court and in the locker room. "We didn't have all guys that were just concerned with winning," head coach Jeff Hornacek said, per Coro. That much was clear once Goran Dragic publicly demanded a trade (and got his wish) and Isaiah Thomas followed him out the door at the February deadline, albeit to a different destination. All told, the Suns' point guard experiment didn't pay off like they'd hoped. Fortunately for folks in Phoenix, the team will be flush with cap space to restock the roster, once the front office decides how to spend its fifth straight lottery pick. "This year was more of a humbling experience," said general manager Ryan McDonough, per Coro. "I think we'll all learn from it and get better from it and bounce back." A busy season will give way to an even busier summer for Detroit Pistons head coach/team president Stan Van Gundy. The shocking decision to cut Josh Smith in December breathed new life into the slumping squad. The trade-deadline arrival of Reggie Jackson eventually did the same, albeit after a slump in the wake of Brandon Jennings' Achilles tear. "We made some progress—not enough—but some progress at both ends of the floor," Van Gundy said during his exit interview, according to MLive's Brendan Savage. "Going forward, we feel like we've established a base of good young players. Over the last two-thirds of the year, which is not a small sample size, we played .500 basketball, which would have put us in the top five in the East over that time period. "So we think things are looking up going forward." How Detroit's fortunes fare from here on out will depend on what Van Gundy is able to accomplish from his front-office post this summer. Come July 1, Greg Monroe will be an unrestricted free agent, Jackson will be restricted, and Andre Drummond will be eligible for a sizable contract extension. Those three aside, the Pistons figure to make a pitch to at least one Michigan native: Golden State's Draymond Green. If Van Gundy plays his cards right, his Pistons might (finally) be in position to snap their six-year playoff drought next spring. Last year, the Miami Heat finished up in the NBA Finals, fighting an ultimately futile battle for their third straight championship. This year, their summer will start two months earlier, without a seventh straight playoff appearance. The biggest difference, of course, is LeBron James. He left South Beach; therefore, the sands aren't quite as warm as they otherwise would be for the Heat. But the story of Miami's demise is much broader than that. Between Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts, Luol Deng and Hassan Whiteside, the Heat racked up frequent flyer miles going to and from the training room to cover the cost of travel for their summer vacations. "It's just tough, man," Deng told Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick. "It's just been that type of year. It seemed like the whole year, we were always fighting and dealing with something, instead of staying consistent and just kind of playing our game. I'm not making excuses or anything, but no one on this team can tell you that they've had a consistent rhythm the entire year. It's been tough to be consistent. We've had guys in and out. You have different roles." Those roles may be more defined next season if Pat Riley has his way in the coming months. With better health and the retention of Goran Dragic and Deng, both opt-out candidates, the Heat could field one of the best starting fives not only in the East but in the entire league. Lose either or both of those guys, though, and Miami's path back to relevance might not be so smooth. Paul George's comeback from his devastating leg injury serves as an all-too-perfect microcosm of the Indiana Pacers' season as a whole. Like their wounded superstar, the Pacers fought through pain, uncertainty and doubt to put themselves in position to control their own destiny at the end. Aside from George, Indiana had to survive lengthy stretches without stalwarts like David West and George Hill, along with newcomers Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles. Against all odds, the Pacers hung around the muck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, just in time for George to return to action. His mere presence gave Indiana a much-needed shot in the arm; the Pacers won their first five games with George in the rotation, despite him never playing more than 18 minutes in a given game. But, on the final night of the season, the calf in George's other leg gave way, as did the Pacers' postseason hopes in Memphis. "Just came off a screen and felt a pop, but they looked at it and it's nothing more than just a calf strain," George said afterward, according to The Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner. "It wasn't a knee injury but it's tough, you work so hard in rehab and have something else pop up. The good thing is, I know we've got a long summer and a lot to look forward to." So do the Pacers, assuming West and Roy Hibbert—both of whom can opt out of their contracts—don't leave Naptown this summer. Russell Westbrook's response to his first scoring title could easily double as the Oklahoma City Thunder's thoughts on this lost season of theirs. "S---. It doesn't mean nothing," Westbrook said after OKC's season-ending win over the Timberwolves, according to ESPN.com's Royce Young (h/t Bleacher Report). "Good job. Hooray. I'm at home, watching other teams play. Doesn't mean nothing." Westbrook's disappointment is understandable, if not downright appropriate. He wound up with career highs in nearly every counting category, including points (28.1), assists (8.6), rebounds (7.3) and steals (2.1). But Westbrook's best efforts weren't enough to overcome devastating injuries to Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka. Nor could general manager Sam Presti's moves make up for those losses, though the additions of Dion Waiters, Enes Kanter, D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler should serve the Thunder well going forward. With that supporting cast in place and its stars in better shape, OKC should find itself back in the title hunt next season. Whether Scott Brooks is there to guide the Thunder is another story. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the team will evaluate its relationship with Brooks, who has one year left on his contract—much like the injured superstar whose absence doomed OKC. Lionel Hollins' assessment of his Brooklyn Nets' chances against the Atlanta Hawks was as harsh as it was accurate. "I don't think we have any advantages over the Hawks," Hollins said, per The Brooklyn Game's Devin Kharpertian. That may sell his team a bit short. Surely, Atlanta doesn't have anyone who can compare with Brook Lopez's size and skill in the post. Lopez finished the season on an absolute tear, averaging 23.7 points and 9.4 rebounds over a 16-game stretch that saw the Nets go 11-5. Nor can the Hawks claim to boast the best individual perimeter player in this series. That distinction belongs to Brooklyn, courtesy of former ATL resident Joe Johnson. Other than those points of contention, Hollins is probably right. By and large, Brooklyn has been mediocre and uninspiring this season. Then again, as much of a sting as Hollins' comments may have carried, they still paled in comparison to the five-alarm fire that spewed out from Paul Pierce's mouth, courtesy of ESPN Boston's Jackie MacMullan. Lost amid the hubbub over Paul Pierce ripping the Nets a new one in public were his comments regarding the Toronto Raptors, the Washington Wizards' first-round playoff opponent. "We haven't done particularly well against Toronto, but I don't feel they have the 'It' that makes you worried," Pierce told ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan. "There isn't a team I look at in the Eastern Conference that makes me say, 'They are intimidating, we don't have a chance.'" To Pierce's point, the Raptors swept the Wizards in their three regular-season meetings. But the most recent two of those tiffs were decided by a total of six points. And if the games are close between Toronto and Washington, Pierce certainly won't be one to hide from the moment, especially in Canada. Forget about all the usual tropes about how terrible the Eastern Conference is and how that somehow degrades the Milwaukee Bucks' finish as the sixth seed. The fact that the Bucks are in the playoffs at all right now is nothing short of a Wisconsin miracle. Milwaukee won a league-worst 15 games last season and could have plunged back to similar depths this time around in light of all the setbacks this squad suffered over the course of 2014-15. Instead, the Bucks fought through injuries (Jabari Parker, Ersan Ilyasova, John Henson), trades (Brandon Knight) and outright defections (Larry Sanders) to nearly triple their win total from a season ago. And how, pray tell, did they do it? Among other things, behind a long-armed, switch-heavy defense—orchestrated by head coach Jason Kidd—that wound up second in the league in efficiency, per NBA.com. These fans hate each other, too. This isn't a theory — it's scientific fact proven by years of mutual enmity between Bears and Packers fans. Now imagine that same level of anger and hostility, but on a basketball court. Spectacular, right? Joakim Noah calling Giannis Antetokounmpo soft in the playoffs could create our first Internet civil war. Now imagine future battles between Chicago South Side natives and Simeon's own Jabari Parker and Derrick Rose. I can't take it. The Boston Celtics needed quite a bit of outside help to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Between the Cleveland Cavaliers resting their stars during a recent home-and-home with Boston and the rest of the East's fringes falling off, the C's benefited from a conference-wide "effort" to get them into the postseason—in addition to their own 24-12 surge over the final 36 games. But it was another outside assist that might have given a certain Celtic the extra energy he needed to nudge this scrappy squad up the standings. According to The Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach, Isiah Thomas—who had his fair share of battles with the C's as a member of the "Bad Boy" Pistons in the 1980s—texted words of encouragement to Isaiah Thomas upon the latter's arrival in Beantown at the Feb. 19 trade deadline. "This is gonna change your career," Zeke wrote. "They're one game out of the playoffs. Lead them to the playoffs." That's precisely what the younger Thomas did while averaging 19 points and 5.4 assists off the bench. Thomas could use a few more texts like that from his almost-namesake in the days to come, as his C's prepare to take on LeBron James' Cavs in the first round of the playoffs. No team did more to boost its collective stock after the All-Star Game than the Utah Jazz. Once the break came and went, the Jazz went 19-10—the fifth-best record in the West—while holding opponents to a league-low 94.8 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. Enes Kanter's trade-deadline departure and Rudy Gobert's subsequent explosion as a starter had plenty to do with that. For his efforts, Gobert figures to garner plenty of votes for Most Improved and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Of course, Gobert wasn't the sole reason Utah finished with a record good enough to qualify for the playoffs in the East. Gordon Hayward's borderline All-NBA play had plenty to do with it, as did Derrick Favors'. As Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote of that duo, "They've been really good on both ends, and Hayward carried Utah's offense without much help from any perimeter threat until Rodney Hood emerged over the last 25 games." "Clearly we sit here today in a better position than when we started," general manager Dennis Lindsey said during the team's exit interviews, according to The Salt Lake Tribune's Aaron Falk. "The group is moving in the right direction." If three-point shooting is, indeed, all the rage in the NBA, then the Toronto Raptors are as fashionable as any team around. They finished among the top 10 in three-point makes and attempts, went 19-2 when they made more than 10 threes in a given game and became the second team in league history with five players who knocked down at least 100 treys apiece. The only other team to pull that off? The 2008-09 Knicks. Of course, this year's Raptors fared far better than those Knicks did. New York lost 50 games that year. Toronto, on the other hand, fell just one win shy of 50 on the other side of the ledger but still came away with a second straight Atlantic Division title and a franchise record for victories in a single season. Next up: a first-round date with the shooting-averse Wizards, whom the Raptors swept during the regular season. The Portland Trail Blazers aren't short of reasons to worry about their postseason prospects. Their wing depth has been decimated by injuries, with Wesley Matthews, Arron Afflalo, Nicolas Batum, Dorell Wright and C.J. McCollum all falling victim. Worse still, the Blazers will have to begin their playoff push on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies. Halfway through the season, Portland looked like a dark-horse contender — a two-way powerhouse seasoned with rare roster continuity and some playoff experience. Their starters could hit the marks of Terry Stotts's "flow" offense while wearing blindfolds, and they had improbably sharpened into a borderline top-five defensive team. Despite the doom and gloom around Rip City, the Blazers still have two huge factors in their favor: LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard. Those two carried Portland past Houston in last year's playoffs, combining for 55.3 points, 17.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists in a six-game victory. The Memphis Grizzlies won't exactly be a picture of health for their first-round series against Portland, either. Marc Gasol returned from a sprained ankle in time for the Grizzlies' season finale, but he wasn't joined by Mike Conley and Tony Allen. They've been sidelined by foot and hamstring injuries, respectively, and may remain so for some time, per The Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery. Those absences figure to be massively problematic for Memphis, despite the decimation that Portland has suffered. As much as the Grizzlies' universe revolves around Gasol and Zach Randolph in the middle, it's Conley, who would otherwise be charged with checking Damian Lillard, and Allen (aka "The Grindfather") who serve as the heart and soul of this squad. There are many ways to compare the strength of the West to the weakness of the East, but perhaps none is more striking than where the Dallas Mavericks stand at season's end. In the Western Conference, the Mavs' 50 wins were only good enough to snag the seventh seed. Were Dallas an Eastern Conference squad, it would start the playoffs at No. 3, matched up against the Bucks in the first round. Instead, the Mavs will have to face the Houston Rockets in a series whose subplots have their own subplots. "That's for the media to talk about," Dirk Nowitzki said, referring to the off-court drama between Mavs owner Mark Cuban and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, per Mavs.com's Earl K. Sneed. "That's for fun little side notes, I guess, which the players don't really care that much about. It's about which team comes out at the end. Obviously, they have home-court advantage. We'd love to go down there and steal one or steal the first one, but it's going to be tough." It'll be even tougher if Chandler Parsons—one of the sticking points in the ongoing feud between these two teams—isn't ready to play in Game 1. He missed the last six games of the regular season while resting his swollen right knee. Head coach Rick Carlisle, though, is confident that Parsons will be available. Parsons' offensive versatility and familiarity with Dallas' Texas foe will be vital to the Mavs' attempt to spring the seeded upset. For every transcendent superstar, there is an initial foray into the playoffs, one that sets the stage for the years to come. In 2006, LeBron James averaged about 31 points, eight boards and six assists while carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers to a second-round loss against the Detroit Pistons. In 2010, Kevin Durant poured in 25 points per game (albeit on a subpar 35 percent shooting) in a six-game loss to the eventual-champion Lakers. What will 2015 bring for Anthony Davis? Probably not much in the way of victories. His New Orleans Pelicans will have to contend with a Golden State Warriors squad that is coming off a historically great regular season. However Davis fares from here on out, folks in the Crescent City won't soon forget what The Brow did to put the Pelicans back into the playoffs for the first time since 2011, when they were still the New Orleans Hornets. In what was, to date, the biggest game of his NBA career, Davis dominated the streaking San Antonio Spurs, piling up 31 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks in 43 minutes of a 108-103 win for New Orleans. "Honestly, I know I all told ya'll before this game it didn't mean nothing, but I tried to downplay it because I didn't want to get too excited," Davis said afterward, via ESPN. "It meant a lot—and we played like it meant something. Now, they'll have to locate their hearts and put them back in place, lest they let the Warriors stomp them from the get-go. Physically speaking, Derrick Rose may not be the same player he was prior to his three knee surgeries. But from a confidence standpoint, he's as sturdy as ever. "I believe I'm one of the best players in the NBA...still," Rose insisted, even after leaving the Chicago Bulls' season finale early with soreness in his left knee, per ESPN.com's Nick Friedell. The Bulls can only hope Rose's confidence will pay actual dividends in the playoffs. With Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich all battling injuries, Chicago will need whatever it can squeeze out of the former MVP if it's going to be more than a dark horse in the East. After all the ups and downs, the injuries and roster changes, the Houston Rockets wound up with the No. 2 seed in the West—which probably beats out most preseason predictions. It's one thing to snag such prime seeding on the strength of James Harden's MVP-caliber campaign. It's another thing to capitalize on it. To that end, the Rockets may have help on the way if they can stay alive long enough. Patrick Beverley, who was recently ruled out for the season after undergoing wrist surgery, could be back at point guard in Houston...assuming the team hasn't been eliminated by mid-May. "I don't care about the pain. I can play through pain. I've been playing through all type of stuff the whole year, so I can play with the pain," Beverley told Fox26 Sports' Mark Berman. "I just have to get this cast off. When the cast comes off May 18, May 20th, wrap it up with tape and (I'll) be good to go. I don't care how weak it is. I don't care how strong it is. I don't care about that. "As soon as this cast is off I'm back to business." In the meantime, the Rockets will have to contend with the likes of Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker at the point, with the hope that whatever Harden, Dwight Howard and their supporting cast can do will be enough to see Houston through to the Western Conference Finals. However and whenever the Atlanta Hawks' surprising season winds up, they can take pride in what they've accomplished together. Despite turmoil at the front-office and ownership levels, the Hawks managed to set new franchise records for consecutive wins (19), All-Stars (four) and total single-season victories, among other things. In the bigger picture, the Hawks earned the respect of the rest of the league, which could pay off handsomely (i.e., via free-agent signings) in the years to come. "I think there's been a couple of times during a game, end of games, when we're gonna win, and the other team will come up and say 'man, I love how you guys play,'" Kyle Korver told NBA.com's David Aldridge. "They just got, you can tell, they're like, I would love to play for your team. That's the ultimate sign of respect in the NBA. When you're on a team, and your team's supposedly good, but man, I'd rather be on your team. It feels good to hear that." You know what would beat that? The Hawks' first trip to the penultimate round of the playoffs since 1970. Remember when all the Chicken Littles huddled in northeast Ohio (and across the country, for that matter) were wondering why the sky was falling on the Cleveland Cavaliers and how they'd ever survive it? A second-place conference finish did wonders to erase memories of the panic that set in amid the Cavs' disappointing 19-20 start. Cleveland now looks like the favorite to win the East (and a co-favorite to win it all), thanks in no small part to a second half that saw the Cavs win 34 of 43 games. Well, maybe not right away. The Cavs should make quick work of the Celtics in Round 1. After that, though, Cleveland's path through Chicago and Atlanta will put this team's title-contending chops to the test. There were eight scenarios for a first-round playoff opponent for the Clippers heading into Wednesday’s final day of the regular season. Four of the scenarios had the Clippers playing the Memphis Grizzlies for the third time in four years. Two of the scenarios had them facing Dallas and one had them meeting Houston in the first round. The last scenario – a scenario some would classify as worst-case – had the Clippers, the league’s second-hottest team, facing the San Antonio Spurs, the hottest. And wouldn’t you know it, the worst case became the reality. The Clippers, though, aren't about to complain about their cruel fate. "I'd rather go through them now while we're fresh," said DeAndre Jordan, per ESPN.com's Arash Markazi. They'll have to hope that their own season-ending hot streak (seven in a row, 14 of 15) gives them enough juice to overcome a San Antonio Spurs squad that was riding an 11-game spurt prior to a defeat to the Pelicans in the finale. Has there ever been a stronger sixth seed in any postseason in any sport than this year's San Antonio Spurs? All they did was win 11 games in a row and 21 of 24 prior to the season's final night. They might have made it 12 in a row and 22 of 25 if not for a poor opening to what turned out to be a 108-103 defeat in New Orleans. "That first half was the worst we've played in a long time," head coach Gregg Popovich said afterward, via ESPN. "The Pelicans were on fire. They were committed. They were playing hard. They had a lot to play for and it showed." The Spurs had plenty to play for themselves. A win would have locked them into the No. 2 seed in the West as the Southwest Division champions, with a first-round matchup against the Mavericks. Instead, San Antonio will begin its title defense in L.A., opposite a Clippers team that the Spurs swept out of the second round three years ago. Tiago Splitter's ongoing calf troubles have cast some doubt on San Antonio's chances of repeating. But if the Spurs can get him back in time for the Western Conference Finals, they'll pose a serious threat to Golden State's dream season. A great regular season guarantees the Golden State Warriors nothing more than the No. 1 seed in the West and a pitfall-filled path to the NBA Finals. And, of course, the No. 1 spot in the last power rankings of the regular season. To be sure, the Dubs didn't just coast their way to the top. Rather, they fought to the very end for each of the 67 wins they racked up. Stephen Curry certainly didn't take anything for granted. Over the final 18 games of the season, the presumptive MVP knocked down 52.3 percent of his long-range looks on the way to shattering his own record for single-season three-point makes (286). As easy as Golden State made the regular season seem, the playoffs will look like anything but that. First comes figuring out how to contain Anthony Davis. Then, the Warriors will likely have to contend with the "Grit-N-Grind" Grizzlies. And before the Dubs can book their first trip to the Finals in 40 years, the defending champion Spurs will have a word or two to offer. Golden State had better hope, then, that the same stroke that helped Curry knocked down more than half of his treys over the last month of the season and another 77 in a row in a single practice holds true during the pressure cooker of the playoffs. Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

2019-04-25T06:33:14Z

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2431688-2015-nba-power-rankings-whos-on-top-heading-into-playoffs

Background The distribution of cigarette prices has rarely been studied and compared under different tax structures. Descriptive evidence on price distributions by countries can shed light on opportunities for tax avoidance and brand switching under different tobacco tax structures, which could impact the effectiveness of increased taxation in reducing smoking. Objective This paper aims to describe the distribution of cigarette prices by countries and to compare these distributions based on the tobacco tax structure in these countries. Methods We employed data for 16 countries taken from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project to construct survey-derived cigarette prices for each country. Self-reported prices were weighted by cigarette consumption and described using a comprehensive set of statistics. We then compared these statistics for cigarette prices under different tax structures. In particular, countries of similar income levels and countries that impose similar total excise taxes using different tax structures were paired and compared in mean and variance using a two-sample comparison test. Findings Our investigation illustrates that, compared with specific uniform taxation, other tax structures, such as ad valorem uniform taxation, mixed (a tax system using ad valorem and specific taxes) uniform taxation, and tiered tax structures of specific, ad valorem and mixed taxation tend to have price distributions with greater variability. Countries that rely heavily on ad valorem and tiered taxes also tend to have greater price variability around the median. Among mixed taxation systems, countries that rely more heavily on the ad valorem component tend to have greater price variability than countries that rely more heavily on the specific component. In countries with tiered tax systems, cigarette prices are skewed more towards lower prices than are prices under uniform tax systems. The analyses presented here demonstrate that more opportunities exist for tax avoidance and brand switching when the tax structure departs from a uniform specific tax. Significant increases in cigarette excise taxes have been shown to be the most effective policy for reducing smoking.1 Tobacco excise taxes can be levied in two forms: specific and ad valorem taxes. A specific excise tax is a monetary tax levied based on the quantity of tobacco products (eg, per pack or by weight). While an ad valorem excise tax is a tax levied as a percentage of the value of tobacco products (eg, manufacturer's price or retail price).2 Although most governments impose certain excise taxes on cigarettes, the structure of these taxes varies markedly by countries. For instance, while many high-income countries (HICs) rely solely on specific excise taxes on cigarettes, European Union (EU) countries are required by the Council of the EU to impose excise taxes consisting of specific and ad valorem components, with a minimum floor. In addition, individual EU countries decide on the share of each component in total taxes under rules stating that the specific component must be between 5% and 76.5% of the total tax share of the weighted average price of cigarettes.2 ,3 As a result, individual EU countries rely differently on the specific and ad valorem components of their total cigarette excise tax. Despite these various excise tax systems, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how cigarette prices, through which taxation ultimately impacts smoking, are distributed in different systems. In particular, for LMICs where smoking is prevalent, the importance of tax structure as a factor mediating the effectiveness of tobacco taxation in controlling tobacco use has rarely been studied or discussed. For example, recent studies from China suggest that cigarette demand is relatively unresponsive to price, which might be a result of China’s complicated tiered tax structure that results in very low prices for some brands.5 ,6 Therefore, it is important to understand how cigarette prices are associated with tax structures in order to maximise the impact of tobacco taxation on tobacco use. From an economic perspective, given that the cigarette market is usually dominated by a small number of companies in most countries, cigarette price distributions may largely depend on taxation systems. Economic models have implied that, compared with specific excises, ad valorem excises tend to lead to lower prices and may encourage trading down, for example, the purchase of cheaper cigarettes.2 This is because an ad valorem tax structure creates incentives for manufacturers to produce low quality, low price cigarettes. In contrast, specific excises, in the form of taxes or a tax floor, tend to lead to higher prices, in that producers have incentives to raise prices when they can claim all the increased revenue (which is not the case for ad valorem excises). In addition, specific excises would reduce consumers’ incentives to switch down when taxes increase by raising the relative price of lower-price to higher-price brands. In their examination of cigarette prices in 21 EU countries, Chaloupka et al7 find that the price gap between premium and low-priced brands is smaller in countries with a greater specific component to excise taxes. However, that study is based on empirical evidence from EU countries that all use mixed taxation systems with different shares of specific and ad valorem taxes and, as a result, cannot directly compare pure specific, pure ad valorem and mixed systems, or tiered and uniform systems. Moreover, the price gap in that study is based on prices collected by the Economists Intelligence Unit for one leading international brand and one leading local brand, thus not reflecting the full distribution of cigarette prices in the market. Meanwhile, other than the aforementioned reasons, if the relative price of lower-priced brands relative to higher-priced brands increases, the market share of low-priced brands will likely fall. Therefore, compared with ad valorem excises, specific excises might lead to even higher prices with less price variability. The empirical evidence on the former hypothesis is shown in studies using data from HICs with purely specific tax systems. Nargis et al8 used four waves of data from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Surveys in Canada and the USA to examine the association between brand choice and relative prices and found that an increase in the relative price of lower-priced to higher-priced brands is associated with a decrease in purchasing of lower-priced brands in both countries. Sobel and Garrett9 also found that increases in the specific taxes in the USA lead to a lower market share for lower-priced generic brands. Several factors other than tax structures, such as tax avoidance and tax evasion, are likely to shape the cigarette price distribution as well. In some countries, taxes on tobacco are levied differently across jurisdictions such as states, provinces and Indian reservations. Therefore, cross-national-border and cross-jurisdiction-border shopping is one way to avoid taxes. For instance, in Canada and the USA, some excise taxes are exempted in aboriginal reserves and Native American reservations.1 In a recent paper Merriman17 assessed the extent of avoidance/evasion by collecting littered cigarette packs around Chicago, and found that three-fourths of the packs collected in Chicago did not bear the Chicago tax stamp. Using data from 15 ITC countries, Guindon et al18 found that more than 10% of smokers report engaging in tax avoidance or tax evasion in Canada, the UK and Malaysia. Tax evasion, such as large-scale smuggling, could also contribute to an increase in the share of low-priced cigarettes. Although there is insufficient evidence that large-scale smuggling lowers average retail prices, some research has indicated that illicit trade could burden low-income countries disproportionately, where illicit cigarettes constitute 16.8% of the market compared with 9.8% of the market in HICs.19 The cigarette prices that we examine in this paper are survey-derived prices that reflect the combined effects of tax structures, tax avoidance and tax evasion. Although it is impossible in this study to disentangle the contribution of each to the distribution of cigarette prices, we hypothesise that the tax structure plays the most important role in cross-country differences in the price distribution. Moreover, unlike tax evasion and tax avoidance by switching to cheaper cigarettes, which may have a greater effect on prices at the lower end, differences in tax structures would have an effect in shifting the overall distribution of cigarette prices. In summary, a greater price gap among brands could reduce the effectiveness of taxation in reducing tobacco use by increasing opportunities for substitution to cheaper brands as taxes rise. Among many tax structures, the uniform specific tax structure simplifies the taxation system and has advantages in raising the average prices and the relative price of lower-priced to higher-priced cigarettes. As a result, a uniform tax structure can increase the effectiveness of tax increases in reducing smoking.1 Therefore, analysing the price distribution using survey-derived data will add to the empirical evidence on how price distributions and gaps differ under alternative tax structures. Tax structures that lead to higher average prices and smaller price gaps can lead to a more effective tax system for reducing smoking. In this paper, we use data taken from 16 countries of the ITC Project, which cover many types of tax structures, to describe and compare cigarette price distributions across different tax structures. Cigarette prices were derived for each country using the most recent data from the ITC Project Surveys.ii The ITC Project consists of parallel longitudinal surveys of smokers and other tobacco users (and non-users in most countries) conducted in 22 countries inhabited by more than 50% of the world’s population, 60% of the world’s smokers and 70% of the world’s tobacco users. The ITC Surveys are designed to evaluate the policies of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.20 For the analyses reported in this paper, we selected ITC countries where cigarette purchase information was collected from smokers. The price per pack of 20 cigarettes was thereafter derived from the money spent in the last purchase and the number of cigarettes that were bought.iii In order to compare prices and their distributions across countries, we converted the derived prices in local currencies into constant 2010 international dollars using the purchasing-power parity and consumer price index of the country. Purchasing-power parity conversion factors and the consumer price index for each country were obtained from the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook database. In order to reflect the market share of cigarettes at different price levels, we use consumption weights to obtain aggregated measures of cigarette prices. Namely, for each individual smoker, we calculate how many cigarettes they smoke per day and construct a consumption weight as the ratio of his or her own consumption to the total consumption of respondents to the survey. These consumption weights are applied to cigarette prices when reporting mean, median and quartile prices. Survey-derived prices are likely to better reflect the price distribution in the market than are other sources of prices, especially when we are interested in comparing the price distribution under different tax systems.21 These comparisons shed some light on the association between tax structure and price distribution, and resulting opportunities for tax avoidance under different structures. As discussed above, the tax structure could be exclusively specific, ad valorem, or a mixture of the two. Alternatively, taxes can also be levied uniformly or by tiers. Economic reasoning implies that tax structures with tiers or that rely more heavily on ad valorem excises will yield more opportunities for tax avoidance and branch switching. In the ITC Project sample of countries, a majority rely on uniform taxes, with only Brazil, Republic of Korea, China and Bangladesh applying tiered taxes. Most non-EU HICs including the USA, Canada, Australia and Republic of Korea, and some LMICs including Brazil, Uruguay and Mauritius solely rely on specific excises. In contrast, Bangladesh and Thailand rely on purely ad valorem excises; and China, Malaysia and EU countries apply mixed systems of specific and ad valorem excises, while individual countries may largely rely on one of the components. The analyses in this paper proceed as follows: In table 1, after ranking countries by tax structure, the percentage of the specific component among the total excise tax, and the amount of total excise taxes, we present comprehensive statistics for price distribution by countries. In particular, mean, median, SD and skewness of prices are reported to show how much prices are skewed towards lower prices under alternative tax structures. The first quartile, third quartile and IQR, which is measured by the difference between the first and third quartile, are also reported. In addition, we calculate and show the ratio of the IQR to the median, which shows price variability around the median price. Other important statistics such as the minimum price, maximum price, price range and the ratio of the price range to the mean are also shown in table 1. Also, in figure 1, we exhibit price distributions by countries using boxplot to visualise the statistics that are reported in table 1 and to present the price distribution and variability in one graph. In table 2 we show, by tax structure, countries where prices are skewed in different directions and those where prices are most heavily skewed (skewness statistics are greater than 1 or smaller than −1). Finally, in table 3 we select and pair countries that are close in income levels and in the amount of total excise tax but that employ different tax structures, in order to compare their mean and variance using a two-sample comparison test. Boxplot of cigarette price distributions by country. AU (Australia), CA (Canada), MU (Mauritius), US (the USA), UY (Uruguay), KR (Republic of Korea), BR (Brazil), NL (The Netherlands), MY (Malaysia), UK (the UK), DE (Germany), MX (Mexico), FR (France), RC (China), TH (Thailand) and BD (Bangladesh). In table 1, we categorise countries by their tax structures and the percentage of specific taxes among total excise taxes; VATs are excluded. Among countries with a mixed uniform tax structure, The Netherlands has the largest share of the specific component while France has the smallest (range: 9.4–67.3%). Although China imposes a small specific excise, the system largely relies on the tiered ad valorem component. And in general, for countries that impose a similar amount of total excises, those with simpler tax structures tend to have higher average prices. For instance, Mauritius and Mexico impose total excises of $2.45 and $2.29, respectively, but the mean price for Mauritius which uses a uniform specific tax structure is $1.29 higher than Mexico where a mixed tax structure is used. Among EU countries, The Netherlands and France impose total excises of $3.37 and $3.80, respectively, while The Netherlands with a larger specific share has a mean price $0.49 higher than France, which has a larger ad valorem share. The skewness statistics show that in countries where tiered taxes are applied, prices are more likely positively skewed, indicating that there are fewer higher prices in the distribution. In contrast, most countries with a uniform tax structure have skewness statistics close to 0, suggesting prices are relatively symmetric. When comparing Malaysia and Mexico, where a mixed structure is applied in both cases but Malaysia has a larger share of the specific tax component, more prices in Mexico are lower while more prices in Malaysia are higher. The ratio of the IQR to the median reported in table 1 shows how prices deviate around the median. In countries with a purely ad valorem tax system, such as Bangladesh and Thailand, and China, which largely employs ad valorem taxation, this ratio is as high as 0.51–0.89, which suggests greater price variability around median prices. On the other hand, other than Uruguay, the USA and Canada where cross-jurisdiction shopping opportunities are relatively available, countries with mixed and specific uniform structures tend to have prices that vary less around the median, with ratios less than 0.25. When looking into the price range measured by the distance between the maximum and minimum prices, there is no clear pattern by different structures. However, if we compare how great the range is in contrast to the mean, the results indicate that the range is six to nine times as large as the mean in Bangladesh, China and Brazil, where taxes are levied by tiers, while other countries have ratios in the range of 1–4. In addition, China has a price range of $17.6, which is extremely wide compared with its average price. Table 2 summarises countries by comparing mean and median prices, as well as the skewness of prices. In the upper panel, we report countries where the mean price is higher than the median and those where the price mean is lower than the median, respectively. In contrast to the median, a higher mean suggests a positively-skewed price distribution that prices concentrate at lower values; and a lower mean suggests the opposite. These measures show that among the seven countries with the purely specific tax structure, four countries have mean prices larger than the median and three have mean prices smaller than the median. However, the mean and median prices are very close in magnitude for most countries with a specific tax structure. The skewness statistics reported in the lower panel show that prices are largely skewed to lower values in China, Brazil, Mexico, Bangladesh and Republic of Korea, where either tiered or ad valorem taxes (ad valorem component in mixed structures) are applied. This finding suggests that tiered and ad valorem taxes may distort cigarette prices towards lower values, increasing opportunities for switching to cheaper cigarettes as tax increases. In addition, prices are heavily skewed to lower values in the USA, which might reflect tax avoidance by cross-jurisdiction shopping. Finally, we select and pair countries that are close in the amount of total excise taxes but that use different tax structures, to compare their mean and variance using a two-sample comparison test. The selected country pairs are as follows: for LMICs, Uruguay (specific uniform) and Brazil (specific tiered) are paired to compare uniform and tiered tax structures; Mauritius (specific uniform) and Mexico (mixed uniform) are paired to compare specific and mixed structures; Malaysia and Thailand are paired to compare mixed and ad valorem uniform structures; and Malaysia and Mexico are paired to compare mixed structures with different shares of specific components. For HICs, Australia and the UK/France are paired to compare specific and mixed uniform structures. In addition, The Netherlands and France/Germany are paired to compare mixed systems dominated by specific and ad valorem components, respectively. The hypotheses that more complicated tax structures tend to have a higher price mean and present a smaller price variance are tested, with the rejection of these hypotheses suggesting the opposite. The results of the two-sample mean and SD (variance) comparison tests are shown in table 3. Although the mean comparison tests do not reject the hypothesis for one set of paired countries (Australia vs the UK), the remainder do. The rejection of this hypothesis for a majority of the comparisons indicates that countries where tax systems are simpler tend to have higher average prices than countries that impose similar total excise amounts but that have more complicated tax systems. The two-sample SD comparison tests of prices within each development group (HICs vs LMICs) yield similar results: cigarette prices show greater variability in countries where tax structures are more complicated. For example, the specific tiered system of Brazil has a higher SD than the specific uniform system of Uruguay. In particular, when comparing within the uniform tax structure, the mixed system of Mexico has a higher SD than the specific system of Mauritius, and the same conclusion holds for the SD comparison between Australia and the UK. Although the SD comparison of Australia and France suggests the SDs of the two countries are about the same, Australia has a much higher mean price than France. The mixed system of Malaysia has a higher price SD than the pure ad valorem system of Thailand, which suggests that mixed system in LMICs may not be superior to a pure ad valorem system in lowering price variability. The mixed system of France, which relies heavily on the ad valorem component, has a higher SD than The Netherlands, which relies heavily on the specific component. The same conclusions are found when comparing The Netherlands with Germany and Malaysia with Mexico. In sum, more complicated taxation systems tend to have greater price variability, and therefore are likely to provide more opportunities for tax avoidance by brand switching. In this paper, we employed data for 16 countries taken from the ITC Project to construct survey-derived cigarette prices for each country. These self-reported prices were weighted by cigarette consumption and described using a comprehensive set of statistics. We further compared these statistics for cigarette prices under different tax structures. In particular, countries that are close in the amount of total excise taxes but that impose different tax structures were paired and compared in mean and variance using a two-sample comparison test. There are a few limitations to these analyses. First, we presented direct evidence of price distribution in countries where different taxation systems are imposed. However, we did not estimate or analyse the associations between the type of tax structure and measures of the price distribution. Therefore, we cannot conduct a formal test of these associations. In addition, tax structures were grouped using two characteristics: the component of specific and ad valorem excise taxes, and if tiered rates are levied. As a result, it is difficult to disentangle the extent to which tiered and ad valorem tax structures distort the price distribution. Finally, we did not explicitly control for various forms of tax avoidance or evasion, such as cross-border shopping. Further research using times series data from many countries with different and changing tax structures is needed to address these limitations. Our investigation illustrates that, compared with uniform specific taxation, other uniform tax structures (ad valorem uniform and mixed uniform structures) tend to have price distributions with greater variability. Also, compared with uniform taxation, tiered tax structures tend to have price distributions with greater variability. Countries that rely heavily on ad valorem and tiered taxes generally have greater variability in prices around the median. Among mixed taxation systems, countries that rely more heavily on the ad valorem component tend to have greater variability in prices than countries that rely more heavily on the specific component. Among different tax structures that impose similar total excise taxes, simpler structures tend to have higher price means. In countries with tiered tax systems, cigarette prices are more skewed to lower prices than prices under uniform systems. The analyses presented here demonstrate that when the tax structure departs from uniform specific taxes, more opportunities exist for tax avoidance by switching down to cheaper brands. These results also provide a potential explanation for why smokers in countries with a complicated tax structure, such as China, are often found to be relatively unresponsive to cigarette prices. In light of our findings, countries that solely rely on ad valorem excises would see tax increases have a greater impact on tobacco use if they were to switch to a pure specific taxation system. Similarly, for countries with a mixed taxation system such as Mexico, Malaysia and EU countries, increasing the share of the specific component or switch to a pure specific taxation system would enhance the effectiveness of the tax in reducing tobacco use. Finally, our findings indicate that tax structures have a substantial impact on price variability in cigarette markets, thus likely impacting smoking behaviours, including prevalence, consumption and cessation. Future research should explore how tax structures affect these smoking behaviours. Economic models have suggested that a simple taxation system that applies a uniform specific excise tax has advantages in raising average cigarette prices, reducing tax avoidance and switching down, and discouraging manufacturer's incentives for pricing strategies that lower market prices. However, there is insufficient empirical evidence on how prices are distributed under different tax structures. In this paper, we present and compare price distributions under alternative tax structures. We find that, compared with a uniform specific tax structure, tiered structures and other uniform tax structures tend to have price distributions with greater variability. Among mixed taxation systems, countries that rely more heavily on the ad valorem component of the total tax tend to have greater price variability than countries that rely more heavily on the specific component. In countries with tiered tax systems, cigarette prices are skewed more towards lower prices than are prices under uniform tax systems. We would like to thank Anne Chiew Kin Quah for her valuable comments and support. IARC. Handbooks of cancer prevention in tobacco control. Vol. 14, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2011. WHO. WHO technical manual on tobacco tax administration. WHO, 2010. . Tobacco taxation in the European Union, CESifo working paper, No. 1718, 2006. WHO. Increasing tobacco taxation revenue in Egypt. WHO, 2010. . Is cigarette smoking in poorer nations highly sensitive to price? Evidence from Russia and China. J Health Econ 2004;23:173–89. . How Do Chinese Smokers Respond to Changes in Cigarette Prices? Working Paper. 2012. . Cigarette Excise Taxation: The Impact of Tax Structure on Prices, Revenues, and Cigarette Smoking. NBER Working Paper 16287. 2010. . (forthcoming). The Choics of Discount Brand Cigaretts: A Comprehensive Analysis of International Tobacco Control (ITC) Surveys in Canada and the United States (2002–05). Tobacco Control Supplement 2013. . Taxation and product quality: new evidence from generic cigarettes. J Political Econ 1997;105:880–7. . Cigarette purchase patterns in four countries and the relationship with cessation: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Tob Control 2006;15(Suppl III):iii59–64. . Use of discount cigarettes by smokers in 20 communities in the United States, 1988–1993. Tob Control 1997;6:S25–30. . Discrepancies in cigarette brand sales and adult market share: are new teen smokers filling the gap? Tob Control 1997;6:S38–43. . The effect of Taiwan's tax-induced increases in cigarette prices on brand-switching and the consumption of cigarettes. Health Econ 2005;14:627–41. . Use of less expensive cigarettes in six cities in China: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) China Survey. Tob Control 2010;19(Suppl 2):i63–68. . A Cross-country Analysis of Cigarette Prices and Affordability: Evidence from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. Working Paper, 2012. Chaloupka FJ, Kostova D, Shang C. Cigarette excise tax structure and cigarette prices – evidence from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. Working paper, 2013. . The micro-geography of tax avoidance: evidence from littered cigarette packs in Chicago. Am Econ J: Economic Policy 2010;2:61–84. . (forthcoming). Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion: Comparison of 15 ITC Project Countries. 2013. . The impact of eliminating the global illicit cigarette trade on health and revenue. Addiction 2010;105:1640–9. . The conceptual framework of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project. Tob Control 2006;15(Suppl 3):iii3–11. Orzechowski & Walker. Tax burden on Tobacco. Historical Compilation, Vol. 46. 2011. BMJ Publishing Group Limited takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the translation from the published English original and is not liable for any errors which may occur. Contributors The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors. Funding The data collection for the ITC Project is supported by grants R01 CA 100362 and P50 CA111236 (Roswell Park Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, and P01 CA138389, R01 CA090955) from the National Cancer Institute of the USA, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (045734), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (57897, 79551 and 115016), Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging, Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative (014578), National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (265903), the International Development Research Centre (104831-002), the International Development Research Centre (African Tobacco Situational Analysis), New Zealand Health Research Council (06/453), New Zealand Ministry of Health, Mexican Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (Salud-2007-C01-70032), Bloomberg Global Initiative—International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the French Institute for Health Promotion and Health Education (INPES), the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), Observatoire français des drogues et toxicomanies (OFDT), The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) (The Netherlands), German Federal Ministry of Health, Dieter Mennekes-Umweltstiftung and Germany Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Cancer Research UK (C312/A6465), NHS Health Scotland (RE065), Flight Attendants’ Medical Research Institute (FAMRI), GlaxoSmithkline (3516601), Pfizer (Ireland), the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Malaysian Ministry of Health and Thai Health Promotion Foundation. A Senior Investigator Award from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and a Prevention Scientist Award from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute for the third author and the SILNE Project is funded by the European Commission through FP7 HEALTH-F3-2011-278273. Ethics approval All ITC Surveys were conducted with the approval of the Office of Research Ethics Committee at the University of Waterloo, Canada and the respective internal ethics board for each country. ↵i Ex-factory price means the price at the factory, and does not include any other charges, such as delivery costs or taxes imposed later in the distribution chain. ↵ii These are 2011 surveys of the USA, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, Uruguay, Mauritius and Mexico; 2010 surveys of the Republic of Korea, the UK and Bangladesh; 2009 surveys of Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and China; and the 2008 Survey of France. ↵iii The cigarette price is derived from price per carton, price per pack, price per stick and the number of cigarettes in each carton or pack. ↵iv Throughout the paper, total excises do not include value added taxes (VATs). The amount of ad valorem taxes in China were imputed using the weighted average retail cigarette prices and average VAT and ad valorem tax rates reported in China Statistical Yearbook. The ad valorem tax in Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico and Bangladesh were imputed using ad valorem tax and VAT rates and average cigarette prices. Ad valorem taxes in EU countries were imputed using the ratio of ad valorem to specific components and the amount of specific taxes. ↵v From this point, taxes refer to the taxes for a pack of 20 cigarettes.

2019-04-25T16:09:12Z

https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/23/suppl_1/i23?ijkey=4522b13a2e2f84e5230fa0dd82da29a17c867c80&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

John L. Hilton is adjunct professor of statistics at Brigham Young University. This chapter is reprinted by permission, with slight alteration for clarification. First published in BYU Studies 30/3 (1990): 89—108. In 1980 Wayne A. Larsen, Alvin C. Rencher, and Tim Layton published the first complete analysis of the Book of Mormon using the then adolescent tool of computerized stylometry, or wordprinting.1 They analyzed author-specific word-use rate to show that the purported authors in the Book of Mormon are statistically different—that not one but many authors contributed to the book. Since then the science of wordprinting has continued to undergo considerable critical evaluation, particularly in its application to the Book of Mormon. Shortly after BYU Studies published Larsen, Rencher, and Layton’s pioneering work, I joined forces with a small group of scientists in Berkeley, California, who were attempting to verify the accuracy of wordprinting in general and to check the Larsen-Rencher-Layton results specifically. After seven years of study and development, we concluded that wordprint measurements are now at the stage where scholars can use such tests confidently and without personal bias to analyze contested authorship in many literary works, including the Book of Mormon. This paper explores our conclusion by (1) discussing some general ideas about wordprints and wordprinting, (2) reviewing some early wordprint studies in the evolution of wordprint science, (3) summarizing the development of a new measurement technique, including important control studies to verify the objectivity of that technique, and (4) setting forth some verified Book of Mormon measurements. Before proceeding, I will establish the need for wordprints for the Book of Mormon and also discuss one important caveat. The need for rigorous, legitimate wordprint measurements is obvious in attempting to settle some of the most prominent controversies surrounding the Book of Mormon: Are the word patterns of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, or Solomon Spaulding measurable in the Book of Mormon? Can wordprinting show that different sections of the Book of Mormon were written by different authors? Does Joseph Smith’s role as translator obfuscate patterns unique to ancient authors? Fortunately the Book of Mormon is a near-ideal document for such objective wordprint studies, provided the measurement is made correctly. Of course, wordprint analysis, while it can measure certain facts objectively, cannot prove the holiness of the Book of Mormon. The understanding that the Book of Mormon has a divine origin is obtainable only by developing faith. Thus, while valid and objective wordprinting is no substitute for faith, wordprinting can, nevertheless, bolster the establishment of faith by rigorously demonstrating factual information about the book. Wordprinting is a developing science, notwithstanding that the first written suggestions that something like wordprinting might be useful in objectively identifying authors appeared at least as early as 1851. Yet, because of the complexity of the measurements, the first credible studies had to await the availability of modern computers with their precise counting accuracy and high-speed computation. Therefore, wordprinting has undergone almost all of its significant development during the last thirty years. Most modern wordprint techniques measure only the placement of “noncontextual” words. Noncontextual words like the, and, a, of, etc. are often capable of being interchanged or even dropped without a loss of overall meaning; they seem to add little in context information, often being consciously ignored by writer and reader alike. Obviously, measuring noncontextual words makes word-printing less sensitive to the subject matter. In addition, the technique improves statistical accuracy. Noncontextual words typically make up 20% to 45% of the total text, thereby providing a high number of statistical “events,” and the larger the statistical measurement is, the more reliable the results are. Wordprint measurements made from large numbers of noncontextual words continue to show that an author’s free-flow writings use these words in a habitual, nearly subconscious, unique way.4 However, if the author consciously imposes an external structure, the free flow of the author’s wordprint pattern is modified, and accurate wordprint measurements become more difficult to obtain. Wordprinting measures the difference in the way noncontextual word patterns occur in two compared texts. Usually one of the texts is of disputed authorship while the other is by an author suspected of writing the disputed text. If the same word pattern is found to be statistically different between the two texts, we identify the difference as a rejection.5 The total of the rejections measured when the two texts are tested for a large number of word patterns is identified as the number of rejections. The larger the number of rejections, the more likely the disputed text was not written by the author of the other compared text. Thus, testing a contested document against comparable texts from all possible candidate-authors will identify the most likely writer by eliminating authors whose texts generate high numbers of rejections. Finding the most likely writer depends on the word-printing technique’s accuracy. The accuracy (and usefulness) of a wordprint measuring technique critically depends on the statistical reliability in detecting which of its tested text pairs are not written by the same author. Statistical reliability is rigorously demonstrated by using the technique with a large number of control-author texts for the purpose of verifying the authorship of known texts. These texts correspond in size and include examples of the different literary parameters (genre, subject matter, writing period, position in an author’s career) that are to be studied later. The verifying measurements made between two control texts written by the same author are identified as within-author tests. The tests between texts written by different authors are called between-author tests. The statistical separation measured between the overall distributions of a large number of the within-author and between-author tests is the valid measurement of what will be expected when a contested author is later tested with the same technique. In other words, the difference between the number of rejections found between texts by the same author and texts by different authors will serve as a standard. This standard is used to evaluate the numbers of rejections found when testing texts of contested authorship. Measuring the differences in word patterns between texts is the basic process of a wordprinting technique. Verifying such a technique, while straightforward in principle, is in practice very tedious. Thus, during the years of wordprinting development, many proposed wordprint measuring systems were verified only superficially on a narrow set of texts. Unfortunately, researchers often assumed that a wordprint measuring technique shown valid for one set of literary parameters would also be valid for all others. We now realize such assumptions are not valid; we must successfully verify each wordprint measuring methodology with control texts which represent all the literary parameters that are to be reliably measured later on. Perhaps one of the earliest successful wordprint studies in the United States was the classical work by the statisticians Frederick Mosteller and David L. Wallace, who published their work on author identification in 1964.6 While not the first scholars to attempt computer-assisted stylo-metry, they published one of the first complete and internally consistent studies on a set of historically important documents. Their work convincingly identified the author of several anonymously published Federalist Papers. Mosteller and Wallace measured the rates at which simple, noncontextual words were used per 1000 words of text. This statistical model appeared adequately sensitive and valid to unambiguously show that James Madison was the author of the disputed documents. They showed that the other two possible candidate-authors were overwhelmingly excluded as authors of any of the twelve disputed documents. The wordprint study on the Federalist Papers had several advantages which facilitated statistical measurements. First, the documents are lengthy, were written in the same genre on the same subject, and have essentially the same vocabulary. Additionally, for control texts Mosteller and Wallace were able to use uncontested writings by the suspected authors, writings which are of the same length, genre, subject, and vocabulary as the suspect texts. That the simple Mosteller and Wallace wordprint technique had been shown to be valid only for their single, nearly ideal class of texts was at first not appreciated as important. Not all succeeding studies had documents that presented as favorable a situation as did that of Mosteller and Wallace. In addition, most later wordprinters did not execute their studies in such a thorough way. Many omitted any independent control studies to confirm that their wordprint techniques were valid for their given case. As a consequence, some published studies purportedly giving objective answers later proved to be inaccurate. The first extensive wordprint measurements of the Book of Mormon appeared in 1978 when Alvin C. Rencher and Wayne A. Larsen began reporting their pioneering study in author identification. This work was followed by their complete report in 1980.9 They also coined the term wordprint, and introduced to Church and world scholars the interesting possibility of objective author identification in the Book of Mormon. They used information gained from earlier approaches and applied the simple noncontextual word-use rate of Mosteller and Wallace’s technique but coupled it with a powerful, multivariate statistical analysis. Unlike previous studies which introduced the concept of hand-tabulated word measurements to the Book of Mormon,10 the 1980 wordprint study published by Larsen, Rencher, and Layton was widely recognized as important both within and without the Church.11 If the measurement technique was in fact objective and verifiable, any competent student could duplicate the calculations to determine answers to a number of questions that have remained controversial among Book of Mormon believers and detractors. Along with others who found the reported work of the BYU team of Larsen-Rencher-Layton interesting and challenging was a small group of scientific researchers in northern California to which I belonged. Our group, later known as the Berkeley Group, included major contributors from different scientific disciplines and differing religious persuasions. All of us shared the scientific curiosity which led us to test the intriguing Larsen-Rencher-Layton claim. In the fall of 1980, we began our study. As the major LDS contributor in the group, I was little different from my agnostic and Jewish colleagues: each of us seriously questioned whether objective measurement could determine who did or did not write a controversial document like the Book of Mormon. Therefore, armed with a healthy skepticism, we began a confirmational study—the kind of study scientists typically perform in the physical sciences—to recalculate the wordprint measurements while correcting any procedural or calculational flaws which could potentially have confused the results of the original study. During the time our Berkeley Group was doing its work, other Book of Mormon scholars were also studying the approach proposed by the Larsen-Rencher-Layton team. One of the most notable of these is the University of Utah statistician, D. James Croft. His work is that of a competent scholar as well as a conscientious believer in the divinity of the Book of Mormon. His published work is a carefully reasoned critique of the Larsen-Rencher-Layton paper.14 As would be expected from a scholar of the exact sciences, he cautioned his LDS readers about the unverified nature of the methodology: “Close scrutiny of the methodology of the BYU authorship study reveals several areas which seem vulnerable to criticism.” After calling for a redevelopment of methodology which could circumvent the specific areas he found questionable, he concludes, “Certainly any research done in the future will be indebted to Larsen, Rencher and Layton, who called our attention to an interesting and challenging area of Book of Mormon study. At the present time , however . . . it would be best to reserve judgment concerning whether or not it is possible to prove the existence of multiple authors of the Book of Mormon” (21). We kept in close contact with Dr. Croft and others15 who were contributing to the continuing refinement of wordprinting during the years when our independent methodology was under development. We appreciated the continuing contributions of these scholars as they helped us insure that the suspect areas recognized in the earlier methodologies would be avoided and that the verification of our new wordprint measuring technique would be complete enough to insure reliable answers. Our new conservative measurements incorporate six points which were not used in earlier Book of Mormon wordprint studies. These points contribute to improved reliability when 5000-word texts are tested. They are (1) measuring the author’s wordprint by studying the use rate of sixty-five noncontextual word-pattern ratios as proposed by Morton (1985); (2) abandoning the commonly accepted statistical assumption of “normality” of word distribution and instead using the Mann-Whitney nonparametric statistic, which does not require the unverifiable normality simplification; (3) developing a “wrap-around” word-group counting method which helps break apart clusters of similar words in the sampled text words (this method helps provide the statistically required word-group homogeneity); (4) making comparison measurements between just two texts at a time; (5) using the oldest extant Book of Mormon manuscripts (the texts used do not include the repetitive use of the phrase and it came to pass, nor do they include significant direct quotations from the King James Bible—including such text would distort the noncontextual word counts for each author); and (6) verifying the sensitivity of the computer coding and measurement methodology by measuring a diverse set of texts of nondisputed authorship which represent the appropriate literary parameters. Deriving the model becomes relatively unimportant compared to designing the control studies which verify or disprove the validity of the method. For our control studies, we specifically chose a representative set of literary texts which would test the extremes found in English-language writings. When we tested these control texts, we found that our technique yielded well-defined, bell-shaped distributions, showing that our new wordprint technique is essentially insensitive to the textual changes introduced by the differing literary parameters of genre, subject matter, writing period, position in an author’s career, or normal publication editing. Specifically, this extended verification study tested the validity of our model by calculating 325 diverse wordprint tests. These tests studied 26 noncontroversial 5000-word texts which had been written under various conditions by nine different control authors (see Appendix 3). The within-author and between-author results rigorously supported the basic wordprint assumption: although all authors have many writing habits in common, they each show measurably unique, stable rates for some noncontextual word patterns. Among the nondisputed documents that were used in the testing were texts by Oliver Cowdery and samples of Joseph Smith’s autographic and dictated writings. The results of our verification tests are displayed in figure 1. Thirty-three of these tests are made by comparing texts written by the same author; 292 of the tests compared one author’s writing against that of another author. The black bars represent the 33 within-author measurements, which yield a statistically smooth distribution peaking at about 2 rejections, a result that is theoretically expected.19 The distribution peak for between-author comparisons is about 7 rejections. Therefore, about two-thirds of the true between-author measurements fall above even the extremes of the within-author distribution. This result means that when any 5000-word disputed text is tested against a known author’s comparable works and measures 7 or more rejections, the two texts are very likely not written by the same author.20 The lower the number of rejections, the greater the likelihood that the two texts were written by the same author; the higher the number of rejections, the more likely that different authors composed the two compared texts. If we have only two 5000-word texts and their paired testing measures 1 to 6 rejections (as is expected for a true between-author pair in about one-third of the cases), we cannot assign authorship unambiguously because the within-author and between-author distributions overlap each other in this range. Similarly, for the few tests (about ten percent of the true within-author cases) that measure zero rejections, there is a high probability that the compared texts were written by the same author. We wished to make the most conservative measurement possible; therefore we compared the two Book of Mormon authors who have the largest number of 5000-word texts. Further, even though our verification testing showed that our new wordprint measuring technique is not unduly sensitive to normal changes of genre, we still chose the more conservative comparison by testing only within the same literary form. Therefore, we selected for our critical Book of Mormon verification measurements three independent, 5000-word texts from the didactic writings of each of the two major purported Book of Mormon authors, Nephi and Alma. Those texts are the largest same-genre pair in the book. Besides eliminating any possible lingering concern that changing genre might artificially cause additional rejections, the use of the didactic genre has the advantage of essentially excluding the possibly troublesome phrase and it came to pass. This phrase is the only phrase used repetitively enough in the Book of Mormon to be troubling to wordprint measurements. Our results are displayed starting with figure 2, which shows the distribution of the number of wordprint rejections for the six possible within-author tests of Nephi against Nephi and Alma against Alma. The within-author tests for both show the same distribution as the within-author tests of our control studies, shown in grey in figure 2. Figure 3 is a plot of the rejection distribution calculated from the between-author tests of direct interest to the Book of Mormon authorship question. The black bars show the comparisons of the texts purportedly written by Nephi when tested against those purportedly written by Alma. The tests show the same relatively large number of rejections found in the between-author distribution in figure 1 (shown in figure 3 in grey), which was derived from the comparisons made between the texts of the different control authors. Table 1 shows the measurements for the individual wordprint tests used in producing figures 2 and 3. Taking the comparisons of Nephi versus Alma, we found that in eight of the nine tests, 5 or more rejections resulted. Four of these tests produced 7, 8, 9, and 10 rejections. These four high-rejection tests (which yielded 7, 8, 9, and 10 rejections) independently measure a statistical confidence of greater than 99.5%, 99.9%, 99.99%, and 99.997% probability that the measured rejections show that the author’s patterns are very different consistent with Nephi’s texts having been written by a different author than wrote Alma.21 Therefore the Book of Mormon measures patterns of different authors according to its own internal claims. By using a new wordprint measuring methodology which has been verified, we show that it is statistically indefensible to propose Joseph Smith or Oliver Cowdery or Solomon Spaulding as the author of the 30,000 words from the Book of Mormon manuscript texts attributed to Nephi and Alma. Additionally these two Book of Mormon writers have wordprints unique to themselves and measure statistically independent from each other in the same fashion that other uncontested authors do. Therefore, the Book of Mormon measures multiauthored, with authorship consistent to its own internal claims. These results are obtained even though the writings of Nephi and Alma were “translated” by Joseph Smith. We also described control studies of modern language academic translations where, in practice, a single translator can consistently preserve the unique wordprints of the several original authors he has translated. Useful noncontextual word patterns meet the following conditions: they yield an unambiguous count, they occur frequently, they have common alternate expressions, their use rates tend to become habitual, and they are minimally affected by the period of the writer’s career, the subject matter, and the genre. Therefore, useful word patterns are typically made up of key words such as common articles, conjunctions, and prepositions. Measurements are calculated from the ratio of the overall key-word-use rate against the same key-word-use rate in certain sentence positions, word collocations, proportional pairs, or the use of key words adjacent to certain parts of speech and novel vocabulary words. # represents the number of end of sentence markers fws represents the first word in a sentence lws represents the last word in a sentence 2nd lws represents the second to last word in a sentence fb means “followed by” pb means “preceded by” x represents any word r+l means that the word to the right and left are unique within the original 1000-word block. The photonegative of the 1966 filming of the Book of Mormon printer’s manuscript was courteously supplied, without endorsement, by the History Commission of the RLDS Church. By October of 1982, a board of seven editors prepared a primitive Book of Mormon text using the following sources: (1) a computer file of the 1830 Palmyra first printed edition of the Book of Mormon developed in the BYU Language Research Center by L. K. Browning, (2) the photo-offset copy of the first edition printed by Wilford C. Wood, (3) a copy of the text of extant sections of the original dictation manuscript collected by L. K. Browning, and (4) the complete printer’s manuscript. The editors prepared a composite file of the oldest sections from each manuscript to complete a Book of Mormon text computer file which we named “The Most Primitive Book of Mormon Manuscript Text.” The editors also prepared and verified line headers which identified the apparent original author, the literary form, modern book, chapter, verse, and line notation for each line of text. Similar line headings are now published in Book of Mormon Critical Text: A Tool for Scholarly Reference, Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (hereafter cited as FARMS) STF-84aa, 3 vols. (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1984—87). Does the Race of Man Love a Lord? an essay on American and European mores (1902) in The Complete Humorous Sketches and Tales of Mark Twain, ed. Charles Nelder (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1961), 686—96. “Early Days,” a narrative (1875) in Mark Twain’s Autobiography (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1875), 81—123. “Extracts from Adam’s Diary,” fanciful fiction, a spoofing translation, likely a satire on the Book of Mormon (1893) from “The Diary of Adam and Eve” in The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain, ed. Charles Nelder (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1985), 272—80, 288—94. “Eve’s Diary (Translated from the Original),” companion to “Extracts from Adam’s Diary” (C. above), author attempting to write for two different people (1905), 281—8. Written religious discourse and biographical essays from Messenger and Advocate (1830). A second selection from the same article series as used in (A) (1830). Life of William Shakespeare, an essay, only 3528 words (about 1770). Photocopy in possession of the author, original found in Yale Library. The Number of the Beast, fanciful science-fiction narrative; first-person narrative chapters simulating the writing of his character Hilda (New York: Ballantine, 1980). A second selection from The Number of the Beast, chapters simulating the first-person narrative of his character Deety (A. above). The Rambler, first part of the newspaper essays (1750). A second selection from The Rambler (1751). The Idler, newspaper essays (1758). A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, a personal travelogue (1775). A second selection from (D) above (1775). The Fountains: A Fairy Tale, fanciful narrative (1766), only 4879 words (London: Elkin Mathews and Manot, 1927), 9—48. Autographic letters to wife Emma, friends, and the Church (1834—38) in The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, comp. and ed. Dean C. Jessee (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984). A second selection from (A) above (1836). Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith—History 1:1—75, dictated and carefully polished with the assistance of his clerks (1834—38). “The Novella,” an essay, written in English, in Twelve German Novellas, ed. and trans. Harry Steinhauer (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977), Introduction, ix—xxiii. A second selection from (A) above plus 1000 words from (C) below (1977 and 1974). Heine and Cecile Furtado: A Reconsideration, biographical essay, written in English, Modern Language Notes 89 (April 1974): 422—47. Michael Kohlhaas, novella, written in German (about 1850), trans. Harry Steinhauer (1977—see VII. A. above). A second selection from (A) above (about 1850). A third selection from (A) above (about 1850). Love and Friendship Tested, novella, written in German (about 1770), trans. Harry Steinhauer (1977—see VII. A. above). A second selection from (A) above (about 1770). 1. For Larsen, Rencher, and Layton’s Book of Mormon wordprint study, see “Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? An Analysis of Wordprints,” BYU Studies 20 (spring 1980): 225—51. 2. For a detailed discussion of wordprinting single-authored texts with a few thousand words, see John L. Hilton and Kenneth D. Jenkins, “On Maximizing Author Identification by Measuring 5000 Word Texts” (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1987). 3. Works known to be written prior to computer-aided authorship are essentially immune. In principle one can argue that a modern, computer-assisted forger could manufacture a document capable of deceiving an authorship measurement. To attempt such a forgery would be an enormous task and would still leave the forger unsure beforehand as to which of all of the possible word patterns the wordprinter would ultimately use to test the manufactured document. Of course, such a fraudulent document would be susceptible to detection by the standard procedures now used to identify any pastiche. 4. To be a valid measurement, the words must be essentially the free-flow choice of the purported author. Extensive quoting of someone else’s words is different from free paraphrasing and, of course, tends to produce a wordprint closer to the pattern of the one being quoted. Further, deliberately writing to an externally imposed pattern which restricts the normal noncontextual word choices of the writer or repetitively using normally noncontextual words in textually important ways can also change the wordprint patterns. For an example of deliberate change in a wordprint, see Tim Hiatt and John Hilton, “Can Authors Alter their Wordprints? Faulkner’s Narrators in As I Lay Dying,” Selected Papers from the Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Symposium, ed. Melvin Luthy (Provo, Utah: Deseret Language and Linguistic Society, 1990). Examples of these wordprint problems found in the Book of Mormon are the extensive quotations from the King James Bible and the repetitive use of the phrase and it came to pass. Proper wordprint testing must take these special problems into account. 5. A rejection results from the statistical calculation of a null-hypothesis rejection (p<.05) for any one of the tested word patterns as the two texts are compared. A rejection is considered statistically useful only for word patterns that can be found five or more times in either of the compared 5000-word texts. 6. For the 1964 study, see F. W. Mosteller and D. Wallace, Inference and Disputed Authorship: The Federalist Papers (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1964); second edition published as Frederick Mosteller and David L, Wallace, Applied Bayesian and Classical Inference: The Case of the Federalist Papers (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1984). 7. Morton’s arguments for using word-pattern ratios instead of simple word-use rates are found in A. Q. Morton, Literary Detection: How to Prove Authorship and Fraud in Literature and Documents (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1978). 8. Kendra L. Lindsay, “An Authorship Study of the Pauline Epistles” (master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1986). 10. Perhaps the most significant of the precomputer studies was Glade L. Burgon’s “An Analysis of Style Variations in the Book of Mormon” (Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1950). 11. Some publications that support Larsen, Rencher, and Layton’s work, besides those referenced in nn. 8 and 14, include New Era 9 (November 1979): 10—3, and Noel B. Reynolds’s Book of Mormon Authorship: New Light on Ancient Origins, Religious Studies Monograph Series, vol. 7 (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1982). Perhaps the latest neutral reference to their work, representing those in the scholarly community, would be Joseph Rudman at the Dynamic Text Conference, Toronto, Canada, 7 June 1989. In his presentation on authorship attribution in the literary computing session, Rudman noted their work as significant. Among the anti-Book of Mormon references, likely the most extensive work provoked by the Larsen-Rencher-Layton study was an attempt at a wordprint measurement by Ernest H. Taves as reported in his book Trouble Enough: Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1984), 225—60. Unfortunately, the Taves study was fundamentally flawed as described in the critique of his work (John L. Hilton, “Review of Ernest Tares’ Book of Mormon Stylometry,” [Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1986]), and therefore did nothing to add to or detract from their work. 14. D. James Croft, “Book of Mormon ‘Wordprints’ Reexamined” Sunstone 6 (March—April 1981): 15—21. 15. Significant assistance was received from Yehuda Radday of the Department of General Studies, Technion University, Haifa, Israel; Kenneth R. Beesley, graduate student working with Sidney Michaelson and A. Q. Morton, University of Edinburgh, School of Epistemics, Edinburgh, Scotland; and A. Q. Morton, The Abbey Mannse, Culross, Fife, Scotland. Personal communications. 17. Subsequent to our study of the works of two German authors, we extended our work to include three more semiclassical German novella authors, all of whom had been translated by the same German-to-English translator, Harry Steinbauer. All of our new measurements gave the same results as before: each German author’s translated work was internally consistent but distinctly different from all other translated authors’ measurements. 18. Not all translators need show these differing patterns. Some translators think their nonliteral “free translation” is preferable. Complete free translations could be expected to yield only the translator’s personal paraphrase of the ideas from the original text. In the extreme, free translations would produce only a single wordprint pattern for all of the translator’s personal writings and translations of different foreign authors’ works. 19. Typically between 40 to 47 of Morton’s 65 word patterns are measured often enough to be accepted as statistically useful. We therefore expected that true within-author comparisons show an average rejections number at slightly over 5% (i.e., .05 x 40=2) as we compared the two texts, at alpha .05 or 95% probability. Our results confirmed our expectations. 7 rejections (t=2.76) gives >99.5% confidence that the two texts are statistically different and therefore written by different authors. 8 rejections (t=3.39) gives >99.9% confidence that the two texts are statistically different and therefore written by different authors. 9 rejections (t=4.02) gives >99.99% confidence that the two texts are statistically different and therefore written by different authors. 10 rejections (t=4.64) gives > 99.997% confidence that the two texts are statistically different and therefore written by different authors. 21. Furthermore, because the data are categorical and in a statistical sense (approximately) independent, the probability is vanishingly small that Nephi and Alma could have had the same author in spite of all four texts measuring with high rejections. The combined probability would approach 1.3 x 10-14. (This calculation is simply the product of each of the four probabilities for same authorship—one minus the probability for different authorship reported above—which would be .005 x .001 x .0001 x .00003 = 1.3 x 10-14.) Approximate independence of the four paired-test texts is assumed, as is customary in wordprinting (see A. Q. Morton, 154—5, n. 7). This approximate simultaneous calculation shows an enormous statistical overkill, demonstrating overwhelming statistical separation between the didactic writings of the purported Book of Mormon authors Nephi and Alma. 22. Care was taken to insure that the texts used to represent the free-flow writing of Oliver Cowdery, Solomon Spaulding, and Joseph Smith were correctly chosen for minimal editorial rework and that they were correctly entered into the computer. In the case of Joseph Smith two of the three 5000-word files were taken from his own autobiographic writings, the third from the earliest version of his dictated work used for Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith—History 1:1—75. Solomon Spaulding was sampled from a certified transcript of his manuscript labeled “Manuscript Story.” Oliver Cowdery is represented from bylined articles taken from numbers of the Kirtland, Ohio, newspaper Messenger and Advocate printed during the time he was the active editor.

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https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1099&index=12

Fort Kwunko, Alaska can be a cold, harsh place to live for the hardiest of the natives. For the daughter of two caucasian missionaries, it was downright hostile. For a creature designed to live in the steamy South American jungles, however, it could be absolutely maddening. Victoria had always believed that whatever SCABS did to a person, it would ultimately be for the best, even if the transformation seemed tragic at the time. This belief sustained her optimism when she came down with the Martian Flu. When her body became coated with a thick, shaggy fur, she reckoned that she was being equipped to better deal with the harsh climate of rural Alaska. However, when her face extended to five times its original length, the truth became painfully apparent. Victoria had become a giant anteater, and as such, unable to survive in the cold. Having just about the lowest body temperature in the entire Mammalian order, Victoria could not even go for a walk outside, for fear of hypothermia. Thus, the anteater spent most of her time in her room, alone, bored, and miserable. Before much time had passed, Victoria's parents saw just how unhappy their daughter had become. Seeing only one solution, they advised her to settle and seek employment in the southern, more hospitable climes. So it was that she came to our fair city, doing whatever she could to make ends meet. It has always been accepted as true that a person who is willing to work hard could find a job in the food service industry. Sadly, the law has made this untrue for SCABs. The bureaucrats at the health department still consider SCABS a chronic disease, even though it is not possible to contract SCABS, or even the Martian Flu, from one already transformed. Thus, it has become illegal for restaurants to employ such individuals, with the exception of a handful of specialty establishments. Fortunately, there's Chang's. Chang's pizzeria has done its community a wonderful service by establishing a policy of hiring SCABS as delivery drivers. Technically, since they never touch the pizzas, they're not in food service. It's a rather tight loophole, to be sure, but for Victoria, it meant gainful employment. That was how I met her. One night, when I had gotten rather bored with fresh sushi, I ordered out for a pizza. "County road 3, mile marker 12." Victoria repeated to herself as she tooled along in her modified Volkswagen. Marker 12... Marker 12..." As she was searching, she pulled up to the edge of the lake. "There IS no mile marker 12!" she huffed. Then, looking off to the right, she spotted the old cabin. Taking the pizza box and soda in her claws, she got out and walked over to the cabin. Using her tongue, she klacked the knocker. Becoming frustrated, she went back to the car. She was about to get in and drive away when she heard an "Over here!" behind her. That, of course, would be me. She started and blinked in surprise as I waved at her from the window of my burrow. With a small shrug, she brought me my supper. "I hope you didn't have too much trouble finding the place." I said, somewhat apologetically. Victoria chuckled. "I usually like the country routes because the houses are easy to find." she said. "I've never had to deliver a pizza to a mound of dirt before. This time, I chuckled. "It's primitive, but it's home." The anteater looked in through the window. "Oh, hey! That does look nice and cozy in there." "Visitors always welcome." I said. "Is that an invitation?" asked Victoria with a laugh. "If you like, then that's exactly what it is." I extended my paw. "Oren Verden. My friends call me "Otter" for obvious reasons." "Victoria Preston. I'd love to visit and share your pizza, but I'm afraid I'm on the clock. Another time, perhaps?" "Certainly. Have a good night, Ms. Preston." When she drove off, I assumed I'd never see her again. That night, Victoria sat alone in her tiny little apartment. She stared at the wall for an hour before sheer boredom prompted her to turn on the webstation. She logged into a movie channel and downloaded a good two-hour romance. As an afterthought, she checked her E-mail. There was a letter from Bobby there. Seeing it cheered her up instantly. Bobby was one of the local Eskimo boys who had been her friend since she was in diapers. They had been dating when Victoria left, and even now, she still hoped that they would be together again. "Dear Victoria:" the letter began. "I have some really interesting news. Two days after you left for the lower 48 I came down with the Martian Flu. I thought that I was ready to become whatever animal SCABS would turn me into, but imagine my surprise when I changed into a shapely young lady! I am going by Barbara, now. I know you hoped that we might date again someday, but this new development does make things a little difficult. I do hope that I can still be your friend. Mom and Dad and Kenny say "Hi". Victoria felt her heart sink down into her tail as she stared at the screen. She had only known one love her whole life, and now he was gone. She didn't cry. She didn't complain. She just picked up her purse and went for a nice, long drive. I couldn't sleep that night. I chatted on the Internet for a while, but that didn't last long. Rover, (my computer,) tends to drain the juice from the solar batteries once the sun has gone down. When my faithful computer shut down, I decided to amuse myself by going for a moonlight swim. After a few dives and a midnight snack of minnow, I lay on my back and looked up at the stars. I almost didn't hear the quiet, repeating "pip-pip-pip-pip- pip" I howled in pain as a rock ricocheted off my eye. "Who's there?" demanded someone on shore. "Who's here? Who's out THERE throwing rocks at me?" "Mister Otter? Is that you?" Swimming up to shore, I noticed Victoria sitting there with a flat rock between her claws. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I was skipping stones and didn't see you out there!" "It's all right." I assured her, rubbing my black eye. "I've had worse." I waddled up onto the shore and sat down next to the anteater. "So what are you doing all the way up here at this time of night?" I asked. "Can't sleep." she replied. I knew there was more. She dipped her head and scratched her nose with a foot. "Things are bad right now." she said. "I'm alone in this big city, I've got a promising career in pizza delivery, and my boyfriend back home is now a girl and probably dating one of the other Eskimo boys." "I'm sorry to hear that. If it helps, I can sympathize." I managed a weak smile that I wasn't sure if she could see. "I lost everything recently. My home, my work, my computer... That's when I decided to come out here. I thought I would try living wild." "My girlfriend was upset that I didn't tell her. The fact is, I didn't tell anybody. I had planned to try and settle in before I sent the word out about my move. She took it personally." "It sure is... but you didn't come up here to listen to my regrets." "I don't mind." said Victoria as she put her claws on my shoulder. "Did you explain things to her?" "Yes, but we decided to stay broken up... for other reasons. Age difference... species difference... the fact that she used to be my councilor..." I skipped a rock of my own over the lake. Victoria clutched herself and shivered. "Cold?" I asked. "Yeah. You wouldn't think so with all this fur, but this body gets cold real easily. That's why I had to leave Alaska." "Don't move." I said, darting off and returning a moment later with an armload of firewood and a box of matches. It wasn't that long at all before both of us were warming ourselves before a nice, roaring bonfire. "Can I ask you something?" asked Victoria. "Do you hate your body? You know... being stuck as an otter?" I felt embarrassed at the answer I had to give. "I'm not stuck. I can become human if I concentrate really hard." "I can also take features from other mustelid species, but it's all involuntary." I wanted to slip under the water and stay there. You know how it feels when you see pictures of starving children on a web commercial when you've got a fridge full of food? That's how I felt. Idly, I poked at the fire with a stick. A piece of wood fell outward onto the back of my paw. Grimacing in pain, I ran and dunked my arm in the lake. "Are you all right? Let me look..." The skin was already furless and blistering. I know I must have looked a sight with one eye swelling shut and my paw clutched to my chest in pain. "Do you have a first aid kit?" "There's one in my car. We'd better get something on that." "And some ice. Why don't you get the first aid kit out of my glove box while I put the fire out?" "Because I don't know where you're parked." About a half hour's drive later, we were at a convenience store buying a bag of ice and a bottle of aloe. We sat down at an undersized table while she bandaged me up and made an icepack. We sat at the table for a bit, just talking. I didn't think it had been that long until I began to look out the window and see the sun coming up. "I know a great place that'll just be opening for breakfast. What do you say?" We walked into the restaurant and were greeted from the kitchen window by Ellen. I was surprised to see her here this morning. She usually worked afternoons. I was doubly surprised that I could actually see her through the window. "Ellen?" I said. "You're standing up?" She smiled and came through the kitchen door. She was indeed out of her wheelchair and on her feet, supporting the weight of her front half on two very long arm braces. "When did you get those?" I asked. "Daddy bought them for me a couple of days ago. Who's your friend, Oren?" "This is Victoria. Victoria, this is Ellen." "Nice to meet you." said Ellen, extending her hand, making the brace dangle awkwardly from her arm. Victoria shook it politely. "So whatcha feel like having this morning?" "I'll just have a couple of scrambled eggs." said Victoria. "Biscuits and gravy." I added. "But how come you're out here taking our orders?" "Eddie called in sick today. The rest of us are kind of switching jobs around to fill in." "I'll have those for you in a minute!" "So..." said Victoria once Ellen had gone back to the kitchen. "Do you come here a lot?" "Not here. I usually go over to the bar side. The Blind Pig Gin Mill." "I wouldn't have figured you for a drinker." "And you'd be right. I drink milk, mostly. You'd be surprised, though. The Blind Pig is nothing like a normal bar. It's clean, well lit... Come on... I'll show you what I mean." I took my anteater friend around the partition between the restaurant and the bar to show her what it looked like. It was pretty much empty, of course. Donnie was there, doing some ordering, and Scratch was sweeping the floor. Just then, a stranger burst through the door. "I'M CURED!" he shouted. 'I'M CURED! Donnie, look! Oren, Oren, I'm cured!" He grabbed my shoulders and smiled toothily. "Do I know you?" I asked. "Oh, of course. You don't recognize me. How can you? It's me, Kieth!" "That's right! And you won't believe this. There's a CURE for SCABS!" Kieth's head was totally in a spin as he babbled incoherently about how he had become human once again. We sat him down at the table and calmed him down enough to get the whole story. He was just wrapping up when someone else came in the door. It was Doug, better known to his friends as "Wiley". A fully morphed coyote, he was a recent addition to the Lupine Boys, and possibly Kieth's greatest friend. "Hi, Wiley." I responded. "Did you hear about Kieth?" "That's right!" said Kieth. "Me and Wiley here have been to see the wizard." ::His name is Tom Sapacroli, and he's not a wizard.:: said The Coyote. "By faith, Oren." Kieth replied. "That's all it took." "It would work on you if you'd just believe." said the wolf. "Five years I was stuck in a full morph and in five minutes he cured me!" I shook my head. "This sounds too good to be true." I said. Donnie nodded in agreement. "But what if it is?" asked Victoria. "I want to check it out." "It's probably a scam." said I. "I still remember that 'Unstuctane' deal a few years ago. My sister blew a fortune, but her husband is still a tiger." "But this works!" Kieth insisted. "Look at me! I'm human!" Victoria's eyes were starting to sparkle. I could tell she was hooked. "How do we find this guy?" I asked. "He's set up a great big tent just outside of Potsborough." "That's right on the other side of the lake." "I see." I said, not really seeing at all." "Donnie, you ought to go." said Kieth. "You can be human again... and you'd be able to talk!" I could see Donnie, the one who was normally dignified and above it all, shiver excitedly at the thought. "After bar close." he signed. "Great idea!" said Kieth. We'll meet back here at closing time and I'll take you to see him!" I was going along to see this for myself. I for one didn't need my SCABS cured, but if this turned out to be fake, which it probably was, someone would need to be there for damage control. There was quite an assembly by the time we got around to going. Theo and Annette, my next-door neighbors, had insisted on coming in hopes of finding a way out of being fish. Dozens more from the bar came, for whatever reason, to see this Tom Sapacroli fellow. There was a large crowd gathered, and we could hear Sapacroli's voice booming over the speaker system. "Do you believe?" asked the voice. "Do you believe that you can become human again and stop being an antelope? Well then my friend, be healed!" I stuck my head inside the tent in time to see a fully morphed antelope slowly become human. He was being gripped at the shoulders by a thin, timid looking man with dark eyes and a wispy beard wearing a jet black suit. People were constantly entering and exiting, so no one really noticed when the lot of us took our places in the crowd. "There's an inanimorph here." said Sapacroli. "I sense that there is an inanimorph... a stone man... who is reluctant to come up and be healed. Son, I urge you to come and let me help you to be set free." Obediently, a man who looked like a granite statue made his way slowly to the stage. "You've got to believe, my boy. Tell me, do you BELIEVE?" "Well then come out of that stone body! Come out and be free!" Slowly, the white stone began to transform into soft pink flesh. The statue-man took a deep breath, and suddenly, he was completely human. "I'm alive!" he proclaimed. "Good word, my heart is beating! Oh, thank you, Sir!" "It was your faith that healed you, my lad. Now then, who is next?" There was a chorus of "Me!"'s. "I sense that there is a fish... a trout... No, two trout." "Like that's so hard to see." I said. "You're in a fishbowl. It's obvious that you're stuck." Nevertheless, I carried the two of them up on stage. "What are your names?" he asked. "I'm Theo, and this is my wife, Annette." "And do you wish to be healed, Theo?" "Do you have the faith to become human once again?" "Then come out of that bowl, Theo." Sapacroli placed his hand on the fish, who began to grow into the shape of a burly brown man. An assistant quickly covered him with a plastic robe as Sapacroli reached down to put his hand on Annette. That was when I really started getting suspicious. If it was faith that was curing SCABS, why did he need to keep making physical contact? Sapacroli seemed to look dismayed. "Annette, I sense that there is doubt in your heart. I'm sorry Annette. I cannot help you if you do not believe." "But I want to believe!" "And so you shall, Annette. I want you to stay and watch what we do here the rest of the night, and tomorrow, I'm confident your faith will be made perfect." Sadly, Annette asked me to take her down. Victoria followed the Jacksons. When he was done with her, she had become a mildly plump, though astonishingly cute, human girl. Many, many people who had come from the Pig went up to be healed that night. Donnie went up, though as one might expect, he was one of those whose doubts were too great to permit healing. Gornul went forward. When he came back, he was a smiling human man. Curiously, his smell did not change a lot. Vincent the mink went up. He was wiggling his fingers and saying "a piano! Somebody get me a piano!" To his dismay, he was another one who was asked to return tomorrow. My thoughts turned momentarily to one who was most conspicuously absent: Phil. He was an intelligent hare. What would he think of all this? Would he rush up to shed his fur, or would he, like me, have too many doubts? Then came the moment that cinched it for me. Once all the transformations were done for the night, Sapacroli, tired and sweaty, turned to the crowd and said "Friends, it was indeed a privilege for me to be here with you all and to help you discover the hidden healing power you all have inside of you. It is my goal to help as many people as I can in this way, but I will need your help. My staff and I have devoted ourselves full-time to this work. Because of this, we depend on contributions both for our livelihood and our traveling expenses. There are several of my assistants scattered about the tent with small coffers. They are ready to take whatever generous contributions you may have to give to further this work. "It's a scheme." I said. "This whole thing is about getting people to part with their money!" Even as I said this, Victoria happily dropped a fifty dollar bill into one of the coffers. The very next morning, I went to talk to Phil. I told him everything that I had witnessed, and of my concerns. He listened carefully, and nodded his head slowly. "I've heard of scams like this before." he said. "Usually, it's just a polymorph trying to make a quick buck." "That's what I thought, too. What throws me off though, is that a polymorph's change lasts... what, twenty four hours? I called up Kieth this morning and he's still human and just as happy as fudge with it." "I'm going to ask my friend in the department to run a background check on this guy." said Phil. "Good idea." I said. "I'll see if there's anything on him on the web." "Also a good idea." He seemed to study my face for a moment. "And don't worry. I'm not going to go begging this guy to change me too." I breathed a sigh of relief mixed with a chuckle at myself for being so transparent. After visiting with Phil, I went to see Victoria. She was feeling jolly and light, dancing around her apartment wearing a brand new dress that must have cost a fortune. "Oren, it's so wonderful!" she was saying. "Now that I'm human, there are so many possibilities! I can go home if I want to. I can get a real job. I can do just about anything." "How many cups of coffee have you had this morning?" "Oren, you're so funny! I'm just so happy!" Victoria... Listen, I've got my doubts about this whole thing, and I don't want to see you hurt." "I appreciate your concern, Oren, but I don't think there's anything to worry about." Gads... If this Tom Sapacroli did turn out to be bunko, and if he hurt Victoria, I'd personally wring his neck. Over the next few days, it became almost impossible to find someone who had not gone to see this man. People all over the city, from two counties even, were going to either watch or be healed by this guy. Thus far, no transformees that I knew of had turned back, which leant some small amount of credence to the faith healer. Phil's and my searches, as well as those of the police, turned up nothing. No one had ever even HEARD of Tom Sapacroli. Of course, that was only using what electronic means were available. When those failed, I decided it was time for some old-fashioned sleuthing. After swimming across the lake to the outskirts of Potsborough, I tried to figure out how best to sneak around unseen. My body was one step ahead of me, though, as it began shrinking to the form of a least weasel. Now the size of a rat and the color of the dry grass, I could sneak about almost freely. I found the tent again with ease. It was deserted, naturally. Stopping to listen, I could detect voices coming from a nearby trailer. Cautiously, I ran over to listen. "...not dry yet. These people are willing to give a fortune." "I don't care!" said the familiar voice of Sapacroli. "This is our last night on the east coast, period. Two of the people have already changed back. More are going to follow, and we can only convince them that they've lost faith for so long." "Where do we go next, then?" "We disappear for a while. Things are getting too dangerous. Someone has been doing some investigation on us." "I don't think so, or we'd be in jail by now. I think, however, that they're beginning to suspect a connection with Frank Willet and John Buzcado." My heart stopped. I froze in place. The door of the trailer opened and out stepped Sapacroli. He stared straight at me with fearsome, penetrating green eyes. "Well well." he said. "I recognize you. You're the little otter who brought those fish to me last night, aren't you?" What? How could he possibly know who I was? I growled at him and tried to act like a weasel. "Don't play games with me, boy." he said as he reached down to grab me. I wasn't about to get caught, though. I bit him on the hand and ran like mad. That was a mistake. As he stood there cursing, he began to change. His teeth became monstrous, and his fingernails turned into enormous claws. Changing back into an otter, I got back into the lake as fast as I possibly could. Sapacroli stood on the shore, swearing indignantly for several minutes before he turned back and shouted "Lars, we're leaving NOW!" The second I got back to the burrow, I dialed the cell phone. "West Street Shelter. Phil Geusz speaking." "Phil, it's Oren. Listen, I think I've pieced together what's going on. Meet me at the Pig in thirty minutes." "He's a polymorph." I explained to the assembled patrons of the Blind Pig. "Extremely powerful. Quite possibly the most powerful in the world. What's more, he's got a platypus sense." "At least I think that's what it is. It's a highly developed electromagnetic sense so sharp that he can read a living body like a book. He uses this to determine who's a unimorph and who's got a psychosomatic morphlock or just has very limited morphing powers. If he can change you, he does. If he can't, he tells you to come back tomorrow." ::But I saw several people get healed on their second day.:: said Wiley. "Of course. He saves some for the next day to make it look convincing." "But then there should be a much larger number of people who can't be healed." Phil noted. "You're right. He balances the numbers by having selected helpers pose as unimorphs." "That still leaves one question." said Kieth. "A polymorph's changes aren't permanent." "And neither are his. After about a week, the transformations start to wear off. He then takes whatever donations he's raked in, runs off to a different town, and changes his name and his face. Thus far, ours is the third state he's hit, at least that we know of." "You mean we're all going to change back?" said Theo, sadly. I only nodded. "Two people have already. Maybe more." "No!" said Victoria. "I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back!" She began to curl into a ball and whimper as though she were in physical pain. I shook with anger at what I was seeing. Dropping from my chair, I stormed toward the door. "Oren, where are you going?" "I'm going to kill him. I'm gonna choke the life out of him with my bare paws! I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I turned around to see Matt, who was even now growing his whiskers once again. "You just told us that this guy is the most powerful polymorph ever seen. If you tried to take him on alone, he'd tear you apart. Leave it to the police." I sighed and nodded. He was right, of course, but that didn't change the rage I felt inside. I took Victoria home. Neither of us said anything the whole way. We both just thought a lot about what was happening. I thought so hard, in fact, that by the time we finally arrived at her home, I had changed most of the way into a human. As she took her keys out of her purse, she asked me "Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?" I thought it would be polite to decline, but before I spoke, I saw the look in her eyes. She did not want to be alone. "Sure. I'd love one." She was already starting to regress into an anteater by the time she reached the kitchen. Already, her nails were darkening. I scanned the apartment to take stock of her interests and come up with a topic of conversation which would distract her. "Hey," I said, eyeing her video disk collection. "You like action movies?" "I sure do." she replied. "But mostly, I'm just a Schwarzenegger fan." "Cool! Did you ever see 'Hercules in New York'?" "Yes! I love that one! I can't believe they actually dubbed his voice." "They're planning a sequel to that one now. 'Hercules in Vegas'." "You're kidding. Arnie is playing Hercules again at his age?" "Hey, he looks good. Did you see him in 'Turboman 3'?" Our movie-related banter was cut short as Victoria dropped the coffee pot. It hit the floor with a 'thunk' and cracked. The girl stood at the counter, staring sadly at her claws. I did all that I could. I came up behind her, put my arms around her and made comforting noises, telling her that everything would be all right. She let loose a few small sobs as her face stretched forward. "Come on." I whispered. "We'd better get your clothes off before they go on their own." I picked up the coffee pot and placed it back on the counter. It was still in one piece, but would never hold coffee again. I stayed with Victoria that night. We put on a romantic comedy and shared some tea as we snuggled on the couch. She fell asleep near the end of the movie, and I followed soon afterward. I awoke to the sensation of being poked in the side and hearing my name repeated. "Oren? Oren? Wake up, Oren! Look what happened!" I obediently opened my eyes. There stood Victoria, in full morphic form. Aside from the face, the tail, and the fur which covered everything, she looked human. She even had her human hair on her head. "I woke up and I looked like this. I can change, Oren! I guess Sapacroli's morphing me must have unstuck something. I can go from this form to full anteater." "That's great, Vic." Of course, it made sense. Since she was one of the lucky ones, she had to have an inherent shifting ability to some degree. She kissed me on the nose. "Thank you for staying with me. That was really sweet of you to do." I glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was already morning. "Glad to be of service." I said. A pause. "Are you going to be all right?" "Good, because I have some work I have to get done this morning." And I did. The first thing I did was to find a pay phone and dial up an old friend. "Oren? Oren is that you? I haven't heard from you in ages! How are you?" "Oh, I'm doing well enough. How are you doing, Karen?" "I can't complain. The PI business hasn't been too bad to me." There was a pause and the sound of rustling straw. "Not really, things have slowed down this past month." "Have you heard of a guy named 'Tom Sapacroli'?" I heard a snort. "Have I? I've had ten dozen calls this week asking me to find out if this guy is for real." "Well, he's not. I found out that he's actually a polymorph running a scam. One very POWERFUL polymorph." "But if that were true, wouldn't his changes reverse in twenty-four hours?" "Not necessarily. From what I've seen, his last for about a week." "Karen, this guy has hurt a lot of my friends this past week. I want to take him down." "I am. I think it's time to round up the old gang." After talking with Karen, I went to the bar to pick up my scooter. I walked in and saw an inordinate number of people there for this time of morning. I sat down on a stool between Jesse and Bryan. I hadn't figured on seeing either of them here this morning. It made sense to see the unimorphs whose dreams had just been dashed drinking and seeking comfort in the morning, but these two were full polymorphs. They hadn't lost anything. I realized of course that this was wrong. After all, I hadn't lost anything, either. If I was upset over the loss which my friends felt, why shouldn't these two be? I looked around at the assembled patrons of the pig and said "You know what? We need a party." "Well, yeah. Something to cheer these people up a little, you know?" I just got a blank stare. When I got back to my burrow, I turned on Rover to try to contact some old friends. "Good afternoon, Oren." said the computer. "How are you today?" "I'm peeved." I replied. How are you?" "I am fine. Would you like to play a game?" "No, Rover. I just want to open my E-mail." I sighed. Whoever designed those personality chips needed to be shot. When I checked the mail, I found a note from Karen. It seemed that the feds had just arrested one James Utner, A.K.A. Tom Sapacroli. Inwardly, I was upset. I wanted to be the one to get him. I was even looking forward to rounding up my old rough- and-tumble buddies to do it. Se la vie. I read on. The way she'd heard it, an undercover agent disguised as a pigeon had been watching as Sapacroli emerged from his trailer and chased a small animal away. He'd been so upset that he ordered the camp to move out, and as he did, he lost control and slipped into his normal form. Once the agent identified him, he was able to move in and arrest the guy. I smiled maliciously. I guess I had helped to bring him in, after all. Once I was sure that she was off work, I went to see Victoria. Our visit was happier this time, and we watched another movie together; "Batman Seven: The Return of Freeze". As we were watching the credits roll by, the doorbell rang. It was Gornul, and he had a big old smile plastered across his clay face. "I thought I might find you here." He said. "You have both been cordially invited to a private party at the Blind Pig Gin Mill. Bring Clothing." Indeed I did. When the three of us arrived, there was a banner in the front window proclaiming "First Annual Blind Pig Normbash". The place was full of people. Surprisingly, most of them were human. It became apparent why when I looked to my left and saw Jacob, Jesse and Bryan, with several other polymorphs, sitting around a table looking tired. "Hey, Oren!" called Jesse. I was amazed to see him human. He interpreted my quizzical gaze and said "It's true. I finally let my secret out." "I find that if I work with the other polys, it doesn't hurt as much and they don't get tired as quickly." "Well," I said as I climbed inside a brand new pair of shorts. "Guess it's time to get into the spirit." Running some math equations in my head, I changed into my old, human self. There were, of course, those who could not return to human form. For them, it was sort of a time to poke fun at the lot they had been dealt by fate. Phil ... serious, level-headed Phil, was parading around in a pin-striped suit and a stick-on mustache. Annette was wearing a lovely, if soaking wet evening gown as she swayed back and forth in her fishbowl while Theo held her fins. Ellen was back in her wheelchair, but she had her legs tucked up underneath her while a pair of mannequin legs peeked out from under a blanket. I had to admire the cleverness of it. Bryan and Jesse had taken a sad situation and turned it into a party. They also, unknowingly, started a tradition. During the party, Victoria took me aside to one of the quieter corners of the bar. "I wanted to thank you for everything you've done." she said. "You took a poor girl from Alaska and made her feel welcome in a strange city. You gave me comfort when I was sad. You're a friend to me, Oren." I blushed. It showed, with no fur to hide it. Victoria just smiled. "Come on." she said, taking my hand. "I've got twenty-three and a half hours left as a human and I want to make the most of them." Then she did the unexpected. She grabbed me and kissed me. "What was that for?" I asked breathlessly. "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to once my face grew back." She and I danced the night away. The "Normbash" had been great fun, and probably would have gone on for days if people hadn't started changing back. It was interesting to see what some of my friends had originally looked like. I had a big smile on my face as I rode home on my scooter. That smile lasted until I reached the door of my burrow. Stuck into the side of my hillock on a tent peg was a piece of paper. It was an order to vacate.

2019-04-21T04:40:18Z

http://transform.to/~mwbard/tbp/orenvictoria.html

Accueil A LA UNE Un problème réel de la Guinée qu’il faut résoudre….. Tout porte à croire que notre pays utilise les bases de données statistiques des institutions internationales pour planifier notre programme de développement. Quoique leur système de quantification comporte souvent une marge d’erreur très large, nous en faisons quand même la référence. D’ailleurs, celles-ci commanditent des études de prélèvement par secteur en fonction des besoins de leur programme. Et les données ont un caractère nettement spécifique donc limité strictement au besoin. C’est à comprendre que tous nos plans de développement se basent sur le superficiel et l’échantillonnage. Nous avons un retard, pour ne pas dire un manque, statistique énorme qui représente un handicap pour toute planification en matière de développement. Que cela soit pour le fichier d’état civil, le recensement général de la population et de l’habitat, les données de la fonction publique, les élèves et étudiants, le chômage, la santé, l’armée, les étrangers vivant en Guinée etc, rien de précis et fiable n’existe. Dans ce cas, comment peut-on résoudre un problème mal évaluer ? Comment peut-on anticiper sur les besoins et risques ? Comment faire des prévisions avec des données biaisées ou sur la base de l’inexistant ? Pourquoi il n’y a aucun lien entre nos universités et les centres administratifs de décision ? Cet état de fait est l’équivalent du médecin qui ne réussit pas son diagnostic mais s’évertue de rassurer le patient qu’il peut le soigner. Allez visiter la direction nationale des statistiques pour comprendre l’une des sources du mal guinéen. Sans compter que nous ne disposons ni d’institut de recherche statistique encore moins d’un centre spécialisé dans le domaine. Voyez comment nos étudiants en situation de recherche éprouvent des difficultés pour trouver des données fiables afin d’argumenter leurs travaux. Et le drame est qu’on n’en fait pas une priorité pour comprendre que nous ne prenons pas nos problèmes par le bon bout. C’est pourquoi, nos dirigeants n’expliquent rien avec des chiffres à l’appui. Ils sont souvent embarrassés entre réciter les chiffres venus d’ailleurs donc mal assimilés (on ne leur laisse souvent pas le choix) ou ignorer et se défendre avec de la littérature même lorsqu’il s’agit de parler d’économie. Je suggère à nos députés de faire de ce problème fondamental une priorité dans les débats au sein de l’hémicycle. Exemple: Quelle est la part de la recherche/documentation dans nos dépenses budgétaires ? Et si on allait enfin à l’essentiel ! Article précédentLe scrutin en Sierra Leone vu sous un autre angle. Article suivantL’engagement militant de la jeunesse : Quelle valeur ajoutée pour notre démocratie ? 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2019-04-18T19:14:50Z

http://guineedynamik.com/un-probleme-reel-de-la-guinee-quil-faut-resoudre/

I am on record as saying I doubted that humanity as a global population could be saved from certain destruction. I have also stated that the species, Homo sapiens is probably not salvageable in its current form. However, I have also suggested that the salvation of the genus, Homo is both feasible and desirable. Let me briefly recount. There is at this point, in my opinion, nothing that can be done to save the vast majority of humans alive today from a catastrophic demise. I am sorry. And below I will summarize my findings. The simple truth, as I see it, is that humanity has set itself on an irreversible course of destruction that is equivalent to the impact on the Ecos that the meteor or comet that crashed into the Yucatan peninsula had on the dinosaurian Ecos 65 million years ago. That is, by our activities we have brought about a geologically recognizable age called the Anthropocene in which we are the agents of the extinction of vast numbers of species, including, possibly, our own. Whenever such die-off events have happened in the past the Ecos shifted its characteristics and dynamics such that the extant species either went extinct or gave rise to new species of the same genus that were better adapted to the new Ecos. I fully expect the same kind of thing to happen in the future. In any case the populations of critters and plants were decimated or severely reduced in number and that is what I suspect will happen to our populations. Homo sapiens must, of necessity, go extinct simply because the future environment will be extraordinarily hostile to human life. The real question is whether the genus might give rise to a new species that is better fit for the new Ecos before the very last member of the tribe extinguishes. We are in the process of killing ourselves by engaging in an economic model based on ideas that just about everybody accepts as valid and good. What irony. The model that has been held responsible for producing abundant wealth for humankind is also responsible for destroying the life support systems upon which we depend. The problem is one of scale. When there were relatively few humans on the planet their economic activities were not as damaging. They could harvest slowly renewing resources like trees without threatening the forests. They could dump their sewage into rivers that would quickly dilute the toxins to low enough levels that they would not threaten other living things. It was a good model to establish a level of comfort in living that would not do more harm as long as the population numbers did not get out of hand. The problem is that those numbers did get out of hand. The improvements in living standards due to technological innovation made it seem feasible that more and more people could live on the land, but in truth, the extraction rates and pollution rates were accelerating beyond the capacity of the land to sustain us. So now, what was once the source of human success has become the cause of human demise. And very many people do not want to believe that because they have enjoyed benefits from BAU and want to continue to do so. See what I mean by irony? What I want to do here is summarize the systemic relations that I see as causal factors relevant to the near future dynamics of human existence. I present a series of arguments, somewhat in the form of mathematical or logical propositions that provide “proofs” of the veracity of the arguments, that provide a chain of reasoning leading to this conclusion. These are presented in a way that suggests what might actually be done to maximize the salvation of our kind. But I have no illusions at this point that any of the actions suggested here will be undertaken. As I have written repeatedly (and will be presenting more definitively in an upcoming book) my firm belief is that humanity is not sufficiently sapient (that is the average of sapience is not sufficient) to change its behavior and set of beliefs such that it would actually adopt any of these prescriptions. Yet in the spirit of undaunted hope it can't hurt to at least state the possibilities even if they are unlikely to be regarded. One never knows. I certainly would not claim to know. Maybe something like a miracle will happen! 1. The vast majority of people will have to stop having children. The population cannot grow when the wealth production rate goes to zero and must decline when the rate goes negative, as it must. The operative variable is a measure of wealth per capita. There exists some lower bound value of wealth per capita that can be defined as necessary for every human being to live at some level of comfort above subsistence (let's call that the “adequate” level). I base this level on the needs for food, shelter, clothing, companionship, and other factors that allow individuals to achieve a modest level of ‘self-actualization’, a condition I believe was part of the Paleolithic condition of humans when sapiens became a dominant species. Assuming a fair distribution such that each person possesses exactly their per capita share of wealth, then the number of people on the planet is limited to the amount of wealth that can be produced. Claim: Wealth is produced by physical work and requires energy flow (free energy) to accomplish. The amount of wealth produced is proportional to the amount of energy available to do useful work and the amount of raw resources available for extraction. The total wealth of the world is based on the accumulated wealth produced over the history of the work done less the drain on wealth due to consumption (active degradation of physical objects) and entropic decay (passive degradation) over the same time frame. Growth in wealth is defined as the positive increase in wealth or net wealth of production less degradation per unit of time. In order to maintain a steady state condition the amount of wealth growth must be exactly what is needed to accommodate the population growth over the same time frame. Wealth derives from work done on natural resources, converting them to usable objects, including food. Among the mix of natural resources used there are those that are finite in availability. Among those most are extracted with greater effort as the supply is depleted (extraction is always per the "best first" principle). Fossil fuels are special cases of energy resources. They are finite in quantity and obey the same diminishing return laws such that the net energy available for work declines as the resource is depleted. That is, it takes more energy per unit of energy extracted and the net energy return declines over time. Thus the growth of wealth is limited by the marginal cost of extracting resources and the marginal net energy available for extraction and conversion to human use. For example the extraction of iron ore and its conversion to steel is limited by both the depletion of ore and of fossil fuels (usually coal). There is an upper bound on the total wealth that can ever be produced but no bound on the degradation of wealth. Since the production of wealth will ultimately decline (growth will go to zero) due to the depletion limits a point will be reached when no new wealth can be produced and only degradation will take place. If the population continues to grow then it is clear that the wealth per capita must decline and do so precipitously when wealth production rates fall below degradation rates. The current evidence strongly supports the claim that wealth production is now in decline, yet population growth continues. The global economic situation today is a symptom of this decline. It is true that the decline is unevenly distributed throughout the world, giving rise to the illusion that, for example, isolated pockets such as the US economy, are on the mend from the longest and deepest global recession in history. Aside from the fact that most of this illusion is produced by erroneous economic models and government statistics that are biased, the US economy is temporarily seeming to be regaining strength (that is starting to grow!) but the ground truth for millions of households is quite different from the reports trumpeted by the media. ERGO: The wealth per capita is also in decline and that needed to sustain the adequate level of life support for every individual is already below its lower bound. This dynamic explains the vast numbers of poor people in the world. There simply isn't enough wealth to go around. Even if we were to redistribute the existing wealth of the world (a Robin Hood action) there would not be enough to support the adequate level of living (or we could redefine adequate to be closer to and approaching subsistence rather than providing some level of comfort and joy). If the population were to continue to grow as projected, say, by the UN demographers, leading to some nine billion individuals by the end of this century, and no energy miracle emerged to compensate for the reduction in fossil fuel availability, then the per capita wealth would likely fall below subsistence. Since distribution is unequal this translates into billions of people starving to death or dying of rampant diseases (not even considering natural disasters). 2. Neoliberal, free-market, profit-driven capitalism (NL-FM-PD-C) can no longer be the operating model of economic life. Claim: This model requires continual growth of wealth production over time. Even if it were to support the objective of providing a fair distribution of wealth (which it doesn't) it is physically impossible by proposition 1 to sustain this model. The attempt to try to maintain the model under current conditions of depleted resources will cause a cataclysmic collapse of global civilization. Moreover, however, it can be shown that each of the main components of the NL-FM-PD-C model is fundamentally flawed. It is possible that if only one or two were so flawed that the others might contribute to a new economic model that would work. But all of them are flawed and demonstration of this supports proposition 2. Neoliberal ideology. Humans are supposed to conquer nature and convert the "abundance" of the planet to their uses. Only human satisfaction counts on this planet and that should be maximized. However, not all humans are created equal. Only the worthy elite are entitled to aggregate larger proportions of wealth as long as the working masses have adequate wealth to sustain their lesser lives. Worthiness is based on attributes such as cleverness, ambition, and drive, which are ingredients in producing wealth. Those that are responsible for wealth production are entitled to a larger share of the rewards. These sentiments favor individualism and ignore contributions from groups or collectivism (the sentiment that the group is the unit of interest). Science, particularly evolutionary psychology and sociology now tell us this is not correct at all. Group selection played a major role in making humans what we are and group efforts and collective decisions are known to be superior to individual efforts and judgments. We humans evolved to be eusocial creatures who are able through interpersonal communications and visibility into one another's minds (our ability to model other's intentions known as ‘Theory of Mind’) is the very thing that make our species fit and produced our superior (biologically speaking) capacity to adapt. We do so in groups not as individuals. The objectives of neoliberalism based on these sentiments are just plain wrong. However, we should note that humans are not yet evolved to perfect eusociality. Each individual, remaining a biological agent, retains remnants of individualism when pressed and under stress. Capacities for selfishness and even narcissistic tendencies are still part of the human psyche. Amplified by the culture of greed that neoliberal objectives entail, it is possible for observers of human behavior (in economic matters) to wrongly conclude that these qualities are dominant. Indeed some have argued from a misreading of evolution theory that these qualities are what made us successful (e.g. Social Darwinism's reliance on competition and survival of the fittest). Since greed and selfishness play into the neoliberal agenda and became a self-fulfilling prophesy of success in wealth production the narrative of NL-FM-PD-C has become generally accepted and is all too believable for naive minds. Yet it is counter to what science shows us is true for human evolution and the success of human enterprise. It is a myth that is self-reinforcing because it suggests to those who believe it that they have the right (and by implication the prospects) to become rich by virtue of their cleverness and efforts. Free-market assumptions. Core to the idea of market-based economies is the dictum of laissez faire economic activities, or non-intervention by a higher authority (governments) in economic affairs. It is related to Adam Smith's ‘invisible hand’ metaphor in that individuals guided by self-interests will, nevertheless, cooperate in trade so that everyone is better off. Thus there is no need for governments to regulate those activities. The neoliberal extension holds that if governments do intervene it will distort market information and create biases that will interfere with maximizing wealth. It should be granted that in historical and contemporary cases where governments have interfered with market mechanisms they have a mixed record of success at best, and too often abject failures. The failures of the communist planned economies are cited by nearly everyone as examples of government ineptitude in meddling in economic activities. And the criticisms are valid up to a point. Those particular experiments in collectivism were based on ignorance and bad judgement. What you cannot conclude from their failures, however, is that markets are totally capable of self-regulation. It simply does not follow from the failures that the NL-FM-PD-C model is therefore the best (and as some claim the only) one for the economy. In fact I have already delved into the question of whether free markets are really that efficacious in solving all economic problems as is touted by neoclassical economics and neoliberal fundamentalists. Taking the systems perspective and analyzing market mechanisms I concluded in Could Free Markets Solve All Economic Problems that they really can't. There are too many flaws in the conception of free markets to cover here (please read the above post), but basically it comes down to a few basic principles. First exchange markets depend on veridical information in order to balance true costs with prices. Nothing like that exists in the neoliberal version of markets. Their version depends on competition and, therefore, proprietary knowledge that obfuscates true costs. Prices do not necessarily reflect costs (see my comments below re: profits) and therefore the equations of wealth are never balanced realistically. In neoclassical economics trading decisions are made by rational self-interested agents. Once again science has demonstrated that this assumption is simply not met in the real world. The models of markets foisted by neoclassical economists (and that includes the so-called liberal economists like Paul Krugman) are invalid even before other assumptions are included. Finally, and as I covered in my blog post linked to above, markets deteriorate with scales of distance and time. They degrade with complexity. Simple network models of market message flows through unreliable (human decision making) nodes clearly demonstrate that the supposed information needed for markets to “clear” declines non-linearly as the number of ‘hops’ through the network increase linearly. Information is supposedly conveyed through prices established by the decisions of buyers and sellers. When these agents are non-rational, non-privileged regarding true cost information, and are at great distances from nodes that are relevant to the value of the good being bought or sold, there is no way that the market can perform magic and get everything right. These theoretical considerations should be sufficient to put neoliberal, neoclassical thoughts about free markets to rest once and for all. Of course we now know that science will never trump religious beliefs among low sapient individuals, which is what these ideologies are. But what about the actual experience, the evidence from daily life? Shouldn't that count for something? Consider all of the various “bubbles” and scams that have been experienced in virtually every market framework. How could such things happen if markets were truly capable of solving economic problems? Think of Alan Greespan's infamous admission that what he believed about the market place turned out to be wrong. Even with these humble pie crumbs still on his lips, he still persists in asserting that the free market is the solution to all problems. Religious beliefs are very hard to nullify even with clear evidence of contrary reality. Possibly the single biggest fallacy perpetrated by all economic theories (neoclassical or heterodoxical) is that of “profit”. Not that profits don't actually exist, of course, but that profits need to be made continually over the long run. Profits, in natural systems, are the episodic accumulation of product in excess of production costs that occur because of unusually favorable conditions that do not represent the norm. For example when a wheat farmer has a bumper crop he can readily store the excess (over his use) against a time when crop production is sub-par. Profits can be used in this manner to smooth out the rough spots in the long run in what is otherwise a steady-state dynamic. Up until recently the primary drive for continual profit increases came from business expansion due to the growth of populations and increasing market sizes. More recently that growth has been replaced by the so-called globalization phenomenon that replaces expansion within a region with expansion to other continents; made possible by the use of transportation and fossil fuels. But the real source of profit has always been the increase in energy availability. Human cultural evolution included the discovery of various energy flow enhancing means, either new sources of more powerful fuels or new tool technologies that increased the efficiency of both energy extraction (e.g. the water wheel) and production (e.g. the belt-driven loom). With these advantages the production of profits seemed to be perpetual. We humans seemed to have transcended the laws of nature and could generally count of making more wealth than we used up or fell apart. Thus we came to believe that profits are always feasible and became a normal part of economic theory. Unfortunately this was a misconception about how nature works. It depended entirely on the growth of energy flow, most recently from fossil fuel sources, to sustain. And energy flows, up until now, were generally always increasing. We humans came to believe deeply that profit making was the normal mode of living and something to be pursued. After all, this is how one gets rich! But now those pesky laws of nature, in particular the first and second laws of thermodynamics, are demonstrating to us that in the very long run, it all balances out. Profit making is always temporary even if the time scale runs over many generations. We have plenty of historical evidence that is now being more correctly interpreted regarding the collapse of past societies. Namely civilizations, particularly empires, collapsed because they ran out of energy. They could no longer make profits but the momentum of continued expansion (and population growth) required that they did so. All such societies eventually turned to debt-based financing, that is borrowing against future profits when none were going to be made. Essentially they consumed their previously accumulated wealth and the people in the working classes in a desperate attempt to keep the society going. It was always a futile attempt. Capitalism started out innocently enough. Suppose an enterprising individual (say in the Bronze age) saw a way to possibly make a profit from some new endeavor. He (historically they were generally he's) had to gather together enough resource wealth (capital) to pay for the construction of whatever production facility was needed, and to initially pay the labor. There are any number of ways to get others who have saved some of their prior profits to invest (or loan) the resources needed with the promise that there will be a profit return. They will make more wealth from such a venture than they could have done with any other use of that wealth. In other words, in order to attract capital the entrepreneur had to promise superior profits. Sometimes this didn't work out and people lost their investments. But during the rise of increasing energy flow (which meant the energy input was really cheap and almost not worth considering) and opportunities to freely dump waste products into nature's lap, more often than not, they succeeded. But as our energy resources now begin to shrink and the pollution of our dumping is overwhelming us it should be clear that the idea of capitalism based on making superior profits was just plain ignorant. It was literally too good to be true. There is one more assumption that is often closely associated with the whole model and that is that technology will always come to our rescue. Fundamentally this seems true on the face of it. We have always managed to invent our way out of binds in the past, so naturally we assume that we shall be able to do so in the future. Nowhere is this more the case than with energy supply, and in particular, replacing dirty carbon-based fuels with “clean” alternative energy sources such as solar PV and wind power. The impetus to believe that these technologies are ramping up and are capable of providing sufficient power to society such that it might get along as before (as promulgated in the popular media) is generated by several factors. One is that, as I stated, throughout history we have witnessed inventions transforming our world so have come to expect that will continue to be the case. In particular we witnessed the incredible phenomenon of microelectronics revolutionizing the field of computing and communications, with costs plummeting down as the scales of components shrank (Moore's Law). There is a natural tendency to transfer the ideas of what we've seen in computing to the production of energy. That is, we imagine a technology that will allow us to generate abundant low-cost energy (high power) that will lead to a brighter future. Right now the focus is on solar and wind. Another factor driving our belief is that most of us simply cannot imagine the contrapositive. We cannot believe that all of this magic is going to come to an end. Many of us (actually most of us) are polyannish optimists and absolutely NEED to believe a solution will be found. But the ability to hold onto such beliefs stems from a basic lack of knowledge regarding, mostly, thermodynamics (the physics of energy) and a deeper understanding of the history of technology and invention. Space doesn't permit a full explanation of why these alternative energy sources are not likely to provide what we are looking for. They may provide a small fraction of power to buy us a bit of time. But eventually when the carbon-sources are no longer viable these technologies will have to be self-sustaining, that is they will have to provide all of the power to rebuild and repair themselves. Not all the data is in, but to date that likelihood is slim. Even if they could, they would still have to produce an excess of power that would be used by the economy for other work. The current belief that efficiencies (for example) will be improving to a point where one day these technologies will provide the power fail to notice the trends in technological innovations, particularly with respect to energy. Most of our past successes have been with increasing efficiencies because the starting points for our machines were so low. Over the past few decades many technologies have been experiencing decreasing rates of improvement. We are approaching the limits of efficiency increases and even where such increases are happening it is with the inclusion of materials that are rare or expensive to make. And that is because it takes significant energy to make or extract them. Profit desires drove us to increase efficiencies or productivity (the human equivalent) and now profit desire persists even when the possibility of increasing these is declining. Part of the economic system's shift to debt financing is because we still believe that efficiencies must increase and therefore we need to continue to invest in pursuing that agenda. But the reality is that they will not. There will be no great increase in the flow of high-power energy in the future due to technological innovation. There will be no magical increases in efficiencies that defy the laws of physics. Wishes do not make reality. Only nature does that. ERGO: Profit making will have to go, and with it the notion of free-market capitalism. This is especially the case for rentier profits and investment profits, i.e. making money on money. But all enterprise must convert to non-profit operations. Companies that make useful things or provide necessary services will need to be taken over by employee collectives. The revenues obtained should be just enough to cover costs, including, of course, employees' salaries. Management of such companies would be in the hands of employees and no manager would make a salary much greater than the average worker's. Such an economy is inconceivable to most people but in truth that is because they have never known any other way and the myth of profit-motivated self-interest has been the societal norm for so long it is hard for anyone to imagine that it could be different. But a non-profit based society is the evolutionary norm for Homo sapiens and under declining energy flows it will be absolutely essential. There is no profit possible other than under conditions of short-term energy surpluses. With those a thing of the past, only non-profit activities can be sustained. And then only if the activity produces something that contributes to productive lives. 3. Replace Globalized NL-FM-PD-C with Localized Collectivist Economies based on Sharing. Claim: There is a more viable alternative to the current model of socio-economics based on selfishness and self-interest-based decisions. The new model is actually the old model for humans. It is based on cooperation, empathy, and sharing resources and wealth. It is the kind of economy that existed for many millennia before the advent of agriculture. We might call it the “Tribal” model. The model depends on tribes that are fairly local and limited in spatial scope, and therefore manageable. That is they are localized and essentially self-sufficient within their locales. This will be a necessary model. Scale Considerations. Transportation will be limited in both rate and distance due to the declining availability of long-range fossil fuel vehicles. Machinery power will also be limited. Local production of power (most likely from hydroelectric or alternative energies if they can be shown to be self-sustaining) and limited storage capacities will necessarily limit transportation of goods. Therefore economies localized to regions, defined by the limits of transportation, will need to be crafted. The basics of life, food, shelter, water, etc. will be the main focus of the economy. Clothing, furniture, and other such personal belongings will need to be constructed from locally grown plants and trees. In most respects the only kind of lifestyle that can be supported in a low energy world will resemble small village/town assemblies of the late 1700's and into the 1800's. Manufacturing and service providing companies will have to be employee-owned and run collectives (as above). All markets will be local. With more people having greater insight into what it takes to build something or provide a service, the value/price setting will be based on costs, including personal labor, rather than merely a market-set one based on whatever that market will bear. Value Assessment Considerations. A new kind of accounting (or actually a very old kind) that measures value added based on energy used plus a factor for skill would be the basis for setting prices. Markets for goods and services in a localized economy would resemble the old farmer's markets and their scale would be manageable. In such a market buyers and sellers will have adequate knowledge and be able to agree prices more readily. Cooperativity Considerations. Human beings, when not stressed by over population (density stresses) are more open and empathetic than when they feel they must compete to make ends meet. Cooperation and agreements are much more viable under a localized economic system. However, that economy must be capable of meeting all of the needs of the members. This means settlements, villages, or other living arrangements will need to be situated in habitable locations. Food production must be possible and climate cannot be too severe. It is very likely that there will be very limited choices of locations in the near future. In keeping with the idea that population size will start to shrink, and rapidly, it may be possible to find enough of these locations to satisfy supporting a breeding population in a steady-state condition. That will take permaculture engineering to work out the requirements and design the systems. Ecos Damage Considerations. The NL-FM-PD-C model is destroying our Ecos. Coupled with the drive to consume, desire for convenience, and power/speed pursuits, we dump CO2 into the atmosphere and oceans causing global warming and ocean acidification that is disrupting the very basis of our ecosystems. The quest for profits drive all manner of chemical pollution and soil deterioration. This alone should condemn the model. Unfortunately there are stubborn minds who's livelihood depends on the extractive and polluting industries for their wealth and who, buying into the model's justification, that it produces wealth, refuse to believe the evidence. Those same minds have gained influence over the governance system so as to prevent any rational response to this situation. But the degree and rate of degradation of our Ecos is directly due to the expansion of the NL-FM-PD-C model over the globe. Moreover, the evidence that we have reached and possibly already exceeded the limits beyond which permanent damage is done has mounted. By some reckoning we have at best a few years to completely reverse our course or drive our planet into another regime, one completely hostile to our existence. Ergo: There is a better way to live than the global NL-FM-PD-C model. That better way restores the more ancient human traits that emerged when we became sapiens and allows us to live in a cooperative, small scale community. Living in small local communities does not necessarily mean we have to live like cave dwellers with only stone axes and animal skins. It does mean that we will abandon much of the current high-tech material wealth that many consider essential, like iPhonesTM. Our societies may be able to retain some forms of technology that are essential to supporting life, such as water-driven generators for limited electricity. But I suspect when the choice between TV and food is to be made most of us will choose correctly. Wise choices about what technology to maintain and what to give up will need to be made. 4. Reduce Consumption and Production of Non-Essential Goods and Services. Claim: The only way a new (old) socio-economic system can work is to walk away from the current NL-FM-PD-C one that depends on constant and increasing consumption. What is produced and used should contribute to sustaining the steady-state tribal economy. By all the arguments given above it should be clear that there is no physical way to sustain a NL-FM-PD-C system. And if you can't you can't. The alternative is to radically reduce our consumption (for those who are consuming) as well as stop growing our population. We will have to give up producing worthless goods or providing worthless services. My guess is that something like 80% of the population will need to be engaged in food growing, processing, and transportation since food is the number one stuff that will be needed. With a declining population there will be no need for new building construction. More work will be put to repairing existing housing or converting some formerly commercial properties into housing for workers. Bear in mind, however, we are talking not about some monolithic state or government. The only practical way that humans will live in the future is in those localized and limited scale tribes. My speculation is that resources will become so scarce and energy to extract any that might still exist so unavailable that no one group will be able to gain any particular advantage over others. They simply would not be able to manage in the old fashion of expanding empires, and it wouldn't matter how ruthless their leaders might be. No basic (seed) resources, no capacity to wage war and take over others who are, themselves, living in subsistence conditions. This leads to a further speculation that there will be a few of these tribes that are fortunate enough to be led by truly wise individuals. Those few may enjoy higher than average cooperativity internally and thus be more fit as a group to survive the changes that will be in store. Perhaps for the next several hundred thousand years these tribal humans will be tested by a whole new Ecos. They will live low tech, though not necessarily stone-age, lives. We have learned a lot of science and with the right combination of cleverness and wisdom should be able to live comfortably within nature's limits. As long as we pay careful attention to how the Ecos is changing. 5. Focus on Adaptation to Climate Variations. Claim: Dramatic, possibly catastrophic, climate change is now baked into the cake and will impact every region to one degree or another. Some areas, like the higher latitudes, will be affected more than others in terms of extreme conditions. But all will suffer climate shifts that lead to more severe storms and changes in rainfall patterns. Humans are going to need every bit of adaptive capability to live under these conditions. Above all else future humans will need to continually adapt to changing and possibly violent climates. Not unlike the impact of the glaciation periods followed by receding glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere, climate changes are going to significantly stress the biosphere. More so than the Ice Ages, the climate changes our progeny will experience will come more rapidly and be more extreme than our ancestors experienced. Surviving and thriving under these conditions will take every ounce of wisdom that tribes can muster. They are likely to have to be semi-nomadic as growing conditions in an area change. They will have to be super observant of plant characteristics that enable them to grow under otherwise stressful conditions and select those that can be relied upon for food for planting. Most paleoanthropologists now believe that climate changes due to the Ice Ages were responsible for driving the evolution of hominins in Africa, by changing the local conditions over thousands of years. What now appears to be a large speciation of a number of hominins, especially those events that led to the emergence of our genus, Homo was, to a large degree, driven by these climate impacts. It is conceivable that future climate changes will once again drive the evolution of the genus. No one can predict evolution's results. However, I think it is possible to observe the major transition patterns that have occurred in prior evolutionary trajectories and make reasonable suppositions about what might come about in the future. Those transitions demonstrate that biology has always found ways for cooperation to emerge and trump mere competition. Our very bodies, as multicellular organisms, are the result of such a transition. Group selection is now favored as an explanation for the evolution of human sociality and I also add to that the evolution of sapience (the two phenomenon are tightly linked, in my view). Tribes were evolving toward stronger eusociality (hyper-sociality) prior to the advent of agriculture and the requisite need for more top-down command and control style management systems with emphasis on logistical and tactical management (and less on strategic management which is the basis of sapient cooperativity). We traded off selection for greater wisdom capacity for food security. It was a reasonable trade off given the state of scientific ignorance we lived in. But it did dampen our potential increase in sapience over the last ten millennia or so. If it was climate adaptation that drove hominin evolution to the point of producing this emergent new psyche based on sapience, then it might be reasonable to expect that selection based on climate change could once again drive that in the direction of a new transition — human societies based on hyper-social individuals cooperating in an economic system that is not based on profit, competition, etc. Of course none of us will ever know what will play out. We will all be dead by the time the trends are more evident. My reason for considering these issues is that part of wisdom is using our knowledge, both tacit and explicit, to shape our world as best we can given the circumstances. That is what we have always done with our quest for more energy and our inventiveness. But what we did before we did in ignorance of the consequences. Now we see what those consequences of unfettered growth and profit-taking are. If a few surviving tribes are wise enough they might use that knowledge to reshape our social structures so as to avoid the mistakes we have made along the pathway to our current condition. It is still possible that the changes in climate will be so severe that no humans will survive and our species and genus, the whole Hominini experiment will fail. We will suffer extinction as a whole tribe. Indeed the likelihood of survival of any of the still extant hominin, the great apes, is negligible, so that the planet may end up with no very smart primates at all. But I hope that is not going to be the case. The solution to Fermi's Paradox may be very simple. The reason that no sentient beings are flitting about Earth in flying saucers is that all such beings reach a point in technological development where their wisdom is insufficient to squelch the advent of the NL-FM-PD-C economic paradigm! The latter takes hold of the minds (like memes) and dooms the species to extinction. They can then never get outside their own star systems to explore their galaxies. If we had to extrapolate from our own experience that certainly looks to be a likely scenario. A more likely scenario is that all such beings simply exploit their energy reserves before they achieve interstellar propulsion capabilities (assuming such is even possible). It might be because of the NL-FM-PD-C meme taking over or it could be that it simply takes almost all energy just to get to the technological point of getting off the planet and further technological advancement becomes too expensive. Regardless, I think it is extremely likely that our genus, if it manages to survive the next ten thousand years, will be a long time getting back to a technological level close to what we have today. We won't be exploring the galaxy any time soon. We will be taking a giant leap backwards, resetting our evolutionary progression. And it will be quite a while before a wiser, perhaps smarter, species derived from Homo sapiens will be looking into leaving Earth again. Actually the relevant measure is not body counts but biomass increase per unit time. The resource consumption rate is dependent on this factor which takes into account things like demographic distribution of ages. The term is being used here in its ideological sense. The new “liberals” believe in the supremacy of the free-market and capitalism as the very best economic model insofar as it produces enormous wealth. See the Wikipedia article for more details and read Naomi Kline's The Shock Doctrine. Interestingly luck is never mentioned in this narrative. Yet if you read the biographies of so-called self-made people (mostly white males) you cannot help but note the significance of being in the right place at the right time and meeting the right people had on so many stories. Granted being prepared to take advantage of luck was important, but the luck itself was far more significant than the neoliberal narrative lets on. The work of psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman (see: Heuristics and biases) and many experimental economists have decidedly demonstrated that humans, even corporate captains, are far from rational decision makers when it comes to economics. In Congressional testimony on October 23, 2008, Greenspan finally conceded error on regulation. The New York Times wrote, "a humbled Mr. Greenspan admitted that he had put too much faith in the self-correcting power of free markets and had failed to anticipate the self-destructive power of wanton mortgage lending. ... Mr. Greenspan refused to accept blame for the crisis but acknowledged that his belief in deregulation had been shaken." By steady-state I mean a system that is in the very long run receiving an average influx of energy that is used to produce exactly the amount of wealth that is needed to balance that degraded by consumption and entropy. This would have been the case for the earliest human tribes whether hunter-gatherers or early farmers. My favorite analyses of civilization collapses include Joseph Tainter's The Collapse of Complex Societies and Thomas Homer-Dixon's The Upside of Down. An unskilled worker will tend to use more energy for the same output delivered so the final price has to be adjusted accordingly. The energy being used for measurement purposes is net ‘free’, in the thermodynamic sense, which takes this into account. I recently became aware of another “flavor” of systems based agriculture called agro-ecology. Though I have only just started investigating this concept it appears to be mostly about food production whereas permaculture addresses more holistic community living. If you only read one book on any of the issues related to Ecos damage and its relation to the NL-FM-PD-C model I strongly recommend This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein. She has done her homework. I disagree with some of her characterizations of alternative energy being ready to take over from fossil fuels; she has cited a few engineers who produced a grand scheme several years back, reported in Scientific American, that I have already critiqued and has been criticised by a number of other energy researchers. Nevertheless, her ability to connect the dots of finance, ideologies, politics, governance failures, and geophysical realities is in the best tradition of systems thinking. See: Maynard Smith, John & Szathmáry, Eörs (1995). The Major Transitions in Evolution, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Several other books on this topic have been written in the past few years. The field of group-based evolutionary selection is now fairly well established even if there remain some significant questions about the implications. My own preferred explanation is that they simply don't want to be detected. If they had at all monitored activity on Earth they would more or less likely not want to get involved with such primitive beings as ourselves.

2019-04-19T10:51:48Z

https://questioneverything.typepad.com/question_everything/2015/01/index.html

Moore, who heads the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and has been relatively quiet since the election, declined to comment for this article. Page declined to discuss the plan for Monday’s meeting, but he indicated that he would not rule out the possibility that he could ask Moore to resign. He said he hopes Moore and his opposition will agree to pursue efforts toward reconciliation. This is both not surprising and stunning. It’s not surprising, because the old-guard conservatives in the SBC have had it out for Moore over his criticism of Donald Trump and Evangelical support for him. After the Trump victory, Moore’s job status has been up in the air. Judging from the Post story, it could all be coming to a head today in the meeting with Frank Page. What’s stunning about this is the blow Moore’s firing, if it comes to that, will be to Southern Baptist credibility and witness. I’ve made no secret of my admiration for Russell Moore, whom I also consider a personal friend (I have not talked to him since reading the Post story). He’s a theological and social conservative in a new mold, and whether or not I agree with him on specific policy positions, I believe he is a model for Christian conservative public engagement. If the Southern Baptist Convention removes him from the presidency of the ERLC, it will signal a dramatic win for the old-guard Religious Right within the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. It will also spark the biggest war within the Southern Baptist Convention since the 1990s fight between conservatives and liberals. I had read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and its sequels as a child, and found something solid there. As the other Inklings knew, the Narnia series wasn’t great literature or a carefully constructed myth such as Middle Earth was. My experience was similar to that of science fiction writer Neil Gaiman: “The weird thing about the Narnia books for me was that mostly they seemed true,” as if they “were reports from a real place.” So when, in the middle of my spiritual crisis, I saw the name C. S. Lewis on the spine of a book called Mere Christianity, I was willing to give him a chance—and he saved my life. Mere Christianity is not the City of God or the Summa Theologica or the Institutes of the Christian Religion. It didn’t need to be. All I needed was for this drinking, smoking, probably dancing and card-playing man on another continent to tell me the truth, to point me to a broad, bustling Church that took serious questions seriously and could be traced all the way back to an empty hole in the ground in the Middle East. Most faiths that persist are tested and questioned and tempted along the way. But for me, the question was whether I was a beloved son or a cosmic orphan. It seems to me that my spiritual crisis is similar to a larger one that threatens to engulf religious conservatism in America. The religious right—whether we trace it to the school prayer skirmishes of the 1960s or the segregation academy controversies of the 1970s or the response to Roe v. Wade and the sexual revolution—was always a multifaceted coalition. After all, Jerry Falwell adopted Paul Weyrich’s language of a “moral majority” because the movement encompassed not just born-again Protestants but also many traditional Roman Catholics and Latter-day Saints and Orthodox Jews. But while the movement was in many ways informed by sources such as John Paul II’s theology of the body and Richard John Neuhaus’s The Naked Public Square, the entrepreneurial energy almost always came from Evangelical Protestantism. For that and other reasons, American Evangelicalism is enmeshed with the religious right psychologically, institutionally, and in terms of reputation in ways the Catholic bishops, the Mormon apostles, and Orthodox rabbis just aren’t. The fate of religious conservatism is important, though, and not merely for its own sake. Ross Douthat is quite right that America—left and right—needs a strong religious conservative movement. The religious right, at its best, modeled the kind of civic engagement and civil society that James Madison and Alexander Hamilton wanted for this country. At its best, the religious right reminded all of us that there are realities more important than political or economic success; that we are a nation under God, one that can be weighed in the balance and found wanting. At its best, the religious right kept the focus on a vulnerable minority that easily becomes invisible to those with power: unborn children. Douthat is correct that without some form of religious right, the space left behind can all too easily be filled by European-style ethno-nationalism or Nietzschean social Darwinism. The religious right must, in some form, be saved. But how and in what form? That question, of course, brings us to the 2016 presidential election. We know how that turned out. And we now see that that result could have serious consequences for Russell Moore. Read the entire lecture, and you will be able to understand the battle lines within the Southern Baptist Convention — if Moore is fired, that is. There are a lot of younger Southern Baptists who are not willing to return to the Republican Party at Prayer mode of public engagement. I hope the SBC leadership pulls back. This conflict, and its resolution, will have a serious impact beyond the SBC. It will determine the future of Christian conservatism in America. Posted in Christianity, Culture war, All Things Trump. Tagged Christianity, conservatism, Russell Moore, Southern Baptist Convention. Atlantic & Scientology: What Did They Do Wrong? Even if you voted for Trump, for whatever your reasons, playing the doxxing game is as bad whether you’re SJW or SBC. I don’t appreciate being blacklisted, and I’m not going to support doing it to anyone because he had trouble with voting for the President and outlined the reasons why, especially to a person with the theological integrity of a Russell Moore. Not wrong, but nuts, so dismiss them. Remember this when people (e.g. RHE) dismiss you as a bigot or whatever, and don’t bother engaging with your ideas. If you want to pretend that to be a Southern Baptist, you first have to be a rock-ribbed Republican, and a flag-waving, gun displaying Son of the Confederacy with faith in Christ optional or even out of the question, then you might think so. But that’s nuts. To Mr Wells and others: I’m sure that Southern Baptists are glad to be shown the way to repentance for their true sins (as defined by the Bible). But being told that you’re a bad person because you want control of the borders (‘cuz after all, Jesus was an immigrant) is silly, that’s liberal Christian stuff. That is one powerful lecture. Will Stephens, thank you so much for pointing out the Janet Mefferd article. She makes a great case for why Russel Moore is what we need. Whoever she is, she’s a great example of all the worst aspects of the religious right. Moore is theologically conservative and if you take the Bible seriously you won’t fit into the American right/left spectrum. It is silly to think that this is about Moore not liking Trump or about Trump’s “cult of personality.” Moore’s position on immigration made him very disliked by most evangelicals long before Trump was considered as a presidential candidate. I know you are aware of this, because several of us have been bringing it up since at least 2013. The fact of the matter is, the schism between Moore and many rank-and-file Baptists was already underway before Trump came onto the scene, and to the extent that people were offended by his revulsion to Trump, it was because they saw Trump as being on their side on this existential issue, and Moore as being on the other side. That is, they had reason to dismiss Moore’s views beyond his mere disapproval of their candidate. Except that Moore also spoke out against Trump on issues regarding immigration and Islam, and Moore has already staked out a position that it is borderline heretical to have restrictionist views on immigration, and he offers no sympathy to, or desire to understand, those who disagree. That is going to color people’s perception of any criticism he gives Trump. Fosdick denied essential teachings of the Christian faith such as the virgin birth. Moore has done nothing of the sort. Equating Moore’s political views on immigration to the rank heresy of Fosdick is either a gross and unfair exaggeration or is a form of idolatry e.g. elevating views on immigration to the same level as key Christian doctrines. While this comparison with Fosdick is probably the worst example, most of the criticism of Moore on this thread illustrates why even if the SBC old guard manages to fire him, as one person has said, they will win the battle, but not the war. The fact of the matter is that most young pastors coming out of SBC seminaries today, as well as most active young lay people, see men such as Al Mohler, Russell Moore and David Platt as role models. This means they are a lot more interested in the SBC proclaiming the Gospel than being the Republican party at prayer. The people out to fire Moore have little appeal to doctrinally conservative young people in the SBC. The may well manage to fire Moore, but doing so will hardly help turn their current situation around. Wrong. Moore was pointed in his condemnation of Trump’s stances on immigration primarily, along with foreign affairs. Moore is being retained. He’s a good man who unwisely engaged in personal criticism on social media and elsewhere of denominational pastors. Hopefully he will learn from this and be a bit more respectful of his fellow Baptists going forward. Judicious criticism isn’t as much fun to read as scorched earth rhetoric, but it tends to convince more people and make less enemies. If they fire him, I lose all respect for the Baptist Church. Russell Moore is a mountebank and an appeaser. If Southern Baptists have any self-respect left, they will stop paying this narcissist to trash the very people who pay his salary in the pages of the New York Times. I am a deacon in a tiny, irrelevant, SBC church. In a congregational meeting last July/August (or so), I had to help walk people back from the edge of going independent. It had nothing to do with black/white racism (not enough local diversity to even be a topic of discussion), nothing to do with Trump (not mentioned, even though 90% likely voted for him). It was about open borders, and the use of tithes that might help Muslims defend themselves in 1st amendment cases. They want their tithes going to Christian orgs or mission fields. They want to support their own religion, directly. They don’t like their own leader calling them racist (they’re not), and they don’t like…his politics. His ‘gospel centered’ approach is very political. The 1st amendment is about American politics. It isn’t found in the gospel. Open borders is about American politics. That policy preference isn’t outlined in the gospel. And those things are key elements of his platform. His supporters do themselves a disservice by refusing to listen to these legitimate complaints. This is a first-hand account, and it is not atypical (just read this comment board). The unwillingness to listen is not that different from what happened in the GOP primary with guys like Jeb and Rubio. And by failing to listen to legitimate complaints (as they did), Moore and his followers will find themselves shown the door (as they were). Which is a shame, because he’s not all bad. Now, he may not be willing to alter his politics, which is fine. But he should just admit that his politics are just as important to him as the politics of the old guard was to them. And, he should admit his politics are just as tenuously derived from the gospel itself, as were their own. He is human, just as they were. He only harms himself by claiming otherwise. Seems to me that Moore is just a political as those he condemns*, its just that he is, as someone says above a good-thinker (oh, I get the phrase was ‘right thinking’). ‘Mere Christianity’ says nothing about immigration (the HF fled to Egypt, but then went home!). It says nothing about gun control (in fact, Jesus orders his guys to get weapons). It doesn’t even say anything about religious tolerance — ritual tolerance perhaps (the Kosher vs. non-Kosher factions), but not religious tolerance. So Moore may think his is on the side of the angels. But he is just as political as they are. *Aren’t Xians supposed to avoid judging others? Well, immigration is a mere secular issue. The most painful of the persecution that Christians will have to endure will not come from non-Christians but from their fellow Christians. I won’t compare Moore to someone who is a heretic (or tolerates heresy) like Fosdick, nor would I call him a “total progressive.” I also do not know whether he actually is “liberal on everything else” and do not think he ought to be let go on that basis. My problem with Russell Moore is that he is using his position to advocate for a position that I think is wrong and destructive. If he emphasized “this is my personal opinion and I am not representing the SBC on this” that would be one thing, but he seems to be presenting his position on immigration as if it is the Southern Baptist position. I don’t want him excommunicated. At the same time, I do not want Russell Moore in a position where he is seen as a public representative of the SBC. Rod Dreher is a personal friend of Russell Moore. As such, he is incapable of approaching this issue impartially. The backlash against Moore long pre-dates Trump’s presidential campaign. Moore incorrectly insists that Christians *must* support the establishment’s policy (invade-the-world/invite-the-world). Moore’s position is unscriptural heresy. Rod, you cold not be more incorrct. Baby faced rusty’s job is to REPRESENT Southen Baptists to the world. Every time I see him on TV or read his quoted in newspapers he is giving the left wing media attacking points against us. Its like the Urban League hiring David Duke to represent them to the media. What organization has a spokesperson that attacks its members? Why should we put money in the collection plate on Sunday to pay for his salary to trash us in the media? You are wrong and Russell Moore has to go. YESTERDAY! This is a very valid comment/criticism, thank you. But this is another reason I oppose RM. As someone else here commented, he practically worked for the Rubio campaign. You remember Rubio, right? The ultimate neocon warmonger. Leaving aside the immigration issue aside, if one accepts Rod’s view that religious liberty is dying seriously, to argue that “1st amendment is about American politics” is myopic, at best. If true believers are a tiny minority, or destined to become one, then defending even tinier minorities when they still they have have the power to do so seems like a strategically necessary move. And one could even argue that if the rank and file can’t see the logic in that stance- than it’s the leadership’s job to do the right strategic thing. Let’s phrase is simply: if religious liberty struggles are the most important thing on the political arena of orthodox Christians, how can they engage in them while supporting restrictions on mosque construction, and not be laughed out the room? I like Dr. Moore and I hope he keeps his job. In terms of his critics, I think there are two camps. There’s the camp that wants to support Donald Trump no matter what and firm lash the Southern Baptist Convention to the mast of the Republican Party, in order to protect religious liberty and the unborn. I think they’re ridiculous, because it reduces your moral credibility to excuse Trump’s personal failings, but more importantly because you want to put yourself in a position where a politician has to earn your vote. We all know the type of D.C. Republicans who snicker at religious conservatives but don’t have to bat an eye to earn their vote. You don’t want to give those people the whip hand. The other camp are the people who don’t like Moore’s positions on immigration, race relations, an ecumenical understanding of religious liberty, etc. I think there’s some legitimate criticism there. It’s not that Moore is wrong for tackling those issues, it’s that I think some of his answers have been just as simplistic as those on the left. He does have a point, but my question is, what would Dr. Moore’s reaction be if I got up as a SBC pastor and said Yes, we know that African-Americans are disproportionately subjected to police overreach, and that must change. But we also know that the rate of family breakdown in the African-American community not only has left many black children without fathers, but has also increased crime and thus increased exposure black individuals face to the bad things some police officers do. That must also change.? That’s a legitimate issue which we know feeds the racial disparity. But I know what the response would be from the Michael Eric Dysons of the world would be: You’re racist! You’re blaming the victim! Would that be Moore’s response? Because if it is, you’re not treating this with the seriousness and nuance that the issue deserves, and you’re not putting all the issues on the table. But my gut feeling is that these are issues Moore doesn’t want to bring up, because they may be “lacking in empathy” and that wouldn’t be “the Christian thing to do.” Part of that gut feeling is based on the fact that I haven’t heard Moore himself talk much about this when he brings up the issue of race. My sense is that in Moore’s attempt to bring these issues into the fold, there may be some unease within the SBC in a way that people may not be able to articulate, but they’re at unease because with these issues comes some liberal assumptions that they recoil at. And if Moore is going to bring these issues into the fold, he has to do it in a way that encourages honest discourse, not PC discourse that doesn’t really address anything. “appeaser”, one of the most ridiculous go-to slurs out there. I’d say he is standing up to the majority view in his denomination on issues where he feels they are being unbiblical. Whether he is right or wrong, what he is doing is principled. I guess it would be more macho to conform with conservative inc. Also, it is true that Moore is guilty of conflating support for Trump with endorsing Trump’s behavior. Good example of that: http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/10/10/the-lead-trumps-comments-russell-moore.cnn. I take the point that as an evangelical leader, putting your name to Trump and calling him a “baby Christian” is ridiculous. But if a Christian leader went out there and said, “Look, Donald Trump is a cad and not at all a Christian, but either Hillary or Donald will be President, and the Supreme Court is at stake,” I doubt Moore would have thought much of that. In fact, that was Eric Metaxas’ argument, and he was attacked for it, including by you Rod. And I’m not defending Trump by the way. In the end, I couldn’t vote for him. But there was a rational defense for a devout Christian voting for Trump, but Moore seemed to discount that as borderline un-Christian, and I think resentment over that posture is legitimate. This reveals basic lack of familiarity with scripture and the inability to read in context. Perhaps it’s inevitable that those with a prior uninformed agenda will search scripture for single verse that can be wrested from the whole, in order to cite proof texts for their own human bugaboos. This is the essence of how the devil is said to recite scripture in his own favor against God. Twisting the meaning of others’ words has a long pedigree that reaches back to the original rebellion. What is true, is that where your treasure lies, is where your heart is also. If your heart is set upon the world’s treasures, then the means that will be needed to defend it will sometimes be the world’s ways of violence, also often used to obtain that wealth. It seems that before Jesus went to the garden, that the disciples discovered a sword among their effects. It’s not known who actually owned it, but there was one of them who wasn’t there. That was the disciple who found thirty pieces of silver more attractive than a heart set upon the Lord. Jesus tells them, “Enough,” hardly calling them to arms. But it seems that for Peter, an object lesson as to how the Kingdom is to spread is in order. Later when Jesus is to be taken, without waiting for consent, on his own Peter slices the ear of a centurion. Our Lord’s response? An order to Peter to put up his sword – the one he had assumed ownership of. And then the power of persuasion by miracle – healing the soldier, returning only good for evil. What lesson do you think Peter was to take from this – and what lesson did the soldier himself take from it? Jesus explains later to Pilate the nature of his Kingdom, and that it is not established by force of arms, for if it were, he would have ordered it. It is the revolutionary Barrabas that the crowd demands freed, instead of Jesus, to Pilate’s chagrin. No, Jesus did not order his guys to stock up on the weapons of violence. It’s clear that if earthly treasure is your priority, though, then you will necessarily defend that using the same means associated with accumulating it. Is that where our treasure lies? As an outsider, I find Isadore the Farmer’s position a valid argument for a member of a church, or a local congregation to make, about the institutions of the church itself. I am a big fan of the body of First Amendment jurisprudence called “church autonomy in matters of faith and doctrine.” It doesn’t matter whether I agree with Isadore, or his fellow congregants, its their church, not mine. The unfortunate thing, for churches such as Isadore’s, is that SOME of the arguments being made against Moore ARE racist or pro-Trump. I take his word that his own are not. No doubt some of Moore’s defenders are refusing to listen to these legitimate complaints. But what’s necessary to find some semblance of the truth is to sort out that some illegitimate arguments don’t make all pro or con arguments equally illegitimate. That said, I note that while a church might wish to keep its tithes and offerings in mission work for its own faith, a church might also find some merit in defending the First Amendment, on principle. It may benefit that church, even if the current cases in the courts have members of other faiths as plaintiffs. Muslims and Jews in Germany suddenly found they had much in common when secular German politicians proposed that if female genital mutilation was banned, then perforce male circumcision should be banned also. (Both faiths circumcise males. Neither mandates mutilation of females — although most, not all, the practitioners of the latter tend to be in areas that are now Muslim). So he should shut up and not speak about the glaring hypocrisy that undermines the integrity of the Church. Riiiiight. How about this? Tolerate that he has a different opinion and move on with your lives. If people have other complaints, which I see from comments above that there are, then that is a different issue. That a church leader can’t do other than pander to some members’ politics and isn’t allowed to disturb anyone’s comfort, is the day that denomination heads towards perdition. That has happened in churches that allowed themselves to be captured by either the politics of the left or the right, instead of speaking truth to power. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the important part of Alan’s description is disdains the common folk, not the social status or salary per se. His status and salary are relevant largely because they suggest that can insulate himself from the problems that the common folk worry about. Preaching that love should cause us to be okay with bringing in hundreds of third-world immigrants means a little bit less from someone who can afford to live in a high-price community. As someone else here commented, he practically worked for the Rubio campaign. I think that is an important point; it’s not that people oppose Moore because they want the SBC to be the Republican Party at prayer and he does not, it’s that they see him as fine with the SBC being the Republican Party at prayer as long as it is the party of Bush and Rubio. Except that he isn’t a church leader in the pastoral sense. His position is an explicitly political one, so how he stands on political issues is quite relevant. If he were an expositional preacher, an apologetics scholar, or a missions co-ordinator, this would not be relevant. But he is there to deal with political issues facing the church, so his political positions matter. Moreover, as others have pointed out, he is not particularly understanding toward the concerns of people who disagree with him. He simply dismisses them and their concerns, rather than addressing them and then saying why he thinks that they are wrong. Great…so you agree he is deeply engaged in tactics and strategy that are political, by their very nature. Now, please talk Moore into admitting this about himself, and the grounds for a productive discussion might start to form. This is my point: anyone who follows his tactics is able to recognize that his actions (his role) have a significant political component. This is just as true of his predecessors as it is of him. All that has changed are the policy preferences and the strategies / tactics he is advocating. Yet, those that disagree with him are presumed to be less ‘gospel centered’ and quite possibly racists. This is a very uncharitable approach for him to take towards his own members. He shouldn’t be surprised at the backlash that has resulted. I’m not asking him to change his politics (though like Glaivester, and any normal human, I would prefer someone in the position aligned with my own). I am asking him to cease being condescending and admit that this is the nature of the situation. By failing to do so, he is harming the faith of people that have been devout, ‘gospel centered’ SBC members for decades. If, over the next 12 months, Moore continues to refuse to be honest about the political nature of his position and tactics / strategies, I believe member churches will have been more than patient enough to justify a powerful response. If instead, he begins to interact in a more frank, honest way with the people he was hired to represent, I believe he is very capable of doing good in his role*. There are good things about him. *The one caveat is that he needs to get out of bed with George Soros and open borders orgs – at an absolute minimum stop using SBC funds / marketing power for this political endeavor. This is indeed debatable. But the point is that it has very little to do with the gospel itself, and a LOT to do with politics, specifically American politics. Moore needs to be frank about this. He is not. His predecessor, themselves with an imperfect set of policy preferences, were at least usually honest that they were indeed engaging in politics, in full support of x,y,z. Also, there are always plenty of 1st amendment causes that could be funded without also having to fund other religions. Regardless, even if it would be considered prudent / wise to do such a thing for political reasons (I think the argument in favor of it does perhaps grow stronger as the group considering such funding becomes an ever smaller minority), it is impossible to do so while framing oneself as simply ‘gospel centered’, much more focused on Jesus than those that came before. That is laughable, and people are growing increasingly angry at Moore for refusing to admit this very simple (and obvious) point. The longer he goes without admitting it, the more likely people will begin to suspect his obstinance is something closer to deception. And that is very, very unhealthy within any kind of organization. Pragmatic, balanced differences of opinion on border control is all well and good, but the *attitudes* toward “strangers” so many conservatives have displayed (as Moore aludes in his essay), whether they are blacks from the ghetto, refugees from the Mid East, or “someone else’s babies” is contrary to the love of Christ (which I belive does make one a bad person). There are ways to protect a nation/community without being so damn angry and self-obsessed all the time. Well it would certainly be an odd form of racism against blacks, considering just about every left-leaning black figure of note (and otherwise), from Al Sharpton, to President Obama, to even M.E. Dyson himself have acknowledged this basic phenomenon (with varying degrees of nuance), for decades, sometimes in stronger language than you have. I imagine Moore would make the point that Christians ought to be the solutions to both problems and not a prop for the tribal honor politics of one group or the other. If that makes SBC leaders “uncomfortable” maybe they need a safe space? I have no problem with a man who changes over time. Russ certainly has changed since we were in Seminary together back in the 90s. That’s fine. But what I’m taken by is his tendency to suggest he was always skeptical about that whole Religious Right movement, or Culture War Christianity, or that he always had a soft spot for Catholicism. While I didn’t run in Russ’s circles, I can assure people that these things were not what he was known for. In fact, just the opposite. In that day he was very much about pushing adherence to Calvinist theology and calling out Catholicism for the heretical tradition it is. He did soften toward that by the early 00s, mostly in the name of ecumenism for the greater cause of fighting the Culture Wars. But by 2008, he was abandoning, and even belittling, those same Christians who were obsessing about the silliness of the Culture Wars. So the problem isn’t that he changes. People change. But his recollection of where he stood years ago and what we saw in his stances years ago don’t match. And his tendency to dismiss those he identified with as he changes, joining the latest movement in denigrating those with whom he once associated, appears to be the problem. “Moore responded by arguing that religious liberty applies to those following all beliefs. “What it means to be a Baptist is to support soul freedom for everybody,” Moore answered — while people in the audience applauded. The Christian leader under fire then addressed the crowd to make his point. So he is making one argument from baptist tradition, and another, stronger one, from political and legal expidiency. Nowhere does he call his opponents non-Biblical or anything. Now we are getting closer to a healthy debate over profound differences. Isidore is right that Moore is engaged in politics. In the same sense, the Danbury Baptist Church that wrote to Thomas Jefferson was engaged in politics — because they saw the political aspirations of the Episcopalian and Congregational churches as an imminent threat to their own free exercise of religion. One reason the First Amendment reads as it does was to shut the door on the aspirations of the former Anglicans and the Puritan descendants to become the officially established Church of the United States. So there are times and ways when churches might intervene in political debate for the purpose of assuring that the state (in which all of us citizens, including church members, theoretically have a voice) does not shape its jurisdiction in a manner that infringes on the church. What are known as “dissenting sects” in Great Britain, including Baptists, have even more worries about politics, since a court can weigh and construe what IS the true doctrine of any sect, in resolving legal controversies. (That is prohibited in the United States). Questions of Establishment and Nonestablishment are inherently political. They involve, at least in the negative, issues of what the politics of the state may be. When it comes to immigration, that’s a different kettle of fish. I think it could plausibly be said that Moore detects some fundamentally anti-Christian sentiments within the various strands of opinion on immigration policy. I think it could also be plausibly argued that he exceeds mere criticism of these specific strands. When I was fourteen, the Presbyterian Church to which my parents belonged (we were living for a year near Chicago) held a public forum on the proposed Open Housing Law. There were some men, members of the church, hanging out in the parking lot but not participating. I asked my mother as we left what they were doing. She explained that excluding some people from equal access to housing based on race is not a Christian thing to do, so the men hadn’t come into the meeting to say what they were thinking. One can oppose an Open Housing Law and still be a Christian. But many of the reasons people opposed the law were definitely not. The line about “disdains the common folk” is a bit of a stretch. There are some powerful elites behind the things Moore criticizes. I haven’t read that he has spoken disdainfully of any manner of “common folk.” I do recall that Moore has cheerfully said in the teeth of liberal elite attitudes ‘We believe much stranger things than that. We believe a dead man is going to come back to life riding a horse through the sky.’ That wasn’t parody. He believes it. There is a long history in this country of conservative elites wrapping their wolf selves in the sheep’s clothing of Jeffersonian democracy, starting with the presidential campaign of William Henry Harrison. Log cabin my foot, he was the son and grandson of Virginia aristocrats. It would be amusing as well as enlightening to watch Russell Moore debate Peter Brimelow on the subject of open borders. http://www.vdare.com/articles/brimelow-on-canada-us-we-may-see-boundaries-redrawn-across-north-america?content=to%20a%20racist. With all due respect, I think it is you that have mangled the scripture with that long convoluted exegesis. That’s pretty direct. Now it is true that a few verses latter your god-man says that two swords are enough…you maybe he says ‘that’s enough’ to the disciples who are back talking him. But Jesus wanted at least some of his posse armed. Re: We believe a dead man is going to come back to life riding a horse through the sky.’ That wasn’t parody. He believes it. I hope not, because that;s not the story. Christ is already Risen– he is not going to come back to life at some future date, but is already alive, transcendently so. I also do not recall any horse being associated with his return, unless we are talking about those four unpleasant Horsemen who precede it. m_young, Fran did not mangle anything, but has pointed out the error of proof-texting (which, yes, is a temptation for all Christians, including liberal ones). “Buy swords” cannot be read in isolation– one must also square it with “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword”. I fail to see where Moore is “disdaining” anyone. He is criticizing what he perceives to be an error, perhaps even a sin, in their ways. This is what preachers do– and should do. If he were criticizing common folk partying in two-stepping honky-tonk bars on Friday night would you say he was “disdaining” them? A preacher who always agrees with whatever his flock does is quite the example of what Rod calls “MTD”. M. Young, once again, you quote scripture out of context. That is called eisegesis, essentially, looking for what you already want affirmed. I, too, would prefer God, guns and guts, because it’s in my own nature to do so. I want to keep my Smith & Wesson Model 67 and my Winchester 30.30, which acquisitions dated early in my Learning Christ’s way. I can identify with Peter, who trusts his own gut instincts first. I suggest doing with scripture, the following approach. Pray for God to teach you what is right, not to simply have your gut check confirmed, asking to be led into all truth through the Holy Spirit. Have a teachable spirit yourself, so that you are not inadvertently right, but for all the wrong reasons. Then as Rod is often wont to advise, Read the Whole Thing. That means at least as a start, beginning before the chapter in question where your “proof text” occurs, and past the end of that chapter. Be aware of context – how the meaning is consistent. There is no doubt that Jesus leaves it up to us whether to follow His example, or not. If your treasure is in money, then you’re going to need to be armed if you mean to defend it in a time of turmoil. For that purpose, it’s good advice. But it’s clear that what is good practical advice for those who have those priorities, is not to be the same for those who would take up Jesus’ cross. You must take into consideration, as well, the entire context of the New Testament, particularly Matthew 5, 6 and 7. As Americans, we are always anxious to have posses, and make sure they are well armed. Look around the world, and at home, and tell me how well that worldliness has worked out for building God’s Kingdom, or even for basic Christian liberty. On the contrary, it is leading to destruction, as it always does – living by the sword, leads to dying by it, too. To directly answer your question, becuase I stand opposed to the elites in our society who have gotten filthy rich at the expense of the rest of us. If they had the decency to just say “thank you” it might go down easier. But when they openly disdain us, especially under the guise of being moral, religious leaders, it’s especially grievous. And when said folks operate as trojan horses, yah, I’m done. If you count that as a character flaw for me, so be it. I hope not, because that;s not the story. Christ is already Risen– he is not going to come back to life at some future date, but is already alive, transcendently so. I agree, but many of my fellow Protestants find all manner of lurid images in the Revelation to St. John. I imagine that’s where Moore got it from. Anyway, he said it, I didn’t. It is possible he was being facetious, with the general intent being, we believe some things that make no sense at all based on material science, but only if something transcendent is at work. Or maybe be meant it literally — he is SBC after all. And my point was, Moore in not a liberal agnostic wrapping himself in a Southern Baptist mantle. He believes what the SBC proclaims to be its theology and catechism. Fair point. I know of a congregational church (not UCC — I think its part of a loose coalition trying to restore orthodox congregational worship) that had trouble building a church in a conservative leaning suburb, because the city fathers wanted a more lucrative, tax-producing use for remaining open land. The church prevailed by use of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The real problem today is their are so many fakes , heretics (false teacher) prosperity flakes, So called Christian dominion crazies, socialist infiltration to purposely destruct churches, crooks & the like now, real Christians are becoming more wary every year.In fact i figure most biblical Christians will be back in house churches. Denominational churches have turned out to be retirement insurance benefit homes for clerics. Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, Catholic, Episcopalian, Anglican, with a raft of others, have all lost their salt or even meaning. Most are just inter changeable Deists now with some cultural quirks.You see this pattern even in the New testament warnings about all of this. Yup every vice you see today in the so called emergent church is found there with warnings. Evangelical means nothing these days, just a term for nominal Christians or ecumenists to use. The fact some don’t even believe in a basic doctrine like the resurrection is your clue here. For Bible Christianity home Church is the future as it was for 400 years before churches where built when joined to the Roman empire. Most denominations don’t outlive their beginnings after 3 generations ( The calvary chapel movement is a modern example, its falling apart with internal struggles), its why there are so many, its how Christianity in its basic form has always spread since the first century. As the old loses it fervor with any belief in its doctrines for fads or false teachings, the new begins with persecution usually by the older denominations, or at the behest of the State church, secular & always atheist polities that drives the seeds of its original basic teachings into the winds to start again in more fertile regions, or resisted to death by those who stay.

2019-04-24T21:47:27Z

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/russell-moores-job-on-the-line/

In this memorandum, we: (1) highlight the profound impact President Obama’s leadership has had in “reaffirming and strengthening America’s role as the world’s engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation,” as he set out to do at the start of his Administration; (2) offer an overview of frontiers that the American S&T enterprise will advance in the coming decades; and (3) call for actions needed in the years ahead to include all Americans in driving continued innovation and progress across those frontiers. OSTP continues to be optimistic about America's ongoing leadership in science and technology because of two exceptional characteristics of Americans. Americans continue to lead the world in our curiosity and desire to understand the world around us, which helps us innovate and improve the world around us. And, Americans are exceptionally diverse and can bring a wide range of experiences and backgrounds to solving the hardest problems. Our country’s diversity continues to be the greatest source of its strength. President Obama has repeatedly shown his commitment to inclusion, noting that, “research has shown that diverse groups are more effective at problem solving than homogeneous groups. Policies that promote diversity and inclusion will enhance our ability to draw from the broadest possible pool of talent, solve our toughest challenges, maximize employee engagement and innovation, and lead by example by setting a high standard for providing access to opportunity to all segments of our society.” Taking on the S&T frontiers that we describe in this memorandum requires including all Americans in leading innovation across industry, academia, and government. On January 20, 2009, President Obama issued a simple and powerful pledge: to restore science to its rightful place. Coming into office, the President was committed to reinvigorating the American scientific enterprise through a strong commitment to basic and applied research, innovation, and education; to ensuring integrity in science policy; and most importantly, to making decisions on the basis of evidence, rather than ideology. In a speech at the National Academy of Sciences in April 2009, the President called for expanded investments in research and development (R&D) and a renewed focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. He noted that science, technology, and innovation are essential to sustaining economic growth, enabling Americans to lead longer and healthier lives, limiting the harm from climate change, and providing U.S. armed forces and homeland defenders with the tools they need to succeed in every contingency. Increased science, technology, and innovation talent in the Executive Branch by creating and empowering new technology leadership positions at the White House and in Federal agencies; reinvigorating the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST); and recruiting, retaining, and empowering people with information, digital, collaboration, communication, data, and related technical backgrounds to improve government services and inject modern technology expertise into public policymaking. Strengthened scientific integrity by issuing and implementing a policy to ensure the public is able to “trust the science and scientific process informing public-policy decisions,” by recruiting and retaining the highest-caliber scientists, by ensuring policy decisions are based on sound science, and by putting in place strong whistleblower protections. Enacted a historic increase in research and development—with $18.3 billion in R&D funding, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of February 2009 was part of the largest annual increase in R&D funding in America’s history—and maintained R&D funding as a priority despite tight fiscal constraints. Prioritized and encouraged broad participation in STEM education and the technology sector, with the Nation now on track to meet the President’s goal to train 100,000 additional excellent STEM teachers by 2021, with 100,000 engineers graduating yearly from American colleges and universities for the first time ever, with organizations around the country responding to the President’s call to provide all U.S. students with access to rigorous computer-science education, and with over 1,500 employers hiring from new short-course training programs such as coding boot camps. Supported American manufacturing innovation through a national network of Manufacturing USA Institutes supported by over $600 million in Federal investment and matched by more than $1.3 billion in non-Federal investment, with more institutes on the way, and increased opportunities for Americans to make, design, create, and invent using new hardware and software tools and skills. Expanded entrepreneurship across the Nation, with venture-capital firms committing to advance entrepreneurship opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities, with nearly 80 companies committing to take action to broaden participation and make the technology workforce at each of their companies representative of the American people as soon as possible, with investors pledging to create more inclusiveness in their funding practices, with nearly 200,000 datasets now available to the public on Data.gov, and with more than 4 million full-text scientific journal articles now free and accessible to researchers, entrepreneurs, and the public. Launched major new science initiatives to advance health care through precision medicine, understanding the brain, accelerating progress in treating and preventing cancer, and combating antibiotic resistance. Took unprecedented action to address climate change through the successful December 2015 Paris Agreement; a comprehensive Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution, enhance resilience, and lead internationally; and the development of tools, services, and partnerships to make science and information about on climate change actionable for decision-makers across the Nation. Expanded broadband access, adding or improving more than 114,000 miles of broadband infrastructure and making high-speed connections available to more than 25,000 community institutions and fast 4G/LTE mobile broadband available to more than 98 percent of Americans. Fostered a burgeoning private space sector and increased capabilities for our journey to Mars, with the extension of the lifetime of the International Space Station’s (ISS) until at least 2024 through the Administration’s leadership, with American companies and NASA collaborating to deliver cargo to ISS, and with those companies on track to start ferrying astronauts to ISS within the next 2 years. In October 2016, at the White House Frontiers Conference, President Obama encouraged Americans to imagine our Nation and the world in 50 years and beyond, and to explore America’s potential to reach the frontiers that will make the world healthier, more prosperous, more equitable, and more secure. Developing precision medicine. The next great revolution in medicine will emerge from an ability to use genomic, lifestyle, behavioral, environmental, imaging, and clinical data to understand health and disease, and to use those insights to develop tailored prevention approaches and medical treatments. To revolutionize how we improve health and treat disease, President Obama launched the Precision Medicine Initiative with these goals: (a) build a large research program that includes participants who volunteer their biomedical samples and health data, leveraging the diversity of the United States; (b) increase access to data so that researchers can better conduct science to enable groundbreaking new discoveries; (c) create a nimble framework for ensuring the accuracy of genomic-sequencing tests to support public safety; and (d) optimize the deployment of these technologies and research discoveries to medical practitioners. Investing in neuroscience and neurotechnology. Advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology offer promise for developing a comprehensive understanding of the brain in action and uncovering the mysteries that hold the key to future scientific breakthroughs in areas such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, depression, and traumatic brain injury. Since April 2013, President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative®—Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies—has catalyzed more than $1.5 billion in public and private funds for novel neurotechnologies aimed at revolutionizing understanding of the human brain. BRAIN Initiative researchers and public-private collaborating organizations are pursuing an ambitious 10-year research agenda. Combating antibiotic resistance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that drug-resistant bacteria cause 2 million illnesses and about 23,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. The Obama Administration issued a national strategy and a national action plan—both responsive to the recommendations of a PCAST report—for domestic and international efforts to prevent, detect, and control illness and death related to infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. OSTP and the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria have noted the opportunity for the next Administration to pilot innovative economic models to encourage investment in antibiotic-drug development, to strengthen antibiotic-resistance surveillance in agricultural settings, and to develop a “one health” approach to combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, encompassing human, animal, and environmental components. Advancing biotechnology and global health security. Advances in biotechnology have dramatically improved capabilities such as DNA sequencing, gene editing, gene synthesis, and high-throughput manipulation of biomolecules. These advances have reduced the cost and time required to develop biotechnology products and perform novel research. The Obama Administration released the National Bioeconomy Blueprint, led an effort to modernize the regulatory system for biotechnology products, and led biosafety and biosecurity improvements. The next Administration and the scientific community should consider continuing to track the ethical, legal, economic, security, safety, and social implications of biotechnology developments and participate in international discussions around appropriate oversight of biotechnology research and products. In addition, the United States has committed to assist at least 31 countries to achieve common, measurable targets of the Global Health Security Agenda for prevention, detection, and response to infectious disease outbreaks. Opportunities abound for the next Administration to advance S&T against infectious disease threats—especially for mosquito-vector control and through social and behavioral science and biotechnology—and to predict infectious-disease outbreaks through rapid data-sharing and “one health” approaches. Building smart communities and the Internet of Things. “Smart Cities” are communities leveraging the “Internet of Things” (IoT) and information-technology tools, including data analytics and urban sensors, to improve the lives of all of their citizens. Federal research investments—with a continued focus needed on cybersecurity—and multisector technology partnerships can help local communities tackle key challenges such as reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services. The White House Smart Cities Initiative has invested nearly $350 million from multiple Federal agencies in research and technology deployment in communities, with over 70 participating communities. The Opportunity Project has catalyzed the creation of over 40 new digital tools that use Federal and local data to increase access to opportunity in communities around the country by solving challenges such as helping families find affordable housing near jobs and transportation, matching unemployed Americans with jobs that meet their skills, and enabling local leaders to use data to better target investments. Using innovation and data to improve policing and the criminal justice system. As part of President Obama’s commitment to ensuring that the power of data and technology are used to address the biggest challenges this country faces, the Police Data and Data Driven Justice Initiatives cultivate local advances in the use of data and technology in policing and the criminal-justice system. The Police Data Initiative supports local police department efforts in leveraging data to increase transparency and accountability and build trust with their communities. The Data-Driven Justice Initiative assists city, county, and State governments in using data-driven strategies to divert low-level offenders with mental illness out of the criminal justice system and to change approaches to pre-trial incarceration so that low-risk offenders no longer stay in jail simply because they cannot afford bond. These complementary initiatives each now support more than 100 jurisdictions—communities, counties, and states—and collectively reach over 95 million Americans. Harnessing the ingenuity of citizen solvers and citizen scientists. The Obama Administration has harnessed American ingenuity, driven local innovation, and engaged citizen solvers in communities across the Nation by increasing the use of open-innovation approaches including crowdsourcing, citizen science, and incentive prizes. Following guidance and legislation in 2010, over 700 incentive prize competitions have been featured on Challenge.gov from over 100 Federal agencies, with steady growth every year. Federal agencies and non-governmental organizations have used citizen science, crowdsourcing, and other innovative approaches to mobilize millions of people—including youth—to accomplish scientific work and improve their communities, from improving predictive models for coastal change and vulnerability to extreme storms, to tagging millions of archival records for the National Archives. Since 2014, OSTP has taken an active role in encouraging the increased use of these approaches to address scientific questions, issuing guidance to agency heads in 2015, and working with General Services Administration to launch CitizenScience.gov in early 2016. The next Administration should consider continuing to increase Federal Government efficiency and effectiveness through these open-innovation approaches. Connecting Americans through broadband deployment and spectrum for wireless Internet access. Recognizing the importance of broadband connectivity for American innovation, collaboration, economic growth, and well-being, the Administration—through initiatives including ConnectED, ConnectHOME, ConnectAll, the Global Connect Initiative, and increased USDA funding of broadband access for tribal communities—has expanded affordable high-speed broadband access, improved adoption, increased speeds, lowered costs, and narrowed the digital divide in the United States. The Administration has advanced international connectivity to bridge the global digital divide and promoted U.S. Internet governance priorities. And, the Administration has taken steps to ensure that there is sufficient spectrum, governed by sound policies to support fast, affordable, and reliable wireless Internet access and other longstanding and emerging technologies, including being on track to meet the President’s goal of making available an additional 500MHz of spectrum for exclusive private and shared commercial use by 2020. Going forward, the next Administration should consider continued attention to these goals and to increasing the network-engineering expertise in the Federal Government to accelerate national and international deployment of Internet access and to maximize the benefits of our connected world. Understanding the potential of AI, machine learning, and big data. The Administration published a public report on AI, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence, accompanied by a National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan. These documents detail how the Federal Government can take future steps to: use AI to advance social good and improve the operation of government; adapt regulations in a way that encourages innovation while protecting the public; ensure that applications of AI, including those that are not regulated, are fair, safe, and governable; develop the most skilled and diverse AI workforce, including addressing the current limited diversity in the technical-leadership ranks; and address the use of AI in weapons. This work built on earlier Obama Administration work on big data, including three Administration “Big Data” reports covering privacy, values, and fairness in algorithmic systems, ethics, and civil rights, and also PCAST and National Information Technology R&D Program (NITRD) reports on big data. Developing robotics and intelligent systems. Robotics and intelligent systems are technologies that seek to advance physical computational agents that complement, augment, enhance, or emulate human physical capabilities or human intelligence, and have the capacity to improve lives and advance the Nation’s economy. OSTP has focused on: R&D investments, including through the National Robotics Initiative; capacity-building in the Federal Government; and providing technical input to the development of smart regulations governing the public and commercial use of such technologies. The Administration has also worked to improve regulatory frameworks for some applications, including the Federal Aviation Administration’s integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System and the Department of Transportation’s work on developing a Federal Automated Vehicles policy. Future work is needed to formulate a Federal strategy for UAS privacy authority and responsibilities. Investing in strategic computing. The National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI) was created in July 2015, at President Obama’s request, to ensure continued U.S. leadership in high-performance computing (HPC) and to maximize the benefits of HPC for the economy, scientific discovery, and national security. The initiative calls for the creation of a coordinated research, development, and deployment strategy that draws on the strengths of Federal departments and agencies to accelerate progress on a range of critical applications—from predicting severe weather, to modeling the safety of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, to developing new drugs that are tailored to the needs of individual patients. Federal agencies have identified five strategic objectives: (a) accelerate the successful deployment and application of capable exascale computing; (b) ensure that new technologies support advances in data analytics as well as simulation and modeling; (c) explore and accelerate new paths for future computing architectures beyond the limits of today’s silicon-based semiconductors; (d) promote a vibrant HPC ecosystem, including the workforce needed to design and use HPC; and (e) establish enduring cross-sector collaboration. Supporting advanced manufacturing and a Nation of Makers. To spur innovation in manufacturing, the Administration has created a growing network of advanced-manufacturing R&D hubs, known as Manufacturing USA. In addition, the Administration has increased support for advanced-manufacturing R&D by 40 percent since FY 2011, and has encouraged multi-agency collaboration in areas such as continuous manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, engineering biology for biomanufacturing, and biomanufacturing for regenerative medicine. Delivering on this vision will require: (a) spurring innovation through next-generation technologies; (b) making the United States more cost-competitive for production; (c) strengthening skills, communities, and supply chains to attract investment; and (d) leveling the playing field for international trade, opening access to foreign markets, and promoting investment in the United States. In addition, people’s ability to design, create, and invent is being amplified by hardware and software tools such as computer-aided design software, laser cutters, accessible design tools, and 3D printers. The President’s Nation of Makers Initiative is engaging innovators, private-sector leaders, and educators to increase the number of Americans that have the opportunity to participate in making, with a particular emphasis on K-12 education, workforce development, and manufacturing entrepreneurship. Advancing climate science, information, tools, and services. Understanding and addressing the current and future impacts of global climate change requires sustained investments in climate science and services. It is essential that governments, businesses, researchers, and individual citizens have access to science-based information, tools, and services that can inform decision making. The Obama Administration launched the Climate Data Initiative, Climate Resilience Toolkit, and Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness to improve access to the Federal Government’s climate data and tools. Thanks to this effort, more than 600 datasets and 200 tools have been made available. The Administration also released the Third National Climate Assessment, the most comprehensive assessment of climate impacts to date, through a user-friendly online interface, and created a sustained assessment process. In addition, the U.S. Government joined with private-sector partners to launch the Resilience Dialogues and Climate Services for Resilient Development, to connect climate information to on-the-ground decision making. Enhanced observations—particularly in areas such as the polar regions and much of the world’s oceans that are inadequately monitored today—will be required to advance a more comprehensive understanding of global change. Growing a clean-energy economy. The Obama Administration has made the largest investments in cleaner and more efficient energy systems in the Nation’s history, starting with over $90 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. As a result, the United States has seen dramatic increases in the proportions of energy and electricity coming from low- and no-carbon energy sources. Under President Obama’s leadership, the United States has steadily expanded the reach and magnitude of its bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other countries in clean and efficient energy. The “Mission Innovation” initiative, launched by President Obama and other world leaders at the December 2015 climate conference in Paris, brings together 22 countries and the European Union that have pledged to double their governments’ investments in clean-energy R&D over a period of 5 years. To complement this effort, the “Breakthrough Energy Coalition” of leading investors has pledged to support the commercialization of the discoveries that result from increased R&D funding. These initiatives will require continued attention and encouragement—including doubling U.S. clean energy R&D by 2021—from the U.S. Government. Addressing climate change and national security. The Obama Administration—through the February 2015 U.S. National Security Strategy and a September 2016 report from the National Intelligence Council—has recognized that global climate change is posing growing challenges to U.S. national security. Sea-level rise threatens operations and infrastructure at important naval bases, including this country’s largest (in Norfolk, VA); extreme heat impairs the efficiency of troops and certain military equipment; military forces may be increasingly diverted to humanitarian missions following climate-related extreme events; chronic stresses from climate-change-accentuated phenomena such as droughts and crop failures can lead to civil unrest; and, eventually, flows of refugees from regions rendered less hospitable or even uninhabitable by climate change may produce political instability in areas critical to U.S. interests. President Obama directed Federal agencies in a September 2016 Presidential Memorandum to ensure that climate change is fully considered in national security doctrine, policies, and plans. Increasing ocean resilience. The health and productivity of the world’s oceans are imperiled by a number of threats, including climate-change related warming and acidification, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, dead zones, and marine debris and pollution. The Obama Administration has pioneered ocean stewardship through the development of the first ever U.S. National Ocean Policy, as well as through the creation and expansion of Marine Protected Areas and National Monuments, which provide refuges of reduced stress for species. This science-based management and smart conservation will help to enhance ocean resilience to climate change. Supporting our Journey to Mars and a robust U.S. commercial-space market. In April 2010, President Obama challenged the country to send American astronauts on a Journey to Mars in the 2030s. Continued development of advanced space technologies—including better life-support systems and efficient solar-powered electric propulsion systems—will be crucial to achieving President Obama's vision for space exploration. NASA already has started collaborating with industry to build the space modules or “habitats” in which U.S. astronauts will live and travel to Mars and other deep-space destinations. And in the coming years, the work NASA will do—in collaboration with private and international partners—to develop these deep-space habitats will help reduce the barriers to private companies that envision building their own space stations in Earth orbit or beyond. NASA will soon provide companies the opportunity to add their own modules and other capabilities to the International Space Station. As NASA shifts the focus of its human exploration program to deep space, America’s businesses will take a larger role in supporting space activities in Earth orbit. Driving advancements in space science. OSTP works with NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure that Federally funded space-science activities comprise a robust portfolio of space-based missions, ground-based facilities, and research funding for astronomy, planetary science, and heliophysics. The Kepler Space Observatory, which was launched in March 2009, has discovered more than 2,330 extrasolar planets and more than 2,400 additional planet candidates to-date. Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory, has been exploring Gale Crater on Mars since it landed in 2011, discovering evidence of an ancient streambed, organic carbon in powdered rock samples, and methane in the Martian atmosphere. Construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)—funded by the United States through NSF with other international partners—was completed in 2011 with full science observations beginning in 2013. In July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto obtaining the first up-close images of the dwarf planet, and a year later, Juno arrived at Jupiter to begin collecting scientific data to understand the planet’s structure and formation. Looking ahead, progress on the James Webb Space Telescope—designed to be the premier space-based observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide—is on track and on budget to meet a 2018 launch date. NSF and DOE, in collaboration with other partners, are supporting the development of the ground-based Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which expects to see first light in 2019. Enhancing prediction of and preparedness for space hazards. OSTP and Federal agencies are identifying actions to extend and enhance prediction and preparedness for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs) and define an approach for establishing reference NEO Earth-impact missions that can help the United States and its international partners detect, track, and respond to the threat of collision by a NEO. OSTP also worked with NASA to develop NASA’s Asteroid Grand Challenge, an effort focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them. NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission will, among other benefits, be used to demonstrate a promising asteroid-deflection technique called a gravity tractor. Also, in an effort to better plan for space weather hazards, OSTP led the development of the October 2015 National Space Weather Strategy and National Action Plan, and subsequently, President Obama signed an Executive Order in October 2016 to minimize the harm that space-weather events can cause across our Nation, save lives, and enhance national security. The called-for actions include identifying mitigation technologies, creating nationwide response and recovery plans and procedures, and improving prediction of space-weather events and their effects. Harnessing the small satellite revolution. A critical area for space-technology development is advancing the capability of small satellites (“smallsats”) and constellations of smallsats to support important commercial, civilian, and national-security applications. Potential applications include capturing continuously updated imagery of the entire planet and providing high-speed Internet connectivity to remote rural communities. Traditional large satellites typically cost hundreds of millions of dollars per satellite and often take years to build and launch. Smallsats sometimes can be delivered at a fraction of the cost and time of legacy satellite systems. Scientists and engineers can quickly test smallsat systems on orbit, allowing them to shorten the innovation cycle to devise new, better systems. The next Administration should consider working with OSTP, NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, and other Federal agencies to foster innovation in the development and use of smallsats. Below we offer 10 actions that are needed if the United States is to succeed in broadening participation in and delivering on the potential of science, technology, and innovation to drive prosperity for all Americans and to address challenges across science and technology frontiers in the coming decades. Federal Government funding for R&D is essential to address societal needs in areas in which the private sector does not have sufficient economic incentive to make the required investments. Key among these is basic research—the fundamental, curiosity-driven inquiry that is a hallmark of the American research enterprise and a powerful driver of new technology and innovation in the medium and long terms. Of all the challenges involved in protecting and expanding Federal R&D budgets in the face of overall fiscal constraints, the challenge of supporting basic research (and the infrastructure that enables it) deserves particular attention in the years to come. The Federal Government must bear proportionally the largest burden for basic research because high risk and high uncertainty about timing and magnitude of returns limit the private sector’s incentive to contribute. Simply supporting research is not sufficient, however; Federal agencies should ensure that research results are made available to other scientists, the public, and innovators who can translate them into the businesses and products that will improve our lives. A core component of President Obama’s innovation agenda has been an effort to attract individuals who can help build a more effective, efficient, and innovative government. This included recruiting high-caliber leaders for traditional S&T leadership positions in the Executive Office of the President and across Federal departments and agencies, and creating a new set of modern science, technology, and innovation positions—e.g., the U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), U.S. Chief Information Officer (CIO), and Chief Data Scientist, as well as the White House Office of Digital Strategy, the Director of White House IT, and department and agency CTOs, CIOs, and Chief Data Officers. These technical leaders are bringing new best practices working in deep collaboration with others in government to leverage all tools of government to address our hardest challenges. This work includes the President’s efforts to expand technical-talent integration for tech transformation that significantly improves the service delivery of IT services through the U.S. Digital Service, GSA’s Tech Transformation Service, and the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, which the Office of the U.S. CTO played a key role in creating. Strategies to make public service more attractive include time-limited “tours of duty”; short “sprint team” engagements to bring new perspective on entrenched problems; a focus on making hiring processes as efficient as possible; and proactive outreach to the technology and scientific communities. It also means empowering that top technical talent to change the way the Federal Government delivers services and makes policy. For example, within the EOP, the Tech Policy Task Force (TPTF) draws membership from tech components and other policy councils to ensure tech expertise can advise other policy councils and drive its own policy. TPTF has been used to initiate and create tech-related policy, such as the Federal Source Code Policy and the White House’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative and Report; to advise on or co-lead agency efforts, such as international connectivity with the State Department; and to answer questions raised by other policy councils, such as considerations regarding encryption policy and cybersecurity. To maintain this progress in the future, the next Administration should consider including groups such as TPTF in the processes of core policymaking bodies, such as the National Security Council, and continuing to increase the scientific, technical, and innovation understanding at senior levels of agency policymaking. President Obama has called for companies, research universities, foundations, and philanthropists to join him in identifying and pursuing grand challenges as a key component of his innovation strategy. Grand challenges are ambitious yet achievable goals that harness S&T and that have the potential to capture the public’s imagination. OSTP has encouraged Federal agencies to pursue grand challenges, including the BRAIN Initiative, NASA’s Asteroid Grand Challenge, an Administration effort to eliminate the waiting list for organ transplantation, and a nanotechnology-inspired Grand Challenge in brain-inspired computing. Other agencies that have been particularly active include the Department of Energy (with grand challenges on solar energy and electric vehicles), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID, with numerous grand challenges related to global development, such as Saving Lives at Birth), and DARPA (with grand challenges related to cybersecurity, robotics, and self-driving cars). President Obama’s call to action on Grand Challenges has also encouraged universities to embrace ambitious goals and to make commitments to expand opportunities for undergraduate engineers and create other opportunities for students to learn about and pursue grand challenges. Increasing access to and participation in STEM fields is critical to developing the human capital needed to fuel American innovation; tackling economic inequality and the gender pay gap by allowing more Americans to succeed in high-wage STEM fields; and supporting informed citizenship. The Obama Administration made an unprecedented commitment to improving access to and quality of STEM education for all students and to meeting the need for one million additional STEM graduates in the workforce by 2022 by: (1) setting ambitious goals and rallying public and private action through an “all-hands-on-deck” approach that has led to more than $1 billion in philanthropic support for the President’s Educate to Innovate campaign; (2) elevating the profile of STEM education through efforts including the launch of the annual White House Science Fair; and (3) improving the impact of Federal STEM education programs by executing on the first-ever Federal STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan. The Administration’s STEM for All goals are supported by President Obama’s proposed FY 2017 budget and call for increased efforts to improve STEM teaching; support active learning; expand access to rigorous STEM courses; address bias where it exists; and expand opportunities for underrepresented students in STEM. In response to a pressing need to fill high-paying tech jobs, President Obama launched the Computer Science for All initiative to give all U.S. students access to computer-science education, which requires increased Federal funding and, building on actions taken by 14 states, additional collaboration to prepare teachers and expand access to high-quality instructional materials. Science, technology, and innovation can be leveraged to improve educational outcomes through new models of grant-making; open licensing of educational resources developed through Federal funding; investments in infrastructure and educational-technology R&D to support next-generation learning; redesign the high school experience to make it more engaging; and multi-sector collaborations to increase the adoption of learning technologies. While significant advances have been made to expand access to technology for education and close the digital divide, there are opportunities for continued improvement in cognitive science, AI, learning analytics, and learning games. America’s role as a global leader in science and innovation is fortified by tapping into one of America’s foundational strengths—the unparalleled diversity of the American people and the diversity of ideas that they generate. Obama Administration reports, such as on big data and on artificial intelligence, have noted that government policies can help America harness the potential of emerging technologies by designing, deploying, and regulating those technologies in ways that preserve American values, avoid and mitigate bias and discriminatory outcomes, and promote fairness and opportunity. In addition, research shows that diversity on teams leads to better outcomes. Systemic barriers, such as implicit and explicit bias, present challenges to efforts to draw upon a diverse community in building a STEM workforce for the 21st century. In November 2016, OSTP and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a report, Reducing the Impact of Bias in the STEM Workforce: Strengthening Excellence and Innovation, which recommended that: (1) each Federal agency exercise leadership at all levels to reduce the impact of bias where it exists in their internal operations; (2) each Federal agency incorporate bias-mitigation strategies into its proposal-review process and offer technical assistance to grantee institutions to implement bias-mitigation strategies; and (3) OSTP, OPM, and the Department of Justice, as appropriate, exercise leadership to reduce the impact of bias where it exists in the Federal STEM workforce and Federally-funded institutions of higher education. Also in November 2016, OSTP released an Action Grid as a resource for those striving to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive S&T teams and workforces. This set of potential actions—including leadership engagement, retention and advancement, hiring, and ecosystem support—can provide ideas and a jumping-off point for organizations around the country to increase workforce diversity. In addition, research demonstrates that popular entertainment media can influence the public’s perceptions of STEM fields and careers. By highlighting the importance of depiction of STEM, as has been led through OSTP’s Image of STEM effort, the Federal Government can support inclusion of diverse and compelling STEM images, stories, and positive messages—including improvement of historic accuracy—in mainstream entertainment media to encourage greater diversity in the future STEM workforce. America’s entrepreneurial economy is the envy of the world. Young companies account for almost 30 percent of new jobs, and as we have fought back from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, startups have helped our private sector create 15.5 million jobs since early 2010—the longest streak of private-sector job creation on record. To ensure that every American entrepreneur has a straight shot at success, we need all hands on deck. Since the launch of the White House Startup America initiative in 2011, President Obama has issued a consistent public call to action to companies, nonprofits, universities, investors, and others to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship and broaden participation. Breaking down barriers for all entrepreneurs is not the task of just one Administration. Studies suggest that the share of venture-funded startups with women founders has nearly doubled in 5 years—but it is still only 18 percent. Continuing to reverse America’s 40-year decline in startup activity will require building on President Obama’s record of addressing income inequality, promoting competitive markets, reducing unduly restrictive occupational licensing, and scaling up rapid skills training. The next Administration should consider additional steps to ensure early-stage entrepreneurs from all backgrounds have access to startup capital, and to expand access to entrepreneurial networks and resources across all communities, so we field the entire American team of potential entrepreneurs. The Obama Administration has leveraged open data and data science to inform and support Federal agencies and programs, including engaging data-innovation stakeholders to support agency missions. President Obama ordered the default state of Federal Government information resources to be open and machine readable, followed by an Open Data Policy issued by OMB. In February 2015, the President established the role of the Chief Data Scientist under the U.S. CTO within OSTP to: maximize social and economic return from Federal Government data; create Federal data policies that enable shared services, data engagement, and forward-leaning data practices; and recruit and retain the best minds in data science for public service. Federal agencies should be empowered with the people, processes, and practices necessary to build their data capacity. As of October 2016, nearly 40 Federal agencies have added Chief Data Officers (CDOs) and Chief Data Scientists to ensure data-driven decisions are made in support of mission priorities. OSTP established a Data Cabinet to serve as the principal community of practice for Federal data professionals to share case studies and best practices for scaling data-talent capacity through recruitment, training, and hiring and to ensure data is responsibly gathered, processed, leveraged, and made discoverable, accessible, and reusable in a timely fashion. The Federal Government invests approximately $140 billion per year in R&D, which results in hundreds of thousands of peer-reviewed scholarly publications and growing volumes of digital research data every year. In February 2013, the Director of OSTP issued a memorandum directing all Federal departments and agencies with R&D expenditures of more than $100 million per year to develop plans for increasing access to the scholarly publications and digital data resulting from Federally funded research. More than 20 Federal agencies responsible for more than 99 percent of Federal R&D have completed and are implementing their public-access plans. Going forward, agencies should identify additional steps to make scientific knowledge freely and readily available to accelerate innovation and drive advances in health, energy, environmental protection, agriculture, national security, and other areas of national and international importance. Agencies are also working to improve the management and accessibility of scientific collections that support research and agency missions. These efforts complement the Obama Administration’s Lab-to-Market initiative, which aims to accelerate and improve the transfer of new technologies from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace. As outlined President Obama’s Strategy for American Innovation, agency S&T innovation capacity is a strategic priority because with the right combination of talent, innovative thinking, and technological tools, government can deliver better results. Federal agencies have pioneered new approaches—and applied approaches piloted by other sectors—that can deliver better results at lower cost for the American people. Widespread adoption of these approaches can significantly improve government effectiveness. OSTP and Federal agencies are developing an Innovation Toolkit to facilitate the broader adoption and awareness of a core set of innovative approaches, including: (1) “pay for performance” incentive prizes; (2) citizen science and crowdsourcing; (3) applying behavioral science insights to improve Federal programs and policies; (4) Grand Challenges; (5) flexible approaches to procurement that allow the government to interact with startups and commercial firms; (6) human-centered design; (7) “market shaping” approaches such as milestone payments and Advance Market Commitments; (8) flexible hiring authorities such as those that allow for “tours of duty” by experts; and (9) “scout and scale” approaches that find and share existing solutions. To increase Federal capacity for innovation, the Administration has supported the development of Innovation Labs at Federal agencies that provide resources and support for employees and members of the public to develop, test, and scale new approaches to meeting agency goals, resulting in significant improvements to the effectiveness and efficiency of the Federal Government. Agency innovation capacity also is facilitated by upgrading digital collaboration tools, allowing for real-time shared documents, instant messaging, video conferencing, access to social media and wiki-based sites for team projects, data and content management, and open innovation, which empower communities of practice to work at rapid pace. Incorporating people with diverse skill sets into those communities of practice has led to innovative practices being shared and adopted faster. Teams across the Federal Government have been making progress to promote transparency, empower citizens, and transform how the Federal Government engages with the American people. These initiatives have led to cost savings, fueled American businesses, improved civic services, informed policy, catalyzed research and scientific discoveries, driven transparency and accountability, expanded and broadened collaboration, and increased public participation in the democratic dialogue. In addition, the United States co-founded and remains a leader in the Open Government Partnership (OGP), composed of 70 countries working with hundreds of civil-society organizations and civic-tech leaders collaborating internationally and pushing each other to increase public integrity, enhance public access to information, improve management of public resources, reduce costs, and give the public a more active voice in government processes. Each member of the OGP creates bi-annual Open Government National Action Plans (NAPs). More than 20 agencies also are leading continued implementation of the 48 commitments in the third U.S. NAP, including efforts to modernize Freedom of Information Act processes, improve transparency of privacy programs, streamline declassification, and increase public participation in policymaking. Work remains to implement agency-level 2016 Open Government Plans. OSTP works to strengthen international science, technology, and innovation cooperation among the United States and international partners through bilateral and multilateral engagements, and to support the President’s foreign-policy agenda through international science, technology, and innovation activities. OSTP, in coordination with the State Department, represents the United States in bilateral and multilateral meetings with foreign nations, and works closely with government science agencies, independent research and scientific institutions, and non-governmental organizations to promote international S&T initiatives and strengthen global science cooperation. The OSTP Director co-chairs for the United States all six of the ongoing bilateral, ministerial-level Joint Commissions on Science and Technology Cooperation that exist under S&T cooperation agreements with Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Russia. In his 2009 Cairo speech, President Obama announced S&T related initiatives for Muslim-majority countries, including his intention to appoint science envoys, U.S. scientists who travel abroad as science ambassadors and inform the White House, U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. scientific community about the insights and opportunities for scientific engagement they find abroad. To date, there have been 5 cohorts of 3-5 Envoys each who have traveled to over 25 countries. The State Department has committed to supporting the Envoy program through 2017. We have been honored to serve President Obama—our Science, Technology, and Innovation President. He has relentlessly focused on building American talent and capacity in S&T; making the long-term investments that will continue to power American innovation; and setting ambitious goals that inspire and harness the ingenuity and creativity of diverse whole of the American people. We thank the science and technology communities inside and outside government for their continued innovation and collaboration. We are especially appreciative of their shared passion for broadening participation, especially among our youth, to field the whole American team in pursuing the frontiers that will increase prosperity, opportunity, justice, health, and security for all. Driving further progress across the aforementioned frontiers will require focus by the next Administration and the next Congress on: sustained investment in research, development, and innovation; the importance of diverse, cross-sector, and multi-disciplinary collaboration for solving difficult challenges; education innovation to develop skills for Americans at all levels; job creation and workforce-skills development across these sectors; and equity, to ensure all Americans help create these innovations and have access to and benefit from advances in these frontiers. The Office of Science and Technology Policy was established in 1976 by Public Law 94-282. From remarks by President Obama on November 23, 2009 at the launch of his "Educate to Innovate" campaign for excellence in science, technology, engineering, and math education. In 2015, there were more than 600,000 high-paying tech jobs across the United States that were unfilled, and by 2018, 51 percent of all STEM jobs are projected to be in computer-science-related fields.

2019-04-25T08:24:23Z

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/cabinet/exit-memos/office-science-and-technology-policy

John Balling, Vice President for Integrated Technology Services, joined Willamette University in September 1999. He is responsible for technology planning, network services, academic computing and instructional design, user services, administrative computing, media services, and telecommunications. Prior to coming to Willamette, John served in a similar position for 10 years at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Other information technology positions he has held include terms as head of academic computing at Bowdoin College and as director of the information resource center at the Smithsonian Institution where he implemented the Institution’s first user services program. John has also served as a research psychologist for the Smithsonian Institution and the Harvard Institute for International Development. In his first real job, he was a member of the faculty in psychology at the University of Wisconsin — Madison. John earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northwestern University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in psychology from the University of Massachusetts. It was in graduate school that he became involved with computing when he constructed his own equipment and developed software for capturing and analyzing human infants’ physiological responses to auditory stimuli. With respect to information technology, John has led the planning and implementation of the computing infrastructure at several of the Smithsonian’s sites, assisted with the development of medical information systems in several Latin American countries, and has planned and implemented major infrastructure upgrades at both Dickinson and Willamette. John joined the NWACC Council in June 2001 as the member representative from Willamette. Bridget Barnes, MBA, MSEM, is Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon. Bridget has worked in OHSU's Information Technology Department since 1999 and has had a key role in implementing and managing their business, student, research, and clinical information systems during that time. Bridget's team of technical professionals is responsible for supporting all missions of OHSU (academic, clinical, research and outreach functions), as well as the multiple business entities that support OHSU. She has published and presented to professional organizations on application implementation and selection strategies. Bridget has served on national and regional information system Boards including the Oracle Higher Education User Group (HEUG), the NorthWest Oracle User Group (NWOUG), the NorthWest Academic Computing Consortium (NWACC), Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the Oregon Health Network and Oregon's Health Information Technology Oversight Committee. Jackie Barretta serves as the Interim CIO at Portland Community College, where she has consulted since 2014. Previously, she was the Interim CIO at College of Marin and the CIO of Con-way Inc. She has over 30 years of senior and executive leadership, primarily in Higher Education and Fortune 500 companies. Jackie is a prolific author on boosting innovation in organizations. She has had articles published in Fast Company, InformationWeek and CIO magazine, and a book, Primal Teams, published by the American Management Association. Jackie has served on advisory boards of some of the largest IT service providers, including Hewlett Packard and Teradata. Jackie holds an MA in Organizational Communication from Marylhurst University and a BS in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Lois Brooks, Oregon State University's Vice Provost for Information Services, leads IT for the University. She provides vision, leadership, and advocacy for the effective application of information technologies to the instructional, research and service missions of the university, and in partnership with executive and academic leadership, develops and executes IT strategy for Oregon State University. Brooks joined OSU in 2010 after working at Stanford University for many years, serving most recently as Director of Academic Computing. During her tenure at Stanford she co-founded the Sakai Foundation, serving on the Board of Directors and later as Executive Director. She has served on governance committees for EDUCAUSE and InCommon. Brooks holds an MBA from Columbia University, an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BS from the University of San Francisco. Adam oversees the Information Technology department at Lewis & Clark College, and serves as the liaison between IT and the college administrative staff. Buchwald, a Whitman College graduate and former IT officer at Pacific University, has worked in several capacities at MassArt, including as director of information technology, acting associate vice president for technology and chief information officer, and deputy chief information officer. Prior to joining MassArt, Buchwald worked in IT positions at Simmons College and Roscommon Associates, both in Boston, as well as at Pacific, where he served from 1997 to 2000. Buchwald’s other professional activities include membership on the board of directors of the conservation group Greater Boston Trout Unlimited, which he has also served as IT consultant since 2006. In addition, he attended the 2010 summer leadership institute of EDUCAUSE, an organization that works to advance the higher education sector through intelligent use of technology. Brad Christ is the Chief Information Officer for Southern Oregon University. Information Technology at SOU provides telecommunications, media services, information services, networking services, and user services for two campuses in Ashland and Medford. Brad has worked extensively on higher education technology collaboration efforts both at SOU and at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Minnesota, these efforts included partnering with other private colleges to join Internet2 with sponsorship from the University of Minnesota and forming a buying consortium with other private colleges and a K-12 education technology collaborative. In Oregon, he is active in collaboration efforts with the other public universities, the NWACC Network and Information Security program, and the information technology operations for the new Oregon Public University Shared Services Enterprise. Brad has worked in higher education information technology for 18 years. Before coming to Southern Oregon, he oversaw departmental operations, telecommunications, networking, system administration, and information systems at Augsburg. He received his Master’s degree in Public Administration and Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota. Brad joined the NWACC Council in 2011. Marianne Colgrove is the Deputy Chief Information Officer and the Director of Web Support Services at Reed College. She oversees campus technology deployment, CIS financial management, college web systems, web application development, and digital media services. She frequently collaborates with the library on projects involving undergraduate teaching and learning and access to digital materials. Marianne joined Reed as the Associate Director of Computing & Information Services in 1989. Prior to her current position she managed Reed's 5-year Technology Plan to integrate computing into all aspects of the academic environment. Marianne has a B.A in Psychology from Reed College and a Masters of Library & Information Science at University of Washington. In addition to the NWACC board, Marianne has previously served as the Treasurer of the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges, as a member of the EDUCAUSE Connect program committee, and as chair of the EDUCAUSE Nominating Committee. Marianne joined the NWACC Member Council in 2002. Dan Ewart joined the University of Idaho as the Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of ITS in February 2012. In this role he leads a team of professionals serving the technology needs of the main Moscow campus, centers across the state and of students around the world. Prior to joining UI, Dan served as the Director of Information Services at the University of Wyoming and as Director of Information Technology at Dubai Aerospace Engineering University in Dubai, UAE. Before supporting higher education computing, Dan worked as a technology leader in the private sector for companies such as Interlink Group and Accenture. Dan earned his B.S. in MIS (1993) and his MPA (2010) from the University of Wyoming. He is highly engaged in community activities including non-profit board membership and youth sports. Jim Fleming was appointed Chief Information Officer at Pacific University in March 2011. Jim has 28 years of experience in higher education administration. Since his arrival at Pacific, University Information Services has led a successful transition to Moodle from its former LMS, implemented Ellucian CRM EMS Events and Calendar system, and OCHIN Epic Electronic Health Record system in university health clinics located in Forest Grove, Hillsboro and Portland. He is serving as Chair of the University HIPAA taskforce responsible for developing a common set of policies and procedures across all clinical environments. Prior to joining Pacific University, Jim served as the Director for Administrative Computing at George Fox University with responsibility for networking, telephony, systems, and institutional research. While at George Fox, he successfully led two ERP implementations, both of which were completed on time and within budget and scope. As the project manager, Jim focused on developing integration between systems to extend technology services and advance the mission of the university. Jim developed highly successful teams inside and outside of his department to select and promote the effective use of technology. In addition to IT administration, Jim held the position of Registrar for six years in which he contributed to an innovative enrollment services team and learned first-hand the significant impact of technology. Prior to this position, he had a variety of responsibilities as Associate Dean of Students, focused on developing student leaders and establishing a leadership minor at the university. He has also served at Trine University in Indiana and Oklahoma Weslyan University. Jim is a certified project manager (PMP) with a M.A. in Counseling from George Fox Seminary and a bachelors degree from Seattle Pacific University. He has served on several professional and non-profit boards. Tim serves as the Executive Director of Institutional Technology at George Fox University. His somewhat roundabout path towards IT started with undergraduate and graduate degrees in theology coupled with 10 years as an outdoor and experiential educator. Whether on a river, in the backcountry or in a classroom with a group of MBA students, he learned that many of the key decisions in life boil down to the two questions, "Where are we now?" and "Where do we need to be?" Tim landed in administration at George Fox in 2005 and has worked in both the Student Life Office and IT. He quickly found that business processes and education are subject to the same to questions he'd come back to as an educator - "What are we doing now?" and "What should we be doing?" This perspective means that Tim is excited about improving services, processes and learning for end-users across the university. Others have caught onto this excitement as well; along with co-worker Brian McLaughlin, Tim was the co-recipient of the 2012 NWACC Hugi Exemplary Practice Award for their work on the iGFU mobile portal. He has also put his background as an educator to use as an active presenter and contributor with the Higher Education Users Group. These varied experiences have given him a broad platform from which to lead IT at George Fox. He is constantly on the lookout for ways that technology can contribute to the educational mission of George Fox. In June of 2013, Chato Hazelbaker was appointed the Chief Communication Officer at Clark College, where he is responsible for public relations, marketing communication, and legislative affairs. In 2014 the Information Technology Services division came under his leadership and he became the Chief Information and Communication Officer. Most recently he served as the Director of Communications at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota. Before that, he served as the Director of Marketing at Montana State University-Billings and News Bureau Manager at Dickinson State University. Hazelbaker has also served as an adjunct faculty member at several institutions including Warner Pacific College and Bethel University, where he taught courses in Organizational Leadership, including Leadership and Technology. Over his career, Hazelbaker has been heavily involved in the web and application development. At Eddie Bauer Inc., he was part of a team that developed the first online payroll forecasting tool used by over 500 retail stores and developed the first intranet used in the company. Hazelbaker earned his doctorate in Organizational Development in 2014 from the University of St. Thomas (MN). Kirk Kelly serves as the Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Portland State University (PSU). Before his current position at PSU, Kirk was the Associate Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer. Prior to joining PSU, Kirk served as Vice Chancellor (CIO) for Information Technology at Pima Community College after working as Networking Director at the institution. Prior to Pima, he spent 15 years at University of Idaho in various technology positions. Kirk earned a BS in Management Information Systems from Washington State University and a MS in Information Systems from University of Phoenix. He remains active in Educause and has served on regional and national committees during his career. Karl Kowalski was appointed Chief Information Technology Officer for the University of Alaska System in November 2011. He previously served as Executive Director of User Services for the Statewide Office of Information Technology since 2007. He came to the University with 20 years’ experience in public education and technology integration in Rural Alaskan schools. Karl is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, holding degrees in Education and Biology. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Technology Leadership from George Washington University in 1999. As a certified teacher and principal, he served as Director of Technology and Information Services for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District for 15 years. Karl also served as adjunct professor for Chukchi College, designing and implementing technology courses for K-12 educators, and as consultant to the State of Alaska Department of Education, reviewing statewide technology plans. He teamed with state and local agencies and the Governor’s office to design and help pass the Alaska Waiver of the Federal E-Rate Program. He was appointed member of the Alaska Information Infrastructure Policy Task Force, State of Alaska UNITY project and is a founding member of the Alaska Distance Learning Partnership. Karl currently serves on the State of Alaska Broadband Taskforce. In his role as CITO, Karl is responsible for strategic planning, security and IT policy for the University of Alaska system, statewide network infrastructure and ERP, videoconferencing and campus integration for a 17 campus system. Outside of work, Karl and his wife, Sandy, enjoy spending time in the outdoors. They have four children and two grandchildren. Soccer, skiing, camping, gardening and enjoying all that Alaska has to offer keeps them more than busy. John Lawson is the Vice Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Western Washington University. His responsibilities run the usual CIO gamut of network services, academic computing and instructional design, user services, administrative computing, media services, and telecommunications. Prior to joining WWU in August 2006, John served as Vice President for Information Technology and CIO at Tulane University. Preceding Tulane, John served as CIO at Pepperdine University. Earlier in his career, John held academic and administrative positions at the University of Oregon, Lewis-Clark State College, and Towson University. At Tulane, John managed the implementation and upgrade of ERP systems, completed an institutional wide wireless network, renewed collaborative labs and technology, and reorganized the academic and user support groups into one organization. John served as Tulane's representative and vice-chair of the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI) to bring high speed networking, high performance computing, and grid architecture to Louisiana's research institutions. He was CIO for Tulane during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He considers himself an expert at evacuating with higher education executives from hurricanes. In addition to holding the senior administrator position of CIO at three institutions, he also held faculty appointments in computer science at Lewis-Clark State College and Towson University. At the University of Oregon he held adjunct faculty and research appointments in education and computer science. John holds a doctorate from the University of Oregon (1985), where his research focused on the determinants of success in the introduction to computer science course utilizing a variety programming languages. He also holds a bachelor's (geography, 1982) and two master's (geography, 1983 and computer science, 1983) degrees from the University of Oregon. John is active in professional organizations, serving on a number of state, NWACC, and EDUCAUSE committees. He is married with three grown children and enjoys family time camping in northern Idaho each summer. John Lehman is emeritus professor in management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, guest professor at Tongji University College of Economics and Management (Shanghai, China) and Courtesy professor in the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Oregon. He was formerly Director of International Programs and professor of information systems and international business at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he was also an affiliate professor of far Eastern philosophy. His previous positions have included Executive Director for Information Technology for the University of Alaska Statewide System, Technical Director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Arctic Region Supercomputer Center, and acting Dean of the School of Management. He is also a steering committee member of the Pacific Neighborhood Consortium. John's academic background (all at the University of Michigan) includes a BA, MA, and ABD in Chinese studies, MBA in Accounting, and PhD in Information Systems. John served on the NWACC Board and Executive Committee from 1995 to 1998. In 1996 he was elected NWACC Secretary/Treasurer and continues to serve as an ex officio member of the Council. He chairs the Finance Committee and Investment Sub-Committee and has served on the Fee Task Force. Dr. Frank Moore joined the Pacific Lutheran University community on February 1, 2013 as the Associate Provost for Information and Technology Services. The Associate Provost for I&TS is the chief information officer for the university, leading I&TS in the provision and implementation of information and communication services, technologies, and related resources. The Associate Provost advises the provost and other executive leaders on these areas of responsibility while working with all campus constituencies to insure alignment of I&TS services with constituent needs. Frank Moore previously was at Longwood University in Farmville, Virgina where he served for 18 years in related capacities, most recently as Vice President for Information and Instructional Technology and Chief Information Officer. As Vice President and CIO, he moved the development of information technology at Longwood through several structural changes and oversaw an organization comprised of User Support Services, Communications and Technology Services, Applications and Engineering Services, Instructional Technology Services, and Information Technology Security Services. At PLU, I&TS is comprised of three operational areas – Enterprise Services (voice & data communications, central servers, administrative applications), Library Services, and User Services( Help Desk, learning technologies, digital media labs, classroom technology, multimedia support). Dr. Moore holds a Ph.D. in French from The Pennsylvania State University, a Master of French from Hofstra University, and a B.A. in French from the University of Vermont. He was an Associate Professor of French at Longwood University with a specialization in medieval French theater. At PLU, Dr. Moore is an administrator with faculty status, thereby providing him with both voice and vote in the Faculty Assembly. William Morse joined the University of Puget Sound as Chief Information Officer on February 1, 2010. During his nearly five years at Puget Sound, William has completely and comprehensively rebuilt the university’s infrastructure and service delivery operations. Some examples include replacing the legacy, home-grown ERP with a modern, vendor provided solution, re-architecting the entire server infrastructure to reduce costs and improve reliability, combining the service desk, multimedia and educational technology units to provide seamless support to the community, deploying a comprehensive virtual desktop infrastructure, replacing the aging switch-based phone system with a modern Voice over IP (VoIP) solution and reorganizing the entire department to best meet university needs among many other initiatives. Prior to Puget Sound, William was CIO for Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA. In his four years at Oglethorpe, William modernized and managed the university's technology infrastructure, resulting in improved service and considerable savings, introduced automated tools to improve desktop computer maintenance, replaced the switch-based telecom system with VoIP, and turned a challenging enterprise resource planning system implementation into a functional asset. He achieved ambitious goals with relatively few resources, while focusing on implementing the best systems to serve the needs of faculty, students, and staff. Prior to this, William was Chief Information Officer at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta for nearly ten years. Earlier roles included interim director of information services at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory, and director of information technology services at the School of Law at Emory. William earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science and a Juris Doctorate degree in law with honors from Emory University. William is active in his profession and has written or contributed to numerous articles on information technology in higher education. At NWACC, he chaired the committee that created a new, ground-breaking program to develop the next generation of higher education IT leaders. While at Emory University, he helped create a groundbreaking bio-informatics program and taught the core of that program until he arrived at Puget Sound. William loves what he does within an environment whose mission is to train the next generation. As Chief Information Officer for University of Portland, Curt leads the information services division in support of an integrated, open, collaborative environment. This vision is pursued by creating a technological environment that supports the access, analysis, and management of information benefiting the University. Before joining the University of Portland in 2013, Curt served most recently as Oregon State University’s (OSU) Open Source Lab director. Prior to that he was OSU’s CIO as well as the Oregon University System CIO, and Oregon’s first state Chief Information Officer. Before coming to Oregon he was CIO for Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and Snohomish County PUD, supporting the theory that he has a CIO gene. Charles Porter has served as the CIO at Seattle University since October 2011. He is also a member of Seattle University’s Infrastructure Committee of the Board of Trustees, a member of the President’s Advisory Council, a member of the Campus Safety and Security Advisory Council, and a member of the Strategic Planning Council. He has previously taught Entrepreneurial Finance, New Venture Creation, and New Venture Consulting at Seattle University’s Albers Graduate School of Business and Economics and Gonzaga University in Florence. On behalf of Seattle University, he is active in EDUCAUSE, Northwest Academic Computing Consortium (NWACC) and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). Chuck earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Gonzaga University and his MBA in Finance and Computer Simulation from the University of Michigan. He completed a 30-year career at Accenture and served as Accenture’s Managing Partner CIO and CTO of its outsourcing practice. He is active in the Pacific Northwest Angel Community serving as a board member or advisor to dozens of early stage technology companies. He serves on the screening committee and strategy committee of a local Angel Investor Group. He has held Board positions with various corporate and not-for-profit organizations. Chuck and Nancy, his wife of 40 years, have two children – an attorney and an executive in a computer gaming company. Recreationally, he is a pilot, a scuba diver, a photographer and a motorcyclist. And he and his wife enjoy international travel. As Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for Eastern Washington University, Gary Pratt holds the following responsibilities: Lead university information technology support functions: computing, telecommunications, distance learning, technology-based faculty and staff training and development; academic technology; local and wide area networks; administrative applications; database and application development; technology hardware and software recommendation, purchase, installation, support, and troubleshooting; audio/visual support; technology-based course development and offerings; Lead institutional strategic planning; Lead campus special projects. Prior to joining EWU in 2007, Gary was the Associate Provost for Information Technology/CIO at Northern Kentucky University (1999-2006). In the course of his career, Gary has achieved the following accomplishments: developed, implemented, and led significant reorganization of IT support divisions; implemented ERP systems, digital telecommunications systems, high-bandwidth networks, and Web site redesigns; and led multiple statewide initiatives, including annual state-wide education technology conferences for 5 years (first ever in Kentucky), state-wide negotiation for Learning Management System for all public and private education (Kentucky), chaired state-wide E-learning group (Kentucky), and developed and chaired inaugural Washington Higher Education Technology Consortium. Gary holds a Bachelor of Science, Mathematical Engineering; Master of Arts, Computer Information Systems; and Doctorate, Management and Organizational Leadership. He is a Frye Leadership Institute Fellow. Gary joined the NWACC Member Council in 2007. Matt Riley is the Chief Information Officer for the University of Montana. Matt leads the central IT organization for the UM, providing IT-related services, communications services, instructional technology resources and research-related technology support. Working with university and state leaders, Matt provides vision, strategic direction and IT advocacy at the UM in Missoula, as well as throughout the UM network in Montana. Matt began at the UM in 2013 after six years at Stanford University. At Stanford, Matt led IT in the Dean’s Office for the School of Humanities and Sciences. Matt helped bring IT strategy and an innovative services approach to Stanford’s largest school. He also worked to bridge gaps between distributed IT units at Stanford and central organizations. Previous to Stanford, Matt spent 16 years at the University of Redlands in Southern California. At Redlands, Matt worked closely with the CIO to manage and lead all aspects of the IT operation for the institution. Major projects at Redlands included designing and leading the implementation of the campus network, technical responsibility for a major ERP conversion, leading a phone switch replacement from traditional to VoIP and efforts leading to the unification of administrative and academic computing. Matt has been active in Educause for more than 15 years, and has recently been involved with leadership programs at Stanford and MORAssociates. Matt holds MBA and BS in Business degrees, both from the University of Redlands. Marty Ringle is the Chief Information Officer at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Prior to coming to Reed in 1989, he chaired the computer science department at Vassar College. He holds a Ph.D. from SUNY Binghamton, co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and the T.J. Watson School of Engineering. Marty is a trustee of Marylhurst University (Portland) and has served on boards, advisory groups, or steering committees for EDUCAUSE, the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges (CLAC), the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE), the Research and Education Network Information Sharing and Analysis Center (REN-ISAC), the Cornell Institute for Computer Policy and Law (ICPL), the Center for Higher Education Chief Information Officer Studies, Apple Inc., SCT Corporation, Addison-Wesley, Inc., the Fielding Graduate Institute, and many other organizations. During the past thirty-five years he has consulted on technology issues for more than one hundred and fifty colleges, universities, corporations, foundations, and government agencies. Marty was elected to the NWACC Board in 1990. He became Vice President of NWACC in 1994, Chair of the Board in 1996, and President in 1999. He serves ex officio on all NWACC committees. Dan is the Chief Information Officer at Whitman College. Prior to joining Whitman, Dan held positions as CTO at Lewis & Clark College, CTO for Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, the Director of Information Technology for the Richard T. Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Ohio, and Manager of Academic Computing at Augsburg College in Minnesota. Dan holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Augsburg College and completed graduate work (ABD) towards a doctorate in Educational Policy and Administration in Higher Education from the University of Minnesota. Dan has made presentations at a variety of conferences including EDUCAUSE and the Society for College and University Planning. From 2001 to 2005, Dan served on the National Datatel Users Group Board of Directors. Dan has served in various capacities within EDUCAUSE, including the Administrative Award Committee, regional conference program committee and the SAC program committee. Dan has been active in NWACC since joining the council in 2001 and served as the Vice Chair of the Board from 2005 to 2006 and Chair of the Board from 2006 to 2008. Dave Tindall is the Assistant Vice President for Technology Services at Seattle Pacific University, a position he has held since 1981. He serves as the chief information officer with oversight of administrative computing, central computing services and networks, telecommunications, microcomputing, user services and classroom/multimedia support. During his tenure at SPU he has been an adjunct faculty member in Computer Science and Business and Economics; has overseen the creation of a robust campus network; upgraded the campus administrative software systems to SCT Banner for most administrative functions; created a centralized HelpDesk and User Services division; brought numerous services online via the web (registration, computer account management, classified ads, directory services, library databases, event calendaring, financial transactions and reporting, etc..); and implemented microcomputer hardware and software standards across employee desktops, academic labs and classrooms. Dave has a Bachelors degree in Business and Economics (SPU, 1975) and Master's degree in Information Systems (SPU, 1989). He has served on many regional and national committees and boards in the areas of information technology and business administration. Dave has been the NWACC member representative from Seattle Pacific University since 1991. He served as Vice Chair of the Board from 2008 to 2010 and will serve as Chair of the Board from 2010 to 2012. Kelli Trosvig served in various leadership posts at the University of Washington (UW). She spent eight years as the Director for Health Sciences Administration, and seven years with the School of Medicine. Past work includes opening a new research campus for UW Medicine in downtown Seattle and expanding the UW School of Medicine’s teaching programs across the state to Spokane. Kelli received both her B.A. in Economics and a Masters in Health Administration at the University of Washington. Kelli, in her role as Vice President and CIO, is responsible for strategic oversight, planning and direction of the University’s information technology infrastructure, as well as resources and services. Under Kelli’s leadership, UW-IT launched key strategic initiatives to meet the growing technology needs of UW students, faculty and staff, while positioning the University for the future. Kelli represents the UW regionally and nationally, serving as 2011-12 chair of the Washington Higher Education Technology Consortium, as a member of the Research University CIO Conclave, as well as on higher education advisory boards for Microsoft, Amazon, and AT&T. She is also on the steering committee of Gig.U, a national coalition of more than 30 research universities working to provide ultra-high-speed networking to local communities. Melissa Woo serves as the Vice Provost for Information Services and Chief Information Officer at the University of Oregon. She previously worked for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) providing general leadership and oversight for the central IT department responsible for campus enterprise and infrastructure services. Prior to UWM, she worked for the central IT organization at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, overseeing systems and operations. Melissa is a Frye Leadership Institute Fellow, currently serves on the EDUCAUSE 2012 Conference Program Committee, chairs the EDUCAUSE Advisory Group on Enterprise Information Systems and Services (AEGISS), and served on the EDUCAUSE Professional Development Advisory Committee, including a year as committee chair. She completed her PhD in Biophysics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her Bachelor's degree in Biophysics at the University of California, Berkeley. As the University of Hawai'i's Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (VPIT/CIO), Garret Yoshimi is responsible for UH systemwide information technology systems and services. Garret provides executive leadership in collaboratively setting forth the overall vision, goals, strategies and plans for the effective and appropriate use of information technologies to advance the UH System. Garret joined UH in January 2015. Prior to serving as UH VPIT/CIO, he was vice president and chief operating officer for eWorld Enterprise Solutions. He has more than 35 years of experience in information technology in both the public and private sectors in Hawai'i. He has served as the first CIO for the Hawai'i Judiciary, senior technology executive for the East-West Center and CIO for DTRIC Insurance. Garret also previously served as telecommunications manager before being promoted to director of technology infrastructure for the University of Hawai'i. He actively represented the University of Hawai'i in state and national venues as a member of EDUCAUSE, Internet2 and the Association for College and University Technology Advancement, which awarded him the Bill D. Morris award for individual leadership. A native of Honolulu, Garret earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and a graduate certificate in telecommunications and information resource management from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Please direct comments and questions about this web site to the NWACC Webmaster.

2019-04-22T07:21:23Z

http://nwacc.org/about/bodbios.html

Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell is known for its rigorous academics, innovative pedagogy, and commitment to social justice. Grinnell has the sixth highest endowment-to-student ratio of liberal arts colleges, enabling need blind admissions and substantial academic merit scholarships to boost socioeconomic diversity. Students receive funding for unpaid or underpaid summer internships and professional development (including international conferences and professional attire). Grinnell participates in a 3–2 engineering dual degree program with Columbia University, Washington University in St. Louis, and California Institute of Technology, a 2–1–1–1 engineering program with Dartmouth College and a Master of Public Health cooperative degree program with University of Iowa. Nearly half of enrolled Grinnellians self-identify as international students or students of color. Among Grinnell alumni are 14 Rhodes Scholars, 119 Fulbright Scholars (Since 2005), 79 Watson Fellows, 13 Goldwater Scholars, and one Nobel laureate. Its alumni include actor Gary Cooper, chemist Thomas Cech, Intel co-founder Robert Noyce, jazz musician Herbie Hancock, government administrator Harry Hopkins, and comedian Kumail Nanjiani. The 120-acre campus includes several listings on the National Register of Historic Places as well as a César Pelli designed ultra-modern student center, integrated academic complexes, and state-of-the-art athletics facilities. Grinnell College also manages significant real estate adjacent to the campus and in the historic downtown, a free-access golf course, and the 365-acre Conard Environmental Research Area. U.S. News & World Report ranked Grinnell 11th best overall and 2nd best for undergraduate teaching among liberal arts colleges. In 1843, eleven Congregational ministers, all of whom trained at Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, set out to proselytize on the frontier. Each man pledged to gather a church and together the group or band would seek to establish a college. When the group arrived in Iowa later that year, each selected a different town in which to establish a congregation. In 1846, they collectively established Iowa College in Davenport. A few months later, Iowa joined the Union. The first 25 years of Grinnell's history saw a change in name and location. Iowa College moved farther west from Davenport, Iowa, to the town of Grinnell and unofficially adopted the name of its new home, which itself had been named for one of its founders: an abolitionist minister, Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, to whom journalist Horace Greeley supposedly wrote "Go West, young man, go West." However, Greeley vehemently denied ever saying this to Grinnell, or to anyone. The name of the corporation, "The Trustees of Iowa College," remained, but in 1909 the name "Grinnell College" was adopted by the trustees for the institution. Josiah Bushnell Grinnell: one of the four founders of Grinnell, Iowa and benefactor of Grinnell College. In 1882, Grinnell College was struck by a tornado — then called a cyclone, after which the college yearbook was named. The storm devastated the campus and destroyed both College buildings. Rebuilding began immediately, and the determination to expand wasn't limited to architecture: the curriculum was again extended to include departments in political science (the first in the United States) and modern languages. Concern with social issues, educational innovation, and individual expression continue to shape Grinnell. As an example, the school's "5th year travel-service program," preceded the establishment of the Peace Corps by many years. Other recent innovations include first-year tutorials, cooperative pre-professional programs, and programs in quantitative studies and the societal impacts of technology. Every year, the college awards the $100,000 Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize, which is split between the recipient and their organization. Grinnell College is located in the town of Grinnell, Iowa, about halfway between Des Moines and Iowa City. The main campus is bounded by 6th Avenue (which is also US Highway 6) on the south, 10th Avenue on the north, East Street on the east and Park Street on the west. The 120-acre (0.49 km2) campus contains sixty-three buildings ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to Bauhaus. Goodnow Hall and Mears Cottage (1889) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Immediately west of the college is the North Grinnell Historic District, which contains over 200 National Register of Historic Places contributing buildings. East Campus dormitories connected by Grinnell's distinctive loggia. The residential part of campus is divided into three sections: North Campus, East Campus, and South Campus. North and South Campus' dormitories are modeled explicitly after the residential colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. The four East Campus dormitories were designed by William Rawn Associates and feature a modern, LEED-certified design constructed from Iowa limestone. All three campuses feature dormitory buildings connected by loggia, an architectural signature of the college. The loggia on South Campus is the only entirely closed loggia, featuring walls on all sides, while the loggias on East and North campus are only partially closed. From the time that the first dorm opened in 1915 until the fall of 1968, the nine north campus dorms were used exclusively for male students, and the six south campus dorms reserved for female students. The dorm halls house significantly fewer students than halls at other colleges. Most academic buildings are located on the southwestern quarter of campus. The athletic facilities are mostly located on the northeastern quarter, and some facilities are located north of 10th Avenue. In addition to the main campus, the college owns much of the adjacent property. Many administrative offices are located in converted houses across Park Street near the older academic buildings, and several residences are used for college-owned off-campus student housing. The college maintains a 365-acre (1.48 km2) environmental research area called the Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA). The U.S. Green Building Council awarded CERA's Environmental Education Center a gold certification. The building is the first in Iowa to receive the designation. During the 2000s, the College completed the Charles Benson Bear '39 Recreation and Athletic Center, the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, the renovation of the Robert Noyce '49 Science Center and the Joe Rosenfield '25 Student Center. Internationally renowned architect César Pelli designed the athletics center, the Joe Rosenfield '25 Student Center, and the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts. The college has recently embarked on a significant period of new construction, which is expected to last until 2034. The first phase of this construction process includes a comprehensive landscaping update, a new Admissions and Financial Aid building, and the Humanities and Social Sciences Complex (HSSC). This first phase will cost $140 million and is projected for completion in mid-2020. Grinnell College is nationally recognized as a leading undergraduate institution. In July 2006, The New York Times included Grinnell in its profile of the 20 colleges and universities of "established or rising scholarship" which are fast becoming viable alternatives to Ivy League institutions, and is considered one of the 30 Hidden Ivies. The 2018 annual ranking of U.S. News & World Report rates it tied for the 19th best liberal arts college in the nation and 4th for "Best Undergraduate Teaching." The College has been consistently ranked in the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation since the publication began in 1983. Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranks Grinnell 9th in its 2016 ranking of "best value" liberal arts colleges in the United States. Grinnell was ranked 15th in the 2015 Washington Monthly rankings, which focus on key outputs such as research, dollar value of scientific grants won, the number of graduates going on to earn Ph.D. degrees, and certain types of public service. In Forbes magazine's 2018 rankings of academic institutions, "America's Top Colleges" (which uses a non-traditional ranking system based on RateMyProfessors.com evaluations, notable alumni, student debt, percentage of students graduating in four years, and the number of students or faculty receiving prestigious awards), Grinnell College was ranked 57th among all colleges and universities, 28th among liberal arts colleges, and 8th in the Midwest. Data from 2006 placed Grinnell at number eight among all U.S. undergraduate institutions in the proportion of graduates who go on to earn Ph.D. degrees and 15th for graduating female Ph.D. earners. Grinnell College graduates enjoy a high acceptance rate to law school; over 46% of all applications submitted by students have been accepted by law schools. Unigo.com's 2010 college rankings place Grinnell College in the "Top 10 Colleges Where the Pursuit of Knowledge Goes Outside the Classroom". Grinnell had 171 full-time faculty in Fall 2015, 98% of whom possess a doctorate or the terminal degree in their field. At the end of each semester, students fill out course surveys which play a large role in determining faculty tenure decisions and merit raises. Grinnell's open curriculum encourages students to take initiative and to assume responsibility for their own courses of study. The sole core, or general education, requirement is the completion of the First-Year Tutorial, a one-semester, four-credit special topics seminar that stresses methods of inquiry, critical analysis, and writing skills. All other classes are chosen, with the direct guidance of a faculty member in the student's major department, by the student. The academic program at Grinnell College emphasizes active learning and one-on-one interactions between faculty members and students. There are few large lecture classes. In sharp contrast to all public universities and many private universities in the United States, no classes, labs or other courses are taught by graduate students. Grinnell College expects all students to possess significant academic achievements. For example, the math department does not offer any basic-level classes such as college algebra, trigonometry, or pre-calculus, and remedial classes are not offered in any subject. However, several independent, non-credit programs assist students who need help in a specific subject. Among these programs are the Library Lab, Math Lab, Reading Lab, Science Learning Center, and the Writing Lab. While private tutors can be hired, participation in these programs is free for any enrolled student. Grinnell has twenty-six major departments and ten interdisciplinary concentrations. Popular majors include Psychology, Economics, Biology, History, English, and Political Science. The minimum requirements in a major area of study are typically limited to 32 credits in a single department, with some departments additionally requiring a small number of classes in related fields that are deemed critical for all students in that field. For example, the biology program requires 32 credits in the biology department plus two classes in chemistry and one in math. Many students exceed the minimum requirements. To graduate, students are normally expected to complete at least 32 credits in a major field and a total of 124 credits of academic work. To encourage students to explore courses outside of their primary interest area, no more than 48 credits in one department and no more than 92 credits in one division are counted towards this requirement. Grinnell's commitment to the importance of off-campus study reflects the school's emphasis on social and political awareness and the international nature of its campus. Approximately 60 percent of all Grinnell students participate in at least one of more than seventy off-campus programs, including the Grinnell-in-London program and study tours of China, France, Greece, and Russia. These study programs in Europe (including Russia), Africa, the Near East, and Asia, as well as nine programs in Central and South America, provide the opportunity for research in many disciplines, from archaeology to education to mathematics. In addition to off-campus programs, Grinnell offers internship programs in such areas as urban studies, art, and marine biology for students interested in field-based learning and experience in professional settings. Second- and third-year students may apply for summer internship grants and receive credit for the experience. Semester programs in the United States include those at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Newberry Library, National Theatre Institute, and Grinnell-in-Washington, D.C. Grinnell also has invested in several interdisciplinary programs: the Center for Prairie Studies, Center for the Humanities, Center for International Studies, Noun Program in Women's Studies, Peace Studies Program, Rosenfield Public Affairs Program, and the Donald L. Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership. U.S. News & World Report classifies Grinnell's selectivity as "most selective." For Fall 2015, Grinnell received 6,414 freshmen applications; 1,598 were admitted (24.9%). Of the 41% of enrolled freshmen who submitted class rank, 81% were in the top 10% of their high school classes and 96% were in the top quarter. The middle 50% range of SAT scores for the enrolled freshmen was 640–740 for critical reading and 660–770 for math, while the ACT Composite range was 30–33. Grinnell College's admission selectivity rating, according to The Princeton Review in 2008, is a 95 out of 99. This rating is determined by several institutionally reported factors, including: the class rank, average standardized test scores, and average high school GPA of entering freshmen; the percentage of students who hail from out-of-state; and the percentage of applicants accepted. The primary factor in evaluating applicants is the quality of the education they have received, as shown by their transcript. Additional factors include standardized test scores, student writing skills, recommendations, and extracurricular activities. Early decision rounds are offered to students in the fall; most students apply in January of their final year in high school. Admission decisions are released by April 1 of each year. All students begin classes in August. The students' expectation of needing financial assistance does not affect the admission process. Despite the growing trend of U.S. students taking five or more years to finish an undergraduate degree, Grinnell College is strongly oriented towards students being enrolled full-time in exactly eight consecutive semesters at the college, although exceptions are available for medical issues and other emergencies. To avoid being suspended from the college, students must make "normal progress towards graduation." This generally means that the student must pass at least 12 credits of classes in each individual semester, with grades C or higher, and have accumulated enough credits to make graduation possible at the end of four years, which requires an average of 15.5 credits each semester. A student who is not making normal progress towards graduation is placed on academic probation and may be dismissed from the college. Nationwide, only 20% of college students complete a four-year undergraduate degree within four years, and only 57% of college students graduate within six years. However, at Grinnell College, 84% of students graduate within four years. This is the highest graduation rate of any college in Iowa. Grinnell's combined tuition, room, board, and fees for the 2013–2014 academic year is $53,654. Tuition and fees are $43,656 and room and board are $9,998. Grinnell College is one of a few dozen US colleges that maintain need-blind admissions and meets the full demonstrated financial need of all U.S. residents who are admitted to the college. Grinnell offers a large amount of need-based and merit-based aid in comparison with peer institutions. About 90% of students receive some form of financial aid. In 2013–2014, 24% of students enrolled at Grinnell College were receiving federal Pell Grants, which are generally reserved for students from low-income families. The average financial aid package is over $26,000. With the first-year students enrolled in the 2006–2007 school year, Grinnell has ended its need-blind admissions policy for international applicants. Under the old policy, students from countries outside the U.S. were admitted without any consideration of their ability to afford four years of study at the college. However, financial aid offers to these students were limited to half the cost of tuition. International students frequently carried very high workloads in an effort to pay the bills, and their academic performance often suffered. Under the new "need-sensitive" or "need-aware" policy, international students whose demonstrated financial needs can be met are given a slight admissions edge over applicants who can't. The twin hopes are that the enrolled international students will be able to dedicate more energy to their schoolwork, and also that this will ultimately allow the college to provide higher tuition grants to international students. Additionally, several extremely competitive "special scholarships" were set up to meet the full demonstrated financial needs for students from the following countries or regions: Africa, Eastern and Central Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Asia, Nepal, the People's Republic of China, as well as for native speakers of Russian regardless of citizenship, available every other year. According to data for students enrolled approximately in 2008, the median family income for students was US$119,700 (74th percentile). This is somewhat lower than typical for other highly selective schools. Compared to other schools in the Midwestern Conference and to other highly selective schools, Grinnell College enrolled more students whose family income was in the lowest quintile (6.3% of enrolled students). The school's varsity sports teams are named the Pioneers. They participate in eighteen intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division III level and in the Midwest Conference. In addition, Grinnell has several club sports teams that compete in non-varsity sports such as volleyball, sailing, water polo, ultimate and rugby union. Nearly one-third of recent Grinnell graduates participated in at least one of varsity sports while attending the college and the college has led the Midwest Conference in the total number of Academic All-Conference honorees in last six years. The men's water polo team, known as the Wild Turkeys, were runners-up in the 2007 College Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Collegiate National Club Championships hosted by Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. They also qualified for the tournament in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2014. The Men's Ultimate team, nicknamed the Grinnellephants, qualified in 2008 for its first Division III National Championship in Versailles, Ohio. The Women's Ultimate team, nicknamed The Sticky Tongue Frogs, tied for third place in the 2010 Division III National Championship in Appleton, Wisconsin. The success was repeated in 2011 when the men's team placed third in 2011 Division III National Championship in Buffalo. In February 2005, Grinnell became the first Division III school featured in a regular season basketball game by the ESPN network family in 30 years when it faced off against the Beloit Buccaneers on ESPN2. Grinnell lost 86–85. Grinnell College's basketball team attracted ESPN due to the team's run and gun style of playing basketball, known in Grinnell simply as "The System." Coach Dave Arseneault originated the Grinnell System that incorporates a continual full-court press, a fast-paced offense, an emphasis on offensive rebounding, a barrage of three-point shots and substitutions of five players at a time every 35 to 40 seconds. This allows a higher average playing time for more players than the "starters" and suits the Division III goals of scholar-athletes. "The System" has been criticized for not teaching the principles of defense. However, under "The System," Grinnell has won three conference championships over the past ten years and have regularly placed in the top half of the conference. Coach Arseneault's teams have set numerous NCAA scoring records and several individuals on the Grinnell team have led the nation in scoring or assists. On November 19, 2011 Grinnell player Griffin Lentsch set a new Division III individual scoring record in a game against Principia College. The 6-foot-4-inch (1.93 m) guard scored 89 points, besting the old record of 77, also set by a Pioneers player—Jeff Clement—in 1998. Lentsch made 27 of his 55 shots, including 15 three-pointers as Grinnell won the high-scoring game 145 to 97. On November 20, 2012 Grinnell's Jack Taylor broke Lentsch's scoring record, as well as the records for NCAA and collegiate scoring, in a 179–104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible. Taylor scored 138 points on 108 shots, along with 3 rebounds, 6 turnovers and 3 steals. Taylor went 27–71 from behind the arc. Taylor scored 109 points in a November 2013 game against Crossroads College to become the first player in NCAA history to have two 100-point games. Students at Grinnell adhere to an honor system known as "self-governance" wherein they are expected to govern their own choices and behavior with minimal direct intervention by the college administration. By cultivating a community based on freedom of choice, self-governance aims to encourage students to become responsible, respectful, and accountable members of the campus, town, and global community. The organizational structure of the Student Government Association, wielding a yearly budget of over $450,000 and unusually strong administrative influence, covers almost all aspects of student activity and campus life. Founded in November 2000, the student-run Student Endowment Investing Group (SEIG), actively invests over $100,000 of Grinnell College's endowment in the stock market. The group's mission is to provide interested students with valuable experience for future careers in finance. Service organizations are popular. The Alternative Break ("AltBreak") program takes students to pursue service initiatives during school holidays, and as of 2005, Grinnell had more alumni per capita serving in the Peace Corps than any other college in the nation. The college also runs its own post-graduation service program known as Grinnell Corps in Grinnell, China, Namibia, New Orleans, and Thailand, and has previously operated programs in Greece, Lesotho, Macau, and Nepal. The Scarlet and Black is the campus newspaper and KDIC (88.5 FM) is the student-run radio station. The Scarlet and Black, or the S&B is the first college newspaper west of the Mississippi River and is currently in its 130th year of publication. The newspaper, typically 16 tabloid pages in length, is published in print most Fridays of the school year and online. Students primarily write the newspaper, although occasional letters from alumni or faculty are included. Funding comes from student fees and advertisers. The school also has a monthly satirical newspaper, "The B&S", which features made-up articles about current events both on and off campus. In April 2007, Grinnell college students founded the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell, a student operated microfinance lending institution. The group collects donations for the purpose of making small loans at zero interest to business owners and artisans around the world. It is affiliated with kiva.org. Grinnell also has an entirely student-run textbook lending library on campus. Aimed at the economically disadvantaged yet open to all, it allows students to check out books for the semester for free, defraying the high cost of college textbooks. The library has no funding, relying solely on books donated. Since its founding in 2005, the collection has grown to thousands of books due to the generosity of the campus community. The library has expanded to include caps and gowns, which are lent out to graduating seniors every spring. Grinnell hosts the Titular Head film festival. In 2016, Grinnell students founded the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers, or UGSDW, to represent student workers in the College's dining hall. It was the first undergraduate student union at a private college in the United States. Since its founding, UGSDW has secured numerous wage increases and benefits for dining hall workers. In September 2017, UGSDW announced their intention to expand the union to all student workers and create "the most unionized campus in the country," which, if successful, would be another nationwide first. This effort received considerable resistance from College administration, which claims complete unionization "would negatively impact Grinnell’s mission and culture — shifting away from an individually advised, experiential, residential, liberal arts education in which work on campus plays a major educational role." UGSDW won their subsequent NLRB election by a margin of 5 to 1, but Grinnell College filed a request for review to the National Labor Relations Board. This move would likely have lead to an overturn of the Columbia decision, which affirms the right of student workers to organize across the United States. Acknowledging the possible ramifications of the College's actions, UGSDW withdrew their petition from NLRB consideration on December 14, 2018 but vowed to continue fighting for total expansion of representation on campus. Hallie Flanagan, 1911, pioneer of experimental theatre and director, the Federal Theatre Project of the Works Progress Administration; first woman to win a Guggenheim. Harry Hopkins, 1912, senior advisor to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, principal architect of New Deal, WPA administrator. Joseph Welch, 1914, head attorney for United States Army during Army-McCarthy Hearings. Gary Cooper, 1922, Academy Award-winning actor, best known for High Noon. Amy Clampitt, 1941, poet and critic. Robert Noyce, 1949, co-founder of Intel, co-inventor of integrated circuit (the other co-inventor, Jack Kilby, won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for the integrated circuit), National Medal of Science recipient. Herbie Hancock, 1960, Grammy Award-winning jazz musician and composer. Thomas Cech, 1970, co-winner of 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Tom Cole, 1971, U.S. Congressman of Oklahoma's 4th District. Edward Hirsch, 1972, poet and critic. Bernice King, 1985, American minister, best known as the youngest daughter of slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. Ian Roberts, 1987, actor and co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Kumail Nanjiani, 2001, Academy Award nominated writer, actor and comedian, best known for role on TV series Silicon Valley and co-authorship and performance in film The Big Sick. ^ As of June 30, 2017. "Tiny Iowa School Leads Endowments With 18.8% Investment Return". Bloomberg. 2017. ^ a b c d e f "Grinnell College Common Data Set 2015–2016" (PDF). Grinnell College. ^ "College Navigator - Grinnell College". National Center for Education Statistics. ^ Grinnell College Graphic Standards Manual (PDF). Grinnell College. Retrieved 2016-02-23. ^ "Grinnell College - Profile, Rankings". Archived from the original on 2017-02-27. ^ a b "Grinnell College - A private liberal arts college in Iowa". www.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-02. ^ "Grinnell College - The Princeton Review College Rankings & Reviews". www.princetonreview.com. Retrieved 2018-05-02. ^ "CLS Grants & Funding | Grinnell College". www.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-05. ^ "3–2 Engineering Program | Grinnell College". www.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-05. ^ Engineering, Thayer School of. "Dual-Degree Program | Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth". engineering.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-05. ^ "Recent Recipients | Grinnell College". www.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-19. ^ "Best Athletic Facilities | The Princeton Review". www.princetonreview.com. Retrieved 2018-05-02. ^ "Grinnell College Buys Downtown Properties, Plans Demolition of Vacant Building | Grinnell College". www.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-02. ^ "Grinnell College Golf Course | Iowa Public Golf | Iowa Golf Course". Grinnell College Golf Course. Retrieved 2018-05-02. ^ Grinnell, Josiah (1891). Men and Events of Forty Years. Boston: D. Lothrop. p. 87. Retrieved 12 February 2009. ^ Wall, Joseph Frazier. Grinnell College in the Nineteenth Century: From Salvation to Service. (Ames: Iowa State University Press), 91–92. ^ Morgan, J. (1969). "The Development of Sociology and the Social Gospel in America". Sociological Analysis. Oxford University Press. 30 (1): 42–53. doi:10.2307/3709933. JSTOR 3709933. . see footnote 4. ^ Handy, Robert (1950). "George D. Herron and the Kingdom Movement". Church History. American Society of Church History. 19 (2): 97–115. doi:10.2307/3162192. JSTOR 3162192. ^ McHale, Cathryn (1935). "Education for Women: The significance of Present-Day College Education for Women and Curriculum Changes". Journal of Higher Education. ^ "Grinnell Prize | Grinnell College". www.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-08. ^ S.J. Klingensmith. "Goodnow Hall". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-20. ^ S.J. Klingensmith. "Mears Hall". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-20. ^ "Grinnell College - William Rawn Associates". rawnarch.com. ^ "East Campus receives LEED certification". Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2013. ^ "Residence Halls". Grinnell College. Retrieved 18 February 2013. ^ United States Green Building Council. "Cera Environmental Education Center LEED Scorecard". Accessed May 14, 2007. ^ American Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. AAASHE Bulletin "Grinnell College Education Center Receives LEED Gold Certification", June 8, 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2008. ^ Hebel, Sara. "In Iowa, 2 Colleges Separated by 150 Miles and $1.37-Billion", The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 7, 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2008. ^ "Phase I of campus construction costs $140 million, prompts short-term endowment splurge". www.thesandb.com. Retrieved 2018-05-08. ^ "Timeline – Pushing beyond what's been done". comm.sites.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-08. ^ Archibold, R.C. "Off the Beaten Path", The New York Times, 30 July 2006. ^ Greene, Howard; Greene, Mathew (2009). The Hidden Ivies. HarperCollins. ^ "Best Colleges – National Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. 2018. Archived from the original on 2011-05-12. ^ "Kiplinger's Best College Values - 2016". Kiplinger's Personal Finance. December 2015. ^ "2015 Liberal Arts College Rankings". Washington Monthly. ^ Howard, Caroline (26 June 2018). "America's Top Colleges: The schools that matter most". Forbes. ^ Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium. "Weighted Baccalaureate Origins Study." 2006. ^ Unigo. "Nietzschean Supermen (and Superwomen)". unigo.com. ^ "SamR's Site: About End-Of-Course Evaluations". www.cs.grinnell.edu. ^ "Mathematics and Statistics courses offered". Archived from the original on 2010-06-20. ^ "Grinnell College Common Data Set 2016–2017" (PDF). Grinnell College. ^ "Grinnell College Common Data Set 2014–2015" (PDF). Grinnell College. ^ "Grinnell College Common Data Set 2013–2014" (PDF). Grinnell College. ^ "Grinnell College Common Data Set 2012–2013" (PDF). Grinnell College. ^ "Best Colleges – National Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. 2016. ^ The Princeton Review. Grinnell College. Retrieved 23 November 2008. ^ Grinnell College Admission FAQ Archived 2008-05-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 May 2008. ^ Grinnell College. "Academic Catalog: Academic Regulations" ^ Stixrud, William; Johnson, Ned (2018-11-19). "When a College Student Comes Home to Stay". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-06. ^ "Best Colleges: Grinnell College". US News and World Report. 2018. ^ Fleig, Shelby (22 October 2018). "Grinnell named best college in Iowa, but not for its tuition. Where does your school rank?". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2018-12-06. ^ Grinnell College, Office of Admissions Archived 2009-08-31 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 December 2012. ^ Grinnell College, Office of Admission. Tuition & Fees Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 February 2007. ^ "Economic Diversity Among the Top 25 Ranked Schools: National Liberal Arts Colleges". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 22 February 2016. ^ College Board. "College Board Profile of Grinnell College". Retrieved 2 October 2007. ^ Leavens, Kennedy. "Need-sensitivity? Admissions may start looking at international students’ bank accounts" Archived 2008-10-21 at the Wayback Machine, The Scarlet & Black, February 28, 2003. ^ Grinnell College. "International Student Financial Aid Policy". ^ a b "Economic diversity and student outcomes at Grinnell". The New York Times. 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-02. ^ "Men's Club Schedules". CWPA. 2013. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved February 2, 2013. ^ "The Sticky Tongue Frogs Grinnell Womens Ultimate". Archived from the original on 2010-06-19. ^ Michael Aguilar (2011-05-24). "News 2011 D-III College Championships – Sunday Open Recap". Usaultimate.org. Retrieved 2016-02-23. ^ Amy Farnum. NCAA Sports. Grinnell Goes Big-Time. January 28, 2005. ^ D3Hoops.com Beloit 86, Grinnell 85 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. February 3, 2005. ^ Official 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book, NCAA.org Archived 2007-03-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 March 2007. ^ "Grinnell College star shatters Division III scoring record". Rivals.com via Yahoo Sports. 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2011-11-22. ^ "Grinnell's Taylor pours in NCAA-record 138 points". D3sports.com. 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2012-11-20. ^ "D3 Grinnell player scores 138 points in a game to smash NCAA record - College Basketball News - FOX Sports on MSN". FOX Sports. 2012-11-20. ^ Miller, Kerry (20 November 2013). "Grinnell Super Scorer Jack Taylor Opens Up About Stats, Style of Play". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 20 November 2013. ^ "Jack Taylor tops 100 points again". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013. ^ "Self Governance – Student Affairs | Grinnell College". Grinnell.edu. Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2010-02-28. ^ "Pioneer Capital Investments". web.grinnell.edu. ^ Peace Corps. Peace Corps Announces the Colleges and Universities that Have Produced the Most Peace Corps Volunteers Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. January 24, 2005. ^ Grinnell College Center for Careers, Life, and Service. Grinnell Corps. Retrieved 18 November 2014. ^ Grinnell College, Student Government Association, Grinnellsga.com Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 13 July 2008. ^ "Commencement", Grinnell.edu, Retrieved 18 November 2014. ^ a b "In Iowa, Pioneering Undergrad Workers Union Keeps Growing | Labor Notes". ^ "UGSDW negotiates 2.7 percent pay raise |". ^ "These Iowa students want their college to be the 'most unionized campus in the country'". ^ "Student Unionization | Grinnell College". ^ "Grinnell College, Running Scared… to Trump – UGSDW". ^ "Iowa College Becomes Battleground for Student Worker Unionization". ^ "NLRB Rules Graduate Students Are Employees with the Right to Unionize". ^ "UGSDW Withdraws Petition, Seeks to Preserve Rights of Student Workers; Grinnell Opposes". ^ a b "Harry Hopkins". U-S-History.com. Retrieved 25 February 2007. ^ "Joseph Nye Welch Biography". The Biography Channel. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2007. 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2019-04-25T14:14:42Z

http://en.turkcewiki.org/wiki/Grinnell_College

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation is a conserved mechanism that controls mRNA translation and stability. A key protein that promotes polyadenylation-induced translation of mRNAs in maturing Xenopus oocytes is the cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein (CPEB). During this meiotic transition, CPEB is subjected to phosphorylation-dependent ubiquitination and partial destruction, which is necessary for successive waves of polyadenylation of distinct mRNAs. Here we identify the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1 as an important factor mediating CPEB destruction. Pin1 interacts with CPEB in an unusual manner in which it occurs prior to CPEB phosphorylation and prior to Pin1 activation by serine 71 dephosphorylation. Upon induction of maturation, CPEB becomes phosphorylated, which occurs simultaneously with Pin1 dephosphorylation. At this time, the CPEB-Pin1 interaction requires cdk1-catalyzed CPEB phosphorylation on S/T-P motifs. Subsequent CPEB ubiquitination and destruction are mediated by a conformational change induced by Pin1 isomerization of CPEB. Similar to M phase progression in maturing Xenopus oocytes, the destruction of CPEB during the mammalian cell cycle requires Pin1 as well. These data identify Pin1 as a new and essential factor regulating CPEB degradation. Cytoplasmic polyadenylation is a widespread phenomenon that controls the translation and stability of mRNAs. Although some molecular details may differ according to species and/or cell type, much of the biochemistry of cytoplasmic polyadenylation that has been elucidated in Xenopus oocytes during meiotic progression serves to illustrate the general features of this regulatory process (1). A subset of RNAs that acquire a near-constitutive and typical long poly(A) tail in the nucleus undergo deadenylation in the cytoplasm where they are stored in a translational silent form (2). When the oocytes resume meiosis in response to hormonal (progesterone) stimulation, the activation of a kinase cascade culminates in poly(A) tail lengthening and the initiation of translation (3, 4). The 3′ untranslated region (UTR)-residing cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE) dictates which mRNAs undergo these changes in poly(A). Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein (CPEB), an RNA recognition motif (RRM) and zinc finger-containing protein, associates with the CPE and a number of other factors, including Gld2, a noncanonical poly(A) polymerase; PARN, a deadenylating enzyme; symplekin, a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assembly factor; and maskin, a eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) binding protein. Gld2 and PARN are constitutively active, but PARN activity is the more robust, and thus, cytoplasmic CPE-containing mRNAs are deadenylated and stored in an inactive form (5, 6). Maskin binding to eIF4E prevents the assembly of the initiation complex on the 5′ end of the mRNA, thus inhibiting translation (7, 8). Upon reentry into the meiotic divisions, CPEB is subjected to two waves of phosphorylation with two different outcomes. In the first wave, CPEB is phosphorylated by the kinase Aurora A on serine residue 174, which facilitates PARN expulsion from the RNP complex, resulting in Gld2-catalyzed polyadenylation of target mRNAs (5, 6, 9). In a second wave, CPEB undergoes six additional phosphorylation events that are catalyzed by cdk1; these phosphorylations are necessary for ubiquitin-mediated partial destruction of CPEB at the end of meiotic maturation (10). Although several signaling events lead to ubiquitination and protein destruction, a prevalent one involves phosphorylation of S/T-P (Ser/Thr-Pro) motifs (11–13). For example, the SCF (Skp1–cullin–F-box) E3 complex directs phosphoproteins to be ubiquitinated and destroyed (14, 15). In many cases, phosphorylation-mediated protein destruction involves the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1, which binds phosphorylated S/T-P motifs and enhances a normally slow cis-trans isomerization of the peptide bond. Pin1 is composed of an amino-terminal WW (Trp-Trp) domain that serves as a phosphoprotein binding domain and a carboxy-terminal peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) domain, which is essential for catalysis. Because of its broad range of target proteins, Pin1 functions in diverse cellular processes, such as cell cycle control, transcription, splicing regulation, DNA replication, and the DNA damage response (16). Not surprisingly, Pin1 activity is tightly regulated, mainly by phosphorylation, and its misregulation is associated with numerous human diseases, including cancer and neurologic disorders (17, 18). The conformational changes induced by Pin1 affect the properties of a variety of target proteins. Nevertheless, changes in protein stability are the most common consequence (12). It has been suggested that the cis/trans isomerization and subsequent conformational change imposed by Pin1 establishes a proper three-dimensional architecture for E3 ligase (such as the SCF complex) recognition, resulting in the ubiquitination and destruction of target proteins (12, 14, 19). We surmised that Pin1 might be involved in CPEB ubiquitination and degradation because it requires cdk1-catalyzed CPEB phosphorylation on S/T-P pairs (10). Here, we identify Pin1 as a major component of the CPEB destruction machinery. Surprisingly, we find that CPEB and Pin1 interact in arrested (immature) oocytes prior to any detectable CPEB phosphorylation. Following hormonal treatment to induce meiotic progression, Pin1 is dephosphorylated and, as a result, its activity is elevated. Coincidentally, CPEB is phosphorylated on 6 S/T-P pairs, which alters its interaction with Pin1 such that their association becomes CPEB phosphorylation dependent. By using a combination of neutralizing Pin1 antibody, Pin1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) depletion, and ectopic expression of wild-type (WT) and mutant Pin1 proteins, we find that it directly mediates CPEB ubiquitination and destruction in maturing Xenopus oocytes and cycling mammalian cells. Regents and antibodies.The antibodies used in this study include those against Pin1 (H-123; Santa Cruz Biotechnology), CPEB (20), hemagglutinin (HA; Covance), tubulin (Sigma), green fluorescent protein (GFP; Abcam), and cyclin B1 (a kind gift of James Maller, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center). Recombinant Flag-ubiquitin was purchased from Boston Biochem, nontargeting siRNA from Dharmacon, and Pin1 targeting siRNA (Hs_PIN1_5 FlexiTube siRNA) from Qiagen. Immunoprecipitation assays.Fifty oocytes [some injected with 10 ng of mRNA synthesized with an Ambion mMESSAGE kit and polyadenylated in vitro with Escherichia coli poly(A) polymerase (New England BioLabs)] or HEK293T cells from one 10-cm dish were homogenized in lysis buffer containing 150 mM NaCl, 1% NP-40, 0.5% deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.7), 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 1 mM dithiothreitol, and protease inhibitor cocktail (Roche). The lysis buffer in some experiments also contained 10 μg/ml RNase A (Sigma). Clarified supernatants were incubated with Dynabeads protein A (Invitrogen) premixed with Pin1 or CPEB antibody or, as a control, IgG overnight at 4°C. The beads were washed extensively with lysis buffer before elution in SDS sample buffer. GST pulldown assays.Glutathione-Sepharose 4B (Amersham) coupled with glutathione S-transferase (GST) or GST-Pin1 and washed with 150 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8), 1 mM MgCl2, and 0.1% NP-40 was mixed with 1 mg of oocyte extract overnight at 4°C. The beads were then washed, and the protein was eluted with 20 mM reduced glutathione. The proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE and visualized by Western analysis or autoradiography. Pin1 phosphorylation and activity assays.To examine Pin1 phosphorylation, oocytes, some of which were matured with progesterone, were homogenized in 80 mM β-glycerophosphate, 20 mM EGTA, 15 mM MgCl2, 50 mM NaVO4, and a protease inhibitor cocktail. The lysate was centrifuged for 5 min at 4°C, and the kinase assay performed at 37°C for 30 min in a 50-μl reaction volume containing 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 10 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, 1 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), 1 mM EGTA, 0.16 mCi/ml [γ-32P]ATP, and 20 μl oocyte extract. The beads were then washed, and the protein was eluted with reduced glutathione. The method outlined by Nechama et al. (21) was used to investigate Pin1 activity. Briefly, oocytes were homogenized in reaction buffer containing100 mM NaCl, 50 mM HEPES (pH 7), 2 mM DTT, and 0.04 mg/ml bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the lysates were cleared by centrifugation at 12,000 × g for 10 min (4°C). PPIase activity was measured using equal amounts of oocyte cytoplasmic lysates and α-chymotrypsin (Sigma-Aldrich) using a synthetic tetrapeptide substrate Suc-Ala-Glu-Pro-Phe-pNa (Peptides International). Absorption at 390 nM was measured using an Ultraspec 2000 spectrophotometer. The results were expressed as the mean of three independent measurements at each time point. Analysis of Pin1-CPEP interaction in mammalian cells.Plasmid-transduced HEK293T cells were split into four 10-cm plates and cultured for 24 h. The medium was then replaced with Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) lacking l-methionine and l-cysteine (Invitrogen) and then supplemented with [35S]methionine (6 μCi/ml) for 45 min. The cells were then washed with cold phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and replaced with fresh DMEM supplement with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS). At the indicated times, the cells were washed with cold PBS, lysed, and processed for protein analysis. For cell cycle analysis, HEK293T cells were arrested at S phase using double thymidine block as described previously (22). Briefly, 30% of confluent cells were incubated with DMEM supplemented with 2 mM thymidine for 18 h. The cells were washed and maintained in fresh DMEM for 9 h previous to a second block with 2 mM thymidine for another 17 h. The cells were then released by replacement of the culture medium. At the different time points after the release, the cells were washed and fixed using ice-cold 95% ethanol. The cells were sorted at the University of Massachusetts Medical Flow Cytometry Core Facility. Statistics.Values are reported as means ± standard errors of the means (SEM) unless otherwise stated; the data were analyzed by a Student's two-tailed t test with the significance set at a P value of <0.05. Pin1 interacts with CPEB in a phosphorylation-independent manner.To investigate the possible involvement of Pin1 in CPEB destruction, extracts from Xenopus oocytes treated with progesterone to induce oocyte maturation were probed for Pin1, CPEB, and tubulin. The Western blots in Fig. 1A show that, as expected, CPEB decreased in amount as maturation progressed (10) while Pin1 levels were mostly unchanged. Because CPEB-mediated destruction requires cdk1-catalyzed, proline-directed serine/threonine phosphorylation (10), which also serves as recognition sites for Pin1, we examined a possible CPEB and Pin1 interaction. Extracts from oocytes treated with progesterone for varying times were used for immunoprecipitation of Pin1 and Western blotting for both Pin1 and CPEB (Fig. 1B). Pin1 and CPEB coimmunoprecipitated at 2, 4, and 6 h after progesterone treatment, which was coincident with CPEB phosphorylation (10). This interaction occurred in the presence or absence of RNase, indicating that RNA binding was not essential. Surprisingly, however, Pin1 and CPEB coimmunoprecipitated even from oocytes not exposed to progesterone when CPEB is not phosphorylated (3, 10). This unexpected and highly unusual result prompted us to examine this interaction further in a number of different ways. First, RNA encoding Flag-Pin1 was injected into oocytes, followed by an overnight incubation and Flag immunoprecipitation and Western blotting for Flag and CPEB. Figure 1C shows that CPEB was coimmunoprecipitated with ectopically expressed Pin1 from oocytes not exposed to progesterone. Second, to assess CPEB phosphorylation during maturation, some oocytes injected with [γ-32P]ATP and treated with progesterone for 4 h were used for CPEB immunoprecipitation and phosphorimaging; Fig. 1D shows that 32P-labeled CPEB was detected after, but not before progesterone application. Third, extracts from control or progesterone-treated oocytes were applied to GST or GST-Pin1 columns, followed by Western blotting for CPEB and tubulin as a negative control. We also blotted for maskin, a well-known CPEB-interacting protein (23) that is phosphorylated by cdk1 after progesterone treatment (8) and serves as a positive control for the GST-Pin1 pulldown (Fig. 1E). CPEB interacted with Pin1 irrespective of whether the oocytes were exposed to progesterone. On the other hand, maskin interaction with Pin1 was evident only after progesterone treatment when maskin is phosphorylated on S/T-P motifs. Fourth, to assess whether CPEB from immature oocytes might be phosphorylated, which previously went undetected, oocyte extracts were treated with calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase (CIP) and then subjected to CPEB-Pin1 coimmunoprecipitation. Figure 1F demonstrates a strong interaction between these proteins irrespective of CIP treatment. Finally, to identify the Pin1 interaction site(s) on CPEB prior to its phosphorylation, mRNA encoding HA-tagged CPEB deletion mutants (Fig. 1G) were injected into oocytes and, after overnight incubation, extracts were subjected to Pin1 immunoprecipitation and Western blotted for HA. Figure 1H (center panel) shows that the deletion of three regions, the RRMs, residues 48 to 183, and residues 211 to 290 abrogated the CPEB-Pin1 interaction. To further assess the need for these regions for Pin1 interaction, the different CPEB mutant proteins were ectopically expressed in oocytes as before. Extracts were then applied to GST or GST-Pin1 columns, followed by Western blotting for HA (Fig. 1H, right panel). As with the coimmunoprecipitation assay, deletion of the RRMs, residues 48 to 183, and residues 211 to 290 prevented the CPEB-Pin1 interaction. To identify the minimal region needed for Pin1 interaction, the three regions deleted in the experiments noted above were HA tagged and ectopically expressed by mRNA injection (Fig. 1I). Pin1 interacted with CPEB residues 48 to 183 but not the RRMs. We were unable to detect residues 211 to 290, probably because of the region's small size (∼7 kDa). We conclude that Pin1 associates with CPEB residues 48 to 183 in a phosphorylation-independent manner. CPEB and Pin1 interact in a phosphorylation-independent manner. (A) Western blots of CPEB and Pin1 during progesterone-induced oocyte maturation. Tubulin served as a loading control. (B) Extracts from oocytes exposed to progesterone for 0 to 6 h were subjected to Pin1 immunoprecipitation in the absence or presence of RNase A and Western blotting for Pin1, CPEB, and tubulin. The input represents 10% of the total lysate. (C) Oocytes were injected with mRNA encoding Flag-Pin1 and subjected to Flag immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis for Flag and CPEB. Control refers to nonspecific IgG immunoprecipitation. (D) Oocytes were injected with [γ-32P]ATP, followed by treatment with progesterone for 0 or 4 h, immunoprecipitation of CPEB, and SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. (E) Extracts from oocytes exposed to progesterone for 0 to 6 h were applied to GST or GST-Pin1 columns, followed by Western blotting for CPEB, tubulin, and maskin. (F) Oocyte extracts were treated with calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase (CIP) prior to immunoprecipitation of Pin1 and CPEB and blotting for CPEB, Pin1, and tubulin. (G) Schematic of CPEB deletion mutants. (H) mRNA encoding HA-tagged CPEB deletion mutants (numbered in panel G) were injected into oocytes, followed by Pin1 immunoprecipitation and Western blotting for Pin1 and HA (center panel) or chromatography on a GST or GST-Pin1 column (right panels). The asterisk denotes the HA-CPEB proteins. (I) mRNA encoding HA-tagged CPEB proteins 48 to 183 and RRM were injected into oocytes, followed by Pin1 immunoprecipitation and Western blotting for HA and Pin1. The asterisk denotes CPEB HA 48–183. Pin1 interacts with CPEB in two steps.The data in Fig. 1 demonstrate that the interaction of CPEB with Pin1 is CPEB phosphorylation independent in immature (G2-arrested) oocytes. To evaluate the interaction of Pin1 and CPEB in vitro and the contribution of each of the Pin1 domains to this interaction, mRNAs encoding WT CPEB and the Δ48–183 CPEB mutant were translated in rabbit reticulocyte lysates in the presence of [35S]methionine. The lysates were then subjected to pulldown experiments using GST, GST-Pin1, and GST-WW and GST-PPIase proteins, which correspond to the Pin1 WW domain and Pin1 PPIase domains, respectively. As expected, GST-Pin1 interacted with full-length CPEB and not with the Δ48–183 CPEB mutant (Fig. 2A). Interestingly, full-length CPEB interacted with the GST-WW domain to the same extent as it did with GST-Pin1 but failed to interact with the GST-PPIase domain alone. As negative controls, neither of them interacted with the Δ48–183 CPEB mutant. These results indicate that the interaction between CPEB and Pin1, prior to detectable CPEB phosphorylation, requires the WW domain and the region spanning amino acids 48 to 183 of CPEB. Because CPEB has six known cdk1 S/T-P phosphorylation sites (10), we decided to investigate whether they might be involved in the Pin1-CPEB interaction after oocyte maturation. Consequently, mRNAs encoding WT HA-CPEB or a HA-CPEB mutant with alanine substitutions for the six phospho-S/T residues (referred to as CPEB-6A) were injected into oocytes that were then stimulated with progesterone. As demonstrated previously, Pin1 interacted with WT CPEB both before and after progesterone treatment (Fig. 2B). However, although CPEB-6A interacted with Pin1 prior to progesterone stimulation, it interacted only very weakly after stimulation (Fig. 2B). To examine this further, extracts from oocytes either before or after 4 h of progesterone treatment were mixed with bacteriophage λ phosphatase, which dephosphorylates S/T residues. The extracts were then subjected to chromatography on GST or GST-Pin1 columns followed by Western blotting for CPEB. As shown in Fig. 2C and D, the CPEB interaction with Pin1 before progesterone treatment was not affected by λ phosphatase treatment. Conversely, treatment of mature oocyte extracts with λ phosphatase reduced the CPEB-Pin1 interaction by more than 50%. These data suggest that CPEB interacts with Pin1 in two steps: step 1 occurs in immature oocytes and does not involve phosphorylation, while step 2 takes place after progesterone treatment and is mediated by the phosphorylation of CPEB on one or more S/T-P pairs. A two-step interaction between CPEB and Pin1. (A) mRNA encoding WT HA-tagged CPEB or the Δ48–183 CPEB mutant was in vitro translated in the presence of [35S]methionine and used for pulldown assays with GST-Pin1, the GST-WW domain, or the GST-PPIase domain as the bait. (B) mRNA encoding WT HA-tagged CPEB or a CPEB mutant with alanine substitutions for serine or threonine residues that are phosphorylated during maturation (CPEB 6A) was injected into oocytes that were then treated with progesterone for 0 or 4 h. Pin1 was then immunoprecipitated and Western blots probed for Pin1 or HA. A mock immunoprecipitation with nonspecific IgG was also performed. (C) Extracts from oocytes treated with progesterone for 0 or 4 h were treated with λ phosphatase and then applied to GST or GST-Pin1 columns. The eluted material was probed for CPEB and tubulin. At right is a Coomassie blue-stained gel showing the integrity of recombinant GST and GST-Pin1. (D) Quantification of the three experiments in panel B. The error bars refer to SEM, and the asterisk indicates statistical significance (P < 0.05). (E) Extracts from untreated or progesterone-treated oocytes were applied to GST, GST-Pin1, GST-Pin1 W34A, or GST-Pin1 K63A columns, followed by Western blotting for CPEB. (F) Control or progesterone-treated oocyte extracts were reciprocally immunoprecipitated for CPEB and Pin1 and blotted for Pin1 and CPEB, respectively. To assess the contribution of each of the Pin1 domains to the interaction with CPEB either before or after progesterone treatment, we altered GST-Pin1 in either its WW domain (W34A) or its PPIase domain (K63A) and used these mutant proteins for GST-Pin1 pulldown experiments with oocyte extracts before or after progesterone treatment. As shown in Fig. 2E, GST-Pin1 and both mutant proteins interacted with CPEB from untreated oocyte extracts. In contrast, when progesterone-treated oocyte extracts were used, the GST-Pin1 W34A mutant protein failed to interact with CPEB. This result reinforces the notion that the Pin1-CPEB interaction is altered upon CPEB phosphorylation and becomes dependent on phospho-S/P sites. It is worth mentioning that the Pin1 K63A mutation had little effect on the Pin1-CPEB interaction compared to the W34A mutation, which emphasizes the importance of the WW domain in the second step of the interaction. These results suggest that there may be an enhanced Pin1 affinity for phosphorylated CPEB. Because CPEB is a highly insoluble protein, we could not determine the kinetics of CPEB-Pin1 interaction in vitro with purified components. Therefore, we performed a reciprocal immunoprecipitation of Pin1 or CPEB from either untreated or progesterone-treated oocytes and blotted for CPEB or Pin1. As shown in Fig. 2F, when Pin1 was immunoprecipitated, it interacted with CPEB from both untreated and progesterone-treated oocytes. As expected, this interaction was reduced after progesterone treatment because CPEB is partially destroyed in mature oocytes. However, although the reciprocal experiment shows that less CPEB was immunoprecipitated from mature versus immature oocyte extracts, nearly the same amount of Pin1 was coprecipitated from each extract. These results suggest that the elevated Pin1-CPEB interaction after progesterone treatment might be the result of an increased affinity of phospho-CPEB for Pin1. Pin1 is phosphorylated and inactive prior to progesterone treatment.Pin1 catalytic activity is tightly regulated under normal physiological conditions and is mediated by at least two posttranslational events: protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation of serine 16, which affects its ability to interact with target proteins (24), and DAPK1-catalyzed phosphorylation of serine 71, which inhibits its isomerization activity (25). An additional phosphorylation on serine 65 is catalyzed by PLK (polo-like kinase) (26); however, this phosphorylation event seems to increase Pin1 protein stability rather than affect its activity. To assess whether Pin1 activity is regulated during oocyte maturation, extracts from control and progesterone-treated oocytes were incubated with a synthetic peptide containing a Pin1 interaction site in a cis orientation attached to p-nitroanilide; Pin1 catalyzes a relatively slow peptidyl-prolyl isomerization of the target peptide to the trans conformation, allowing for chymotrypsin cleavage and release of the p-nitroanilide moiety, which is monitored by an absorbance of 390 nm of light (Fig. 3A). Figure 3B shows that progesterone treatment significantly elevated Pin1 activity compared to untreated controls. Pin1 is activated during oocyte maturation. (A) Schematic to measure Pin1 activity (see the text for details). (B) Extracts from oocytes treated with progesterone for 0 to 6 h were used to assay for Pin1 activity as illustrated in panel A. (C) Extracts from oocytes treated with progesterone for 0 or 4 h were incubated with GST-Pin1 and [γ-32P]ATP; GST-Pin1 was then detected by Coomassie blue staining, and 32P-labeled GST-Pin1 was detected by autoradiography. (D) Oocytes were injected with [γ-32P]ATP, followed by progesterone treatment, immunoprecipitation of Pin1, and detection by Western blotting and autoradiography. (E) Oocytes and mature oocyte extracts were incubated with [γ-32P]ATP and GST-Pin1 or the GST-Pin1 S16A or GST-Pin1 S71A mutant proteins and analyzed by autoradiography. The lower panel shows Coomassie blue-stained GST-Pin1 isoforms. To examine whether the activation of Pin1 was due to changes in phosphorylation, recombinant GST-Pin1 was incubated with [γ-32P]ATP and extracts from untreated or progesterone-treated oocytes. Figure 3C demonstrates that Pin1 was strongly phosphorylated when incubated with extracts from control oocytes, and this phosphorylation was reduced by ∼60% when incubated with extracts from progesterone-treated oocytes. To investigate whether Pin1 phosphorylation occurs in vivo, [γ-32P]ATP was injected into oocytes that were then incubated with progesterone for 4 h, followed by Pin1 immunoprecipitation. Figure 3D shows that Pin1 was phosphorylated in control oocytes but that this phosphorylation was reduced by almost 70% after progesterone treatment. To determine which residues on Pin1 were phosphorylated in oocytes, serine 16 or 71 was mutated to alanine and the same experiment as in Fig. 3C was performed. As before, GST-Pin1 was phosphorylated using extracts derived from untreated oocytes, which was reduced when extracts from progesterone-treated oocytes were used (Fig. 3E). There was no detectable phosphorylation of the GST-Pin1 S71A mutant protein irrespective of whether extracts from control or progesterone-treated oocytes were used. Interestingly, mutation of serine 16 did not abrogate Pin1 phosphorylation when extracts from control oocytes were used, indicating that serine 16 is not phosphorylated prior to maturation. However, in contrast to WT GST-Pin1, there was no reduction in phosphorylation of the GST-Pin1 S16A mutant protein when extracts from progesterone-treated oocyte extracts were used in the assay. This result might indicate that serine 16 is required for serine 71 dephosphorylation during maturation. Therefore, Pin1 is phosphorylated on serine 71 prior to oocyte maturation and is inactive. After progesterone-induced maturation, Pin1 is dephosphorylated and consequently activated. Pin1 promotes CPEB destruction.Nearly simultaneous with Pin1 activation are cdk1-catalyzed CPEB phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and partial destruction. We suspected that these events would be linked and began to test this hypothesis by inhibiting Pin1 activity via injection of neutralizing Pin1 antibody into oocytes. Although control IgG injection had no effect on Pin1 isomerase activity during maturation, Pin1 antibody significantly inhibited its activation (Fig. 4A). To assess whether Pin1 mediates CPEB destruction, oocytes were injected with nonspecific IgG or Pin1 antibody, followed by progesterone treatment. The Western blot in Fig. 4B shows that, compared to IgG, Pin1 antibody lowered the rate of CPEB destruction. This result was also confirmed in Fig. 4C; in this case, oocytes injected with IgG or Pin1 antibody were incubated with [35S]methionine for 3 h and then with radio-inert methionine, followed by progesterone treatment and immunoprecipitation of CPEB. Pin1 antibody lowered the rate of destruction of newly synthesized CPEB. Pin1 enhances ubiquitination and destruction of CPEB. (A) Extracts from oocytes, some of which were treated with progesterone, were injected with IgG or Pin1 antibody, and the cis-trans isomerization analysis as depicted in Fig. 3A was performed. (B) Oocytes were injected with IgG or Pin1 antibody, treated with progesterone, and immunoblotted for CPEB or tubulin. (C) Oocytes were injected with IgG or Pin1 antibody, followed by incubation in [35S]methionine-containing medium for 3 h and progesterone treatment. At the indicated times, the extracts were subjected to CPEB immunoprecipitation and analysis by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. (D) Oocytes were injected with Flag-Pin1 or control RNA, followed by incubation in [35S]methionine-containing media for 3 h and then treated with progesterone. At the indicated times, the extracts were subjected to CPEB immunoprecipitation and analysis by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. (E) Oocytes were injected with Flag-ubiquitin peptide together with IgG or Pin1 antibody. CPEB was then immunoprecipitated and probed for CPEB and Flag-ubiquitin (left) or Flag immunoprecipitated and probed for CPEB (right). NS refers to a nonspecific band. (F) Oocytes were injected with IgG or Pin1 antibody, treated with progesterone, and then probed in Western blots for cyclin B and tubulin. We next performed a reciprocal experiment by examining whether CPEB destruction would be accelerated by the ectopic expression of Pin1. Oocytes were injected with Flag-Pin1 or control noncoding RNA, followed by metabolic labeling of protein with [35S]methionine for 3 h. The oocytes where then chased with radio-inert methionine and treated with progesterone for the indicated times. CPEB was then immunoprecipitated and analyzed by SDS-PAGE (Fig. 4D). Converse to the data shown with neutralizing Pin1 antibody, ectopic Pin1 expression enhanced CPEB destruction, reducing its half-life (t1/2) from 5 h in control oocytes to ∼3 h. These results demonstrate that Pin1 accelerates CPEB destruction. The phosphorylation of CPEB leads to its ubiquitination and destruction (10, 27, 28). To assess whether Pin1 controls CPEB ubiquitination, oocytes were injected with Flag-ubiquitin peptide and IgG or Pin1 antibody, followed by a 1-h incubation with MG132 to prevent proteosome-mediated protein destruction. The oocytes were then incubated with progesterone, followed by CPEB or Flag immunoprecipitation and probing of Western blots for Flag or CPEB. Figure 4E (left panel) shows that CPEB antibody precipitated Flag-ubiquitin at 4 and 6 h after progesterone treatment when IgG was injected but not when Pin1 antibody was injected. Conversely, immunoprecipitation of Flag and probing with CPEB antibody again showed ubiquitinated CPEB when IgG was injected but not when Pin1 antibody was injected. In Xenopus oocytes, CPEB destruction is vital for meiotic progression and cyclin B1 mRNA translation (10). To assess whether Pin1 control of CPEB destruction is necessary for cyclin B1 synthesis, oocytes were injected with IgG or Pin1 antibody as above, followed by progesterone treatment and Western blotting for cyclin B1. As demonstrated previously (10), cyclin B1 synthesis increased dramatically after progesterone treatment, which was abrogated by Pin1 antibody (Fig. 4F). These data show a close correlation for Pin1-mediated CPEB destruction, which is necessary for cyclin B1 mRNA translation. Pin1 regulates CPEB destruction in mammalian cells.We next determined whether Pin1 regulates CPEB activity in mammalian cells. To do this, Flag-CPEB was ectopically expressed in HEK293 cells, followed by Pin1 immunoprecipitation and Western blotting for Flag. As shown in Fig. 5A, tagged CPEB was coimmunoprecipitated with Pin1. We also pulse-labeled cells coexpressing Flag-CPEB and GFP-Pin1, or GFP as a control, with [35S]methionine, followed by a chase with radio-inert methionine. CPEB was then immunoprecipitated and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Ectopic Pin1 reduced the half-life of CPEB by >50%, from ∼6 h in control cells to less than 3 h in GFP-Pin1–expressing cells (Fig. 5B). Conversely, depletion of Pin1 with siRNA resulted in a 2-fold increase in the CPEB half-life, from 5 h to almost 9 h (Fig. 5C). Therefore, Pin1 regulates CPEB destruction in mammalian cells and in Xenopus oocytes. Pin1 controls CPEB destruction in mammalian cells. (A) HEK293T cells were transfected with Flag-CPEB, followed by IgG or Pin1 immunoprecipitation and Western analysis for Flag and Pin1. (B) Cells cotransfected with Flag-CPEB and either control GFP vector or GFP-Pin1 were pulse-labeled with [35S]methionine, followed by a chase of radio-inert methionine for the indicated times. The extracts were subjected to Flag immunoprecipitation and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. (C) Cells were cotransfected with Flag-CPEB and either control or Pin1 siRNA followed by pulse-labeling with 35S-methionine and chased with radio-inert methionine for the times indicated, immunoprecipitated for Flag and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. The quantification of 3 experiments is shown on the bottom panel. (D) Cells expressing ectopic WT or W34A or K34A mutant Pin1 proteins (left panel) or R68/69A double mutant Pin1 protein (right panel) were [35S]methionine labeled, followed by a chase of radio-inert methionine, and then immunoprecipitated for Flag-CPEB. (E) Cells expressing ectopic full-length Pin1, Pin1 WW domain, or Pin1 PPIase domain were [35S]methionine labeled, followed by a chase of radio-inert methionine, and then immunoprecipitated for Flag-CPEB. The quantification of three experiments is shown in the right panel. To determine which of the Pin1 domains is required for regulating CPEB degradation, we repeated the pulse-chase experiment with the Pin1 W34A mutant protein in the WW domain, the Pin1 K63A mutant protein, and the Pin1 R68/69A double mutant protein in the PPIase domain (Fig. 5D). As expected, ectopic GFP-Pin1 expression decreased the CPEB half-life as above. However, in the presence of the Pin1 W34A mutant protein, the CPEB half-life remained mainly unchanged compared to the control ectopic GFP-Pin1-expressing cells. Interestingly, neither the K63A mutant protein nor the R68/69A double mutant protein had a significant effect compared to GFP-Pin1 in that they both significantly reduced the CPEB half-life. To examine whether the Pin1 WW domain is sufficient to induce CPEB destruction, we performed the [35S]methionine pulse-chase experiment as before using ectopic expression of the WW domain or the PPIase domain. In contrast to full Pin1 expression, ectopic expression of either domain had a smaller effect on the CPEB half-life, indicating that both of the domains are necessary for full Pin1 activity. CPEB becomes phosphorylated and partially destroyed during oocyte maturation, a phase of meiosis that closely resembles the G2-to-M phase transition in mitotic cells. To assess whether CPEB is similarly phosphorylated and destroyed at M phase in the mammalian cell cycle, HEK293 cells were transduced with Flag-CPEB and then synchronized at S phase by a double thymidine block. The cells were then released from the block and monitored for cell cycle progression by flow cytometry (Fig. 6A) and for Flag-CPEB protein levels and CPEB-Pin1 interaction. The flow cytometry analysis shows that the G2-to-M transition occurred 6 to 9 h after entry into the cell cycle. Although there was no change in Pin1 levels at any phase, Flag-CPEB protein levels diminished by 9 h post-entry into the cell cycle (Fig. 6B). This reduction was not due to altered RNA levels, as measured by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) (Fig. 6C), or a change in translation, as determined by the polysome/monosome ratio of Flag-CPEB mRNA (Fig. 6C). Cell cycle regulation of CPEB destruction by Pin1. (A) Fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis in HEK293T cells after release from double thymidine block. (B) Flag-CPEB transduced cells were synchronized by double thymidine block, released, and Pin1 immunoprecipitated at the times indicated and probed for Pin1 and Flag-CPEB. (C) Analysis of total CPEB RNA and the amount in polysomes (expressed as the polysome to monosome ratio), as quantified by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR; average of two experiments) (D) As described for panel A, HEK293 cells were double thymidine blocked; 3 h prior to their cell cycle release, 10 μCi/ml [γ-32P]ATP was added to the culture media. At the indicated times, the cells were lysed and immunoprecipitated for Flag-CPEB. (E) Model for two-step interaction between CPEB and Pin1. In oocytes, unphosphorylated CPEB interacts with Pin1 that is phosphorylated on serine 71. Following progesterone stimulation, Pin1 is dephosphorylated and thereby activated; it then binds and isomerizes phospho-CPEB, resulting in ubiquitination of CPEB and its destruction. To examine whether the Pin1-CPEB interaction correlates with CPEB destruction during cell cycle progression, Pin1 was immunoprecipitated at different phases of the cell cycle and Western blotted for Flag-CPEB. Figure 6B shows that, although there was very little interaction of Pin1 with CPEB at S phase (t = 0), a Pin1-CPEB association was clearly evident 3 h after release from the thymidine block. By 6 h and, especially, 9 h (G2 to M), when CPEB levels were low, there was a corresponding decrease in Pin1-CPEB interaction. At 12 h after the release, when the Flag-CPEB protein levels increased, there was a restoration of Pin1-CPEB association (Fig. 6B). Because there is little information regarding CPEB phosphorylation during mitosis in mammalian cells, we double thymidine blocked the cells as before and labeled them in vivo by adding [γ-32P]ATP to the culture medium 3 h prior to release from the block. At the indicated times after the release, the cells were subjected to immunoprecipitation of Flag-CPEB, followed by autoradiography. As shown in Fig. 6D, CPEB was phosphorylated before the release, where the cells were S phase arrested. However, CPEB phosphorylation diminished by 9 h post-entry into the cell cycle, which corresponded to a reduced Pin1-CPEB interaction. These results indicate that, although CPEB is phosphorylated at S phase, it does not interact with Pin1. However, upon cell cycle progression from G2 to M, the CPEB-Pin1 interaction is evident, as was shown in Xenopus oocyte maturation upon hormonal induction. Taken together, we infer that, as shown for Xenopus oocytes, the interaction between CPEB and Pin1 leads to CPEB destruction in HEK293 cells. Figure 6E summarizes the interaction of CPEB and Pin1. In immature oocytes, Pin1 is phosphorylated on serine 71 and therefore is enzymatically inactive. After progesterone treatment, Pin1 is dephosphorylated and then associates with CPEB that is phosphorylated on S/T-P residues. Pin1 then isomerizes one or more of these phosphoresidues, leading to ubiquitination and partial destruction of CPEB. It may seem counterintuitive that CPEB destruction during oocyte maturation is necessary for stimulating the polyadenylation and translation of mRNAs. However, the polyadenylation of CPE-containing RNAs is hierarchical; that is, the polyadenylation of different mRNAs occurs in a temporal-specific manner that is governed by the levels of CPEB. For example, the single-CPE-containing c-mos mRNA is among the first to be polyadenylated while polyadenylation of the two-CPE-containing cyclin B1 mRNA takes place at a later time after CPEB has been partially destroyed (10, 29, 30). There are now thought to be a number of mRNAs whose time-dependent polyadenylation may be regulated by the number of CPEs they contain (31). Thus, the partial destruction of CPEB, which is necessary for oocyte development, is complex and involves multiple posttranslational modifications and recognition factors. Several phosphorylation events and two distinct pools of CPEB are involved in the regulation of its destruction. During oocyte maturation, CPEB becomes phosphorylated on 6 S/T-P pairs by cdk1, although the one on S210 is particularly important for protein destruction (10). CPEB also contains a PEST (proline, glutamic acid, serine, and threonine) domain, which often mediates the protein half-life. Within the PEST domain is a TSG (threonine, serine, and glycine) motif, which resembles the binding site for β-TrCP, the F-box protein of the SCF complex (28). Plx1, a polo-like kinase, recognizes a CPEB cdk1 phosphorylation site and in turn phosphorylates the TSG motif, which is recognized by β-TrCP that then ubiquitinates CPEB, resulting in proteasome-mediated destruction (28). Recent evidence also demonstrates that CPEB resides in two distinct pools in oocytes: one pool is bound to RNA while the second forms a homodimer through its RNA binding regions and thus does not bind RNA. The homodimers are destroyed very rapidly upon oocyte maturation, perhaps releasing essential factors to associate with the cytoplasmic polyadenylation complex (32). In this study, we show that Pin1 is a new CPEB-interacting protein that mediates CPEB degradation. It was surprising to find that Pin1, which selectively recognizes and isomerizes phosphorylated S/T-P bonds, associates with CPEB prior to detectable CPEB phosphorylation. However, this finding is consistent with previous observations, indicating that Pin1 might have two different modes of protein interaction: a preferred one that is phosphorylation dependent and a secondary one that is phosphorylation independent (33, 34). Abrahamsen et al. (33) showed that, upon Pin1 interaction with and subsequent isomerization of protein kinase C (PKC), the conventional PKC isozymes are converted into species that are rapidly ubiquitinated following phorbol ester stimulation. Interestingly, Abrahamsen et al. also showed that the Pin1-PKC interaction is based on a hydrophobic motif in the C-terminal segment of the substrate and does not require phosphorylation, even though the interaction is strengthened when the Pin1 target sites are phosphorylated after phorbol ester treatment. This observation is consistent with our findings, indicating a two-step mode of Pin1-substrate interaction. Using a number of CPEB deletion mutants, we identified a site on CPEB corresponding to residues 48 to 183 that is necessary and sufficient for Pin1 interaction. It is worth noting that this domain (48 to 183) contains ∼30% hydrophobic amino acids, although they are not organized in any detectably conserved motif. Because the three-dimensional structure of CPEB is not known, we do not know which of these amino acids are solvent exposed and might serve as a platform for Pin1 interaction. An alternative hypothesis might be that several hydrophobic amino acids are needed to build a charged region for this interaction to occur. However, two additional regions of CPEB, the RRMs and residues 211 to 290, abrogate Pin1 interaction when deleted, which suggests that the tertiary structure of CPEB or multiple contact points are important for Pin1 binding prior to CPEB phosphorylation. Furthermore, we show that, at least in vitro, this first phase interaction is dependent on the WW domain of Pin1 (Fig. 2A). Although surprising, this first phosphorylation-independent interaction that does not induce substrate destruction may serve another purpose. Consider that Xenopus oocytes are exceptionally large (volume of 1 μl) and that CPEB must be rapidly destroyed after progesterone treatment. Therefore, to facilitate this rapid destruction, CPEB is “preloaded” with Pin1, where it may function as a molecular switch to coordinate subsequent cellular processes like maturation. Indeed, other proteins in the CPEB complex are subjected to cdk1-mediated phosphorylation upon progesterone stimulation and also might be subjected to Pin1-mediated regulation. Maskin, for example, is an eIF4E binding protein that prevents the assembly of the initiation complex (eIF4E-eIF4G) on the 5′ end of the mRNA, thus inhibiting translation (7, 8). Upon progesterone stimulation, maskin is phosphorylated by cdk1, inducing its dissociation from eIF4E, thereby ensuring the translation initiation complex assembly. CPEB destruction and maskin dissociation need to occur simultaneously to activate the translation of these mRNAs. Therefore, Pin1 assembly into this complex before progesterone treatment will ensure rapid isomerization of both CPEB and maskin for this manner. Following the induction of oocyte maturation, nearly simultaneous CPEB phosphorylation on S/T-P pairs and Pin1 dephosphorylation of serine 71 cause the Pin1 interaction with CPEB to become CPEB phosphorylation dependent. We suspect that the affinity of Pin1 for CPEB might be higher when the substrate is phosphorylated because the ratio of immunoprecipitated CPEB to coprecipitated Pin1 is greater after maturation than before. However, this inference is somewhat speculative because we cannot perform an in vitro kinetic analysis of purified components due to the fact that it is difficult to isolate soluble recombinant CPEB. This change in interaction sites and the isomerization of the phosphorylated residues results in CPEB ubiquitination and subsequent destruction. Accordingly, Pin1 dephosphorylation and subsequent enzymatic activation is a crucial step in CPEB ubiquitination. Although the inhibitory serine 71 phosphorylation is catalyzed by DAPK1 in mammalian cells (17), we do not know whether the same kinase acts in Xenopus oocytes. In addition, we find that serine 16 is not phosphorylated, but that its mutation abrogates serine 71 dephosphorylation during oocyte maturation. This result might indicate that serine 16 is necessary and acts as a docking site for recruitment of a phosphatase such as PP2A to Pin1 during maturation; such an enzyme could then dephosphorylate serine 71 for Pin1 activation. Irrespective of the kinase/phosphatase involved, an intriguing question is how does the Pin1-induced conformational change in CPEB control ubiquitination? Liou et al. (12) suggested that cis-trans isomerization of Pin1 substrates establishes a conformation needed for E3 ligase recognition, and possibly other regulatory proteins such as phosphatases (35, 36). Our data support this hypothesis and suggest that, upon Pin1 activation and simultaneously CPEB phosphorylation, Pin1 induces a CPEB conformational change that favors its interaction with the E3 ligase β-TrCP. In maturing mouse oocytes, CPEB undergoes phosphorylation/destruction similar to that in Xenopus oocytes (37, 38). In mitotically cycling Xenopus embryonic cells, polyadenylation increases during M phase and decreases during interphase, which also occurs in cyclin mammalian cells (39). This observation prompted us to investigate whether CPEB undergoes an M phase destruction (like that which occurs during oocyte maturation, an M phase progression) and, if so, whether Pin1 might be involved. Indeed, Fig. 6 demonstrates that, in synchronized HEK293T cells, CPEB is partially destroyed at M phase and interacts with Pin1 prior to its destruction (as in Xenopus oocytes). However, it should not be assumed that maturing Xenopus oocytes and cycling mammalian cells are equivalent vis-à-vis cell cycle progression or by how mRNA translation is regulated. For example, oocytes are arrested at a G2-like phase and then enter M phase; there is no S phase in maturing oocytes. Xenopus CPEB is hyperphosphorylated only during the G2-to-M phase transition. At the same time, Pin1-CPEB interaction is evident before and after maturation. In mammalian cells, CPEB is phosphorylated at S phase and during other phases of the cell cycle. However, the CPEB-Pin1 interaction is only evident after cell cycle progression into the G2-to-M phase. The lack of Pin1-CPEB interaction in S phase likely indicates that the phospho-CPEB residues are not involved in recruiting Pin1. Despite the differences between these two systems, in both cases, the CPEB-Pin1 interaction is evident during the G2-to-M transition and precedes CPEB destruction. Moreover, ectopic Pin1 expression dramatically reduced the CPEB half-life while ectopic expression of a dominant negative Pin1 W34A mutant protein partially prevented CPEB destruction; mutations in the PPIase domain had no effect on Pin1's capability to promote CPEB destruction. Fujimoto et al. (40) previously reported that Pin1 may affect the function and degradation of a target protein, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), solely by the interaction between the N-terminal activation function 1 (AF-1) domain of PPARγ and the WW domain in Pin1. In this case, the proline isomerization by the PPIase domain seemed to be dispensable. This prompted us to investigate the contribution of each Pin1 domain separately on CPEB destruction. We found that, in contrast to full-length Pin1, expression of either the WW or PPIase domain had minor effects on the CPEB half-life, indicating that both domains are needed for full Pin1 activity to promote CPEB destruction. These results may also indicate that other amino acids in the PPIase domain, such as C113, which was shown to be important for Pin1 isomerization activity (40), are needed for Pin1-mediated CPEB destruction. Based on the functions of its interacting substrates, Liou et al. (12) suggest that Pin1 induces the destruction or inactivation of tumor suppressors but enhances the stability of proteins involved in malignant transformation. Although we have focused most of this present work on Xenopus oocytes, it is important to note that CPEB might be considered to be a tumor suppressor, and thus Pin1 could have important implications for oncogenic transformation via translation. That is, CPEB knockout (KO) mice, while not developing cancer spontaneously, contract papillomas much more readily than wild-type animals when challenged with a DNA damaging agent (41). Moreover, mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) lacking CPEB do not senesce as do wild-type MEFS, but instead are immortal (42, 43). Primary human cells depleted of CPEB also bypass senescence (41, 44). Because the lack of CPEB leads to reduced translation of p53 mRNA, and because reduced p53 immortalizes primary cells, it may be inferred that CPEB can also act as a tumor suppressor. Although we do not know whether Pin1 control of CPEB destruction leads to a bypass of senescence, we speculate that it might and are presently investigating this phenomenon. We thank Kun Ping Lu (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard University) for kindly providing GFP-Pin1 and the GFP-Pin1 W34A and K63A mutant proteins, as well as the GFP-WW- and GFP-PPIase-encoding plasmids. We also thank Frank Eckerdt (Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, J. W. Goethe University) for kindly providing the GST-Pin1- and GST-Pin1 WW domain-encoding plasmids. This work was supported by NIH grant GM46779. Additional core support from the Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center (grant P30 DK32520) is gratefully acknowledged. M.N. performed all experiments, C.-L.L. generated the CPEB deletion plasmids, and M.N. and J.D.R. designed the experiments and wrote the manuscript. Returned for modification 13 August 2012. Accepted manuscript posted online 22 October 2012. . 2007. CPEB: a life in translation. Trends Biochem. Sci. 32: 279–285. . 2010. The nuclear experience of CPEB: implications for RNA processing and translational control. RNA 16: 338–348. . 2000. 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2019-04-22T10:38:14Z

https://mcb.asm.org/content/33/1/48

RELATED: Does Global Warming Drive Changes in Arctic Sea Ice? In late 2017 and early 2018 a number of high profile news media sources cited a US Federal Government report to claim that “warming in the Arctic is unprecedented in 1,500 years”. Here are some examples:[DIGITAL JOURNAL, Scientists alarmed by unprecedented warming in Arctic: By Karen Graham, Feb 28, 2018 in Environment], [USA TODAY, The Arctic is warming faster than it has in 1,500 years: Doyle Rice, Dec. 12, 2017], [MASHABLE ASIA, Recent Arctic warming ‘unprecedented’ in human history, Andrew Freedman, DEC 13, 2017], [DISCOVER MAGAZINE, A major federal report about the Arctic released yesterday finds that the current rate of Arctic warming is unprecedented in at least the past 2,000 years. And the pace of Arctic sea ice loss experienced in the past few decades has not been seen in at least the past 1,450 years. Tom Yulsman, December 13, 2017], [WASHINGTON POST, Warming of the Arctic is ‘unprecedented over the last 1,500 years, Chris Mooney December 12, 2017], [THE GUARDIAN, Record warmth in the Arctic this month could yet prove to be a freak occurrence, but experts warn the warming event is unprecedented. Jonathan Watts, environment editor, Tue 27 Feb 2018]. Their source was the 2017 NOAA Arctic Report Card a summary of which appears in the next paragraph. The claim that “warming in the Arctic is unprecedented” can be interpreted as a reference to temperature or to the rate of warming, or perhaps to both. The importance of the rate of warming in climate science is underscored by this statement from the NASA website “If Earth has warmed and cooled throughout history, what makes scientists think that humans are causing global warming now?The first piece of evidence that the warming over the past few decades isn’t part of a natural cycle is how fast the change is happening. The biggest temperature swings our planet has experienced in the past million years are the ice ages. Based on a combination of paleoclimate data and models, scientists estimate that when ice ages have ended in the past, it has taken about 5,000 years for the planet to warm between 4 and 7 degrees Celsius. The warming of the past century of 0.7C is roughly eight times faster than the ice-age-recovery warming on average.” [SOURCE]. We therefore interpret the Arctic warming claim broadly to include both temperature and the rate of warming. This work is a test of the claim of unprecedented warming in the Arctic. Here we use paleo temperature data provided by the NOAA Pages2k database [LINK] (caution: the link automatically initiates the download of a large Excel file). Twenty sources for Arctic air temperature were found in this database and the data from all twenty sources are shown in the charts in Figure 1. Eighteen of these sources provide d180 data. The term d180 is a reference to delta-O-18, a reference to the ratio of oxygen isotopes O(18) to O(16) compared against a standardized ratio. There is a linear relationship between this ratio and temperature and because of that d180 is often used as a proxy for temperature. The magnitudes are different but in a comparative study such as this, the d180 values can be used directly instead of temperature. The other two are lake bed sediment data and are included for completeness but the greater weight will be given to the cleaner d180 air temperature proxies. Each data set is presented graphically in Figure 1 as two side by side frames. The left frame traces the maximum d180 value (in black) in a moving 100-year window as a test of whether the maximum temperature occurs at the end of the series. The right frame traces the d180 OLS trend (in red) in a moving 100-year window as a test of whether the greatest rate of warming occurs at the end of the series. If the highest value in the curve is found at the end of the series, the data are taken to be consistent with the “unprecedented warming” hypothesis when stated in terms of the variable being tested. Otherwise, the data are taken to be inconsistent with the “unprecedented warming” hypothesis (when stated in terms of the variable being tested). The chart titles are color coded. Green indicates that the data are consistent with the hypothesis and red indicates that they are not. These interpretations of the data displayed in Figure 1 are summarized in the table in Figure 2. The lake sediment are marked in red as they may not be directly comparable with the surface temperature proxies in the other 18 datasets. The summary statistics at the bottom of the table in Figure 2 are in two parts – the part in black does not include the lake sediment data and the part in red does. Here we find as follows: (a) If we remove the lake sediment data, support for unprecedented high temperature in the Arctic at the end of the datasets is an impressive 50% but that for highest rate of warming is rather low at 22% if the end of the dataset is strictly defined as the trend in the last of the 100-year moving windows. If this definition is broadened to the “post industrial era” as any date after 1900, then support for the “unprecedented” hypothesis grows to 61%. The last column of Figure 2 shows that support for “unprecedented warming” defined as both highest temperature and highest rate of warming is a low 39% even when including the broad definition of the current era. An issue raised by James Kamis in this regard [LINK] is that extensive natural geothermal sources of heat in the Arctic Ocean are not included in the analysis. These volcanic and mantle plume sources are shown in Figure 4. We conclude from this analysis that the paleo data presented in Figure 1 (not including the Lake data) do not provide convincing evidence of “unprecedented” warming in the Arctic in the current era either in terms of temperature or in terms of the rate of warming. However, the evidence for unprecedented warming trend is strengthened significantly if the current era is defined broadly to include the period from 1900 to the present. A further conclusion from these data relate to the claim by NASA and by climate science in general (paragraph#3) that the usual argument by skeptics that “the climate has always changed” ignores the speed issue. The response by climate science is that yes, the climate has always changed but what makes the current warming different, and therefore human caused, is the high rate of warming never before seen in natural climate change. The paleo data presented above shows that in 12 out of 20 temperature datasets (including lake sediment data) and in 10 out of 18 temperature datasets with only d180 data, we find evidence that climate has changed faster than it is changing now. These changes occurred within the last 2,000 years in the pre-industrial era. RELATED POST: Does Global Warming Drive Changes in Arctic Sea Ice? 2002: Polyakov, Igor V., et al. “Observationally based assessment of polar amplification of global warming.” Geophysical research letters 29.18 (2002): 25-1. Arctic variability is dominated by multi‐decadal fluctuations. Incomplete sampling of these fluctuations results in highly variable arctic surface‐air temperature (SAT) trends. Modulated by multi‐decadal variability, SAT trends are often amplified relative to northern‐hemispheric trends, but over the 125‐year record we identify periods when arctic SAT trends were smaller or of opposite sign than northern‐hemispheric trends. Arctic and northern‐hemispheric air‐temperature trends during the 20th century (when multi‐decadal variablity had little net effect on computed trends) are similar, and do not support the predicted polar amplification of global warming. The possible moderating role of sea ice cannot be conclusively identified with existing data. If long‐term trends are accepted as a valid measure of climate change, then the SAT and ice data do not support the proposed polar amplification of global warming. Intrinsic arctic variability obscures long‐term changes, limiting our ability to identify complex feedbacks in the arctic climate system. 2002: Rigor, Ignatius G., John M. Wallace, and Roger L. Colony. “Response of sea ice to the Arctic Oscillation.” Journal of Climate 15.18 (2002): 2648-2663.Data collected by the International Arctic Buoy Programme from 1979 to 1998 are analyzed to obtain statistics of sea level pressure (SLP) and sea ice motion (SIM). The annual and seasonal mean fields agree with those obtained in previous studies of Arctic climatology. The data show a 3-hPa decrease in decadal mean SLP over the central Arctic Ocean between 1979–88 and 1989–98. This decrease in SLP drives a cyclonic trend in SIM, which resembles the structure of the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Regression maps of SIM during the wintertime (January–March) AO index show 1) an increase in ice advection away from the coast of the East Siberian and Laptev Seas, which should have the effect of producing more new thin ice in the coastal flaw leads; 2) a decrease in ice advection from the western Arctic into the eastern Arctic; and 3) a slight increase in ice advection out of the Arctic through Fram Strait. Taken together, these changes suggest that at least part of the thinning of sea ice recently observed over the Arctic Ocean can be attributed to the trend in the AO toward the high-index polarity. Rigor et al. showed that year-to-year variations in the wintertime AO imprint a distinctive signature on surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies over the Arctic, which is reflected in the spatial pattern of temperature change from the 1980s to the 1990s. Here it is shown that the memory of the wintertime AO persists through most of the subsequent year: spring and autumn SAT and summertime sea ice concentration are all strongly correlated with the AO index for the previous winter. It is hypothesized that these delayed responses reflect the dynamical influence of the AO on the thickness of the wintertime sea ice, whose persistent “footprint” is reflected in the heat fluxes during the subsequent spring, in the extent of open water during the subsequent summer, and the heat liberated in the freezing of the open water during the subsequent autumn. 2003: Semenov, Vladimir A., and Lennart Bengtsson. “Modes of the wintertime Arctic temperature variability.” Geophysical Research Letters 30.15 (2003). It is shown that the Arctic averaged wintertime temperature variability during the 20th century can be essentially described by two orthogonal modes. These modes were identified by an Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) decomposition of the 1892–1999 surface wintertime air temperature anomalies (40°N–80°N) using a gridded dataset covering high Arctic. The first mode (1st leading EOF) is related to the NAO and has a major contribution to Arctic warming during the last 30 years. The second one (3rd leading EOF) dominates the SAT variability prior to 1970. A correlation between the corresponding principal component PC3 and the Arctic SAT anomalies is 0.79. This mode has the largest amplitudes in the Kara‐Barents Seas and Baffin Bay and exhibits no direct link to the large‐scale atmospheric circulation variability, in contrast to the other leading EOFs. We suggest that the existence of this mode is caused by long‐term sea ice variations presumably due to Atlantic inflow variability. 2003: Polyakov, Igor V., et al. “Variability and trends of air temperature and pressure in the maritime Arctic, 1875–2000.” Journal of Climate 16.12 (2003): 2067-2077. Arctic atmospheric variability during the industrial era (1875–2000) is assessed using spatially averaged surface air temperature (SAT) and sea level pressure (SLP) records. Air temperature and pressure display strong multidecadal variability on timescales of 50–80 yr [termed low-frequency oscillation (LFO)]. Associated with this variability, the Arctic SAT record shows two maxima: in the 1930s–40s and in recent decades, with two colder periods in between. In contrast to the global and hemispheric temperature, the maritime Arctic temperature was higher in the late 1930s through the early 1940s than in the 1990s. Incomplete sampling of large-amplitude multidecadal fluctuations results in oscillatory Arctic SAT trends. For example, the Arctic SAT trend since 1875 is 0.09 ± 0.03°C decade−1, with stronger spring- and wintertime warming; during the twentieth century (when positive and negative phases of the LFO nearly offset each other) the Arctic temperature increase is 0.05 ± 0.04°C decade−1, similar to the Northern Hemispheric trend (0.06°C decade−1). Thus, the large-amplitude multidecadal climate variability impacting the maritime Arctic may confound the detection of the true underlying climate trend over the past century. LFO-modulated trends for short records are not indicative of the long-term behavior of the Arctic climate system. The accelerated warming and a shift of the atmospheric pressure pattern from anticyclonic to cyclonic in recent decades can be attributed to a positive LFO phase. It is speculated that this LFO-driven shift was crucial to the recent reduction in Arctic ice cover. Joint examination of air temperature and pressure records suggests that peaks in temperature associated with the LFO follow pressure minima after 5–15 yr. Elucidating the mechanisms behind this relationship will be critical to understanding the complex nature of low-frequency variability. 2003: Johannessen, Ola M., et al. “Arctic climate change—will the ice disappear this century?.” Elsevier Oceanography Series. Vol. 69. Elsevier, 2003. 490-496. A new set of multi-decadal and century-scale sea-ice data is compared with coupled atmosphere-ocean model simulations in order to understand Arctic sea ice and climate variability. It is evident that the two pronounced 20th-century warming events—both amplified in the Arctic—were linked to sea-ice variability. The area of sea ice is observed to have decreased by 8× 105km2 (7.4%) since 1978, with record-low summer ice coverage in 2002. Model predictions are used to quantify changes in the ice cover through the 21st century. A predominantly ice-free Arctic in summer is predicted for the end of this century. 2003: Polyakov, Igor V., et al. “Long-term ice variability in Arctic marginal seas.” Journal of Climate 16.12 (2003): 2078-2085. Examination of records of fast ice thickness (1936–2000) and ice extent (1900–2000) in the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas provide evidence that long-term ice thickness and extent trends are small and generally not statistically significant, while trends for shorter records are not indicative of the long-term tendencies due to large-amplitude low-frequency variability. The ice variability in these seas is dominated by a multidecadal, low-frequency oscillation (LFO) and (to a lesser degree) by higher-frequency decadal fluctuations. The LFO signal decays eastward from the Kara Sea where it is strongest. In the Chukchi Sea ice variability is dominated by decadal fluctuations, and there is no evidence of the LFO. This spatial pattern is consistent with the air temperature–North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index correlation pattern, with maximum correlation in the near-Atlantic region, which decays toward the North Pacific. Sensitivity analysis shows that dynamical forcing (wind or surface currents) dominates ice-extent variations in the Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas. Variability of Kara Sea ice extent is governed primarily by thermodynamic factors. 2004: Overland, James E., et al. “Seasonal and regional variation of pan-Arctic surface air temperature over the instrumental record.” Journal of Climate 17.17 (2004): 3263-3282. Instrumental surface air temperature (SAT) records beginning in the late 1800s from 59 Arctic stations north of 64°N show monthly mean anomalies of several degrees and large spatial teleconnectivity, yet there are systematic seasonal and regional differences. Analyses are based on time–longitude plots of SAT anomalies and principal component analysis (PCA). Using monthly station data rather than gridded fields for this analysis highlights the importance of considering record length in calculating reliable Arctic change estimates; for example, the contrast of PCA performed on 11 stations beginning in 1886, 20 stations beginning in 1912, and 45 stations beginning in 1936 is illustrated. While often there is a well-known interdecadal negative covariability in winter between northern Europe and Baffin Bay, long-term changes in the remainder of the Arctic are most evident in spring, with cool temperature anomalies before 1920 and Arctic-wide warm temperatures in the 1990s. Summer anomalies are generally weaker than spring or winter but tend to mirror spring conditions before 1920 and in recent decades. Temperature advection in the trough–ridge structure in the positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) in the North Atlantic establishes wintertime temperature anomalies in adjacent regions, while the zonal/annular nature of the AO in the remainder of the Arctic must break down in spring to promote meridional temperature advection. There were regional/decadal warm events during winter and spring in the 1930s to 1950s, but meteorological analysis suggests that these SAT anomalies are the result of intrinsic variability in regional flow patterns. These midcentury events contrast with the recent Arctic-wide AO influence in the 1990s. The preponderance of evidence supports the conclusion that warm SAT anomalies in spring for the recent decade are unique in the instrumental record, both in having the greatest longitudinal extent and in their associated patterns of warm air advection. 2004: Johannessen, Ola M., et al. “Arctic climate change: observed and modelled temperature and sea-ice variability.” Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography 56.4 (2004): 328-341. Changes apparent in the arctic climate system in recent years require evaluation in a century-scale perspective in order to assess the Arctic’s response to increasing anthropogenic greenhouse-gas forcing. Here, a new set of centuryand multidecadal-scale observational data of surface air temperature (SAT) and sea ice is used in combination with ECHAM4 and HadCM3 coupled atmosphere’ice’ocean global model simulations in order to better determine and understand arctic climate variability. We show that two pronounced twentieth-century warming events, both amplified in the Arctic, were linked to sea-ice variability. SAT observations and model simulations indicate that the nature of the arctic warming in the last two decades is distinct from the early twentieth-century warm period. It is suggested strongly that the earlier warming was natural internal climate-system variability, whereas the recent SAT changes are a response to anthropogenic forcing. The area of arctic sea ice is furthermore observed to have decreased~8 · 105 km2 (7.4%) in the past quarter century, with record-low summer ice coverage in September 2002. A set of model predictions is used to quantify changes in the ice cover through the twenty-first century, with greater reductions expected in summer than winter. In summer, a predominantly sea-ice-free Arctic is predicted for the end of this century. 2004: Bengtsson, Lennart, Vladimir A. Semenov, and Ola M. Johannessen. “The early twentieth-century warming in the Arctic—A possible mechanism.” Journal of Climate 17.20 (2004): 4045-4057. The huge warming of the Arctic that started in the early 1920s and lasted for almost two decades is one of the most spectacular climate events of the twentieth century. During the peak period 1930–40, the annually averaged temperature anomaly for the area 60°–90°N amounted to some 1.7°C. Whether this event is an example of an internal climate mode or is externally forced, such as by enhanced solar effects, is presently under debate. This study suggests that natural variability is a likely cause, with reduced sea ice cover being crucial for the warming. A robust sea ice–air temperature relationship was demonstrated by a set of four simulations with the atmospheric ECHAM model forced with observed SST and sea ice concentrations. An analysis of the spatial characteristics of the observed early twentieth-century surface air temperature anomaly revealed that it was associated with similar sea ice variations. Further investigation of the variability of Arctic surface temperature and sea ice cover was performed by analyzing data from a coupled ocean–atmosphere model. By analyzing climate anomalies in the model that are similar to those that occurred in the early twentieth century, it was found that the simulated temperature increase in the Arctic was related to enhanced wind-driven oceanic inflow into the Barents Sea with an associated sea ice retreat. The magnitude of the inflow is linked to the strength of westerlies into the Barents Sea. This study proposes a mechanism sustaining the enhanced westerly winds by a cyclonic atmospheric circulation in the Barents Sea region created by a strong surface heat flux over the ice-free areas. Observational data suggest a similar series of events during the early twentieth-century Arctic warming, including increasing westerly winds between Spitsbergen and Norway, reduced sea ice, and enhanced cyclonic circulation over the Barents Sea. At the same time, the North Atlantic Oscillation was weakening. 2005: Stroeve, J. C., et al. “Tracking the Arctic’s shrinking ice cover: Another extreme September minimum in 2004.” Geophysical Research Letters 32.4 (2005). Satellite passive microwave observations document an overall downward trend in Arctic sea ice extent and area since 1978. While the record minimum observed in September 2002 strongly reinforced this downward trend, extreme ice minima were again observed in 2003 and 2004. Although having three extreme minimum years in a row is unprecedented in the satellite record, attributing these recent trends and extremes to greenhouse gas loading must be tempered by recognition that the sea ice cover is variable from year to year in response to wind, temperature and oceanic forcings. 2014: Woollings, Tim, Ben Harvey, and Giacomo Masato. “Arctic warming, atmospheric blocking and cold European winters in CMIP5 models.” Environmental Research Letters 9.1 (2014): 014002. Amplified Arctic warming is expected to have a significant long-term influence on the midlatitude atmospheric circulation by the latter half of the 21st century. Potential influences of recent and near future Arctic changes on shorter timescales are much less clear, despite having received much recent attention in the literature. In this letter, climate models from the recent CMIP5 experiment are analysed for evidence of an influence of Arctic temperatures on midlatitude blocking and cold European winters in particular. The focus is on the variability of these features in detrended data and, in contrast to other studies, limited evidence of an influence is found. The occurrence of cold European winters is found to be largely independent of the temperature variability in the key Barents–Kara Sea region. Positive correlations of the Barents–Kara temperatures with Eurasian blocking are found in some models, but significant correlations are limited. 2015: Francis, Jennifer, and Natasa Skific. “Evidence linking rapid Arctic warming to mid-latitude weather patterns.” Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 373.2045 (2015): 20140170. The effects of rapid Arctic warming and ice loss on weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere is a topic of active research, lively scientific debate and high societal impact. The emergence of Arctic amplification—the enhanced sensitivity of high-latitude temperature to global warming—in only the last 10–20 years presents a challenge to identifying statistically robust atmospheric responses using observations. Several recent studies have proposed and demonstrated new mechanisms by which the changing Arctic may be affecting weather patterns in mid-latitudes, and these linkages differ fundamentally from tropics/jet-stream interactions through the transfer of wave energy. In this study, new metrics and evidence are presented that suggest disproportionate Arctic warming—and resulting weakening of the poleward temperature gradient—is causing the Northern Hemisphere circulation to assume a more meridional character (i.e. wavier), although not uniformly in space or by season, and that highly amplified jet-stream patterns are occurring more frequently. Further analysis based on self-organizing maps supports this finding. These changes in circulation are expected to lead to persistent weather patterns that are known to cause extreme weather events. As emissions of greenhouse gases continue unabated, therefore, the continued amplification of Arctic warming should favour an increased occurrence of extreme events caused by prolonged weather conditions. 2015: Kug, Jong-Seong, et al. “Two distinct influences of Arctic warming on cold winters over North America and East Asia.” Nature Geoscience 8.10 (2015): 759. Arctic warming has sparked a growing interest because of its possible impacts on mid-latitude climate1,2,3,4,5. A number of unusually harsh cold winters have occurred in many parts of East Asia and North America in the past few years2,6,7, and observational and modelling studies have suggested that atmospheric variability linked to Arctic warming might have played a central role1,3,4,8,9,10,11. Here we identify two distinct influences of Arctic warming which may lead to cold winters over East Asia or North America, based on observational analyses and extensive climate model results. We find that severe winters across East Asia are associated with anomalous warmth in the Barents–Kara Sea region, whereas severe winters over North America are related to anomalous warmth in the East Siberian–Chukchi Sea region. Each regional warming over the Arctic Ocean is accompanied by the local development of an anomalous anticyclone and the downstream development of a mid-latitude trough. The resulting northerly flow of cold air provides favourable conditions for severe winters in East Asia or North America. These links between Arctic and mid-latitude weather are also robustly found in idealized climate model experiments and CMIP5 multi-model simulations. We suggest that our results may help improve seasonal prediction of winter weather and extreme events in these regions. 2015: Park, Jong-Yeon, et al. “Amplified Arctic warming by phytoplankton under greenhouse warming.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2015): 201416884. One of the important impacts of marine phytoplankton on climate systems is the geophysical feedback by which chlorophyll and the related pigments in phytoplankton absorb solar radiation and then change sea surface temperature. Yet such biogeophysical impact is still not considered in many climate projections by state-of-the-art climate models, nor is its impact on the future climate quantified. This study shows that, by conducting global warming simulations with and without an active marine ecosystem model, the biogeophysical effect of future phytoplankton changes amplifies Arctic warming by 20%. Given the close linkage between the Arctic and global climate, the biologically enhanced Arctic warming can significantly modify future estimates of global climate change, and therefore it needs to be considered as a possible future scenario. 2015: Francis, Jennifer A., and Stephen J. Vavrus. “Evidence for a wavier jet stream in response to rapid Arctic warming.” Environmental Research Letters 10.1 (2015): 014005. New metrics and evidence are presented that support a linkage between rapid Arctic warming, relative to Northern hemisphere mid-latitudes, and more frequent high-amplitude (wavy) jet-stream configurations that favor persistent weather patterns. We find robust relationships among seasonal and regional patterns of weaker poleward thickness gradients, weaker zonal upper-level winds, and a more meridional flow direction. These results suggest that as the Arctic continues to warm faster than elsewhere in response to rising greenhouse-gas concentrations, the frequency of extreme weather events caused by persistent jet-stream patterns will increase. 2016: Goss, Michael, Steven B. Feldstein, and Sukyoung Lee. “Stationary wave interference and its relation to tropical convection and Arctic warming.” Journal of Climate 29.4 (2016): 1369-1389.The interference between transient eddies and climatological stationary eddies in the Northern Hemisphere is investigated. The amplitude and sign of the interference is represented by the stationary wave index (SWI), which is calculated by projecting the daily 300-hPa streamfunction anomaly field onto the 300-hPa climatological stationary wave. ERA-Interim data for the years 1979 to 2013 are used. The amplitude of the interference peaks during boreal winter. The evolution of outgoing longwave radiation, Arctic temperature, 300-hPa streamfunction, 10-hPa zonal wind, Arctic sea ice concentration, and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) index are examined for days of large SWI values during the winter. Constructive interference during winter tends to occur about one week after enhanced warm pool convection and is followed by an increase in Arctic surface air temperature along with a reduction of sea ice in the Barents and Kara Seas. The warming of the Arctic does occur without prior warm pool convection, but it is enhanced and prolonged when constructive interference occurs in concert with enhanced warm pool convection. This is followed two weeks later by a weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex and a decline of the AO. All of these associations are reversed in the case of destructive interference. Potential climate change implications are briefly discussed. 2016: Baggett, Cory, Sukyoung Lee, and Steven Feldstein. “An investigation of the presence of atmospheric rivers over the North Pacific during planetary-scale wave life cycles and their role in Arctic warming.” Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences73.11 (2016): 4329-4347. Heretofore, the tropically excited Arctic warming (TEAM) mechanism put forward that localized tropical convection amplifies planetary-scale waves, which transport sensible and latent heat into the Arctic, leading to an enhancement of downward infrared radiation and Arctic surface warming. In this study, an investigation is made into the previously unexplored contribution of the synoptic-scale waves and their attendant atmospheric rivers to the TEAM mechanism. Reanalysis data are used to conduct a suite of observational analyses, trajectory calculations, and idealized model simulations. It is shown that localized tropical convection over the Maritime Continent precedes the peak of the planetary-scale wave life cycle by ~10–14 days. The Rossby wave source induced by the tropical convection excites a Rossby wave train over the North Pacific that amplifies the climatological December–March stationary waves. These amplified planetary-scale waves are baroclinic and transport sensible and latent heat poleward. During the planetary-scale wave life cycle, synoptic-scale waves are diverted northward over the central North Pacific. The warm conveyor belts associated with the synoptic-scale waves channel moisture from the subtropics into atmospheric rivers that ascend as they move poleward and penetrate into the Arctic near the Bering Strait. At this time, the synoptic-scale waves undergo cyclonic Rossby wave breaking, which further amplifies the planetary-scale waves. The planetary-scale wave life cycle ceases as ridging over Alaska retrogrades westward. The ridging blocks additional moisture transport into the Arctic. However, sensible and latent heat amounts remain elevated over the Arctic, which enhances downward infrared radiation and maintains warm surface temperatures. 2016: Woods, Cian, and Rodrigo Caballero. “The role of moist intrusions in winter Arctic warming and sea ice decline.” Journal of Climate 29.12 (2016): 4473-4485. This paper examines the trajectories followed by intense intrusions of moist air into the Arctic polar region during autumn and winter and their impact on local temperature and sea ice concentration. It is found that the vertical structure of the warming associated with moist intrusions is bottom amplified, corresponding to a transition of local conditions from a “cold clear” state with a strong inversion to a “warm opaque” state with a weaker inversion. In the marginal sea ice zone of the Barents Sea, the passage of an intrusion also causes a retreat of the ice margin, which persists for many days after the intrusion has passed. The authors find that there is a positive trend in the number of intrusion events crossing 70°N during December and January that can explain roughly 45% of the surface air temperature and 30% of the sea ice concentration trends observed in the Barents Sea during the past two decades. 2017: Tokinaga, Hiroki, Shang-Ping Xie, and Hitoshi Mukougawa. “Early 20th-century Arctic warming intensified by Pacific and Atlantic multidecadal variability.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114.24 (2017): 6227-6232. Arctic amplification is a robust feature of climate response to global warming, with large impacts on ecosystems and societies. A long-standing mystery is that a pronounced Arctic warming occurred during the early 20th century when the rate of interdecadal change in radiative forcing was much weaker than at present. Here, using observations and model experiments, we show that the combined effect of internally generated Pacific and Atlantic interdecadal variabilities intensified the Arctic land warming in the early 20th century. The synchronized Pacific–Atlantic warming drastically alters planetary-scale atmospheric circulations over the Northern Hemisphere that transport warm air into the Arctic. Our results highlight the importance of regional sea surface temperature changes for Arctic climate and constrain model projections in this important region. 2017: Breider, Thomas J., et al. “Multidecadal trends in aerosol radiative forcing over the Arctic: Contribution of changes in anthropogenic aerosol to Arctic warming since 1980.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 122.6 (2017): 3573-3594. Arctic observations show large decreases in the concentrations of sulfate and black carbon (BC) aerosols since the early 1980s. These near‐term climate‐forcing pollutants perturb the radiative balance of the atmosphere and may have played an important role in recent Arctic warming. We use the GEOS‐Chem global chemical transport model to construct a 3‐D representation of Arctic aerosols that is generally consistent with observations and their trends from 1980 to 2010. Observations at Arctic surface sites show significant decreases in sulfate and BC mass concentrations of 2–3% per year. We find that anthropogenic aerosols yield a negative forcing over the Arctic, with an average 2005–2010 Arctic shortwave radiative forcing (RF) of −0.19 ± 0.05 W m−2 at the top of atmosphere (TOA). Anthropogenic sulfate in our study yields more strongly negative forcings over the Arctic troposphere in spring (−1.17 ± 0.10 W m−2) than previously reported. From 1980 to 2010, TOA negative RF by Arctic aerosol declined, from −0.67 ± 0.06 W m−2 to −0.19 ± 0.05 W m−2, yielding a net TOA RF of +0.48 ± 0.06 W m−2. The net positive RF is due almost entirely to decreases in anthropogenic sulfate loading over the Arctic. We estimate that 1980–2010 trends in aerosol‐radiation interactions over the Arctic and Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes have contributed a net warming at the Arctic surface of +0.27 ± 0.04 K, roughly one quarter of the observed warming. Our study does not consider BC emissions from gas flaring nor the regional climate response to aerosol‐cloud interactions or BC deposition on snow. The dramatic ocean acidification event in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) [LINK] , may have inspired climate science to paint a similar scenario for the current episode of climate change and to claim that “combustion of fossil fuels has enriched levels of CO2 in the world’s oceans and decreased ocean pH” and that such acidification is causing dangerous detrimental effects on coral, shellfish, and on the oceanic ecosystem in general. These effects of the use of fossil fuels are cited as the rationale for climate action in the form of reducing or eliminating the use of fossil fuels. Citations below. Here we present empirical evidence from 124,813 measurements of ocean CO2 concentration expressed in millimoles per liter (MM/L) provided by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The data are presented in Figure 1. They show a rising trend in the CO2 concentration of oceans at depths of 50 to 5000 feet. The temperatures at which these measurements were made vary from 5C to 25C. The CO2 concentrations are therefore adjusted for these temperature differences and the temperature adjusted concentrations are shown in the third panel of Figure 1. If fossil fuel emissions are responsible for these changes, we expect to find a correlation between the rate of emissions and changes in oceanic CO2 at an annual time scale. Figure 2 displays the rate of annual emissions and the corresponding annual changes in oceanic CO2. The correlation corrected for trend effects is shown in the third panel of Figure 2. No evidence is found that changes in oceanic CO2 are related to fossil fuel emissions at an annual time scale. A further test of human cause is presented in Figure 3. If the source of the ocean’s CO2 enrichment is the atmosphere, we should find a concentration gradient with higher concentrations closer to the surface. No such gradient is found. It is likely that the ocean acidification hypothesis entered the climate change narrative by way of the PETM climate change event when extensive and devastating ocean acidification had occurred as described in a related post [LINK] . However, there is no parallel between PETM and AGW that can be used to relate the characteristics of one to those of the other. In the case of ocean acidification in the PETM event, the source of carbon was a monstrous release of either methane hydrates from the sea floor along with geothermal heat of some form or perhaps both heat and carbon directly injected into the ocean from the mantle. The event caused the ocean to lose all its elemental oxygen by way of carbon oxidation and undergo significant decline in pH. Much of the carbon dioxide was also vented to the atmosphere and that caused atmospheric CO2 to rise precipitously. But this correspondence of ocean acidification in the presence of rising atmospheric CO2 does not apply to AGW. Such parallels usually drawn to relate rising atmospheric CO2 to ocean acidification overlooks the reversal in direction. Whereas PETM started in the ocean and spread to the atmosphere, the AGW event started in the atmosphere and is thought to have spread to the oceans. The evidence presented here does not support this hypothesis. For details about the PETM, please see the related post on the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum event [LINK] . What the PETM shows us is that the ocean is able to acidify itself to a much greater extent with natural causes by using carbon and heat from the bottom of the ocean or from the mantle. This reference event, rather than supporting human caused ocean acidification, serves instead as a caution against the simplistic assignment of human cause to all observed changes in the ocean. 2005: Orr, James C., et al. “Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms.” Nature 437.7059 (2005): 681. Today’s surface ocean is saturated with respect to calcium carbonate, but increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are reducing ocean pH and carbonate ion concentrations, and thus the level of calcium carbonate saturation. Experimental evidence suggests that if these trends continue, key marine organisms—such as corals and some plankton—will have difficulty maintaining their external calcium carbonate skeletons. Here we use 13 models of the ocean–carbon cycle to assess calcium carbonate saturation under the IS92a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario for future emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. In our projections, Southern Ocean surface waters will begin to become undersaturated with respect to aragonite, a metastable form of calcium carbonate, by the year 2050. By 2100, this undersaturation could extend throughout the entire Southern Ocean and into the subarctic Pacific Ocean. When live pteropods were exposed to our predicted level of undersaturation during a two-day shipboard experiment, their aragonite shells showed notable dissolution. Our findings indicate that conditions detrimental to high-latitude ecosystems could develop within decades, not centuries as suggested previously. 2007: Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove, et al. “Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification.” science 318.5857 (2007): 1737-1742. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is expected to exceed 500 parts per million and global temperatures to rise by at least 2°C by 2050 to 2100, values that significantly exceed those of at least the past 420,000 years during which most extant marine organisms evolved. Under conditions expected in the 21st century, global warming and ocean acidification will compromise carbonate accretion, with corals becoming increasingly rare on reef systems. The result will be less diverse reef communities and carbonate reef structures that fail to be maintained. Climate change also exacerbates local stresses from declining water quality and overexploitation of key species, driving reefs increasingly toward the tipping point for functional collapse. This review presents future scenarios for coral reefs that predict increasingly serious consequences for reef-associated fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, and people. As the International Year of the Reef 2008 begins, scaled-up management intervention and decisive action on global emissions are required if the loss of coral-dominated ecosystems is to be avoided. 2008: Anthony, Kenneth RN, et al. “Ocean acidification causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef builders.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2008). Ocean acidification represents a key threat to coral reefs by reducing the calcification rate of framework builders. In addition, acidification is likely to affect the relationship between corals and their symbiotic dinoflagellates and the productivity of this association. However, little is known about how acidification impacts on the physiology of reef builders and how acidification interacts with warming. Here, we report on an 8-week study that compared bleaching, productivity, and calcification responses of crustose coralline algae (CCA) and branching (Acropora) and massive (Porites) coral species in response to acidification and warming. Using a 30-tank experimental system, we manipulated CO2 levels to simulate doubling and three- to fourfold increases [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projection categories IV and VI] relative to present-day levels under cool and warm scenarios. Results indicated that high CO2 is a bleaching agent for corals and CCA under high irradiance, acting synergistically with warming to lower thermal bleaching thresholds. We propose that CO2 induces bleaching via its impact on photoprotective mechanisms of the photosystems. Overall, acidification impacted more strongly on bleaching and productivity than on calcification. Interestingly, the intermediate, warm CO2 scenario led to a 30% increase in productivity in Acropora, whereas high CO2 lead to zero productivity in both corals. CCA were most sensitive to acidification, with high CO2 leading to negative productivity and high rates of net dissolution. Our findings suggest that sensitive reef-building species such as CCA may be pushed beyond their thresholds for growth and survival within the next few decades whereas corals will show delayed and mixed responses. 2008: Fabry, Victoria J., et al. “Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes.” ICES Journal of Marine Science 65.3 (2008): 414-432. Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) is altering the seawater chemistry of the world’s oceans with consequences for marine biota. Elevated partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) is causing the calcium carbonate saturation horizon to shoal in many regions, particularly in high latitudes and regions that intersect with pronounced hypoxic zones. The ability of marine animals, most importantly pteropod molluscs, foraminifera, and some benthic invertebrates, to produce calcareous skeletal structures is directly affected by seawater CO2 chemistry. CO2influences the physiology of marine organisms as well through acid-base imbalance and reduced oxygen transport capacity. The few studies at relevant pCO2 levels impede our ability to predict future impacts on foodweb dynamics and other ecosystem processes. Here we present new observations, review available data, and identify priorities for future research, based on regions, ecosystems, taxa, and physiological processes believed to be most vulnerable to ocean acidification. We conclude that ocean acidification and the synergistic impacts of other anthropogenic stressors provide great potential for widespread changes to marine ecosystems. 2009: Miller, A. Whitman, et al. “Shellfish face uncertain future in high CO2 world: influence of acidification on oyster larvae calcification and growth in estuaries.” Plos one 4.5 (2009): e5661. Human activities have increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide by 36% during the past 200 years. One third of all anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the oceans, reducing pH by about 0.1 of a unit and significantly altering their carbonate chemistry. There is widespread concern that these changes are altering marine habitats severely, but little or no attention has been given to the biota of estuarine and coastal settings, ecosystems that are less pH buffered because of naturally reduced alkalinity. 2009: Doney, Scott C., et al. “Ocean acidification: the other CO2 problem.” Annual Review of Marine Science (2009). Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), primarily from human fossil fuel combustion, reduces ocean pH and causes wholesale shifts in seawater carbonate chemistry. The process of ocean acidification is well documented in field data, and the rate will accelerate over this century unless future CO2 emissions are curbed dramatically. Acidification alters seawater chemical speciation and biogeochemical cycles of many elements and compounds. One well-known effect is the lowering of calcium carbonate saturation states, which impacts shell-forming marine organisms from plankton to benthic molluscs, echinoderms, and corals. Many calcifying species exhibit reduced calcification and growth rates in laboratory experiments under high-CO2 conditions. Ocean acidification also causes an increase in carbon fixation rates in some photosynthetic organisms (both calcifying and noncalcifying). The potential for marine organisms to adapt to increasing CO2 and broader implications for ocean ecosystems are not well known; both are high priorities for future research. Although ocean pH has varied in the geological past, paleo-events may be only imperfect analogs to current conditions. 2010: Talmage, Stephanie C., and Christopher J. Gobler. “Effects of past, present, and future ocean carbon dioxide concentrations on the growth and survival of larval shellfish.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.40 (2010): 17246-17251. The combustion of fossil fuels has enriched levels of CO2 in the world’s oceans and decreased ocean pH. Although the continuation of these processes may alter the growth, survival, and diversity of marine organisms that synthesize CaCO3 shells, the effects of ocean acidification since the dawn of the industrial revolution are not clear. Here we present experiments that examined the effects of the ocean’s past, present, and future (21st and 22nd centuries) CO2 concentrations on the growth, survival, and condition of larvae of two species of commercially and ecologically valuable bivalve shellfish (Mercenaria mercenaria and Argopecten irradians). Larvae grown under near preindustrial CO2 concentrations (250 ppm) displayed significantly faster growth and metamorphosis as well as higher survival and lipid accumulation rates compared with individuals reared under modern day CO2 levels. Bivalves grown under near preindustrial CO2 levels displayed thicker, more robust shells than individuals grown at present CO2 concentrations, whereas bivalves exposed to CO2 levels expected later this century had shells that were malformed and eroded. These results suggest that the ocean acidification that has occurred during the past two centuries may be inhibiting the development and survival of larval shellfish and contributing to global declines of some bivalve populations. 2010: Kroeker, Kristy J., et al. “Meta‐analysis reveals negative yet variable effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms.” Ecology letters 13.11 (2010): 1419-1434. Ocean acidification is a pervasive stressor that could affect many marine organisms and cause profound ecological shifts. A variety of biological responses to ocean acidification have been measured across a range of taxa, but this information exists as case studies and has not been synthesized into meaningful comparisons amongst response variables and functional groups. We used meta‐analytic techniques to explore the biological responses to ocean acidification, and found negative effects on survival, calcification, growth and reproduction. However, there was significant variation in the sensitivity of marine organisms. Calcifying organisms generally exhibited larger negative responses than non‐calcifying organisms across numerous response variables, with the exception of crustaceans, which calcify but were not negatively affected. Calcification responses varied significantly amongst organisms using different mineral forms of calcium carbonate. Organisms using one of the more soluble forms of calcium carbonate (high‐magnesium calcite) can be more resilient to ocean acidification than less soluble forms (calcite and aragonite). Additionally, there was variation in the sensitivities of different developmental stages, but this variation was dependent on the taxonomic group. Our analyses suggest that the biological effects of ocean acidification are generally large and negative, but the variation in sensitivity amongst organisms has important implications for ecosystem responses. 2012: Narita, Daiju, Katrin Rehdanz, and Richard SJ Tol. “Economic costs of ocean acidification: a look into the impacts on global shellfish production.” Climatic Change 113.3-4 (2012): 1049-1063. Ocean acidification is increasingly recognized as a major global problem. Yet economic assessments of its effects are currently almost absent. Unlike most other marine organisms, mollusks, which have significant commercial value worldwide, have relatively solid scientific evidence of biological impact of acidification and allow us to make such an economic evaluation. By performing a partial-equilibrium analysis, we estimate global and regional economic costs of production loss of mollusks due to ocean acidification. Our results show that the costs for the world as a whole could be over 100 billion USD with an assumption of increasing demand of mollusks with expected income growths combined with a business-as-usual emission trend towards the year 2100. The major determinants of cost levels are the impacts on the Chinese production, which is dominant in the world, and the expected demand increase of mollusks in today’s developing countries, which include China, in accordance with their future income rise. Our results have direct implications for climate policy. Because the ocean acidifies faster than the atmosphere warms, the acidification effects on mollusks would raise the social cost of carbon more strongly than the estimated damage adds to the damage costs of climate change. 2013: Andersson, Andreas J., and Dwight Gledhill. “Ocean acidification and coral reefs: effects on breakdown, dissolution, and net ecosystem calcification.” Annual Review of Marine Science 5 (2013): 321-348. The persistence of carbonate structures on coral reefs is essential in providing habitats for a large number of species and maintaining the extraordinary biodiversity associated with these ecosystems. As a consequence of ocean acidification (OA), the ability of marine calcifiers to produce calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and their rate of CaCO3production could decrease while rates of bioerosion and CaCO3 dissolution could increase, resulting in a transition from a condition of net accretion to one of net erosion. This would have negative consequences for the role and function of coral reefs and the eco-services they provide to dependent human communities. In this article, we review estimates of bioerosion, CaCO3 dissolution, and net ecosystem calcification (NEC) and how these processes will change in response to OA. Furthermore, we critically evaluate the observed relationships between NEC and seawater aragonite saturation state (Ωa). Finally, we propose that standardized NEC rates combined with observed changes in the ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon to total alkalinity owing to net reef metabolism may provide a biogeochemical tool to monitor the effects of OA in coral reef environments. Hurst Persistence in UAH Temperature? IS THERE HURST PERSISTENCE IN UAH ZONAL MEAN TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES? It was shown in a prior work (see links above) that when the UAH lower troposphere temperatures Dec 1978 to Dec 2017 are studied on a monthly time scale (as a sequence of 481 months), evidence of Hurst persistence is found in the data. Here we present a further investigation into these data using an annual time scale and studying each calendar month separately for the seven calendar months January to July in study period 1979 to 2018. As of this writing data for the full time span are available for only these seven months. Almost universally, the study of temperature trends are presented in terms of OLS (ordinary least squares) linear regression. The procedure contains some unforgiving assumptions that may not apply in time series field data such as the temperature data in climate studies but the use of OLS has gained such widespread acceptance that the limitations of the procedure imposed by assumptions are generally overlooked. The important assumption relevant here is the so called “iid” constraint. The procedure assumes that all occurrences of the time series are taken from an identical Gaussian distribution that differ only in magnitude and that each occurrence is independent of prior occurrences. Violations of these assumptions in time series of field data are common. A serious violation is that of persistence first discovered in the Nile River flow data by Edwin Hurst who was designing the Aswan Dam in Egypt (pictured above). He found that changes in the flow rate were not random but contained a persistence so that an increase was more likely to be followed by an increase than a decrease and a decrease was more likely to be followed by a decrease than an increase. This kind of behavior violates “iid” Gaussian randomness and invalidates OLS regression because OLS assumes Gaussian randomness. In 1950, Hurst published his first and only journal publication [Hurst, E. (1951). Long-term storage capacity of reservoirs. Trans. Amer. Soc. Civil Eng. , 116 (1951): 770-808]. In it he detailed a procedure by which such persistence in time series can be detected by tracking how distant (the range) the cumulative deviations from the mean can be measured as number of standard deviations. He proposed the ratio H = ln(range)/ln(sample size) as a measure of persistence where H = Hurst exponent. In a pure Gaussian iid series H=0.5 and in the case of persistence, H>0.5. As a practical matter, because the empirical setup can also affect the value of H (Granero, S. (2008). Some comments on Hurst exponent and the long memory processes on capital markets. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its applications , 387.22 (2008): 5543-5551), the best way to test for persistence is to compare the H-value of the test series with that of its Gaussian twin. If the test series H-value is statistically significantly greater than the H-value of its Gaussian twin, there is evidence of persistence, and otherwise not. This comparison is made in Figure 3 for all ten unique zonal regions for which satellite temperature anomaly data are published by the UAH. For each zonal region, we compute the value of H in the data and again in a Gaussian simulation of the data. The Gaussian simulation retains the standard deviation and OLS trend value and generates the actual values in a Monte Carlo simulation (labeled as SIMUL). Figure 3 shows that no significant difference is found between data and the iid Gaussian simulation. We conclude from this comparison that the Gaussian iid assumption is not violated in the UAH temperature data at an annual time scale. This conclusion finds further support in Figure 1 where the OLS trend (the yellow line) is compared with the average of trends computed in a moving 15-year window that moves one year at a time from an end-year of 1993 to an end-year of 2018. If OLS assumptions are violated we should find significant differences between these two measures of overall trend. But no difference is evident in the graphic display. We therefore find no evidence of persistence or that the UAH data violate OLS assumptions. Additional support for this conclusion is found in Figure 2. Here the data (blue dots) and the corresponding Gaussian simulation (red dots) are compared directly in search for a visual incongruence that might identify non-Gaussian behavior. No such incongruence is found. We conclude that the evidence of Hurst persistence at a monthly time scale reported in previous works ( [SSRN.COM] [ACADEMIA.EDU]) does not apply to the annual time scale when the calendar months are studied in isolation, one at a time. 1956: Hurst, Harold Edwin. “Methods of using long-term storage in reservoirs.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers5.5 (1956): 519-543. ABSTRACT: The testable implication of the the theory of GHG forcing of surface temperature by atmospheric CO2 is that surface temperature should be responsive to changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration at the time scale of interest. This test is carried out by comparing four observational temperature series against a theoretical series constructed with GHG forcing of atmospheric CO2. The comparison does not show evidence for the existence of GHG forcing of atmospheric CO2 in the observational data. Conventional climate sensitivity estimations in observational data depend on a spurious correlation and this spuriousness likely explains the great instability of sensitivity and the large range of values found in observational data. When that spuriousness is corrected with detrended correlation analysis, no correlation remains to support the existence of climate sensitivity. DATA AND METHOD: This is a comparative analysis of the responsiveness of surface temperature to changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration in accordance with the GHG theory of atmospheric CO2 concentration described by the climate sensitivity function where surface temperature is a linear function of (LN(CO2)). Three types of temperature data are compared. They are (1) direct observations of global mean temperature with satellite mounted microwave sounding units (UAH, RSS), (2) global mean temperature reconstructions from the instrumental record (HAD, GIS), and (3) a theoretical time series of temperatures expected according to the theory of the GHG effect of atmospheric CO2 concentration where CMIP5 forcings ensure that Temp=f(LN(CO2)). The comparison is used to test the hypothesis that observational data contain the GHG effect of atmospheric CO2 concentration in the form of the climate sensitivity function. The time span for the study is 40 year satellite era from 1979 to 2018 when direct measurements of mean global lower troposphere temperatures are available. The other three temperature time series constrained to this sample period so that a direct comparison can be made. Eight calendar months (January to August) of data are available for the full sample period 1979-2018 at the time of this study. The calendar months are studied separately as their trend behaviors have been shown to differ in a related post at this site [LINK] and also because the existence of a seasonal cycle in GHG forcing has been shown to exist [LINK] . DATA ANALYSIS: FIGURE 1 is a tabulation of the observed climate sensitivity values in each of eight calendar months (January to August) and for each of the five temperature series studied (HAD, GIS, UAH, RSS, RCP8.5). It shows relatively low values of climate sensitivity ranging from 1.5<ECS<2.1 for the direct observations in the satellite data from UAH and RSS; somewhat higher values of 2.1<ECS<2.7 for temperature reconstructions from HAD and GIS; and values of ECS≈3 in theRCP8.5 series derived from a theory that holds that ECS=3±1.5. It is noted that although all observed values are within this large range, the theoretical RCP8.5 sensitivity values are higher than the observational empirical values. FIGURE 2 displays the correlations between temperature and LN(CO2) required to support the reliability of the corresponding regression coefficients that are translated into climate sensitivities. Strong and statistically significant correlations are seen in all five time series. As expected, the highest correlations, all eight of them close to the near perfect correlation of ρ≈1.0, are found in the theoretical RCP8.5 series that was constructed with the GHG forcing of atmospheric CO2. The lowest correlations, 0.55<ρ<0.75 are found in the directly observed satellite data. Intermediate values of 0.7<ρ<0.9 found in the global temperature reconstructions. All observed correlations are statistically significant and they are generally taken as evidence in support of the validity and reliability of the climate sensitivity parameters implied by the corresponding regression coefficients. The implied climate sensitivities are tabulated in Figure 1. FIGURE 3 is a presentation of the tendency in time series field data to translate long term trends into faux correlations even in the absence of responsiveness at a time scale of interest. The first frame presents an example of such a spurious correlation taken from the Tyler Vigen collection of spurious correlations in time series data [LINK]. The bottom frame is a segment of a lecture on spurious correlations in time series data and their examination with detrended correlation analysis provided on Youtube by Alex Tolley [LINK]. These considerations imply that the correlation seen in the source data (Figure 1) may not be reliable and that they must be decomposed so that the part that derives from long term trends can be removed and only the part that derives from responsiveness at the time scale of interest is interpreted into the theory of causation. FIGURE 4 presents the results of detrended correlation analysis that removes the effect of long term trends such that the correlation that survives into the detrended series more faithfully reflects the responsiveness of temperature to LN(CO2) at an annual time scale. In other words, detrended correlation is independent of the bias imposed by trends in the correlation between source time series. Therefore they can be interpreted in terms of causal relationships. It is true that “correlation does not imply causation” but it is also true that no causation interpretation of the data can be made without correlation at the causation time scale. That is, detrended correlation at the appropriate time scale is a necessary but not sufficient condition for causation. FIGURE 4: The table of detrended correlations shows that the strong and statistically significant correlations seen in the source time series (Figure 2) do not survive into the detrended series in the observational data (HAD, GIS, UAH, RSS) implying that the source correlations were creations of long term trends and not the responsiveness of temperature to changes in LN(CO2) at an annual time scale. A very different result is seen in the theoretical temperature series constructed with the GHG effect of atmospheric CO2 concentration (RCP8.5). Here, strong and statistically significant correlations survive into the detrended series in all eight calendar months and serve as evidence that temperature is responsive to LN(CO2) at an annual time scale. FIGURE 4: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: In this comparative analysis, detrended correlations serve as the measure of the responsiveness of temperature to changes in atmospheric CO2. This measure is used to compare direct observations of global mean temperature and reconstructions of global mean temperature (where the presence of a GHG effect of atmospheric CO2 is being tested), with the theoretical series which serves as the benchmark of what we expect to see in the presence of the GHG effect of atmospheric CO2 concentration. The comparison under identical conditions shows no evidence in any of the eight calendar months studied of the responsiveness of direct temperature observations and the HadCRUT4 temperature reconstructions (UAH, RSS, HAD) to changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration – a necessary condition for the existence of climate sensitivity and for the theory of anthropogenic global warming. A similar result for the GISTEMP global mean temperature reconstruction is also found but with the caveat that the detrended correlations are higher than in the other three observational data series with statistical significance observed in two of the eight calendar months studied (April and May). This unique feature of the NASA GISTEMP series may have implications for how these reconstructions were constructed and whether an assumption of GHG forcing played a role in their reconstruction. CONCLUSION: The testable implication of the GHG theory is that surface temperature should be responsive to atmospheric CO2 concentration such that a detrended correlation exists between the logarithm of atmospheric CO2 and surface temperature at the time scale of interest. This test is carried out for five temperature series in eight calendar months for the sample period 1979-2018 using comparative analysis to test observational data against the theoretical series. The comparison does not show evidence of the existence of GHG forcing by atmospheric CO2 in the observational data. The full text of this work is available for download from [SSRN.COM] or from [ACADEMIA.EDU] . The assistance and encouragement provided by Mr. Ashley Francis of Salisbury, England in carrying out this work is gratefully acknowledged. Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) is the responsiveness of global mean surface temperature to the logarithm of atmospheric CO2 concentration stated as the increase in temperature for a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration. The measure at once verifies and quantifies the core principle of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) – the so called “greenhouse effect” of atmospheric CO2. However, this logical and empirical support for AGW is known to suffer from an uncertainty issue described in a related post. In brief, ECS research with models and with observational data and also with models constrained by observational data, a large range of values for the ECS has been reported from ECS<1 up to ECS>10. The IPCC describes the value of ECS as a mean(ECS)=3 and its 90%CI = [1.5, 4.5] Celsius degrees for each doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration based on the Jule Charney’s presentation of model results in 1979. The IPCC does not take note of earlier findings by Syukuro Manabe in 1967 that the the sensitivity value should be ECS=2 (See bibliography below). Yet, the legitimization of certain values of the ECS by selective citation is somewhat arbitrary and prone to bias because a large range of values significantly different from each other can thus be legitimized. In a prior work, it was shown that the ECS values seen in a moving 60-year window in the HadCRUT4 temperature data show negative ECS to values greater than ECS=6C/doubling. The full text of the source document for this work may be downloaded from [SSRN.COM] or [ACADEMIA.EDU] . In such a state of empirical confusion, it is possible to claim evidential support for a selected value from a large range of values by judicial choice of the time span and the corresponding citation as described by Wigley (1985). A similar analysis is presented in this work. Here, a range of spans is tested on the series of 168 years of monthly mean global temperature reconstructions in the HadCRUT4 data set provided by the Hadley Climate Research Unit. They are the full span (168 years), the half span (84 years), and one third of the span (56 years). In addition, spans of 100 and 110 years are tested. A relationship between the time span of the data and the observational ECS estimate is thus derived to determine the appropriate span for the test in view of the latency of the oceans in reaching climate equilibrium as described in (Danabasoglu 2009) below in the bibliography section. Here it is found by trial and error that in the HadCRUT4 temperature anomaly series, that a time span of at least 100 years is required to stabilize the empirical ECS estimate from observational data. It is shown that 100, 110, and 168-year time spans yield stable ECS values and that time spans of 90 years or less generate unstable and possibly unreliable ECS estimates in the early portion of the full span but not so in more recent data. This difference between early and recent data is difficult to interpret. Figure 1 displays the empirical ECS estimates in a moving 100-year window as the end of the moving window moves one year at a time from 1949 to 2017. The GIF animation presents these results one calendar month at a time. The blue line contains all 68 ECS values observed and the red line shows their mean. The observed values lie in a wide range of ECS<1 to ECS>3. However, their means are in the tighter range of ECS = [1.8, 2.4]. These averages are summarized in the chart below the GIF animation. In comparison with the very unstable behavior in 60-year and 84-year spans reported in the earlier work posted on [SSRN.COM] , the stability of ECS estimates from the HadCRUT4 temperature anomalies is improved when a 100-year moving window is used. Figure 1 also highlights the great differences among the calendar months in terms of ECS estimates. This information is lost when data for calendar months are combined into annual means. A further investigation of the effect of the time span on the stability of empirical ECS estimates is carried out and the results are summarized in Figure 2 &Figure 3. Time spans of 168 years (the full span), 56 years (one third of the full span), 84 years (one half of the full span), 90 years, 100 years, and 110 years are tried. The ECS estimates are tested for statistical significance. Statistically significant results are shown in black and values that failed the significance test are shown in red. The analysis is carried out for each of the twelve calendar months separately. The results for January to June appear in Figure 2 and those for July to December are in Figure 3. Figure 2 & Figure 3: The results show that statistically significant and stable values of ECS are found for long time spans of 100 years or more at any location within the full span of the data. No improvement in stability is found for time spans longer than 100 years. The stability and reliability of ECS values for time spans of 90 years or less depend on location. Early time spans that end in 1905, 1933, and 1939 are found to be unstable and without a statistically significant value for ECS in the three short time spans tested (56 years, 84 years, and 90 years). These same time spans that end later than 1939 are stable and with statistically significant ECS values. However, an anomalous result of statistically significant ECS>6 is found for 56-year time spans ending in 1961. The location sensitivity of ECS in this temperature time series may imply inconsistencies in the data. It is noted that in most cases, the empirical estimate for the value of the ECS in Figures 2&3 is remarkably stable at or around ECS=2C per doubling of atmospheric CO2. The value of ECS=2 is consistent with the theoretical prediction of Syukuro Manabe in his earliest published works. These citations are included in the bibliography section below. Albright, W. (1973). From the Patriarchs to Moses II. Moses out of Egypt. The Biblical Archaeologist, 36.2 (1973): 48-76. 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VonStorch, H. (1995). Analysis of cliimate variability. Sprnger Verlag. Vul, E. (2010). Begging the question: The non-independence error in fMRI data analysis. In M. Press, Foundational issues for human brain mapping (pp. 71-91). Boston: MIT Press. Webster, P. (2005). Changes in tropical cyclone number, duration, and intensity in a warming environment. Science, 309.5742 (2005): 1844-1846. Woodworth, P. (2009). Evidence for the accelerations of sea level on multi‐decade and century timescales. International Journal of Climatology, 29.6 (2009): 777-789. Sea surface temperature (SST) is the link that connects climate change research with tropical cyclone research. Rising SST is observed (Hadley Centre, 2017) and thought to be an effect of Anthropogenic global warming or AGW (Hansen, 2005) . At the same time, the theory of tropical cyclones holds that cyclone formation, and particularly cyclone intensification are related to SST (Vecchi, 2007) (Knutson, 2010). Testable implications of the theory for empirical research are derived from climate model simulations (Knutson, 2010) and also from sedimentary evidence of land-falling hurricanes over a 1500-year period (Mann, 2009). These studies suggest some guidelines and testable implications for empirical tests of the theory that AGW affects tropical cyclone activity (Knutson, 2010). Complications of empirical tests in this line of research are (Knutson, 2010): 1. Extremely high variance in tropical cyclone data at an annual time scale suggests longer, perhaps a decadal time scale which in turn greatly reduces statistical power. 2. Limited data availability and poor data quality present barriers to research. 3. Limited theoretical understanding of natural variability makes it difficult to ascertain whether the variability observed in the data is in excess of natural variability. 4. Model projections for individual cyclone basins show large differences and conflicting results. Thus, no testable implication can be derived for studies of individual basins. It is necessary that empirical studies have a global geographical span. 5. Advances in data collection activity, methods, and technology create trends in the data that must be separated from climate change effects (Landsea, 2007) (Landsea, 2010). A high level of interest in tropical cyclones derives from an unusually active hurricane season in 2004 when more than 14 tropical cyclones formed in the North Atlantic basin . Four of these storms intensified to Category 4 or greater and made landfall in the USA causing considerable damage. The even more dramatic 2005 season followed in its heels with more than thirty depressions. Four of them intensified to Category 5 and three made landfall. The most intense was Hurricane Wilma but the most spectacular was Hurricane Katrina which made landfall in Florida and again in Louisiana. Its devastation was facilitated by a breach in the levee system that was unrelated to AGW but its dramatic consequences made it an icon of the possible extreme weather impacts of AGW. The Emanuel paper (Emanuel, 2005) came in the heels of these events and is possibly best understood in this context. The assumed attribution by the media of the epic devastation to AGW set the stage for climate science to claim the destructiveness of hurricanes as extreme weather effects of AGW. The Emanuel 2005 paper was one of several published in the heels of these hurricane seasons. The paper presents a new measure of tropical cyclone intensity which the author calls “Power Dissipation Index” and to which he assigns the acronym PDI. The paper finds a statistically significant rising trend in the aggregate annual PDI of North Atlantic Hurricanes in the study period 1949-2004 in tandem with rising sea surface temperature (SST) for the appropriate zone where hurricanes form. The graphical depiction of this result is reproduced in Figure 1. The usual measure of tropical cyclone activity is the ACE or Accumulated Cyclone Energy. It is computed as the sum of squares of the maximum sustained wind speed in each 6-hour window during the life of the cyclone. It represents the total amount of kinetic energy generated by a tropical cyclone and this energy has been related to the energy in the ocean surface as measured by surface temperatures and temperature differentials such that the cyclone can be described as a heat engine (Rotunno, 1987) (Emanuel, 1987) (Goni, 2003) (Latif, 2007) (Klotzbach, 2006) (Emanuel, 2003). When the ACE measure did not show the trend that the author was looking for he decided to cube the velocities instead of squaring them as a way of increasing the differences among annual values. This innovation produced the desired result and a trend became evident over the last 30 years of the 55-year study period as seen in Figure 1. Since the sum of cubes could not be called ACE, the author gave it a new name and called it the Power Dissipation Index or PDI. The object variable in the hypothesis was thus changed from ACE to PDI. The PDI hypothesis was then modified to exclude the first 22 years of the study period where no trend and very little correspondence between PDI and SST are seen (Figure 1). Thus, the tailor made hypothesis to be tested was whether there is a rising trend in the PDI in the most recent 30 years (1975-2004) of the study period. This hypothesis was then tested with the same data over the same time span that was used to construct it. The procedure of testing a hypothesis with the data used to construct the hypothesis constitutes circular reasoning because the methodology subsumes and ensures the desired result. At this point, a rising trend is seen in the PDI time series 1975-2004 at an annual time scale but the trend is not statistically significant because of extreme year to year variability in cyclone formation and intensification (Knutson, 2010). To smooth out the variance, the author took a 5-year moving average of the PDI data; and when that also failed to show a statistically significant trend, he took 5-year moving averages of the 5-year moving averages (in effect a 10-year moving average) and was finally able to find statistical significance for rising PDI over the last 30 years of the study period (Watkins, 2007). The findings presented by the paper are based on this rising trend and the visual correspondence between PDI and SST seen in Figure 1. However, in his hypothesis test computations the author failed to correct for degrees of freedom lost in the computation of moving averages. When moving averages are computed some data values are used more than once. It can be shown that the average multiplicity of use is given by the relationship M = (λ/N)*(N-λ+1) where M is the average multiplicity, N is the sample size, and λ is the width of the moving window (Munshi, 2016) (VonStorch, 1995). In the case of a window with λ=10 years moving through a time series of N=30 years, the average multiplicity is M=7. The effective sample size is computed as EFFN=N/M or EFFN=30/7 = 4.285 and the degrees of freedom for the t-test for trend is DF=EFFN-2 or DF=2.285. The statistical significance reported by the author at N=30 and DF=28 is not found when the sample size is corrected for multiplicity. A false sense of statistical power was created by the methodology used when decadal moving averages were taken (Watkins, 2007) (Munshi, 2016). Full text download links for paper on moving averages [SSRN.COM] [ACADEMIA.EDU] . The North Atlantic basin is just one of six major cyclone basins around the world. The other five are The West Pacific, the East Pacific, the South Pacific, the North Indian, and the South Indian. The most active basin is the West Pacific. The theory of anthropogenic global warming as expressed in terms of climate models indicates that only long term changes in global averages of all six cyclone basins may be interpreted in terms of the impacts of climate change (Knutson, 2010). The study of a single basin over a brief 30-year period is unlikely to contain useful information relevant to AGW. Data for all six basins over a 70-year study period 1945-2014 does not show trends in total aggregate annual ACE that can be interpreted as an impact of warming as shown in three related posts on this site [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] . The left frame of Figure 2 shows the relative activity of the six basins over the 70-year study period. From left to right the basins are East Pacific, North Atlantic, North Indian, South Indian, South Pacific, and West Pacific. The North Atlantic, although close to home for many climate researchers, is not a significant source of cyclone energy in a global context. The right frame of Figure 2 does not show a sustained trend in tropical cyclone activity on a decadal time scale particularly when the decade 2005-2014 is included. It is likely that (Emanuel, 2005) was a product of climate activism that had reached a high level of intensity in the years leading up to 2005 by way of the push for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol for CO2 emission reduction as well as the European heat wave of 2003 that was claimed and widely accepted to be caused by AGW. It was a time when the extreme weather effect of AGW was given credence by the IPCC and generally taken for granted. Given the theoretical basis that connected SST to tropical cyclones, the truth of AGW driven hurricane intensity was thus taken to be a given (Emanuel, 1987) and then apparently proven by the 2004/2005 hurricane seasons. It remained for climate science only to tend to the details of presenting the data in the appropriate format. Thus the ultimate form of circular reasoning is found in (Emanuel, 2005) in which a high level of confidence ex-ante in the truth of the proposition that AGW causes extreme tropical cyclone activity left the presentation of empirical evidence of that relationship as mere detail. The role of confirmation bias in research of this nature is discussed in a related post [CONFIRMATION BIAS] .

2019-04-25T00:16:45Z

https://tambonthongchai.com/2018/09/

Welcome to the Origondo website. Please read the following General Terms and Conditions carefully; they govern the use of services through as well as the use of the Origondo website. These General Terms and Conditions come into effect on 30 November 2011. Origondo AG (company based in Streulistrasse 79b, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland, registered in the trade register of the canton Zurich under the number CH 020.3.036.642-7; UID CHE-136.537.396 [from now on "Origondo"]) provides its website, services and products to you in accordance with the following General Terms and Conditions (from now on "T&C"). By using the Origondo website you agree that you have read, understood and that you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. You agree whether you are viewing the website personally or accessing the website in any other way, and independently of whether you become a registered user of the Origondo website or not. With any registration you confirm your full legal capacity. If you enrol an organisation with such registration, Origondo may assume that you are entitled to act and to accept these T&C on behalf of this organisation. If you do not agree with these T&C, then do not use or access (or continue to use or access) the Origondo website. Deviations from these T&C are valid only on an individual case basis with explicit and written approval by Origondo. "User" = a registered visitor of the website. The user possesses either a "private user account" (for private use) or a "business user account" (for business use). "Organisation" = legal entity. This can comprise an enterprise, an association, a cooperative, a foundation, a non-governmental organisation or a non-profit organisation. "Project" = service which is rendered by a party under a service agreement with another party. "Buyer" = organisation or private user who posts a project and who awards an order for the respective service. "Provider" = organisation or private user who applies for a project and renders the respective service if awarded. "Hourly Project" = project in which the hours spent are added and invoiced once per week during the course of the project at an hourly rate which was fixed in advance. "Fixed Price Project" = project for which an in advance agreed amount for the respective service is determined. With medium sized projects the payment can be divided into partial payments, which become due as milestones are reached. 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The trademarks and trade dress belonging to Origondo may not be used or reproduced without prior written and explicit approval from Origondo and, in particular, may not be used in connection with a product or a service which is not affiliated with Origondo. It is prohibited to use the trademarks or the trade dress in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, in any manner dilutes the rights of Origondo or discredits Origondo. This includes the use of the trademark Origondo in metatags or any other "hidden text" for the purpose of gaining a higher ranking from search engines. License and Site Access – Origondo grants you a personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive license to access and use this website subject to the following exclusions for private and business purposes. This license does not include: downloads (excluding browser caching), redistribution by means such as framing techniques, commercial use or resale of the website functions or their content in its present or amended form. You agree not to decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble any software, procedures or other products accessible through the Origondo website. You consent not to insert any code or other products into the website or to manipulate the content of the website in any way that affects the users' experience, and not to use any data mining, data gathering or data extracting methods. Any unauthorized use automatically terminates the license granted by Origondo. Hyperlinks – You are granted a limited, revocable and non-exclusive right to create a hyperlink to the Origondo website as long as the link does not portray Origondo, its affiliates, or their products or services in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise offensive matter. Without express written permission you may not use any proprietary graphics or trademarks of Origondo and its affiliates as part of the link. Claims of Copyright Infringements – Origondo respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not propagate, support or condone infringing activities. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, are aware of any copyright infringing material on the Origondo website, or know of someone who is making unauthorized use of content of the Origondo website, please inform Origondo immediately via the contact details specified at the end of these T&C. Registration – In order to participate on the Origondo outsourcing platform and/or receive newsletters, you must be a registered user. No more than one user account may be opened per person. An organisation can incorporate however several user accounts with at least one user account being assigned administrator rights for the respective organisation. During the registration process you must provide Origondo with your full name, your date of birth, your country of residence, a valid email address, a screen name and a password of your choice. Any further data can be provided optionally by you. Origondo will need additional personal data from you in order to tender or accept a project. You confirm that you will provide truthful, accurate and current information about yourself as prompted by the registration form and if applicable, your organisation, and undertake to keep these truthful and up to date. Origondo is entitled but not obliged to review your profile data. The screen name is used in order to publicly identify you in connection with your posted content. You have the option of using your real name as your screen name, but by doing so you are choosing to disclose your identity in connection with your projects, comments and reviews on the Origondo website. Once selected, your screen name can no longer be changed. Account Access – Your user account is personal and not transferable, even within an organisation. Access and use are exclusive to you. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and your user identification, as well as for restricting access to your computer and your mobile device. If visiting the Origondo website from a public or shared computer or from an unprotected mobile device, you must log out at the end of each visit and - if possible - delete the browsing history and cache. You agree to accept full responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. You agree to immediately notify Origondo of any unauthorized access to your account or password or any other breach of security. Minimum Age – If you are younger than 18, you can use the Origondo website only under supervision of a parent or legal guardian. Visitors under 18 years are strictly prohibited from creating a user account on the Origondo website. Content – Origondo enables you to send, post, upload or otherwise submit (from now on "submit") content such as profiles, portfolios, project data, feedback, reviews, reports, questions, suggestions, ideas, concepts, techniques and other content in the form of text, photo, graphics, music, audio, video, multimedia presentations, general data and/or information or other materials (from now on "content") by email, via the website, via questionnaires and other communication channels to Origondo. Use – By submitting content you permit Origondo to store and publish these in accordance with the respective data security level (see data security guideline section "Confidentiality and Data Security") on the Origondo website. By submitting content with the data security level "public" you grant a worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable and fully sublicensable right, to Origondo and its affiliates to use, reproduce, distribute, show and publish these content in any medium, software or existing or future technologies of any kind, if necessary in adapted form and/or language. Origondo is under no obligation to respond, acknowledge or compensate financially or otherwise for any content provided by users. Security – Data security is very important to Origondo. Origondo has taken all economically reasonable technical and organisational measures to secure the content collected via the Origondo website. Nevertheless Origondo cannot rule out disruptions to operations and also can not guarantee that any malicious third party will not succeed in bypassing the measures taken by Origondo. You understand and consent that you alone carry the risk of loss and disclosure for content sent to Origondo. Code of Conduct – You agree to use the Origondo website in a diligent, appropriate and lawful manner and to abstain from intentional or unintentional violations of any applicable local, national or international law or any third party rights. In particular you agree not to submit any content containing one of the following components: fictitious tenders or offers; advertisement for services which are not offered via Origondo; references to other websites or services in competition with Origondo; harsh, offensive, vulgar or discriminating language; personal attacks or harassment; material which is harmful to young people; political campaigning; any form of solicitation; any form of "junk mail" or "spam"; information you do not have a right to make available under any law or contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements), software viruses or other malicious computer codes, files or programs. You also agree that the content is not illegal, obscene, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, libellous, hate-filled, defamatory, vulgar, false, incorrect, inaccurate, disruptive to the normal flow of a conversation, invasive of privacy or personal rights, infringing intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights or other intellectual proprietary rights of third parties), or racist, ethnically or otherwise objectionable or hurtful. You further agree to refrain from the following: conducting yourself in a vulgar or offensive manner while using the service of Origondo; collecting, storing or distributing personal data about other users or projects unless necessary for the fulfilment of the service agreement; impersonating any other person or entity; falsely stating or misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or entity; ignoring economic sanctions; disguising or misleadingly representing information concerning the origin of content; interfering with or disrupting servers or networks connected to the Origondo website; or disobeying any requirements, procedures, policies and regulations of networks connected to the Origondo website. Responsibility – Origondo takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for damage or losses of any kind incurred as a result of content received from you or any third party. Submitted content, regardless of the data security level, is subject to the sole responsibility of the person and, if applicable, the organisation, from which the content was received. Origondo does not control submitted content displayed on the website, and therefore does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, completeness or quality of such content. It is your responsibility to evaluate the information, opinions, advice or other content. Further you agree to indemnify Origondo and its affiliates from all claims resulting from content submitted by you. Right to Delete – You understand and agree that Origondo may, but is not obliged to, review any activities and content and that Origondo may reject, delete or remove these without advance notice at its sole and absolute discretion, for any reason or no reason. Deposit Account – Origondo keeps interest free deposit accounts in order to enable optimal handling of payments for all involved parties. For each registered private user and for each registered organisation only one deposit account is kept. The currency of the deposit account can be freely selected by the owner of the respective account during the registration process from the list of currencies provided on the Origondo website. The maximum deposit is limited to CHF 3'000.-. or because of possible currency fluctuations an amount approximately 10% lower in the currency selected for the account, as converted using Origondo's foreign exchange rate. Any possible excess is paid automatically by means of the preferential payout method. Escrow Accounts – In connection with the handling of a project Origondo may keep an interest free escrow account on behalf of the parties concerned with the respective service agreement. The withdrawal of a partial amount or the entire amount (which is deposited into the escrow account) and the crediting of the deposit account of one service agreement party are only possible when released by the other party. The acceptance of an invoice by the buyer is also considered as a release of this kind, even if this occurs implicitly by not contesting the invoice within the time limit. Safekeeping – All user deposits are collectively kept with a Swiss Bank in bank accounts separate from Origondo's trading accounts. One collective account is kept per currency offered. Deposits – Deposits can be made by different payment methods. Depending on the selected payment method several days may elapse before the amount becomes available in the bank account. Origondo undertakes not to add any additional delays. In the event of erroneous or incorrect credit notes by Origondo, Origondo has the right to cancel credit notes at any time without consultation with the customer. Further information on currently available payment methods can be found here. Payouts – Assets can be withdrawn from the deposit account via different payment methods. Depending on the selected payment method several days may elapse before the amount becomes available at its destination. Origondo undertakes for its part to initiate the payouts on the same day, subject to the condition that acceptance times where applicable were kept. Further information on currently available payment methods can be found here. Suspension – Origondo is authorized to suspend deposit accounts with suspicious transactions at short notice regardless of the above regulations until the situation is clarified, in order to review the legitimacy of the activities. Money Exchange – Money exchange is carried out exclusively in an accessory manner in connection with the payment of a service agreement: In other words, if the provider’s deposit account is being kept in a different currency to that of the buyer’s deposit account, then the payment is converted on transfer to the provider’s deposit account. The conversion takes place in accordance with Origondo's current foreign exchange rate. The user can personally change the nominal currency of the deposit account. This is however only permissible if the balance of the deposit account stands at zero, and no repayments to the deposit account from active escrow accounts are possible. Limitation of Turnover – Users not yet identified in accordance with the Swiss money laundry law are limited to a maximum expenditure of CHF 5'000.- per calendar year or the equivalent amount in another currency. This expenditure limit includes all amounts transferred to other users. Possible repayments must be returned with absolute certainty to their origin in order not to fall under this expenditure limit. Origondo will close your user account upon your request. This is only possible if the deposit account is fully paid out, all project activities are completed and all invoices are settled or, if applicable, further users within the same organisation are registered and continue the business activities. The contents of your user account, subject to a legal safekeeping period, are not deleted immediately, but only after the expiry of the required period. Further content such as for example project data, feedbacks and reviews are not part of your user account and remain in existence even after its termination. Please log in to see the link. Origondo reserves the right (however not the obligation) to close your account, delete related information and/or content and to terminate or restrict your use of the website temporarily or permanently, with immediate effect and without advance notice, at its sole and absolute discretion, if you violate the letter or spirit of these T&C. Should you be bound by ongoing service agreements at such time, Origondo may inform the parties concerned about the change to the status of your user account and provide summary information about the reason. Any deposits are only returned after full clarification of all open claims. If a user account remains inactive for a period of ten years, Origondo will close the respective account and is authorized to donate any dormant deposits to a charitable organisation in your country of residence. Price Quotes – In order to facilitate comparison of offers on tenders, if not mentioned otherwise these are listed excluding any value added tax. The prices agreed at the time of the conclusion of the service agreement are binding. The contractual currency is set by the buyer. Finder’s fees and other fees invoiced by Origondo are indicated excluding value added tax. Taxes, Tariffs and Duties – Depending on the location of the contracting parties it is possible that taxes, import/export duties or other duties are due. Correct billing is incumbent on the provider. The full and correct declaration of all services received and payment of taxes, tariffs and duties due in the country of destination are incumbent upon the buyer, irrespective of whether they are mentioned on the invoice or not. The complete and correct declaration of all services provided and the payment of taxes, tariffs and duties due in the country of origin are incumbent upon the provider, irrespective of whether they are mentioned on the invoice or not. Origondo reserves itself the right (but not the obligation) to carry out audits. You consent to provide Origondo on request and within an appropriate period with evidence in respect of your complete and correct declaration and payments. Legal capacity – By placing a tender for a project or placing a bid, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older and over the legal age of consent in your respective jurisdiction, and that you are legally competent to form a binding contract in your name, or as applicable in the name of your organisation. Project Tendering – When a user posts a tender on the platform, then this represents a non binding offer to buy a corresponding service from a provider as a buyer. The tender must be written in a language offered by Origondo. Before you post a project, please check your selection and data and correct any possible input errors. As a buyer you bear sole responsibility for the project not being in breach of either these T&C or of any laws in the country of origin, country of destination and Switzerland. Submission of a Bid – When a user places a bid for a project tender, then this represents a binding offer to provide the corresponding service under the conditions specified in the tender and bid. The bidder is bound to his bid 10 days beyond the expiry of the tender period. Since the finder’s fee is charged to the provider, it is implicitly included in the provider’s bid. Before you post a bid, please check your selection and conditions and correct any possible input errors. Conclusion of a Contract – The buyer and the potential provider have the opportunity to discuss the content of the service agreement, state it more precisely and adapt it, and also to negotiate the price of the service in a private forum before concluding the contract. The buyer can at any time accept an active bid from a provider, resulting in a valid contract coming into force. An email with the most important parts of the contract is sent to both parties. Independence of the Parties – You confirm that both contracting parties are and will remain independent. Neither these T&C nor the service agreement constitutes a partnership, a joint venture or any other employer-employee relationship. Furthermore you confirm that Origondo acts only as an independent intermediary, that no legal obligations for Origondo can arise as a result of the project activities, and that these are fully incumbent upon the contracting parties. Quality – You undertake to provide the highest quality in your communication and your work. You understand the fact that the reputation of Origondo also depends on you and that Origondo will therefore undertake all necessary steps to protect itself from apparent risks to it. Timeliness – You undertake to review project activities regularly, and to react promptly to inquiries and messages. Possible absences, as far as foreseeable, are to be announced at least one week in advance. Billing – With service agreements invoices are generated either once a week during the night leading to Monday (with hourly projects) or when a milestone is reached and at the end of the project (with fixed price projects), and this is notified on the Origondo website. The buyer has one week to contest the invoice (see chapter Conflict Resolution). Otherwise the invoice is considered to be accepted after the deadline has lapsed, and becomes due for immediate payment. Finder’s fees and other fees are paid directly following the completion of the corresponding transaction. The invoices for finder’s fees and other fees are however only generated at the beginning of the subsequent month for the entire past month. Payment Handling with Escrow Account – In the event that for a fixed price project you agreed to an escrow account, the buyer must deposit the total amount negotiated before the start of the project into the respective escrow account. By accepting the invoices, the buyer releases the corresponding amount. The amount is then credited to the provider’s deposit account. Payment Handling without Escrow Account – Projects can only be posted without an escrow account either once the buyer has activated a deposit method with an automatic direct debit or when sufficient funds for the first expected invoice have been deposited into the deposit account. The invoice must be paid immediately by the due date. This can alternatively take place with an automatic debit or by means of a transfer from the deposit account. Payment Default – A payment default may occur among other things if the buyer has requested a chargeback or if the buyer's credit card is no longer valid. In this case Origondo may suspend all projects in which this buyer is involved. Additionally the deposit accounts of the two contracting parties may be frozen until the incident has been clarified. All necessary steps may be initiated in order to collect the payment from the buyer, however Origondo cannot be held responsible by the provider for the collection of the debt or any payment default. Furthermore should Origondo conclude at its own discretion based on the project activities that the project has been bogus with fraudulent intentions, all necessary steps may be initiated in order to collect possible shortfalls from the provider too. It is possible for either contracting party to announce a project as being completed. If the final invoice has not been initiated, then this will happen automatically on the completion of the project. Afterwards the other party has one week to contest the project completion, in order to generate a possible invoice or call for rework (see chapter Conflict Resolution). Otherwise the project will be closed automatically after the deadline has lapsed and the contracting parties can not make further claims against each other. User Feedback – Upon the completion of a project, but also when a milestone is reached (with fixed price projects) or periodically (with hourly projects) both parties have the opportunity of evaluating each other publicly. This project-related feedback is assigned to the person responsible for the project for the evaluated party. This feedback comprises points awarded for certain quality criteria and a written comment. Users must provide objective and truthful feedback. Once a user has received more than one scored evaluation, Origondo may compile an aggregate score from these, whereby the points awarded are weighted according to an algorithm chosen by Origondo. In the event of several users of an organisation receiving feedback, Origondo may compile respective aggregate scores for this organisation. Computer-assisted Evaluations – If Origondo publishes results of computer-aided tests evaluating expertise, Origondo does not warrant that the test was truly and honestly taken by the respective user. Additionally Origondo may also compile and publish evaluations relating to quality characteristics and risk factors based on project activities. Self-Classifications – Classifications undertaken by the user himself concerning not only his expertise but also his geographical location and his identity have not been verified by Origondo, unless noted otherwise, and should always be interpreted with caution. Origondo does not offer any warranty for the process, the fulfilment and the quality of projects. The service agreement and its fulfilment including payment, as well as any possible conflict resolution, are incumbent solely on the buyer and provider. In addition Origondo will not take sides and offers no legal services such as consultation, agency or arbitration. You consent to any conflicts referring only to future payments. Payments already issued to the provider are considered as accepted and cannot be recovered. In addition hourly projects can only be challenged regarding the number of hours charged, but not the service provided. In the event of a conflict you consent to search swiftly, reasonably and efficiently for a solution out of court at first. For this purpose Origondo can suggest one or more arbitration mechanisms to you. Both parties must however voluntarily submit to the same arbitration mechanism in order for it to be applied. The parties may also agree on a different approach to finding a solution. Ultimately it is at your own discretion to start legal proceedings if you are of the opinion that the other party is not cooperating sufficiently. If a user or, if applicable, an organisation is involved in three or more unresolved conflicts; he or it may not post any new projects or place any new bids. Non-binding offer – All information on the Origondo website concerning Origondo's fees and services represent a non-binding offer, to which Origondo is not bound. Paid finder’s fees and other fees are not refunded. Finder’s Fee – As soon as a contact is established or identification is made via the Origondo platform, Origondo is entitled to a finder’s fee during the exclusivity period on the entire volume of business between the buyer and the provider, regardless of whether a service agreement comes into existence on the platform or not. The finder’s fee to which Origondo is entitled is owed when the provider issues his invoice and is deducted at the time the remuneration paid by the buyer is credited to the provider’s deposit account. In principle the finder’s fee is calculated as a percentage of the project volume. Its current level can be found here. Money Transfer Fees – Transfer fees may occur with deposits into a deposit or escrow account, with payouts from the deposit account, with refunds and also with failed transfers or chargebacks. The currently applied transfer fees can be found here. Money Exchange Fees – If the contractual currency of a project is not identical to that of the provider’s deposit account, then the payment is converted prior to the credit. An exchange fee is implicitly included in the exchange rate. The currently applied exchange rates can be found here. Price Adjustments – The finder’s fees and other fees displayed on the Origondo website are strictly binding. However, errors, increases in production costs and technical changes may occur and a price adjustment may be required. Such adjustments will be announced on the Origondo website at least 30 days in advance, will become valid on the effective date and will be applied to all transactions starting from that day. Excluded from this are price corrections due to errors, those are not announced and are immediately effective. Evasion – You undertake to evade Origondo neither actively nor passively and to conduct all payments for the entire business relationship with the brokered party which accrue during the exclusivity period for services performed via Origondo, in order that Origondo can determine and collect the finder’s fees. In particular tenders and bids may not contain contact details allowing a potential direct contact between the buyer and provider. Exclusivity – The exclusivity period is always 2 years starting from the first contact between buyer and provider via the Origondo website or due to the use of the Origondo website, regardless of the conclusion of a service agreement on the Origondo website. Subsequently the use of the Origondo online platform for the respective business relation is optional. Any partial or full attempts at evasion must be reported to Origondo immediately. Flat-rate Compensation – For an existing business relation between a buyer and a provider the option exists for the service agreement partners to buy themselves out of the obligation to pay the finder’s fee by paying a flat-rate compensation. This flat rate payment amounts to CHF 750.- or, if greater, one and a half times the finder’s fees which would occur with completion via the Origondo platform. The appraisal of the fees to be omitted is undertaken by projecting the last five invoices. If these are unavailable, Origondo shall conduct the estimate at its own discretion. As soon as the flat-rate compensation is paid, both contracting parties will be informed about the fact that the finder’s fee is compensated for and that direct payments are no longer excluded. Compensation – Buyers and providers are jointly liable for the damages caused by unpaid finder’s fees. The amount of the compensation is double the lost finder’s fees plus a flat rate fee of CHF 2'000.-. If the business volume cannot be determined clearly, Origondo may estimate it on the basis of comparable service relationships. Any deposits in the deposit account may be used for the payment of the compensation. For the benefit of its customers Origondo occasionally conducts market or consumer research concerning different aspects of Origondo’s products and services; in particular alternative versions of advertisements, offers and fees. Origondo reserves the right, to include or exclude you in such market and customer research at its own discretion, without prior notice. In an attempt to provide you with increased value, the Origondo website includes links to third party websites. Websites to which our site links do not operate under these T&C. Please consult the relevant terms and conditions of the linked websites. Origondo does not control, recommend, sponsor or endorse any such third party websites. You acknowledge and agree that Origondo shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource. When you visit the Origondo website or send e-mails to Origondo, you are communicating with Origondo electronically. You consent to receive electronic communications from Origondo Subject to you exercising the opt-out option, Origondo will continue to communicate with you by e-mail or by posting notices on the Origondo website. You agree that all agreements, invoices, notices, disclosures and other communications that Origondo provides to you electronically in its name or in the name of any other user, via e-mail or any other provisions via the Origondo website, will satisfy any legal communication requirements, including that such communications be in writing. You agree that Origondo has no responsibility or liability for the timeliness, mis-delivery, deletion or failure to store any messages, other communications or other content maintained or transmitted to you by the Origondo website. You understand and agree that the Origondo services including all features, and functionalities associated therewith, the website and its content are provided on an" as is” and" as available” basis with all faults and without warranty, guarantee or representation of any kind, expressed or implied, including, but without limitation, warranties of merchant ability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. You accept that Origondo does not warrant that service descriptions or other content of any sales literature, or in any advertisement whether in newspapers, magazines, on the Origondo website or otherwise or in any invoice or other document issued by us is accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free and any changes, omissions or errors made may be made or corrected by Origondo without further liability. You expressly agree that your use of the Origondo website is at your sole risk and you assume all responsibility. You also accept the additional effort which might be caused by any failures, loss of data, delays or service interruptions. Origondo will not be liable for any damages you may suffer as a result of your use of the Origondo website or Origondo services, including, but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages. 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The salivary gland is rhythmically controlled by sympathetic nerve activation from the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which functions as the main oscillator of circadian rhythms. In humans, salivary IgA concentrations reflect circadian rhythmicity, which peak during sleep. However, the mechanisms controlling this rhythmicity are not well understood. Therefore, we examined whether the timing of parasympathetic (pilocarpine) or sympathetic (norepinephrine; NE) activation affects IgA secretion in the saliva. The concentrations of saliva IgA modulated by pilocarpine activation or by a combination of pilocarpine and NE activation were the highest in the middle of the light period, independent of saliva flow rate. The circadian rhythm of IgA secretion was weakened by an SCN lesion and Clock gene mutation, suggesting the importance of the SCN and Clock gene on this rhythm. Adrenoceptor antagonists blocked both NE- and pilocarpine-induced basal secretion of IgA. Dimeric IgA binds to the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) on the basolateral surface of epithelial cells and forms the IgA-pIgR complex. The circadian rhythm of Pigr abundance peaked during the light period, suggesting pIgR expression upon rhythmic secretion of IgA. We speculate that activation of sympathetic nerves during sleep may protect from bacterial access to the epithelial surface through enhanced secretion of IgA. Mammals possess circadian clock systems that control various physiological phenomena such as body temperature, sleep-wake cycles, and liver metabolism1, 2. Circadian clock systems are organized by a central clock called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN)3, and by peripheral clocks located in many peripheral organs4, 5. In addition to this system, biological functions of metabolism and the immune system are also known to affect circadian rhythms6, 7. IgA is a type of antibody that works mainly in the mucosal immune system. It is abundant in the mucus of saliva and the small intestine8. Since plasma cells produce IgA in the salivary glands, there is a large amount of IgA in saliva. Therefore, IgA plays an important role as the first line of defense in oral immunity9. Monomers of IgA form dimeric IgA (dIgA) through the J chain. This dIgA binds the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) on the basolateral surface of epithelial cells and forms the IgA-pIgR complex. The IgA-pIgR complex is transported to the lumen from the basolateral surface. Proteolytic cleavage occurs at the apical surface, and a fragment of pIgR becomes a secretory component (SC) that binds dIgA. In this way, secretory IgA (sIgA) combines with other SCs, and free SCs are released. As a result, sIgA binds to luminal bacteria and prevents them from accessing the epithelial surface9. Therefore, a reduction in salivary IgA levels allows bacterial access to the epithelial surface and leads to various diseases such as upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and periodontal disease10. A few studies demonstrated that salivary IgA concentrations display diurnal variations in human experiments, and concentrations peak during sleep11, 12. However, the underlying mechanism of this diurnal variation is unknown. Therefore, signaling processes modulating IgA secretion may be controlled by circadian rhythms. Because it is difficult to obtain an adequate amount of saliva from mice under normal conditions, some experiments used pilocarpine for parasympathetic stimulation and norepinephrine for sympathetic stimulation13. Saliva secretion is known to decrease following an adrenoceptor agonist injection compared to that upon injections with pilocarpine14. Previous studies have demonstrated that the submandibular gland expresses clock genes, which show robust circadian rhythms15, 16. Rhythmical Clock gene expression in the salivary gland is controlled by sympathetic activation via the SCN17. In addition, both mRNA and protein expression of adrenoceptors in the submandibular glands were reported to show circadian rhythm18, 19. Therefore, the timing of administration of adrenoceptor agonist injections may affect the secretion of IgA in saliva. In addition, we examined whether the SCN clock directly controls time-dependent IgA secretion via adrenoceptor activation or is indirectly controlled by the adrenal gland through sympathetic regulation. We aimed to investigate how sympathetic nerve activation affects salivary IgA secretion rhythms through control of the biological clock. We investigated whether salivary IgA secretion reflects circadian rhythms. Submandibular glands are regulated by both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems14. Therefore, we used pilocarpine to stimulate the parasympathetic nerves and NE to stimulate the sympathetic nerves. We observed a significant increase in IgA concentration during the light phase in the NE group, but not in the control group, as assessed by one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test (Fig. 1a,d, Supplemental Table S1). Cosinor analysis revealed significant but weak rhythmicity in control groups, whereas NE groups showed strong rhythmicity (supplemental Table S2). The mice used in Fig. 1a–c are different from those in Fig. 1d–f, since we performed independent experiments to confirm the findings. The circadian rhythm dynamics of salivary IgA secretion. (a) Salivary IgA secretion rhythms in the case of administration of either pilocarpine (control) or a mixture of pilocarpine and norepinephrine (NE) (n = 8–10). (b) Saliva flow rhythms in control versus NE groups (n = 8–10). (c) Salivary IgA volume rhythms. Data were calculated by multiplying the results from Fig. 1a and b (n = 8–10). (d) Salivary IgA concentration rhythms in control versus NE groups (control, n = 4; NE, n = 9–10). (e) Total protein concentration rhythms in saliva (control, n = 4; NE, n = 9–10). (f) Salivary IgA concentration rhythms were normalized to total protein concentration (control, n = 4; NE, n = 9–10). (g) Salivary IgA concentration rhythms in mice fasted for 24 hours (n = 9–12). Values are shown as the means ± SEM. (a,c,d) **p < 0.01, NE group ZT6 vs. ZT18 (one-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test). (f) *p < 0.05, NE group ZT6 vs. ZT18 (Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn post-hoc test). (g) ***p < 0.001 **p < 0.01, NE group ZT0, ZT6 vs. ZT18 (one-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test), #p < 0.05, cont. group ZT6 vs. ZT18 (Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn post-hoc test). The saliva flow demonstrated weak circadian rhythm with peak at ZT4.8 (Zeitgeber time, ZT0 represents the start of the light period and ZT12 represents the start of the dark period) for the control and ZT11.4 for NE groups (Supplemental Table S2, Fig. 1b). The total amount of salivary IgA displayed a similar rhythm (Supplemental Table S2, Fig. 1c) as that observed for IgA concentrations (Fig. 1a). Because the stimulation of the sympathetic nerve triggers saliva protein secretion14, we next investigated whether total protein concentrations in saliva show a circadian rhythm. Protein concentrations did not display a circadian rhythm (Supplemental Table S2, Fig. 1e). Therefore, salivary IgA concentrations were normalized by the total protein concentration in the sample. However, this still showed a clear oscillating rhythm (supplemental Table S2, Fig. 1f) that was similar to that for IgA concentrations alone (Fig. 1d). We showed representative data for the diurnal variations of the protein concentrations, which set ratio 1 at ZT0 in saliva (Supplemental Fig. S1a). A portion of the data in Fig. 1a and d are also used in Supplemental Fig. S1b and a, respectively. In both the control and NE groups, the protein concentration ratio did not demonstrate any significant circadian rhythm (Supplemental Fig. S1a, Supplemental Table S2). However, the diurnal variation of the salivary IgA ratio increased during the light phase compared to the protein concentration ratio (Supplemental Fig. S1b, Supplemental Table S2). To investigate whether feeding rhythm, chewing action, or amylase secretion affect salivary IgA secretion, we measured salivary IgA concentrations in mice after a 24-hour fasting period. IgA concentrations showed similar rhythms as those observed in non-fasting mice (Fig. 1g). However, the rhythm peaks in both the control and NE groups appeared 2–3 hours in advance (Fig. 1g, Supplemental Table S2) compared to the those in the free feeding group (Fig. 1a,d). These results suggest that salivary IgA secretion displays circadian rhythm. Moreover, this rhythm is not affected by saliva flow, total protein in saliva, feeding rhythm, or chewing action. Therefore, we next assessed the IgA concentration in the submandibular gland, and found that it showed weak circadian rhythm with peak at ZT3.6 (Supplemental Fig. S2, Supplemental Table S2). These results suggest that the rhythm of salivary IgA secretion is partially related to IgA concentrations in the submandibular gland. Because salivary IgA secretion shows a circadian rhythm, we examined whether salivary IgA secretion is controlled by the SCN. To investigate the influence of the central circadian clock on salivary IgA concentrations, we lesioned the SCN (SCNX) and compared IgA concentrations with those in the sham-operated group. We confirmed the success of the SCNX surgery using actograms for both the pilocarpine (Fig. 2a,c) and NE (Fig. 2b,d) groups. A representative histological analysis of the SCN lesion is shown in Supplemental Fig. S3, demonstrating that the SCN was completely destroyed. We prepared two sets of SCN-lesion groups (pilocarpine and NE) to account for the possibility of recovery after the SCN lesion. We found that the SCNX group still had rhythmicity of salivary IgA secretion in both the pilocarpine (Fig. 2e) and NE (Fig. 2f) groups. However, the rhythmicity and amplitude, as evaluated using the cosinor method, were dampened in the SCN lesioned group compared to that in the sham group (Supplemental Table S2). These results suggest that the rhythm of salivary IgA secretion is highly controlled by SCN. The circadian rhythms of salivary IgA secretion in SCN-lesioned mice. (a,b) Representative double-plotted actograms of locomotor activity for one sham mouse and one SCNX mouse after pilocarpine (a) or NE administration (b). (c,d) Representative Chi-squared periodogram analysis of behavioral data for one sham mouse and one SCNX mouse after pilocarpine (c) or NE (d) administration. Straight lines in each figure indicate statistical significance. (e,f) Salivary IgA concentration rhythms in non-SCN-lesioned (sham) and SCN-lesioned (SCNX) after pilocarpine (e) or NE administration (f) (n = 4–6). Values are shown as mean ± SEM. (f) $$p < 0.01, sham group (one-way ANOVA). **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05 vs. sham ZT18. #p < 0.05 vs. sham ZT0. It has been suggested that the submandibular gland responds to sympathetic nervous stimulation17 (Fig. 1a,d). Therefore, we investigated the relationship between the sympathetic nervous system and the regulation of salivary IgA concentrations. We administered agonists and antagonists of NE at ZT6, since the salivary IgA concentration peaks at this time point (Fig. 1a). The salivary IgA concentration increased significantly with agonist treatment, and decreased with antagonist treatment (Fig. 3a). Antagonists significantly blocked the NE-induced increase in salivary IgA concentrations. In addition, both α receptor agonist phenylephrine and β receptor agonist isoproterenol increased salivary IgA concentrations at ZT6 and ZT18. However, the observation that the salivary IgA concentration is highest at the light phase was also observed in both agonists-administered groups (Fig. 3b,c). Both phenylephrine and isoproterenol showed a circadian pattern of IgA secretion (Supplemental Fig. S4a,b, Supplemental Table S2) similar to NE-induced secretion. These results suggest that the sympathetic nerve activation-induced increase of salivary IgA secretion is caused by an activation of α, β, or both receptors. Effects of sympathetic nerve agonists/antagonists on salivary IgA secretion. (a) Salivary IgA concentrations after application of the sympathetic nervous system agonist (norepinephrine 1 mg/kg) and/or antagonist (prazosin 1 mg/kg, propranolol 1 mg/kg, or 10 mg/kg) with pilocarpine. “+” indicates the reagent that was mixed and administered to mice, “−” indicates the reagent that was not administered to mice. (b,c) Salivary IgA concentrations when the α receptor (phenylephrine, 5 mg/kg; the numbers in parentheses are the number of samples) (b) or β receptor (isoproterenol, 5 mg/kg; n = 4–5) (c) were stimulated at ZT6 or ZT18 (n = 3–5). Values were shown as means ± SEM. (a) ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, vs. the NE(+)-Prazosin(−)-Propranolol(−) group (one-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test). (b) *p < 0.05, ZT18 group cont. vs. PE (Mann-Whitney test). (c) **p < 0.01, iso group ZT6 vs. ZT18 (Student’s t-test). Clock genes, which are reportedly expressed in the submandibular gland, demonstrate circadian rhythms15, 20. We show that salivary IgA secretion rhythms appear to be controlled by sympathetic activation through the SCN. Sympathetic stimulation causes circadian fluctuations and resulted in a circadian change in salivary IgA secretion. To investigate the submandibular gland’s sensitivity to and the time frame for sympathetic stimulation, we administrated NE during the light phase (ZT4) or the dark phase (ZT16), and compared the phase shift for Per2 gene abundance in the submandibular gland. When NE was administrated at ZT4, the Per2 phase advanced in a concentration-dependent manner (Fig. 4b,c, Supplemental Table S2). However, when NE was administrated at ZT16, the Per2 phase was unaffected (Fig. 4d,e). In all groups, the circadian rhythmicity of Per2 abundance, as evaluated by cosinor analysis, was maintained in vehicle- or NE- treated mice (Supplemental Table S2). Sensitivity of the submandibular gland clock to sympathetic nerve stimulation, as evaluated by IVIS in PER2::LUC mice. (a) Experimental schedule. White and black bars indicate 12 hours of light and dark. Triangles under the white and black bars indicate the time at which the reagents were administered intraperitoneally. Bi-directional arrows under the white and black bars indicate the period of measurement using IVIS. (b,c) Average peaks of phase of PER2::LUC rhythms (b) and PER2::LUC expression rhythms (c) in submandibular glands after mice were administered the reagent at ZT4 for 3 days (n = 3–6). (d,e) Average phase peaks of PER2::LUC rhythms (d) and PER2::LUC expression rhythms (e) in submandibular glands after mice were administered the reagent at ZT16 for 3 days (n = 4–8). Values were shown as the means ± SEM. (b) **p < 0.01, control vs. NE 2 mg/kg (one-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test). Next, we examined whether NE directly affected the submandibular gland function. Under in vitro conditions, NE administration at the rising phase of Per2 rhythm significantly advanced the Per2 rhythm phase without affecting the amplitude (Supplemental Fig. S5a–c). NE administration at ZT4 in vitro caused an increase in Per1 gene abundance but not abundance of the Per2 gene in the submandibular gland (Supplemental Fig. S5d,e). These results suggest that the submandibular gland has a higher sensitivity to sympathetic stimulation through direct action during the light phase than during the dark phase. In other words, there is a time window during which the submandibular gland responds to external NE stimulation. Our results suggest that ZT4 is the approximate time during which the submandibular gland has the highest sensitivity to NE. We investigated whether the rhythmicity of salivary IgA secretion is controlled by pIgR. The pIgR mediates transcytosis of IgA secretion; therefore, we investigated whether the abundance of the Pigr gene in the submandibular glands demonstrates circadian rhythms. We observed that Pigr abundance in the submandibular glands increased during the light phase, and peaked at ZT2.2 (Fig. 5a, Supplemental Table S2). To investigate the influence of the central circadian clock on Pigr abundance rhythms in the submandibular glands, we next performed a SCNX, which was compared with the sham group. In the sham group, there was a significant difference between ZT6 and ZT18, whereas no significant differences were observed among the SCNX groups (Fig. 5b). To determine whether the circadian rhythm of Pigr mRNA abundance is directly regulated by the Clock gene, Pigr mRNA abundance was examined using Clock −/− mice. The Clock mutation led to decreased Per2 gene abundance in the submandibular gland (Fig. 5c). The levels of Pigr mRNA increased and their rhythm was lost upon Clock mutation (Fig. 5d). These results suggest that the abundance of Pigr fluctuates with the circadian rhythm, and this may be controlled by the SCN clock and Clock gene. Therefore, the rhythm of Pigr in the submandibular glands may influence salivary IgA secretion caused by sympathetic nerve activation. Circadian rhythm for Pigr gene abundance in submandibular glands in intact SCN-lesioned and Clock −/− mice. (a) Relative mRNA abundance rhythms of Pigr (n = 4) in the submandibular gland. (b) The relative mRNA abundance of Pigr in SCN-lesioned mice compared to that in sham-operated mice at ZT6 and ZT18 (n = 6–7). (c,d) The relative mRNA abundance of Per2 (c) and Pigr (d) in Clock −/− mice compared to that in wild-type (WT) mice at ZT6 and ZT18 (n = 4 for each group). Values are shown as means ± SEM. (a) *p < 0.05, ZT1, ZT5 vs. ZT13 (Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn post-hoc test), (b–d) *p < 0.05, ZT6 vs. ZT18 or WT vs. Clock −/− (Mann-Whitney test). It is well known that cortisol secretion in saliva is rhythmically controlled via the SCN clock, and secretion peaks during the early daytime hours21. External application of corticosterone or dexamethasone resets the phase activity of clock gene expression rhythms22, 23. Therefore, we investigated the contributions of corticosterone and adrenal gland activity to the NE-induced salivary IgA secretion rhythm. We prepared two sets of adrenal gland-lesion groups (pilocarpine and NE) to account for the possibility of recovery after the adrenal gland lesion. We lesioned the adrenal glands of mice, which resulted in decreased serum concentration of corticosterone (Fig. 6a,b). In sham-operated mice, groups treated with pilocarpine or pilocarpine and NE showed similar circadian IgA secretion (Fig. 6c,d, Supplemental Table S2), similar to that uninjured animals (Fig. 1a,d). In lesioned mice, pilocarpine alone or in combination with NE produced a pattern of salivary IgA circadian secretion similar to that observed in sham-operated mice (Fig. 6c,d, Supplemental Table S2). These data suggest that adrenal gland activity may not contribute to the NE-induced salivary IgA secretion rhythm. Effects of adrenal gland lesions on salivary IgA secretion. (a,b) Serum concentrations of corticosterone in the adrenal gland lesion (ADX) group compared to the sham-operated group for pilocarpine-only (a) and pilocarpine/NE-treated mice (b) (n = 3–6). (c,d) The rhythm of salivary IgA concentrations in the ADX group compared to that in the sham-operated mice for pilocarpine-only (c) and pilocarpine/NE-treated mice (d) (n = 3–6). (a) p = 0.0952 (Mann-Whitney test), (b) ***p < 0.001 (Student’s t-test), (c) sham, p = 0.0538 (Friedman test); ADX, p = 0.0882 (Friedman test), (d) sham, p = 0.0678 (Friedman test); ADX, **p < 0.01 (Friedman test). In this study, we observed a clear circadian rhythm for salivary IgA concentration, total IgA content, and IgA per secreted protein in the saliva of NE- and pilocarpine-treated mice. These effects peaked during the light phase. A similar rhythm was seen in the pilocarpine-only group, but there were no significant peak values. Since salivary IgA concentrations increased following an additional NE administration, this suggested that NE signaling provides timing signals instructing salivary IgA secretion. We also concluded that this rhythm was not affected by saliva flow or total protein concentrations in saliva because these factors showed weak circadian rhythms. The rhythmicity of salivary IgA secretion was unaffected by 24-hour fasting, but the peak time was delayed. We previously showed that 24-hour fasting advanced the peripheral clocks evaluated by in vivo imaging of the bioluminescence rhythm in Per2::Luc mice4. Thus, rhythm formation of salivary IgA is not required for feeding or chewing. There are two possible mechanisms for NE-induced salivary IgA secretion being the highest at ZT6 and the lowest at ZT18. One may be NE receptor sensitivity. In addition to our observations in Fig. 5, it has been reported that the submandibular gland shows circadian rhythms for clock gene expression15, 16, 20. We previously reported that the mRNA of adrenoceptors, including the α and β receptors, showed higher levels of expression during the light phase compared to that during the dark phase19, suggesting that external injection of NE has a strong effect during the light phase. The phase shifting effect on Per2 gene expression rhythms in the salivary gland following daily NE injections was time-dependent. Our in vitro analyses demonstrated that NE directly affects clock function in the submandibular gland (Supplemental Fig. S5). Furthermore, significant advances in the phase after NE injections occurred with respect to the light phase, but not the dark phase. These data suggest that an inactive daytime period leads to a time window for external NE-induced salivary IgA secretion. The peak phases of IVIS data in ZT4 and ZT16 saline-treated groups demonstrated 2–3 hour differences between the two groups (Fig. 4). We previously reported that stress at an early inactive period caused phase advancement. Furthermore, stress at the early active period led to phase delay, suggesting that saline injection may be a stress stimulant, causing phase shifts of the submandibular gland clock. Another mechanism involves the process of IgA secretion. It is known that pIgR mediates transcytosis of IgA9. Therefore, we investigated whether Pigr gene abundance levels in the submandibular glands show circadian rhythms. We found that Pigr expression in the submandibular glands increased during the light phase, suggesting that NE induced high salivary IgA secretion at ZT6. However, the IgA concentration in the submandibular gland showed weak circadian rhythms. These results suggest that the rhythm of Pigr abundance levels together with IgA concentration in the submandibular gland may influence the rhythmicity of salivary IgA secretion. These two mechanisms may act cooperatively to produce the observed daily rhythm of NE-induced salivary IgA secretion. It is known that sympathetic nerve stimulation, such as through administration of isoproterenol, β-receptor agonists14, or NE decreases saliva flow. In addition, secretion of saliva is under sympathetic nervous control, and the proteins in saliva increase upon stimulation of the sympathetic nerve24. Therefore, it seems that the rhythmicity of salivary IgA secretion was not affected by the rhythms of saliva protein production. We observed that salivary IgA concentrations increased following treatment with an adrenoceptor agonist and decreased upon antagonist administration. In addition, both α and β receptor agonists increased salivary IgA secretion at both ZT6 and ZT18, and the peak in salivary IgA secretion during the light phase was still observed after treatment with both agonists. The stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system increased salivary IgA concentrations. However, it did not change the tendency for salivary IgA concentrations to be highest at ZT6 and lowest at ZT18. Pilocarpine-induced salivary IgA secretion showed a weak rhythmicity, and the highest levels were observed during the light phase. These results suggest that the sympathetic α and β receptor system mainly control the daily rhythm of salivary IgA secretion instead of the parasympathetic nerve system. We found that the circadian rhythmicity of Pigr mRNA abundance in the submandibular glands was dampened in SCN-lesioned and Clock −/− mice. This strongly suggests that circadian signals from SCN and/or the circadian clock in the submandibular gland contribute to the NE-induced salivary IgA secretion rhythm. Vujovic et al. reported that the submandibular gland contains an autonomous clock that can persist in isolation from nervous input but is influenced by the sympathetic nervous system17. This report may support the requirement for sympathetic nerve activation for salivary clock function. In human saliva, some substances such as cortisol, melatonin, and amylase show clear daily rhythms21, 25, 26. Therefore, we examined the possible interactions between NE-induced salivary IgA secretion and these substances. Similar to injections of NE19, 27, corticosterone caused phase-resetting in the peripheral clock of the salivary glands22, 23 in mice. Furthermore, stress decreased salivary IgA secretion in humans28. Interestingly, lesions of the adrenal gland in mice caused a pattern of pilocarpine- or pilocarpine-/NE-induced salivary IgA secretion similar to that in sham-operated mice. This suggests that NE-induced salivary IgA secretion is independent of adrenal gland function. We used the ICR strain of mice, which do not produce melatonin because of a mutation in an enzyme required for melatonin synthesis29. In this biological context, melatonin makes no contribution to salivary IgA secretion. To assess the role of amylase in the current experiments, we examined NE-induced salivary IgA secretion after 24 hours of fasting. The circadian pattern of salivary IgA secretion was very similar to that in the 6-hour fasting control group, suggesting a weak contribution of amylase to salivary IgA secretion. It has been reported that a decrease in salivary IgA secretion may lead to URTI and periodontal disease10. We found that the amount of salivary IgA, which should increase during sleep, did not increase after disruption of the biological clock. These results suggest that salivary IgA does not increase when the biological clock is disturbed or when there is a higher risk of the aforementioned diseases. In addition, since the submandibular glands are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, salivary IgA secretion and saliva flow are modulated by sympathetic nervous stimulation compared to that by only parasympathetic nerve stimulation. Therefore, parasympathetic stimulation during the inactive sleep period may only weakly increase the basal secretion of IgA to protect from bacterial invasion. In our daily life, the sympathetic nervous system may become activated during inactive periods such as staying up late or under excessive stress, which leads to salivary IgA secretion. We speculate that activation of sympathetic nerves during sleep may protect from bacterial access to the epithelial surface through a significant secretion of IgA. Animal care was conducted with permission from the Committee for Animal Experimentation at Waseda University (permission # 2016-A059), and in accordance with the Law (No. 105) and Notification (No. 6) of the Japanese Government. Male ICR mice (7 weeks old) were purchased from Tokyo Laboratory Animals Science Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan). For in vivo and in vitro monitoring of PER2::LUC bioluminescence, PER2::LUC mice (7 weeks old) were obtained, as previously described19, 20, 22. In some experiments, we used male ICR Clock mutant (Clock −/−) mice and wild-type (WT) mice, and confirmed the genotypes by polymerase chain reaction30. The Clock mutation in mice was identified by an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea mutagenesis screen of circadian periods31. Mice were housed at 22 ± 2 °C with a humidity of 60 ± 5% under a 12-hour light/dark cycle. The lights were turned on at 08:00 and turned off at 20:00. Mice were fed a normal commercial diet (Catalog #MF; Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) and were given ad libitum access to water. Mice were fasted for 6 hours before collection of saliva to exclude effects associated with feeding, and to ensure the consistency of the oral environment among experiments (except in Fig. 1g). In one experiment (Fig. 1g), mice were fasted for 24 hours to avoid any effects from feeding. Saliva was collected from the oral cavity using a micropipette after intraperitoneal injection of pilocarpine (1 mg/kg) (Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd., Osaka, Japan) to stimulate saliva secretion (366 ± 54 μL for 5 min) through parasympathetic nerve activation. NE and saline injection weakly stimulates saliva secretion (2.0 ± 1.0 μL for 5 min). Therefore, to examine the role of NE on IgA secretion, a mixed solution of pilocarpine (1 mg/kg) and NE (1 mg/kg) (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA.) (NE group) was used to stimulate the sympathetic nerves (232 ± 18 μL for 5 min), which was compared to the pilocarpine (1 mg/kg) injection alone group (control group). Drugs were dissolved in 1X phosphate buffered saline (PBS). PBS injection alone (0.2 ± 0.15 μL for 5 min) did not induce saliva secretion. Although we need at least 2.5 μL saliva for the IgA assay, a combination of PBS and NE injection did not yield enough volume of saliva. It has been reported that the aspiration method does not suppress the diurnal variation in salivary IgA secretion compared to the swab method in human experiments32. Therefore, we used pipettes to collect saliva. Saliva collection commenced 5 min after reagent injection. Saliva was placed in microcentrifuge tubes containing protease inhibitors and placed into an ice bath. Saliva samples were clarified by centrifugation at 16,000 × g for 10 min at 4 °C. Samples were stored at −80 °C until the analyses were performed. We used prazosin hydrochloride (1 mg/kg) (Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd., Osaka, Japan) and propranolol hydrochloride (1 or 10 mg/kg) (TOKYO KASEI, Tokyo, Japan) as adrenoceptor antagonists. Phenylephrine (5 mg/kg) (Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd, Osaka, Japan) and isoproterenol (5 mg/kg) (Tocris Bioscience, Bristol, United Kingdom) were used as α receptor and β receptor agonists, respectively. Pilocarpine was mixed with 1X PBS and used as a control treatment. Mice were euthanized and the submandibular glands were collected. Tissues were placed into protease inhibitor-containing microcentrifuge tubes, and incubated in an ice bath. Samples were homogenized using a micro-homogenizer and then centrifuged at 3,000 × g for 20 min at 4 °C. The supernatants were stored at −80 °C until the analyses were performed. Salivary IgA levels were quantified using a Mouse IgA Ready-SET-Go! ELISA kit (eBioscience, Vienna, Austria), according to the manufacturer’s protocols. The protein concentration of each saliva sample was quantified using a BCA Protein Assay Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA), using bovine serum albumin as a standard, following the manufacturer’s protocols. To investigate the role of the SCN on salivary IgA secretion, we performed SCN lesions on mice. As described previously20, bilateral thermal lesions of the SCN were performed stereotaxically under anesthesia using midazolam/medetomidine hydrochloride/butorphanol tartrate. After surgery, locomotor activity displayed arrhythmicity in SCN-lesioned mice. We scarified mice to assess the histology of lesion sites by staining with cresyl violet, and to verify the extent of injury according to our previous paper20. A lesion electrode was inserted into in the cerebral cortex of mice in the sham group. General locomotor activity was recorded with an infrared radiation sensor (F5B; Omron, Tokyo, Japan) as previously published19, 20. Double-plotted actograms of locomotor activity were recorded in 6-min epochs using ClockLab software (Actimetrics Ltd., Wilmette, IL, USA). Chi-squared periodogram analysis was used to examine the rhythmicity of behavioral data with the period (20–30 hr). As described previously19, adrenal gland lesions were made using the dorsal approach under anesthesia with midazolam/medetomidine hydrochloride/butorphanol tartrate. Briefly, the skin on the back was shaved, and an incision of about 1 cm was made parallel to the spinal cord. The adrenal glands were removed via small openings made in the left and right muscle layers of the spinal cord. To maintain ion balance, mice with adrenal gland lesions were provided with 0.9% NaCl water ad libitum. A similar operation was performed on mice in the sham group, without removal of adrenal glands. Serum corticosterone levels were quantified using the AssayMax Corticosterone ELISA Kit (Assay Pro, MO, USA) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. In vivo monitoring of PER2::LUC bioluminescence was performed using an IVIS kinetics system (Caliper Life Sciences, Hopkinton, MA, USA, and Summit Pharmaceuticals International Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), as previously described20. Mice were anaesthetized with a mixture of isoflurane (Mylan Inc., Tokyo, Japan) and concentrated oxygen. Anesthetized mice were injected subcutaneously on the back near the neck with D-luciferin potassium salt (15 mg/kg; Promega, WI, USA). Among anesthetic drugs, isoflurane did not affect phase and free-running period of liver clock ex vivo monitoring of PER2::LUC mice33. Images were acquired using an in vivo imaging system (Perkin Elmer, Waltham, MA, USA) with a 1-min exposure time from the dorsal- and ventral-up positions 8 and 10 min after luciferin injection, respectively. Images were obtained six times a day at 4-hour intervals (ZT9, 13, 17, 21, 1, and 5). Mice were returned to their home cages between imaging sessions. Photon counts for each tissue were analyzed using the Living Image 3.2 software (Perkin Elmer). The average photons for the six time points for each day were designated as 100%, and the bioluminescence rhythm was expressed as a percentage of each set of six points for individual organs. The peak phase, amplitude, and rhythmicity of normalized data were determined using the single cosinor procedure program (Acro.exe version 3.5)34. In vitro bioluminescence monitoring data were analyzed as previously described34. PER2::LUC mice were euthanized by cervical dislocation for the evaluation of bioluminescence rhythmicity in the submandibular glands. Submandibular gland sections on a membrane (Millicell cell culture inserts, Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA) were explanted into a 35 mm petri dish and cultured in 3.0 mL Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM, Invitrogen, Waltham, MA, USA) supplemented with NaHCO3 (2.7 mM), HEPES (10 mM), kanamycin (20 mg/L), insulin (5 μM/mL), putrescine (100 μM), human transferrin (100 μg/mL), progesterone (20 nM), sodium selenite (30 nM), and D-luciferin potassium salt (0.1 mM). Treatment with each reagent was at a specific time point between the first and second peak. Before the reagent was added, 3.0 mL of cultured medium was transferred to other dishes at 37 °C, and the membrane was transferred to each medium in turn (1 mL reagent medium for 30 min; 1 mL wash medium for 10 min; and 1 mL remaining medium for monitoring of bioluminescence). Bioluminescence was monitored for 1 min at 10-min intervals with a dish-type luminometer (LumiCycle, Actimetrics, IL, USA). The amplitude of the waveform was calculated using R software35 from the recorded data. The phase and period length were measured using Actimetrics software for LumiCycle with sin fitting as previously described36. Submandibular glands from ICR mice were incubated in vitro at 37 °C in modified Krebs-Ringer medium containing 0.2% glucose, and bubbled with a gas mixture of 95% O2 and 5% CO2. Krebs-Ringer medium was used in the treatment group containing 10 μM NE. Submandibular glands were incubated for 1 hour. After incubation, these tissues were collected and real-time RT-PCR was performed. Total RNA was extracted from tissues, using phenol. Aliquots of 50 ng of total RNA were reverse-transcribed and amplified using a One-Step SYBR reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) kit (TaKaRa Bio Inc, Shiga, Japan) in Piko Real (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Kanagawa, Japan). Primer pairs were designed based on published data for the Gapdh, Per1, Per2, and Pigr genes. The relative levels of the target gene PCR products were normalized to that of Gapdh. The data were analyzed using the delta-delta Ct method. The primers for Gapdh were as follows: Gapdh-F, 5′-TGGTGAAGGTCGGTGTGAAC-3′; Gapdh-R, 5′-AATGAAGGGGTCGTTGATGG-3′. The primers for Per1 were as follows: Per1-F, 5′-CAAGTGGCAATGAGTCCAACG-3′; Per1-R, 5′-CGAAGTTTGAGCTCCCGAAGTG-3′. The primers for Per2 were as follows: Per2-F, 5′-TGTGTGCTTACACGGGTGTCCTA-3′; Per2-R, 5′-ACGTTTGGTTTGCGCATGAA-3′. The primers for pIgR were as follows: pIgR-F, 5′-AGTAACCGAGGCCTGTCCT-3′; pIgR-R, 5′-GTCACTCGGCAACTCAGGA-3′. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism software, version 6.03 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA). Equal variance and normal distribution tests were performed to select the appropriate statistical approach. Parametric analysis was conducted by one-way, one-way repeated or two-way ANOVA with a Tukey test and Student’s t-test. 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This work was partially supported by the Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation, SIP, “Technologies for creating next-generation agriculture, forestry, and fisheries” (funding agency: Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution, NARO) (S.S.), and by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S) (26220201) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (S.S.). M.W. designed and performed the experiments and wrote the paper. M.K., K.H., H.S., A.H., and H.M. performed the experiments. K.O. provided advice regarding the experiments and wrote the paper. A.N. and S.S. conceived, supervised, and designed experiments.

2019-04-20T23:30:20Z

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09438-0?error=cookies_not_supported&code=f7a36948-7119-42ab-b3d8-5e517a712631

In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief, it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of a religion, but outside official doctrine and practices. In The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, John Bowker characterized "folk religion" as either "religion which occurs in small, local communities which does not adhere to the norms of large systems" or "the appropriation of religious beliefs and practices at a popular level." Don Yoder argued that there were five separate ways of defining folk religion. The first was a perspective rooted in a cultural evolutionary framework which understood folk religion as representing the survivals of older forms of religion; in this, it would constitute "the survivals, in an official religious context, of beliefs and behavior inherited from earlier stages of the culture's development". This definition would view folk religion in Catholic Europe as the survivals of pre-Christian religion and the folk religion in Protestant Europe as the survivals of Medieval Catholicism. The second definition identified by Yoder was the view that folk religion represented the mixture of an official religion with forms of ethnic religion; this was employed to explain the place of folk religion in the syncretic belief systems of the Americas, where Christianity had blended with the religions of indigenous American and African communities. Yoder's third definition was that often employed within folkloristics, which held that folk religion was "the interaction of belief, ritual, custom, and mythology in traditional societies", representing that which was often pejoratively characterised as superstition. The fourth definition provided by Yoder stated that folk religion represented the "folk interpretation and expression of religion". Noting that this definition would not encompass beliefs that were largely unconnected from organised religion, such as in witchcraft, he therefore altered this definition by including the concept of "folk religiosity", thereby defining folk religion as "the deposit in culture of folk religiosity, the full range of folk attitudes to religion". His fifth and final definition represented a "practical working definition" that combined elements from these various other definitions. Thus, he summarized folk religion as "the totality of all those views and practices of religion that exist among the people apart from and alongside the strictly theological and liturgical forms of the official religion". Yoder described "folk religion" as existing "in a complex society in relation to and in tension with the organized religion(s) of that society. Its relatively unorganized character differentiates it from organized religion". Alternately, the sociologist of religion Matthias Zic Varul defined "folk religion" as "the relatively un-reflected aspect of ordinary practices and beliefs that are oriented towards, or productive of, something beyond the immediate here-and-now: everyday transcendence". In Europe the study of "folk religion" emerged from the study of religiöse Volkskund, a German term which was used in reference to "the religious dimension of folk-culture, or the folk-cultural dimension of religion". This term was first employed by a German Lutheran preacher, Paul Drews, in a 1901 article that he published which was titled "Religiöse Volkskunde, eine Aufgabe der praktischen Theologie". This article was designed to be read by young Lutheran preachers leaving the seminary, to equip them for the popular variants of Lutheranism that they would encounter among their congregations and which would differ from the official, doctrinal Lutheranism that they had been accustomed to. Although developing within a religious environment, the term came to be adopted by German academics in the field of folkloristics. During the 1920s and 1930s, theoretical studies of religiöse Volkskund had been produced by the folklorists Josef Weigert, Werner Boette, and Max Rumpf, all of whom had focused on religiosity within German peasant communities. Over the coming decades, Georg Schreiber established an Institut für religiöse Volkskund in Munich while a similar department was established in Salzburg by Hanns Koren. Other prominent academics involved in the study of the phenomenon were Heinrich Schauert and Rudolf Kriss, the latter of whom collected one of the largest collections of folk-religious art and material culture in Europe, later housed in Munich's Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. Throughout the 20th century, many studies were made of folk religion in Europe, paying particular attention to such subjects as pilgrimage and the use of shrines. In the Americas, the study of folk religion developed among cultural anthropologists studying the syncretistic cultures of the Caribbean and Latin America. The pioneer in this field was Redfield, whose 1930 book Tepoztlán: A Mexican Village contrasted and examined the relationship between "folk religion" and "official religion" in a peasant community. Yoder later noted that although the earliest known usage of the term "folk religion" in the English language was unknown, it probably developed as a translation of the German Volksreligion. One of the earliest prominent usages of the term was in the title of Joshua Trachtenberg's 1939 work Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion. The term also gained increasing usage within the academic field of comparative religion, appearing in the titles of Ichiro Hori's Folk Religion in Japan, Martin Nilsson's Greek Folk Religion, and Charles Leslie's reader, the Anthropology of Folk Religion. Courses on the study of folk religion came to be taught at various universities in the United States, such as John Messenger's at Indiana University and Don Yoder's at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the subject of folk religion fell within the remit of scholars operating in both folkloristics and religious studies, by 1974 Yoder noted that U.S.-based academics in the latter continued to largely ignore it, instead focusing on the study of theology and institutionalised religion; he contrasted this with the situation in Europe, where historians of religion had devoted much time to studying folk religiosity. He also lamented that many U.S.-based folklorists also neglected the subject of religion because it did not fit within the standard genre-based system for cataloguing folklore. The term "folk religion" came to be increasingly rejected in the 1990s and 2000s by scholars seeking more precise terminology. Yoder noted that one problem with the use of the term "folk religion" was that it did not fit into the work of those scholars who used the term "religion" in reference solely to organized religion. He highlighted the example of the prominent sociologist of religion Émile Durkheim, who insisted that "religion" was organized in order to contrast it with "magic". Yoder noted that scholars adopting these perspectives often preferred the term "folk belief" over "folk religion". A second problem with the use of "folk religion" that Yoder highlighted was that some scholars, particularly those operating in the sociology of religion, used the term as a synonym for ethnic religion (which is alternately known as national religion or tribal religion), meaning a religion closely tied to a particular ethnic or national group and is thus contrasted with a "universal religion" which cuts across ethnic and national boundaries. Among the scholars to have adopted this use of terminology are E. Wilbur Bock. The folklorist Leonard Norman Primiano argued that the use of "folk religion", as well as related terms like "popular religion" and "unofficial religion", by scholars, does "an extreme disservice" to the forms of religiosity that scholarship is examining, because – in his opinion – such terms are "residualistic, [and] derogatory". He argued that using such terminology implies that there is "a pure element" to religion "which is in some way transformed, even contaminated, by its exposure to human communities". As a corrective, he suggested that scholars use "vernacular religion" as an alternative. Defining this term, Primiano stated that "vernacular religion" is, "by definition, religion as it is lived: as human beings encounter, understand, interpret, and practice it. Since religion inherently involves interpretation, it is impossible for the religion of an individual not to be vernacular". Kapaló was critical of this approach, deeming it "mistaken" and arguing that switching from "folk religion" to "vernacular religion" results in the scholar "picking up a different selection of things from the world". He cautioned that both terms were "ideological and semantic load[ed]" and warned scholars to pay attention to the associations that each word had. Philippine mythology is a body of myths, tales, and superstitions held by Filipinos (composed of more than a hundred ethnic peoples in the Philippines), mostly originating from beliefs held during the pre-Hispanic era. Some of these beliefs stem from pre-Christian religions that were specially influenced by Hinduism and were regarded by the Spanish as "myths" and "superstitions" in an effort to de-legitimize legitimate precolonial beliefs by forcefully replacing those native beliefs with colonial Catholic Christian myths and superstitions. Today, some of these precolonial beliefs are still held by Filipinos, especially in the provinces. Folk Islam is an umbrella term used to collectively describe forms of Islam that incorporate native folk beliefs and practices. Folk Islam has been described as the Islam of the "urban poor, country people, and tribes", in contrast to orthodox or "High" Islam (Gellner, 1992). Sufism and Sufi concepts are often integrated into Folk Islam. In one of the first major academic works on the subject, titled Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion, Joshua Trachtenberg provided a definition of Jewish folk religion as consisting of ideas and practices that whilst not meeting with the approval of religious leaders enjoyed wide popularity such that they must be included in what he termed the field of religion. This included unorthodox beliefs about demons and angels, and magical practices. Later studies have emphasized the significance of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem to the many Jewish folk customs linked to mourning and in particular to the belief in hibbut ha-qever (torture of the grave) a belief that the dead are tortured in their grave for three days after burial by demons until they remember their names. This idea began with early eschatalogical aggadah and was then further developed by the kabbalists. Raphael Patai has been acknowledged as one of the first to utilize anthropology to study Jewish folk religion. In particular he has drawn attention to the important role of the female divine element, which he sees in the goddess Asherah, the Shekhinah, the Matronit, and Lilith. Writer Stephen Sharot has stated that Jewish popular religion in common with other forms of folk religion, has a focus on the apotropaic, or thaumaturgical, i.e. it is used to assist in protecting the individual from sickness, and misfortune. He emphasizes that while Rabbinical Judaism dealt with orthodox Jewish ritual, and halakah, magicians claimed to use unorthodox magical rituals to help people in everyday life. He points to the example of a relatively professionalised type of magician being the ba'al shem of Poland, who beginning in the 16th century thrived with the popularity of practical kabbalah in the 18th century. These ba'al shem promised to use their knowledge of the names of god, and the angels, along with exorcism, chiromancy, and herbal medicine to bring harm to enemies, and success in areas of social life such as marriage, and childbirth. Charles Liebman has written that the essence of the folk religion of American Jews is their social ties to one another, illustrated by the finding that religious practices that would prevent social integration -such as a strict interpretation of dietary laws and the Sabbath- have been abandoned, whilst the practices that are followed -such as the Passover seder, social rites of passage, and the High Holy Days- are ones that strengthen Jewish family and community integration. Liebman described the rituals and beliefs of contemporary Jewish folk religion in his works, The Ambivalent American Jew (1973) and American Jewry: Identity and Affiliation. In sociology, folk religion is often contrasted with elite religion. Folk religion is defined as the beliefs, practices, rituals and symbols originating from sources other than the religion's leadership. Folk religion in many instances is tolerated by the religion's leadership, although they may consider it an error. A similar concept is lived religion, the study of religion as practiced by believers. ^ a b Bowman, Marion (2004). "Chapter 1: Phenomenology, Fieldwork, and Folk Religion". In Sutcliffe, Steven (ed.). Religion: empirical studies. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-0-7546-4158-2. ^ a b c Yoder 1974, p. 12. ^ Yoder 1974, pp. 12–13. ^ Yoder 1974, p. 13. ^ Yoder 1974, pp. 13–14. ^ Yoder 1974, p. 14. ^ Yoder 1974, p. 11. ^ Varul 2015, p. 449. ^ Yoder 1974, p. 2. ^ Yoder 1974, pp. 2–3. ^ a b c Yoder 1974, p. 3. ^ a b Yoder 1974, pp. 3–4. ^ a b c d e f Yoder 1974, p. 5. ^ Yoder 1974, p. 6. ^ Yoder 1974, p. 9. ^ Kapaló 2013, p. 4. ^ a b c Yoder 1974, p. 10. ^ Yoder 1974, pp. 10–11. ^ Bock 1966, p. 204. ^ Primiano 1995, p. 38. ^ Primiano 1995, p. 39. ^ Primiano 1995, pp. 41–42. ^ Primiano 1995, p. 44. ^ Kapaló 2013, p. 9. ^ Kapaló 2013, pp. 15–16. ^ Kuah-Pearce, Khun Eng (2007-02-23). Reinventing Chinese Syncretic Religion: Shenism. ISBN 9789812308658. Retrieved 2011-11-20. ^ "How we came to 'pai shen'". Straits times. 2009-09-07. Archived from the original on 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2011-11-20. ^ Eng, Lai Ah (2001-09-11). Religious Diversity in Singapore. ISBN 9789812307545. Retrieved 2011-11-20. ^ High beam, archived from the original on 2012-11-05 . ^ "Religion", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011 . ^ Chau, Adam Yuet (2008-07-21). Miraculous response: doing popular religion in contemporary China. ISBN 9780804767651. Retrieved 2011-11-20. ^ Cook, Chris (2009). Spirituality and Psychiatry. RCPsych Publications. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-904671-71-8. ^ Ridgeon, Lloyd (2003). Major World Religions: From Their Origins To The Present. Routledge. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-415-29796-7. ^ Malešević, Siniša; et al. (2007). Ernest Gellner and Contemporary Social Thought. Cambridge University Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-521-70941-5. ^ Masud, Muhammad Khalid; et al. (2009). Islam and Modernity: Key Issues and Debates. Edinburgh University Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7486-3793-5. ^ Makris, JP (2006). Islam in the Middle East: A Living Tradition. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4051-1603-9. ^ Chelkowski, Peter J; et al. (1988). Ideology and Power in the Middle East: Studies in Honor of George Lenczowski. Duke University Press. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-8223-0781-5. ^ Hinde, Robert (2009). Why Gods Persist: A Scientific Approach to Religion. Routledge. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-415-49761-9. ^ Hefner, Robert W; et al. (1997). Islam In an Era of Nation-States: Politics and Religious Renewal in Muslim Southeast Asia. University of Hawaii Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8248-1957-6. ^ Khan, IK (2006). Islam in Modern Asia. MD Publications. p. 281. ISBN 978-81-7533-094-8. Bock, E. Wilbur (1966). "Symbols in Conflict: Official versus Folk Religion". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 5 (2): 204–212. doi:10.2307/1384846. JSTOR 1384846. Bowker, John (2003) . "Folk religion". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191727221. Kapaló, James A. (2013). "Folk Religion in Discourse and Practice". Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics. 1 (1): 3–18. Primiano, Leonard Norman (1995). "Vernacular Religion and the Search for Method in Religious Folklife". Western Folklore. 54 (1): 37–56. doi:10.2307/1499910. JSTOR 1499910. Varul, Matthias Zick (2015). "Consumerism as Folk Religion: Transcendence, Probation and Dissatisfaction with Capitalism". Studies in Christian Ethics. 28 (4): 447–460. doi:10.1177/0953946814565984. Yoder, Don (1974). "Toward a Definition of Folk Religion". Western Folklore. 33 (1): 1–15. doi:10.2307/1498248. JSTOR 1498248. Gellner, David N. Hinduism. None, one or many?, Social Anthropology (2004), 12: 367–371 Cambridge University* Johnson, Paul Christopher. Secrets, Gossip, and Gods: The Transformation of Brazilian Candomblé. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Gorshunova, Olga V. (2008). Svjashennye derevja Khodzhi Barora…, ( Sacred Trees of Khodzhi Baror: Phytolatry and the Cult of Female Deity in Central Asia) in Etnoragraficheskoe Obozrenie, № 1, pp. 71–82. ISSN 0869-5415. (in Russian). Nepstad, Sharon Erickson (1996). "Popular Religion, Protest, and Revolt: The Emergence of Political Insurgency in the Nicaraguan and Salvadoran Churches of the 1960s–80s". In Smith, Christian (ed.). Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social Movement Activism. New York: Routledge. pp. 105–124. ISBN 978-0-415-91405-5. Nash, June (1996). "Religious Rituals of Resistance and Class Consciousness in Bolivian Tin-Mining Communities". In Smith, Christian (ed.). Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social Movement Activism. New York: Routledge. pp. 87–104. ISBN 978-0-415-91405-5. Thomas, Keith (1971). Religion and the Decline of Magic. Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-00220-8. Chinese folk religion (Chinese popular religion or traditional Chinese religion) or Han folk religion or Shenism is the religious tradition of the Han Chinese, including veneration of forces of nature and ancestors, exorcism of harmful forces, and a belief in the rational order of nature which can be influenced by human beings and their rulers as well as spirits and gods. Worship is devoted to a multiplicity of gods and immortals (神 shén), who can be deities of phenomena, of human behaviour, or progenitors of lineages. Stories regarding some of these gods are collected into the body of Chinese mythology. By the 11th century (Song period), these practices had been blended with Buddhist ideas of karma (one's own doing) and rebirth, and Taoist teachings about hierarchies of gods, to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day.Chinese religions have a variety of sources, local forms, founder backgrounds, and ritual and philosophical traditions. Despite this diversity, there is a common core that can be summarised as four theological, cosmological, and moral concepts: Tian (天), Heaven, the transcendent source of moral meaning; qi (氣), the breath or energy that animates the universe; jingzu (敬祖), the veneration of ancestors; and bao ying (報應), moral reciprocity; together with two traditional concepts of fate and meaning: ming yun (命運), the personal destiny or burgeoning; and yuan fen (緣分), "fateful coincidence", good and bad chances and potential relationships.Yin and yang (陰陽) is the polarity that describes the order of the universe, held in balance by the interaction of principles of growth (shen) and principles of waning (gui), with yang ("act") usually preferred over yin ("receptiveness") in common religion. Ling (靈), "numen" or "sacred", is the "medium" of the two states and the inchoate order of creation.Both the present day government of China and the imperial dynasties of the Ming and Qing tolerated village popular religious cults if they bolstered social stability but suppressed or persecuted those that they feared would undermine it. After the fall of the empire in 1911, governments and elites opposed or attempted to eradicate folk religion in order to promote "modern" values, and many condemned "feudal superstition". These conceptions of folk religion began to change in Taiwan in the late 20th century and in mainland China in the 21st. Many scholars now view folk religion in a positive light. In recent times Chinese folk religions are experiencing a revival in both mainland China and Taiwan. Some forms have received official understanding or recognition as a preservation of traditional Chinese culture, such as Mazuism and the Sanyi teaching in Fujian, Huangdi worship, and other forms of local worship, for example the Longwang, Pangu or Caishen worship. Chinese shamanism, alternatively called Wuism (Chinese: 巫教; pinyin: wū jiào; literally: 'wu religion, shamanism, witchcraft'; alternatively 巫觋宗教 wū xí zōngjiào), refers to the shamanic religious tradition of China. Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan culture. Chinese shamanic traditions are intrinsic to Chinese folk religion, an overarching term for all the indigenous religions of China. Wu masters remain important in contemporary Chinese culture. Various ritual traditions are rooted in original Chinese shamanism: contemporary Chinese ritual masters are sometimes identified as wu by outsiders, though most orders don't self-identify as such. Also Taoism has some of its origins from Chinese shamanism: it developed around the pursuit of long life (shou 壽/寿), or the status of a xian (仙, "mountain man", "holy man"). Smaller household shrines or votive niche, such as the worship of Zaoshen and Caishen.Gōng (宫), meaning "palace" is a term used for a templar complex of multiple buildings, while yuàn (院) is a generic term meaning "sanctuary" or "shrine". Some forms of belief are not recognised by the government as a religion for statistical purposes although such practices are not outlawed. There is a deep interaction between the Chinese folk religion of the large Malaysian Chinese population, and the indigenous Malaysian folk religion. Manchu folk religion is the ethnic religion practiced by most of the Manchu people, the major of the Tungusic peoples, in China. It can also be called Manchu Shamanism by virtue of the word "shaman" being originally from Tungusic šamán ("man of knowledge"), later applied by Western scholars to similar religious practices in other cultures. It is a pantheistic system, believing in a universal God called Apka Enduri ("God of Heaven") which is the omnipotent and omnipresent source of all life and creation. Deities (enduri) enliven every aspect of nature, and the worship of these gods is believed to bring favour, health and prosperity. Many of the deities are original Manchu kins' ancestors, and people with the same surname are generated by the same god.Shamans are persons of unusual ability, strength and sensitivity, capable of perception and prediction of the ways of the gods. They are endowed with the social function to conduct the sacrificial ceremonies and approach the deities asking them intervention or protection. Because of their abilities the shamans are people of great authority and prestige. Usually, every Manchu kin has its own shaman.Manchu folk religious rites were standardised by the Qianlong Emperor (1736-96) in the "Manchu Sacrificial Ritual to the Gods and Heaven" (Manjusai wecere metere kooli bithe), a manual published in Manchu in 1747 and in Chinese (Manzhou jishen jitian dianli) in 1780. With the conquest of imperial power in China (Qing dynasty) the Manchu people gradually adopted Chinese language and assimilated into the Chinese religion, although Manchu folk religion persists with a distinct character within broader Chinese religion. Miao folk religion or Hmong folk religion is the common ethnic religion of Miao peoples, primarily consisting in the practice of kev dab qhuas (Hmongic: "worship of deities"). The religion is also called Hmongism by a Hmong American church established in 2012 to organise it among Hmong people in the United States.It has a pantheist theology, centered on worship of deities and progenitors of the Miao peoples. Throughout its history it has incorporated theoretical and ritual elements from Taoism, and broader Chinese religion, especially the emphasis on the pattern of the forces of the natural universe and the need of human life to be in accordance with these forces.Most Hmong continue to practice the traditional religion, although many Hmong in Asia have converted to Buddhism or have mixed it with Buddhism, and many Hmong Americans and Hmong Australians have adopted Christianity or Buddhism. Mo or Moism (Chinese: 摩教; pinyin: Mó jiào), occasionally called Zhuang Shigongism (Chinese: 壮族师公教; pinyin: Zhuàngzú shīgōng jiào; literally: 'Zhuang Ancestral Father Religion'), is the religion of most Zhuang people, the largest ethnic minority of China. It has a large presence in Guangxi. While it has a supreme god, the creator Bu Luotuo (布洛陀), numerous other deities are venerated as well. It has a three-element-theory (sky, earth and water). Mo is animistic, teaching that spirits are present in everything.Mo developed from prehistoric beliefs of the Zhuang people; it also has similarities to Chinese folk religion, and has developed similar doctrines to Buddhism and Taoism, in the process of competition with the influence of these religions on Zhuang culture. The Cultural Revolution of China weakened Mo, though the religion has undergone a revival since the 1980s. Moism varies from region to region. Mongolian shamanism, more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and its surrounding areas (including Buryatia and Inner Mongolia) at least since the age of recorded history. The Mongolian endonym is Böö mörgöl (In Mongolian cyrillic: Бөө мөргөл). In the earliest known stages it was intricately tied to all other aspects of social life and to the tribal organization of Mongolian society. Along the way, it has become influenced by and mingled with Buddhism. During the socialist years of the twentieth century it was heavily repressed and has since made a comeback. Yellow shamanism is the term used to designate the particular version of Mongolian shamanism which adopts the expressive style of Buddhism. "Yellow" indicates Buddhism in Mongolia, since most Buddhists there belong to what is called the Gelug or "Yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism, whose members wear yellow hats during services. The term also serves to distinguish it from a form of shamanism not influenced by Buddhism (according to its adherents), called black shamanism.Mongolian shamanism is centered on the worship of the tngri (gods) and the highest Tenger (Heaven, God of Heaven, God) or Qormusta Tengri. In the Mongolian folk religion, Genghis Khan is considered one of the embodiments, if not the main embodiment, of the Tenger. The Mausoleum of Genghis Khan in Ordos City, in Inner Mongolia, is an important center of this worship tradition. Nuo folk religion, or extendedly Chinese popular exorcistic religion, is a variant of Chinese folk religion with its own system of temples, rituals, orders of priests and gods, which is interethnic and practiced across central and southern China but is also intimately connected to the Tujia people. It arose as an exorcistic religious movement, which is the original meaning of nuó (simplified Chinese: 傩; traditional Chinese: 儺), and it spread even outside the boundaries of China exporting such practices in Japan and Korea. It has strong influences from Taoism.One of the most distinguishing characters of Nuo folk religion is its iconographic style, which represents the gods as wooden masks or heads. This is related to its own mythology, which traces the origin of Nuo to the two very first humans, who were unjustly killed by beheading and are since then worshipped as responsive divine ancestors. Nuo rituals began as efficacious methods to worship them, Lord Nuo and Lady Nuo. Since the 1980s Nuo folk religion has undergone a revitalisation in China, and today is a folk religion endorsed by the central government. Nuo priests are classified as 巫 wu (shamans) and their historical precursors were the 方相氏 fangxiangshi ("masters who assist the (astral) square"). Slavic paganism or Slavic religion define the religious beliefs, godlores and ritual practices of the Slavs before the formal Christianisation of their ruling elites. The latter occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century: The Southern Slavs living on the Balkan Peninsula in South Eastern Europe, bordering with the Byzantine Empire to the south, came under the sphere of influence of Byzantine Orthodox Christianity, beginning with the creation of the Slavic alphabet (first Glagolic, and then Cyrillic script) in 855 by the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius and the adoption of Christianity in Bulgaria in 863 CE. The East Slavs followed with the official adoption in 988 CE by Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus'.The West Slavs came under the sphere of influence of the Roman Catholic Church since the 12th century, and Christianisation for them went hand in hand with full or partial Germanisation,.The Christianisation of the Slavic peoples was, however, a slow and—in many cases—superficial phenomenon, especially in what is today Russia. Christianisation was vigorous in western and central parts of what is today Ukraine, as they were closer to the capital Kiev, but even there, popular resistance led by volkhvs, pagan priests or shamans, recurred periodically for centuries. Even though the Byzantine Christianization firstly has slowed down the Eastern Slavic traditions in Rus', it has preserved the Slavic traditions in the long term. While local Slavic figures and myths, such as Baba Roga in Croatia were forgotten, Slavic culture continued to exist and even flourish in the Eastern Slavic countries. In the case of a Christian Latinization of the Eastern Slavic countries, this may not have been the case. The West Slavs of the Baltic withstood tenaciously against Christianity until it was violently imposed on them through the Northern Crusades. Among Poles and East Slavs, rebellion outbreaks occurred throughout the 11th century. Christian chroniclers reported that the Slavs regularly re-embraced their original religion (relapsi sunt denuo ad paganismus).Many elements of the indigenous Slavic religion were officially incorporated into Slavic Christianity, and, besides this, the worship of Slavic gods has persisted in unofficial folk religion until modern times. The Slavs' resistance to Christianity gave rise to a "whimsical syncretism" which in Old Church Slavonic vocabulary was defined as dvoeverie, "double faith". Since the early 20th century, Slavic folk religion has undergone an organised reinvention and reincorporation in the movement of Slavic Native Faith (Rodnovery). The Tai folk religion, known in Lao and Thai as Satsana Phi (Lao: ສາສະໜາຜີ; Thai: ศาสนาผี, /sàːt.sa.nǎː.pʰǐː/, "religion of spirits"), is a form of animist religious beliefs traditionally and historically practiced by groups of ethnic Tai peoples. Tai folk animist traditions are practiced by the Lao, Tai Ahom, Lao Isan and Thais of Thailand. These religions are pantheistic and polytheistic and their practice involves classes of shamans. Among the Lao, the Lao Loum and Lao Lom are predominantly Buddhist, while the Lao Theung and Lao Sung are predominantly folk religious. Tai folk animist traditions have also been incorporated into Laotian Buddhism. Vietnamese folk religion or Vietnamese indigenous religion (Vietnamese: tín ngưỡng dân gian Việt Nam, tôn giáo bản địa Việt Nam), is the ethnic religion of the Vietnamese people. About 45.3% of the population in Vietnam are associated with this religion, making it dominant in Vietnam. Vietnamese folk religion is not an organized religious system, but a set of local worship traditions devoted to the thần, a term which can be translated as "spirits", "gods" or with the more exhaustive locution "generative powers". These gods can be nature deities or national, community or kinship tutelary deities or ancestral gods and the ancestral gods of a specific family. Ancestral gods are often deified heroic persons. Vietnamese mythology preserves narratives telling of the actions of many of the cosmic gods and cultural heroes. The Vietnamese indigenous religion is sometimes identified as Confucianism since it carries values that were emphasized by Confucius. Đạo Mẫu is a distinct form of Vietnamese folk religion, giving prominence to some mother goddesses into its pantheon. The government of Vietnam also categorises Cao Đài as a form of Vietnamese indigenous religion, since it brings together the worship of the thần or local spirits with Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, as well as elements of Catholicism, Spiritism and Theosophy.

2019-04-22T06:42:32Z

https://howlingpixel.com/i-en/Folk_religion

2000-10-16 Assigned to PROPEL SOFTWARE CORPORATION reassignment PROPEL SOFTWARE CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: KIRSCH, STEVEN T. The system filters-out undesirable email messages sent to a user email address. The system includes a data store providing updateable storage of signature records that correspond to a subset of undesirable email messages that may be sent to the predetermined email address. An email filter processor is coupled to the store of signature records and operates against the email messages received at the predetermined email address to identify and filter-out email messages corresponding to any of the signature records. An update system is provided to automatically receive a set of signature records, which are then used to update the plurality of signature records stored by the data store. The system can be implemented to include at least a portion of the email processor system within a client site email transport system, which receives the email messages addressed to the set of email addresses assigned or associated with the client site, including the predetermined email address. The present invention is generally related to automated systems for blocking receipt of undesired electronic mail and, in particular, to a system and methods for reliably detecting and filtering out undesired and unsolicited electronic mail stealthily prepared specifically to avoid detection by conventional filtering systems. The use of electronic mail (email) is widely accepted to the extent that email is often considered an essential tool in conducting business and communicating between individuals. Key aspects of the adoption of email for such use include the immediacy of the communication, the ability to specifically identify and define recipients by email addresses, that email addresses are often publically available by choice and by standard operation of conventional Internet tools, and the normally user-to-user personal nature of email messages. A number of different uses of email have evolved beyond the most basic person-to-person communications. One of the earliest developments was the use of list-servers (Listserv) to broadcast email messages sent to the Listserv to a well-defined and selective list of Listserv subscribers. Another development was the direct use of email lists to send announcements and other notices to subscriber lists. Similarly, electronic periodicals and information clipping services often use email lists to distribute content or content summaries to subscribing users. A generally undesired use of email, hereinafter referred to as the delivery of undesired email (UEM) and loosely referred to as “spam” email or “spamming,” is the typically unsolicited mass emailings to open or unsubscribed email addresses. Other names, such as Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) are also used to describe the same problematic email. Information describing the problems and attempts to deal with UEM is available from the Internet Mail Consortium (IMC; www.imc.org). The impact of UEM is generally assessed in a survey, ISPs and Spam: The Impact of Spam on Customer Retention and Acquisition, Engagement #1802565, by the GartnerGroup, San Jose, Calif. In summary, UEM is received by some 90% of email users with publically accessible email addresses. Estimates vary greatly on the financial impact of UEM on the businesses and services, both large and small, that receive or unintentionally forward UEM to users. Although the individual costs of email message delivery are quite small, the size of mass-emailings creates real costs in terms of connectivity, temporary storage, and auditing. Even the cost to individual users may be significant, since many pay directly for connectivity time. The email addresses used by UEM vendors are typically harvested from the Internet through scans of the information available on the Web, Usenet postings, and the various user directories and lists accessible through the Internet. For example, corporate Web pages may include an email address list of the different employees of the company. Postings to the public Usenet forums and hosted chat-rooms provided by different services often include the email address of each user who posts a message. User addresses may also be directly, though typically indirectly obtained from the different Listservs and subscriber list services that operate over the Internet. Various email address harvesting tools, ranging from the simple to quite complex and tailorable to scan the Internet using many different scanning techniques, are conventionally available from a variety of sources. Therefore, virtually any user can set up as a mass-emailing vendor of UEM messages. Such UEM vendors typically hide the address and other source identifiers of their mass-mailings, relay their mass-emailings through third-party email forwarding gateways, further change their internet service providers (ISPs) to obscure their identity. Consequently, there is no effective mechanism currently available that will permit or enable users to avoid having their email addresses harvested. There is also no simple way users can pre-identify and refuse email messages from UEM vendors. A number of products and services exist that attempt to identify and filter UEM messages from the ordinary email received by their users. The general operating principles of these systems are documented in Unsolicited Bulk Email: Mechanisms for Control, Internet Mail Consortium Report: UBE-SOL, IMCR-008, revised May 4, 1998. In general, conventional products and services rely on specific identification of known UEM vendors by source address, the specific content of manually identified UEM content, or heuristic-based identification of UEM messages. Conventional heuristic-based systems, which are generally more effective that specific identification systems, are executed by a host computer system to review and filter already received email messages into ordinary and UEM categories prior to actual delivery to the email addressees. These systems may utilize a variety of different analyses of email message content to discern UEM, including key-word and key-phrase detection, which are predefined or learned over time and improper and missing email header fields. The predefined keys are static and typically include occurrences of “$$$” and variations of “make money fast.” Learning of other key-words and phrases conventionally requires manual intervention. UEM vendors, however, are known to be highly creative and have generally demonstrated that these heuristics can be defeated by selective crafting of the content of the UEM message through the use of automated technical mechanisms. A known problem with heuristic systems is that the heuristics, operative at a level sufficient to identify a bulk of UEM received by a user, also create a substantial likelihood that non-UEM messages will be improperly identified and filtered. Any loss of non-UEM messages, however, is generally considered completely unacceptable by users. As a result, there does not appear to be any reliable and practically acceptable way to prevent the harvesting of email addresses, and thereby controlling the ability of UEM vendors from originating their mass-mailings, or to reliably identify UEM messages once received. Consequently, there is a clear need for some reliable and effective manner of detecting and filtering out UEM messages from the stream of email messages received by email users. Thus, a general purpose of the present invention is to provide an efficient method and system for qualifying and thereby providing a basis for protecting users against receipt of UEM messages. This is achieved in the present invention by providing a method and system that actively qualifies undesirable email messages sent to the email address of a user-recipient. The content of a received email message is processed to produce multiple signatures representing aspects of the contents of the received email message. These signatures are compared against a database of signatures produced from a plurality of presumed undesirable email messages. A relative-identity of the signatures is scored to provide a basis for distinguishing the received email message from the presumed undesirable email messages. The multiple signatures generated to represent the received email are produced as digest of algorithmically selected portions of the received email with the signatures defined by like algorithms being comparable. The rate of comparison matches between the multiplicity of suspect email message signatures and the signatures stored by the database serves as the basis for distringuishing the received email message from the presumed undesirable email messages. The system includes a data store providing for updateable storage of signature records that correspond to undesirable email messages potentially sent to the user-recipient email address. An email filter processor is coupled to the store of signature records and operates against the email messages received to discern and qualify email messages determined by the system to sufficiently correspond to the signature records. The store of signature records is coupleable to automatically receive signature records corresponding to additional instances of undesirable email messages, which are then stored to the data store for subsequent use in comparisons. The system can be implemented to include at least a portion of the email processor system within a client site email transport system, which receives the email messages addressed to the set of email addresses assigned or associated with the client site, including the predetermined email address. An advantage of the present invention is that, through an effectively reverse harvesting of UEM vendors, a controlled yield of UEM is made available to the system as a basis for qualifying and potential filtering-out of UEM sent to protected users. Another advantage of the present invention is that the signature records generated through processing of UEM messages effectively implement one-to-many relationship between an undesirable email, as directed to a recipient-user, and the UEM represented by the signatures stored in the data store. Thus, comparison of the signatures of a suspect email with those contained in the stored signature records enables both ordinary and intentionally created variants of UEM messages to be automatically detectable by the system. A further advantage of the present invention is that a broad set of algorithms may be implemented as a basis for generating signature records, with only subsets of the algorithms used for particular signature records. A UEM vendor, therefore, cannot reasonably anticipate a particular subset of algorithms to evade in preparing a UEM message, since the subset is not static at least over time. Furthermore, variants of the top-level set of algorithms as well as new algorithms may be introduced with the effect that the top-level set of algorithms is not necessarily closed. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the algorithms, based on their different basis for determining content similarity, are automatically resilient against ordinary and intentional variations. The resulting scoring of potential UEM messages is based not on exact identities, but on similarity matching. A particular signature record with therefore match the variants of a UEM message that might be produced by automated rewriting. Complex rewriting of individual UEM messages, requiring direct and non-automatable involvement of the UEM vendor, is both impractical and unprofitable for a UEM vendor. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that a centrally maintained and managed server can be efficiently operated to collect, analyze, and produce signature records. By the proxy collection of UEM, the server is highly-responsive to new mass emailings of UEM and can quickly prepare and hot-update client-site filtering systems against at least any further passage of these UEM messages. Further, the server can automatically update the client systems with new algorithms and specifying different selections of algorithms for use in connection with particular signature records. As a result, client site administration is essentially automatic, yet maintained entirely up-to-date under the secure control of the server. The operation of the server, however, is also substantially autonomous. Little or no human interaction is required on an ongoing basis to manage or operate the system of the present invention. Specifically, no human interaction or contribution is required in order for the present system and methods to develop UEM message signatures. These signatures are automatically developed and distributed. A still further advantage of the present invention is that the algorithmic operations of the server in analyzing potential UEM and the client in detecting UEM is both fast and highly-reproducible. Computational speed is proportional to and primarily controlled by the size of an email message being processed. A secondary consideration is the computational complexity of the algorithms. In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the computational complexity is little greater than the computation of checksums of text characters. FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating the analysis of email messages in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The present invention provides a system and methods for reliably detecting and identifying UEM. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention apply primarily to electronic mail messages, the present invention is fully applicable to other, at lease purportedly, user-to-user messages passed using other protocols and composed and read using non-email specific client applications. User-to-user messages can be passed using listserv protocols, as well as the more recent protocols developed to support internet relay chat (IRC), AOL® Instant Messenger™, and netnews messages transported by the network news transport protocol (NNTP). Where the content of such other user-to-user messages would qualify as undesirable in the manner considered for UEM, then the messages themselves are UEM within the scope of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, preferred embodiments of the present invention, such as the system 10, utilize a server system 12 to collect and identify UEM through the generation of signature record sets and any number of client systems 14, 14′ that, based on the signature record sets, identify and filter-out the corresponding UEM received at their local sites. The UEM server system 12 preferably includes a signature server 16, a store for signature record sets 18, and some number of UEM relay systems 20, with at least one being required. These relays 20 may be email-enabled computer systems physically located local or remote relative to the UEM server 16 or may even be hosted as virtual systems by the UEM server 16 itself. Preferably, the configuration and operation of the UEM relays 20 is managed cooperatively with that of the UEM server 16. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, twenty to more than a hundred UEM relay systems 20 are established with access to the Internet 22. Each UEM relay 20 is preferably associated with a large number of decoy email addresses, totaling thousands to several millions of unique email addresses for the full complement of UEM relays 20. The UEM relays 20 are connected to the Internet 22 through different ISPs. Preferably, the selected ISPs are large email forwarders, whose blanket avoidance by UEM vendors would severely compromise any potential benefit of a UEM mass-mailing. Additionally, any Internet visible identification of the UEM relays 20 is preferably changed aperiodically to prevent any easy identification of the UEM relays 20 through their ISP hosts. The decoy email addresses supported by the UEM relays 20 are published through various means to be available to harvester tools. In particular, public directories can be used to list the decoy addresses so as to appear indistinguishable from legitimate email addresses to harvester tools. These directories are preferably published through legitimate Internet directory services, including the InterNIC™ and the many commercial listing services that support publically accessible directories of users. Web-based directories can also be posted. Another preferred method of publishing is to post messages to the different publically accessible newsgroups, chat-rooms, and Listservs with the decoy mail addresses provided in the reply-to header field or body of the message. The UEM relays preferably operate to forward 24 all email messages directed to the decoy addresses to the UEM server 16. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the email is simply forwarded 24 using the simple mail transport protocol (SMTP) to an unpublished email address hosted by the UEM server 16. Should a need arise, the email may be forwarded using a non-standard SMTP port number or a different transport protocol. In an alternate preferred embodiment of the present invention, the UEM clients 14, 14′ may also host directories that publish email addresses, including decoy addresses, identified with the client domain. Since these decoy addresses also do not correspond to any actual user, any email received by these domain specific email accounts can be considered to be UEM. Preferably, these email messages are selectively forwarded 26 to the UEM server 16 in the same manner UEM messages are forwarded 24 by the UEM relays 20. Thus, even UEM selectively targeted to specific domains may be detected and ultimately filtered-out. UEM messages forwarded 24, 26 from the relays 20, 14, 14′ are preferably processed by the UEM server 16 to generate corresponding sets of signature records storable by a signature database 18. For purposes of the present invention, a signature is some value or condition that represents some aspect, typically some portion of the content, of a particular email. Signatures generated in a like manner for an email are at least logically collected as a signature record. That is, the signatures of a signature record reflect different views of the email message content. These views are preferably constructed or calculated in the same or like manner, but operate over different selected, potentially overlapping, portions of the header fields and body of the email contents. In turn, a signature record set, containing multiple signature records, corresponds to a full representation of the contents of an email received by the UEM server 16. A separate signature record set is not necessarily generated and stored for every UEM message received. Rather, the UEM server 16 determines whether the signature record set for a received email is already in the signature database 18. While an identity comparison between a new signature record set and those previously stored in the signature database 18 could be used, a sufficient comparison can be made by only comparing selected signatures from the new signature records with the signatures of signature records previously stored in the signature database 18. This has the effect of comparing a received email against a broad set of variants of the emails previously evaluated by the UEM server 16, but without requiring a signature record set to have been stored for each of those emails. Thus, by basing the comparison on the use of only a subset of the signature record set, or a signature-set, the comparison implicitly encompasses variants of UEM not actually received previously as email by the UEM server 16. The use of signature-set and the comparison of signatures from like signature records is preferred. The UEM clients 14, 14′ are preferably based on conventional computer server systems 28 that support an SMTP gateway between the Internet 22 and users transferring email messages through the gateway. For non-SMTP based messages, a gateway or proxy for the corresponding transport protocol can be similarly used. In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the gateway or proxy, such as the SMTP gateway shown, is modified to support an analysis and filtering function at least with respect to email messages received from a communications network, such as the Internet 22. Thus, the UEM client 28 operates to deliver filtered inbound email 30 messages to the email account users of the UEM client 28′, while allowing, email outbound 32 from the UEM client 28 sites to be passed to the Internet 22 without delay. If a client site allows internal email messages to reach and be routed by the UEM client 28, these messages are preferably treated as trusted and returned as part of the filtered inbound email 30 messages. The modified SMTP gateway utilized by the clients 14, 14′ of the present invention preferably also processes inbound email messages from the Internet 22 by subjecting the messages to a multi-part analysis. In general, the signature record set produced by this analysis is then compared to the signature record sets retrievable from the client signature database 34. In general terms, if a signature-set match is found within predetermined tolerances, the message is filtered-out. More specifically, these comparisons enable the generation of similarity scores by evaluating the match rate of various subsets of signature records, combining the scores typically through an averaging operation, and potentially adding in additional signature characterizing values determined through the comparisons to reach a final similarity score for a signature record set. This final score is then compared against a preset threshold to finally determine whether the corresponding inbound message should be recognized or identified as a UEM message and accordingly filtered. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the filtering-out is performed by adding a defined UEM notation, such as “SPAM,” to a standard header field, such as the subject line header, of the inbound message. Alternately, a proprietary header field, possibly named “X-spam,” could be added to the inbound message. To prevent external interference with this alternative marking system, the name of any proprietary header field is specifically chosen not to correspond to any publically accepted or recognized header field name. Preferably, though optionally, a numeric percentage value denoting the degree of certainty that the message is UEM is added to the same header. This field value may be alternately presented as a defined word, such as “Low,” “Medium,” or “High,” where multiple thresholds are defined, to reflect the highest threshold value exceeded by the message content. Thus, the absence of a UEM notation in a specific header or a degree of certainty value of less than some defined percentage threshold value is preferably considered a non-UEM message indicator. In order to avoid outside interference with this marking scheme, any UEM notation or degree of certainty value present on an inbound message is removed or ignored. Conventional email-client applications can then further filter these UEM marked messages directly into a trash queue or specifically segregated into some “suspected UEM” inbound email queue that a user can later summarily review and clean as appropriate. Where multiple threshold values are supported by the present invention, the email client readers may be configured to recognize each threshold value and apply a separate filter rule to specify a corresponding disposition for the differently identified messages. Finally, the UEM server 16 preferably distributes 36 signature record sets as hot-updates to UEM clients 28. Thus, as updates are received by a UEM client 28, the signature record sets are installed into the signature database 34 and immediately made available to the UEM client 28 for use in evaluating email messages inbound from the Internet 22. Preferably, the hot-updating process is initiated by the UEM server 16 on or in connection with determining that a newly generated signature record set is not currently present in the signature database 18. The immediacy of the distribution of these new signature record sets minimizes the exposure of the UEM client system 14, 14′ sites to new, unidentified UEM emailings. For practical purposes then, the exposure to such new UEM emailings is determined by the delay between the beginning of a new UEM mass-emailing and the first receipt of a corresponding UEM message at a decoy email address. Provided a sufficient number of decoy email addresses are published and harvested in advance of a UEM mass-emailing, the detection and filtering-out of UEM messages can easily be greater than 98% and, with tuning of the filtering operation of the server and client systems 12, 14, may very closely approach 100%. A preferred embodiment of the UEM server 12 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2A. An SMTP server 42 receives the forwarded UEM messages collected by the UEM relays 20. The received messages are queued through a message collection queue 44 and a message normalizer 46. The collection queue 44 is provided simply to buffer a sequence of UEM messages awaiting processing though the normalizer 46. Multiple forms: select the text/plain version. (&nbsp; &quot, etc.) to ordinary characters. Other forms: reduce to a plain text equivalent. Other form conversions may be similarly implemented as different forms are identified adopted for use in connection with email messages. For example, extensible markup language (XML) documents may soon be adopted for the transport of email content. In general, XML documents may be treated like hypertext markup language (HTML) documents, since both are derivative subsets of a broader document description standard known as standard generalized markup language (SGML). Extensions to the HTML form conversions may need to be adopted to handle XML, though the goal of generally reducing the content to a plain text form remains. Case: Content is converted to lowercase. string and, therefore, are ignored. The normalizations presented in Table II are the currently preferred set of such normalizations. Additional normalizations may be developed, in a generally consistent manner, as UEM vendors develop new methods of affecting the presentation of their UEM messages in an effort to randomly vary the appearance of their messages to automated detection tools and, thereby, avoid detection as UEM messages. Once normalized, a message is then passed to an array of algorithmic processors 48 1-N to generate signatures based on a variety of differently selected subsets of the message content. These subsets may be selected as named blocks, such as a particular header field, as non-overlapping blocks, such as lines, sentences and paragraphs, and overlapping blocks of words as may be selected through a sliding window. In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the algorithmic processors implement computational, comparative, and other processes for generating signatures. Computationally-based signatures are preferably digests or other mathematical operations that produce signatures representing some corresponding subset of the message content. Many acceptable computational digests forms exist, including checksums, message digests, such as MD5, and cyclic redundancy checks, such as CRC-8 and CRC-32. Table III lists a preferred set of the computational algorithms, employing a preferred checksum digest form, usable in connection with the present invention. searching systems). This is a preferred algorithm. multiple line breaks and blank lines. combination in the original message content. in the header fields of this message. content, preferably exclusive of header fields. preferably exclusive of header fields. exclusive of header fields and blank lines. of header fields and blank lines. common words and numbers used in UEM messages. numbers, postal addresses, and URLs. determined against a common word-dictionary. excluding stop-words given by a predefined list. that also appear in the master word group list. a range of 0.25 and 2 points. in a range of 0.25 and 2 points. such as in a range of 0.25 and 3 points. The array of algorithmic processors 48 1-N preferably operate in parallel to generate a full signature record set of signatures based on a particular message. Each of these signatures is then passed to a final analysis processor 50 that composes a corresponding signature record set. Before storing the newly constructed signature record set to the signature database 18, the final analysis processor 50 preferably scans the signature record sets previously stored in the signature database 18 to determine whether a corresponding signature record set already exists in the signature database 18. The determination made is preferably whether or not there is a sufficient calculated degree of similarity, represented as a score, between the newly generated signature record set and those prior stored in the signature database 18. Generally, where the similarity score produced by the comparison scan is above a pre-set threshold, the newly generated signature record set or a variant thereof is considered to already exist in the signature database 18. The newly generated signature record set is therefore discarded. Conversely, if the threshold level is not met, the newly generated signature record set is finalized and stored to the signature database 18. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the comparison scan operates to compare a subset of the signatures taken from the newly generated signature record set with those present in the signature database 18. This comparison is constrained to only comparing signatures that are generated using the same algorithm. Thus, for example, a signature newly generated using a three-word sliding window algorithm is only compared against signatures in the database 18 that were previously generated using the same three-word sliding window algorithm. For the preferred embodiment then, no comparison correlation is made or respected between the newly generated signature record set, as a whole, and any prior stored signature record set. Alternate embodiments of the present invention may determine correlations based on a signature record set basis to obtain a possible higher level of validity to the matches made, but at greatly increased computational requirements. In either case, the count of comparison matches to comparisons made yields a ratio value on a per algorithm basis. A degree of similarity score is then produced from a preferably mathematically based combination of the ratio values. In greater detail with reference to FIG. 2B, the determination process begins with the final analysis processor 50 first operating to select subsets of the signatures generated by several of the different algorithmic processors 48 1-N from the newly generated signature record set 56. The total number of signatures selected, the algorithms for which signatures are selected, and the number of signatures selected corresponding to a particular algorithm are preferably determined empirically. For example, one algorithm applied to an email May produce 200 signatures. A representative set of these signatures, for purposes of comparison, may be a randomly selected set of 10 or 20 signatures. Thus, the comparison scan may only employ 10 signatures generated by a three word sliding window algorithm, 15 generated by a line-selection algorithm, and 5 generated by a unique word selection algorithm. The selected signatures are then compared via a comparative analysis block 58 against signatures of like generated signature records retrieved from the signature database 18. score. This is a preferred algorithm. together to provide a signature-set comparison score. A predefined threshold similarity level, preferably programmable and stored by the final analysis processor 50, is then used to determine whether the currently generated signature record set should be stored to the signature database 18. If the degree of similarity computed for a newly generated signature record set is below the threshold, the record set is stored. Otherwise, the signature record set is discarded. For example, the newly generated signature record set 56 may include signatures generated by four algorithms, with each algorithm generating ten checksum signatures. The signature record sets previously stored in the signature database 18 may include signatures produced by four or more algorithms though including at least the four algorithms used in generating the current generated signature record set 56. If the comparisons between the signatures, on a per-algorithm basis, produce ratio match values of 8, 7, 9, and 5, the resulting degree of similarity score, using averaging, is 72.5%. Using differential averaging, the degree of similarity score is 75%. Finally, if the predefined threshold similarity level is set to 75%, inclusive, the newly generated signature record set 56 would be stored to the database 18 if the degree of similarity determination is defined as using averaging. Where the degree of similarity determination is defined as using differential averaging, the current generated signature record set 56 would be considered to be a sufficiently close variant of a prior recognized UEM message and, therefore, would be discarded. In each case, however, a date/time-stamp is effectively updated for any signature prior stored in the signature database that matched a signature during the comparison scan. Thus, for preferred embodiments of the present invention where signatures are aged and progressively removed from the signature database 18, updating of the signature date/time-stamp values allows the signature database 18, as a whole, to track with the progression of variants of UEM received by the server 12. Finally, in arriving at a similarity score, the use of only a subset of the signatures generated by the array of algorithmic processors 48 1-N for comparison against those stored by the signature database 18 serves a number of related purposes. By introducing an unpredictable variation in the particular set of signatures that will ultimately be used in screening received email messages, UEM vendors are unable to discern or reliably predict the essential criteria that would result in an email being compared and determined to be UEM. Additionally, using a subset whose algorithmic composition may equally change unpredictably, the introduction of new and additional algorithms is hidden from any UEM vendor who may try to discern or reliably predict UEM detection criteria. An alternate preferred embodiment of the examination process is detailed in FIG. 2C. The final analysis processor 50 operates to compare the current signature record set 56, as generated by the algorithmic processors 48 1-N, against a currently selected signature record set 57, previously stored in the signature database 18. The two signature record sets are preferably arranged, at least logically, into signature subsets 56 1-N and 57 1-N. Each of the signature subsets 56 1-N contains the set of signatures produced by a respective algorithmic processor 48 1-N. Likewise, the signature subsets 57 1-N contain the sets of signatures earlier produced by respective algorithmic processors 48 1-N. A comparative analysis block 58 preferably receives each of the signature subsets 56 1-N, 57 1-N and performs signature comparisons between the paired subsets 56 1-N, 57 1-N that correspond to a respective algorithmic processor 48 1-N. As between algorithm matched subsets 56 X, 57 X, each signature in the subset 56 X is compared to each signature in the subset 57 X. Subset totals of the number of identity signature matches and non-matches found are kept for each algorithm matched pairing of the subsets 56 1-N, 57 1-N. The resulting totals are then passed to a match analysis block 59 for a determination of whether to discard the signature record set 56 as being identical or sufficiently similar to a signature record set 57 already present in the signature database 18. Referring again to FIG. 2A, the empirical selection of signatures for use in the comparison is preferably performed by an administrator through a local manager 52. This local manager 52 may be an administrative console attached to the server 12 or a separate administrative system. Preferably, the local manager 52 also operates to monitor the operation of the server 12 including generation of statistical and summary reports reflecting the operation of the server 12. The local manager 52 is also preferably responsible for establishing an aging algorithm for retiring signatures and potentially entire signature record sets from the signature database 18. Since only one or a small set of typically less than ten signature record sets are required to identify a particular UEM message and related variations, the storage capacity requirement for the signature database 18 16 is not great. However, individual UEM mass mailings tend to occur over relatively short periods, typically 1 to 5 days. Therefore, corresponding signature record sets can be considered to have a similarly limited effective life-span. Preferably then, the aging algorithm maintains signatures in the signature database 18 for an empirically selected aging period that may lost from one day to several weeks, with a preferred period of a few days, such as two to five days. The removal of signatures is accomplished by a periodic scanning of the signature database 18 and removing signatures whose date/time-stamps are older than the currently defined aging period. The algorithmic processors 48 1-N that are not selected to produce signatures for new signature record sets preferably continue to generate signatures. The operation of such algorithmic processors 48 1-N is preferably maintained for a period of time at least equal to the aging period. Alternately, when an algorithm is retired, the signatures created using that algorithm are removed from the signature database. This tends if not actually ensures that signatures are retired before the corresponding generating algorithm is retired. Thus, the signatures generated against any given message are a proper superset of those stored by the signature record sets in the signature database 18 at any given time. The scan of the signature database 18 by the final analysis processor 50 for a matching signature record set can be performed irrespective of the particular subset of signatures selected for use in the current generation of signature record sets. When a newly generated signature-set is finally identified by the final analysis processor 50 as representing a sufficiently different UEM message, the current generated signature record set is stored in the database 18. This record set as stored may include tuples storing a particular signature value and a versioned identification of the particular algorithm used to generate the signature. The date/time-stamp and other, optional data is preferably stored with the signature value at this time. The other data may include signature record generation dates, other data identifying or characterizing the signature or some aspect of the content from which the signature was generated, and data that may be used in support of the aging of the signature, the associated signature record, or full signature record set. The signature record set is also provided to an update manager 54 for use in a hot update of the client systems 14, 14′. In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the operation of the update manager 54 is ultimately defined by the local manager 52 and administrator. Preferably, this defined operation is a relatively continuous process of serving hot updates of newly identified signature record sets to the client systems 14, 14′. This is desired in order to minimize the latency from the first receipt of a message from a new UEM mailing campaign to the updating of the client systems 14, 14′. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hot updates are dynamically sourced by the update manager 54 over the Internet 22 to the client systems 14, 14′. A conventional hot update system and proprietary communications protocol may be used. A hot update message will likely contain a single signature record set and, therefore, may be relatively small and quickly delivered. The record set size may be further reduced by sending only those signatures that did not match against the signature database 18 and updated date/time-stamps for those that did match. A hot update message may also include new or updated algorithms for use by the client systems 14, 14′. That is, any time a new or modified algorithm is adopted by the server 12 for use by one of the algorithmic processors 48 1-N, the algorithm is concurrently provided to the clients 14, 14′. Preferably, the hot update communications protocol is secure, such as through the use of an encryption protocol, to protect the content of the hot updates. Referring now to FIG. 3, the client system 14, representing the client systems 14, 14′, is shown in greater detail. A SMTP proxy server 60 is installed in place of a conventional SMTP server 62 that is used as an email routing relay for a community of Users1-N 64. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the SMTP proxy 60 operates to route email messages inbound from the Internet to a white list processor 66. A white list 68, which is accessible by the white list processor 66, is managed by a local manager 70 under the control of a client site administrator. This local manager 70 may be an administrative console attached to the server 14 or a separate administrative system. Preferably, the local manager 70 also operates to monitor the operation of the server 14 including generation of statistical and summary reports reflecting the operation of the server 14. Using the local manager 70, the client site administrator can manage a set of white list entries, typically consisting of some set of domain names and email addresses corresponding to sites and individual correspondents that are trusted not to be a source or forwarder of UEM messages. Thus, the white list processor preferably operates to examine each message received from the SMTP proxy to determine if the “From:” domain or email address is on the white list 68. If present, the message is passed directly to the SMTP server 62 for eventual distribution to an end-user 64. All other inbound email messages are next passed, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, to a hold queue 72. A UEM detection processor 74 operates on messages as entered into the hold queue 72 to determine whether the message corresponds to any signature record set stored in a client signature database 76. This detection process is performed generally in three steps: first, a client signature record set, reflecting the contents of a particular queued message, is generated and a scan comparison is made between a signature-set of the client signature record set and the signatures stored in the signature database 76; second, a similarity score is generated for the client signature-set; and third, a preferably threshold-based determination is made to determine whether the similarity score credited to the client signature record set is sufficient to consider the corresponding email message to be a known UEM message. Preferably, the generation of the client signature-set is performed by an array of algorithmic processors, provided within the UEM detection processor 74, that is essentially identical to the array 48 1-N. The UEM detection processor 74 also effectively includes at least that portion of the final analysis processor 50 that operates to collect the signatures generated by the array 48 1-N, accesses the signature database 18, and performs the scan comparison to identify matching signatures in order to generate a similarity score, essentially in the same manner as performed by the server 12. This includes determining the ratio of matching checksum signatures found, normalizing, as appropriate, the ratio identity value, and adding any “adder” values to determining a final similarity score, as described above in connection with the operation of the final analysis processor 50. Finally, based on the generated score, a client-site determination is made as to whether a scored message is a UEM message. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a score threshold value is established by the client site administrator through a local manager 70. Messages having scores higher than the threshold value are considered to be UEM messages and dealt with in a manner determined by the client site administrator. Preferably, the options are to drop the UEM messages completely, to distinctively mark the message as UEM and thus delegate the further handling of the messages to the user-client email client applications, and to maintain a UEM message in the hold queue 72 pending review by the client site administrator. Preferred embodiments of the present invention allow the client site administrator to set and manage through the local manager 70 multiple threshold values to support discrimination between different handling options. For example, a high threshold may be set to immediately drop UEM messages detected with a very high degree of certainty. One or more intermediate threshold values can be set to filter between messages that should be marked differently as UEM messages, such as with different rating numbers reflecting different likelihoods that the message is UEM. A low threshold value may be set to filter for all messages that are at least above a suspect threshold as bing UEM messages. An algorithm set store 78 is preferably used to manage the current set of algorithms usable by the UEM detection processor 74. Both the signature database 76 and algorithm set store 78 are preferably hot-updateable from the server 12. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the hot-update protocol is used to access a secure internet port 80 on the client system 14 and transfer updates to the local manager 70. In turn, the local manager 70, in a preferably automated process, stores the signatures of new signature record sets in the signature database 76 and new and updated signature algorithms, including their related parameters, in or through the algorithm set store 78. The hold queue 72 can also be used to implement a delay function. In an alternate preferred embodiment of the present invention, the examination of messages entered into the hold queue 72 may be intentionally delayed. By forcing a delay before the UEM detection processor 74 begins the evaluation of a message newly entered into the hold queue 72, an opportunity is provided for the server 12 to notice any newly started UEM mass emailing and to generate and distribute corresponding signature record sets to the client systems 14, 14′. Preferably, the delay imposed is a variable parameter that can be set by the client site administrator though the local manager 70. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the period of the delay may be set between 0 and 30 minutes, with a typical setting of between 5 and 15 minutes. In a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, however, the delay is set at 0 provided a sufficient number of decoy email addresses have been deployed for a period of time sufficient to expect that many have been harvested. As a result, there is a substantial statistical chance that a decoy address will be in the first 1 to 5 percent of the email addresses used in a new UEM mass mailing campaign. Given that the latency of the server 12 in generating a corresponding and distributing a new signature record set, plus the latency of the clients 14, 14′ in installing the signature record set, is relatively small in comparison to the progression of a UEM mass mailing, the clients 14, 14′ will be updated in time to block at least 90% of any new UEM messages. A quite reasonably expected blockage rate of 98% is attained. This number is reached by assuming that the number of decoy addresses are sufficient to reasonably have the occurrence of a decoy address within the first 1% of the UEM mass mailing and assuming that the combined server 12, client 14, 14′ latency only allows another 1% of the UEM mass mailing to be delivered without detection. Even with a successful delivery rate of 10%, however, most UEM vendors should find that their UEM mass mailings are prohibitively ineffective to pursue. FIG. 4 details, in flow diagram form, the process 100 of creating a signature record set by a server system 12 and scoring a message by a client system 14, 14′. Although performed for different ultimate purposes by the server 12 and client 14, 14′ systems, the process 100 nonetheless utilizes substantially the same steps. The process 100 begins with a single message, which is first converted 102 to a plain text form (Table I) and then normalized 104 to conform (Table II) the content to a standard presentation. The message content is then evaluated through computationally based algorithms 106, weight-based algorithms 108, and any other algorithms 110. The computationally based algorithms 106 (Table III) include text block 112, chunking 114, selected text 116, and other 118 algorithms that operate to generate signatures based on a computation, such as checksums. Weight oriented algorithms 108 (Table IV) include improper field checking 120, count-based signatures 122, and other algorithms 124. The use of the process 100 by a server system 12 next collects 126 the various generated signatures into a newly generated signature record set. A determination then made to store the signature set record in the database 18 where a generated similarity score is below a pre-set threshold. When a record set is stored to the database 18, the signature record set is stored and hot updated to the client systems 14, 14′. Changes in the current set of algorithms used, scoring parameters, and other data used by the algorithmic processor array 48 1-N are also included in the hot update. The process 100, as used by the client systems 14, 14′, preferably relies on the scoring parameters provided for the specific algorithms 112-124 to determine the similarity score for the message being evaluated. The computational 128 and weighted adds 130 components of the score are tallied and then combined 132 to produce a final similarity score for the message. Based on pre-established score thresholds, a score comparision 134 is performed and an appropriate action is then taken, such as dropping the message or marking the message with a relative indicator of the likelihood that the message is a UEM message. Thus, methods and a system for identifying UEM messages and supporting the filtering of such messages from the desired stream of inbound email has been described. While the present invention has been described particularly with reference to the filtering of electronic mail, the present invention is equally applicable to other and future forms of communications that operate on the basis of distributed public addresses for user-to-user communications. In view of the above description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, many modifications and variations of the disclosed embodiments will be readily appreciated by those of skill in the art. In particular, the nature of the content normalization processes may be readily adapted to handing other and new content presentation conventions and may be adjusted to convert message content to a defined form other than plain/text. Additionally, the algorithms may be permuted in various manners to provide a renewable source of different distinct signatures and new algorithms, provided they create reproducible signatures, may be introduced at any time. Also, UEM should not be construed as restricted to just email transported by the simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP). Rather, UEM should be understood to include other message types where a server or proxy can be placed or executed in the transport path of these messages. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described above. d) second determining whether said score value is greater that a predetermined threshold value, whereby said email message is qualified as unsolicited email. wherein said step of performing performs said lookup of signatures by looking up signatures of said first said signature set against said first plurality of said reference signatures and by looking up signatures of said second said signature set, respectively by like predefined location, against said second plurality of said reference signatures. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said step of first determining determines said score value for said received email message based on a calculated signature match value for each like pairing of said signatures between said first said signature set and said first plurality of said reference signatures and between said second said signature set and said second plurality of said reference signatures. Brightmail, Inc., Internet Services Providers and Enterprise Messaging Industry Rally . . . , Mar. 29, 1999. Brightmail, Inc., Prominent Industry Leaders Support Brightmail's New Solution to Fight Spam, Jul. 20, 1998. Gartner Consulting, ISPs and Spam: The Impact of Spam on Customer Retention and Acquisition, Jun. 14, 1999. Hoffman, Unsolicited Bulk Email: Definitions and Problems, Oct. 5, 1997.

2019-04-24T11:18:59Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6772196B1/en

Like the truck driver who drove twice around the 53 mile Indy loop known as “The Circle,” before his wife noticed he had already passed the same landmarks. Or the lore, oft-told, of drivers finding themselves in another city or state, sometimes hundreds of miles away, having no idea how they got there, in a sleep-deprived stupor . . . No one really knows how many crashes are due to driving while drowsy. In the photo above, taken earlier this year, the driver admitted he knew he was tired when he was heading south on I-95, but he pressed on anyway. Drowsy Drivers are Dangerous Drivers. Drowsy driving accidents usually involve only one vehicle and the injuries tend to be serious or fatal. There are no skid marks or evidence of other evasive maneuvers at the drowsy driving crash scene. Vehicles driven by a drowsy driver may hit another vehicle or a fixed object at full speed. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) says more than half of drivers have driven while drowsy and 20 percent to 30 percent have fallen asleep at the wheel. Young adults are particularly at risk: the peak age for drowsy driving crashes is 20 years old. A drowsy driver needs to immediately get off of the road. Being drowsy or sleepy may be a symptom of fatigue, but it is not really the same thing. Fatigue is sometimes caused by common lifestyle causes, such as lack of rest, poor eating habits or stress. Fatigue can also be caused by medical issues and conditions ranging from mild to serious, or even disorders as anxiety and depression. Feeling fatigued might be similar to feeling tired, exhausted or low in energy, but often does not result in sleep or sleepiness. Drowsy drivers are in the stage right before sleep and are at risk of falling asleep. You’ve heard all the tricks: caffeinated or energy drinks, caffeine pills, vitamin drinks, turning the heat down, rolling down the windows, turning the music up, etc. While caffeine may help a little in the short term, most of the quick tricks to fight sleep simply do not work. The National Sleep Foundation says the best way to make sure your mind and body are in optimal driving shape is to plan ahead and get 7-8 hours of sleep before driving. Proper pre-trip rest is essential. The pre-drive nap: taking a short nap before a road trip can help make up for a short night’s sleep. The mid-drive nap: if you find yourself drowsy while driving, pull over to take a short nap of 20 minutes. Make sure you are in a safe location and remember you’ll be groggy for 15 minutes or so after waking up. The Buddy system: It’s safest to drive with a partner on long trips. Pull over and switch drivers, while the other takes a nap, if possible. Don’t rush. Better to arrive at your destination safe than on time. Do not drink alcohol. Even very small amounts of alcohol will enhance drowsiness. Don’t drive between midnight and 6 AM. Because of your body’s biological rhythm, this is a time when sleepiness is most intense. Drivers need to get rest before driving and need to know the signs of drowsy driving. Organizations and motor carriers need a clear, explicit policy on driving while drowsy, ill, or fatigued. Organizations should conduct periodic driver training on preventing driving while drowsy. Thank you for reading this. Many more thanks for helping to spread the word. Authorities said a semi-truck slammed into the rear of another semi that was stopped for the construction backup. “He tried to stop, but just didn’t have time,” sheriff’s office Sgt. William Hoskins said. The second semi was pushed forward into a third semi. For some drivers, nothing is more frustrating than merging to a single lane. Traffic becomes much slower and it always seems someone is trying to position themselves to the head of the pack. The problem? According to traffic experts, most of us merge too early, causing a single lane that may stretch for miles, and slowing things down even more. Most drivers say they are early mergers. MnDOT created this video on the zipper merge . . . More states are adopting the zipper merge. As in any construction zone merge, drivers need to remain vigilant, drive defensively, maintain a safe following distance and a space cushion around their vehicle, slow down and always be ready to stop, if necessary. On a daily basis, there are far too many rear-end, construction zone collisions occurring, or secondary collisions after a primary collision, resulting in mass destruction. • Drivers should not act as a traffic cop. Trucks sometimes line up side-by-side to impede the flow of traffic. A.) Intentionally blocking or impeding traffic is totally illegal. B.) While illegally blocking traffic, there is the risk of getting rear-ended or side-swiped by someone who is not paying attention. Insurance companies may have the right to reject a claim in these circumstances. • Don’t expect everyone to do it right. There tends to be a lot of confusion when merging. There is no forewarning as to which lane to be in when doing the zipper merge. When traffic is slow, for safety reasons, motorcycles may “lane split” or drive on the shoulder. Be courteous and drive friendly. • DO NOT TAKE RIGHT OF WAY. If you lose your turn, someone else will let you in. Right of way can only be granted — never taken. • Remain in your lane. Maintain a good following distance and space cushion. Follow the directions of any warning signs. • When merging, signal intentions, check the mirrors and ease into the lane indicated. • Treat traffic like a team sport. Play the assist role. Yield to other vehicles when it’s their turn to merge. Driver behavior is responsible for most crashes. Bad driver behaviors. Behaviors as errors and violations affect safe driving. Errors are slips, lapses, and mistakes. Errors may be dangerous errors or relatively harmless lapses. While violations decline with age, errors generally do not. . . . driving errors underlie crash involvement for older adults. Such errors include seeing another vehicle but misjudging the time available to proceed, failing to yield the right of way, making improper turns or improper stops, failing to see another vehicle, and speeding. Violations are not errors, but rather the style in which the driver chooses to drive that becomes an ingrained habit after years of driving. Certain driving errors and violations have been found to be predictive of crashes. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) studied the driving behaviors of over a half-million truck drivers. In vetting a new hire or preforming an annual review, a driver’s record can carry a lot of weight, especially if the driver has some bad driving habits as above, or other habits that can be just as bad — as not wearing a safety belt while driving, or driving distracted (texting or using a hand-held cell phone), etc. Interstate 465 (I-465), also known as the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway, named for the WWII ship that sank on the night of July 30, 1945, stretches 53 miles around the capital of Indiana. RTV6 of Indianapolis ran a story on risky I-465 ramps, some with older design features like I-465 eastbound onto I-69 northbound (Exit 37), some with blind spots, that can result in cars waiting too long to exit and making risky moves resulting in a conflict or crash. The chart of interchanges around Indianapolis shows which ones have high crash rates (for all types of vehicles). Note that except for I65 and I70, all major highways are routed around the city, with I-465. A one-mile section between exits 46 and 47 carries eight routes — I-465, US 31, US 36, US 40, US 52, US 421, SR 37 and SR 67. The speed limit is 55 MPH, but traffic speeds may be around 65 MPH. So if you have to travel around Indianapolis over the holidays or on your normal work day, please be extra cautious going around the I-465 loop. Are you Ready to Shift into Winter? While chain control laws have been in effect since October in many jurisdictions, a number of drivers have not had to use them. It is the driver’s responsibility to know the road conditions and equip their vehicle for those conditions. Chain Rule No 1. Make sure the chains will fit your tires. Tire sizes are different and so are chain sizes. Do a “dry run” and make sure the chains are properly fitted for the tires. Bungee cords can add some tension and take up some of the slack. Bungee cords cannot make an improperly sized tire chain work. Chain Rule No. 2 Take up as much “slack” in the chain as you can. Tighten the chains as much as possible on the wheel. Make the chain as tight as possible on the wheel. Then use bungee chords to keep the chain from slinging out. Chain Rule No. 3 Drive slowly with chains. Top speeds with chains will be 15 MPH to 20 MPH. Driving much faster will cause the chain to sling out and possibly come loose or come apart. Chain Rule No. 4. De-chain as soon as possible. Once the vehicle has passed through the hazardous area, stop and remove the chains. Chain Rule No. 5. If road conditions are dangerous and risky, do not drive. Check weather reports, if adverse weather is anticipated. Know your company policy for driving in adverse weather. Do not drive if it is dangerous. Even if your vehicle is under control, other drivers or unanticipated road conditions may be a danger. 49 CFR Part 395.2 Definitions. Local authorities may prohibit vehicles from further travel if they believe the roadway is unsafe or the vehicle should not proceed. Vehicles with cable type chains may be restricted due to local conditions. • If the tire chains have a locking cam with a cam key, keep a spare chain cam key and put another in your emergency kit. • Have extra bungee cords. Bungee cords often break or slip off. • Always wear proper eye protection (approved safety glasses— ANSI Z87.1-2010 Certified) when using bungee cords. • The legal tread depth for mud and snow tires is 6/32” minimum in California. • Know the chain laws for the areas you are driving in. For example, California does not have any specific dates when vehicles are required to carry chains. Training and practice in the use of chains is always advisable. Some companies have drivers practice mounting chains on a set of free duals, used for that purpose. Thank you for reading this. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday. Another post that may be of interest . . . What is a DOT Safety Audit? If you’re into safety, here’s an interesting statistic: more house fires (as well as dozens of injuries, some very serious) occur on Thanksgiving Day than on any other day of the year. There are, on average, about 1,300 house fires on Thanksgiving Day, resulting in millions of dollars in claims. The main culprit? The cooking stove fire. Danger point— someone throws water on a burning pan or fryer — resulting in a fiery explosion. The good news is that most Thanksgiving Day fires can be prevented. Here are a few tips from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). They recommend that every family has a fire plan and escape routes for their homes. Make sure the smoke detectors are working, too. Thousands die in home fires throughout the year. • Stand by your pan. Always stay in the kitchen when cooking. It can take less than a minute for a fire to start. • Keep a charged fire extinguisher nearby, and use it, if necessary. Never use water or flour to put out a fire. Cover the pan with a lid to smother the flames. Never use a turkey fryer in a garage or on a porch. Always use the fryer outside—and away from your home. Don’t overfill the fryer with oil. Don’t put a frozen turkey in hot oil. The bird must be thawed. Hot oil splatter can cause serious burns to an adult or life threatening injuries to a child. Make your Thanksgiving a day to remember . . . not a day you’ll never forget. Please help spread the word to your drivers and staff. P.S. The following is no joke . . . For the ultimate in safe cooking (from Columbia University) . . . cook the bird in your dishwasher. Have a safe day . . . Winter officially begins on December 21, at 11:48 PM EST. But nobody told the weatherman. The snow and ice season is upon us. Here’s a route selection tip from a Canadian based owner-op and YouTube star (49,206 subscribers, on a worldwide basis) named Trucker Josh. For several years on a daily basis, Josh, a second-generation driver, has chronicled his life on the road. In a recent broadcast, Josh picked up a load in eastern Canada and is heading west, back home. Josh says in driving on snow covered roads in the Great White North, to avoid problems, he chooses the route that is flatter, even if this means going a little out of the way. That’s advice you won’t find in a CDL manual. . . This makes sense because, even if the road is dry, there can be patches of black ice on bridges or under overpasses or on the road from runoff or drifting snow. Add a grade to the mix and life can quickly become complicated. Stay tuned for more winter driving tips and reminders. Clicking on the item listed on the ATRI page will result in a download of a map and charts (.PDF format) showing the average speeds on the interchange over the course of the day, broken down in a 24-hour-by-hour frequency. This should help in trip planning. lane-miles, but 20% to 30% of freeway truck accidents occur on or near ramps. The good news is that one study found higher volume ramps had lower rates of truck accidents per truck-mile of travel.¹ It also found approximately the same number of accidents for both the merge and diverge ramps. There is a higher frequency of accidents, particularly rollovers, at loop ramps (as cloverleafs). Loop ramps are designed with the intention of safety because they reduce the chances for conflict, but can be a problem for trucks with a higher center of gravity. Authorities say the semi-truck was likely traveling too fast for the exit from I-435 to I-70 when it overturned and slid into the guardrail. The cab of that truck was split in half. The driver of that truck, a 24-year-old man, was killed. Police have not released the identity of the victim, however, they say he was not from the area. • Plan your route. Multi-level interchanges can be confusing, especially at night. • The small exit number sign on top of a larger directional sign is always on the same side as the exit. The sign below tells us to move to the left lane for Exit 32. • Signal intentions well before the exit or when you can read the final exit sign. • Be in the proper lane leading up to the exit ramp and be mindful of cars that may attempt to cut you off and get around your truck. • Stay 100% focused. Keep both hands on the wheel. Be aware of surrounding traffic. • Look for backups or vehicles stopped on the ramp. Be ready to slow or even stop. Some of the deadliest collisions have occurred when a truck rear-ended a slow or stopped vehicle in the ramp. Maintain good following distance, keep plenty of space in front, and leave yourself an out. • Look for speed limit signs before curves and keep the speed of the truck at least 10 MPH under the posted or advisory speed limit signs. Posted ramp speeds are not for trucks. Adjust speed even more when weather conditions as ice, snow, rain, and wind are of concern. • Be cautious of the vehicle speed when coming from a sloped bank to a flat roadway. Don’t start accelerating too soon. Use the acceleration lane to get up to speed before merging into traffic. More crashes occur leaving the interchange as entering it. Recall the saying, The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle. Use your head and everything goes much smoother. Thank you for reading this. Have a super-safe day and weekend. Other Posts . . . What is the #1 Safe Driving Behavior? Who are the safest drivers in the USA? All drivers are not created equal. Some drivers just seem to have a knack for driving. Other, seemingly bright, intelligent people are all thumbs behind the wheel of a car. In my career, I’ve been fortunate to have evaluated thousands of drivers from almost every part of the world and of various ages, occupations, and social backgrounds. When it comes to safe driving, I have found the children of truck drivers or police officers fair not much better than average when it comes to driving. Perhaps many truck drivers are gone and let mama do the driver’s ed stuff. Due to the nature of their work, police are notorious for having some of the highest collision rates, even though being specially trained in high-risk driving. When it comes to safe driving, there is one segment that always stands out. Here’s a hint . . . These are the children of the folks who, on a daily basis, have to deal with the direct consequences of bad driving. The folks who see the broken bones, severe burns, missing limbs, life-altering injuries, wicked whiplash, TBI, paralysis, and other horrors of bad driving that polite folks don’t talk or even think much about. These are the folks, all the livelong day, who have to take the mush and pieces that are left from a bad collision and try to make what resembles a human being from the anatomical jigsaw puzzle. Yes — the children of emergency room doctors are some of the safest drivers I have had the privilege to observe. They do their traffic checks, make full stops, yield to pedestrians, check the railroad tracks, check their blind spots and the hundreds of other safe driving behaviors that many drivers “forget” to do. And they do it naturally, as if they had been driving for decades. The moral of this story is twofold. The word indoctrination is formed from indoctrinate, a word whose Latin roots mean “to teach.” It also means to inculcate or imbue with learning. Whether it is politically correct or not, from my observations, safety indoctrination works. If you teach it, really make an effort to teach it, they will learn. The second point, related to the emergency care scene, is that we’ve become better as a society at patching up people after crashes. Crashes are more survivable due to vehicle safety improvements. The tools and resources and training of the first responders are better. The emergency room technology is improved. In general, the number of fatal car crashes have been falling. The declining number of fatal car crashes might be a false metric. Are we really any safer? But there is another statistic that should concern us all. Take a look at the handicapped parking spots at any retail store. Usually they are in use by somebody. By some estimates, there are up to fifty-six million disabled people in the U.S., sometimes called “the hidden society.” Every year thousands of people are injured or disabled, and many of these in car and truck crashes. That tells me there is still much work that needs to be done in driver safety training and education (indoctrination) at all levels of driving. Most of us did not have emergency room doctors as parents. The majority of companies are small and lack either a vision or budget for training and education. With everything else going in in the business, it’s sometimes hard to see the oftentimes hidden value of safety. Here’s how one safety training company dollarized the value of their safety training . . . Another Post . . . What are the qualifications or standards to administer company D.O.T. driving tests? A smashed clearance light here. A bent door there. A dent in the top, rear corner. A scrape on the bumper. A gouge across the side of the truck. A lot of nickle and dime stuff, and on occasion . . . an injury or even a fatality. Any driver will tell you, backing can be challenging. There is no windshield when reversing (rear-mounted cameras and sensors are becoming an option — but may be only a partial solution at best). Any insurance company will show you their claims files: from about a quarter of all collisions (National Safety Council), to just under a third of all claims are backing related. In most cases the claims are small — property damage to buildings, structures, or other vehicles. Small or large, backing collisions can be the easiest to control. The main cause of all backing accidents is human error. Backing collisions are 100 percent preventable. Even though most backing collisions do not result in severe injuries, the large number of backing incidents make this type of crash a significant safety and cost problem. Motor carriers and organizations deploying commercial motor vehicles need to develop special programs to help prevent backing collisions (which typically account for 10 to 40 percent of many companies’ motor vehicle accidents¹). A 2009 study for Caltrans found that 95% of their backing incidents and collisions could have been prevented.² Caltrans experienced backing incidents that cost over $500,000 a year in vehicle repair costs alone. To establish safe practices to ensure vehicles are safely moved when backing. Whenever feasible, eliminate backing. Example: use pull through parking rather than backing in or out a spot. Always back slowly, at idle speed. Never rush backing up. Never back on a roadway, highway, expressway, etc., unless directed by police. Use the four-way flashers and tap the horn twice before reversing — once for attention and the second time for direction. If a vehicle has been stopped or parked for any length of time, the driver shall exit the vehicle and perform a visual inspection. Any time a vehicle is backed, if another employee or person is present, that person will act as a spotter. If pedestrian or other traffic is anticipated, a spotter shall be utilized while backing. Use a spotter for situations where children are present or nearby. One or more spotters shall be employed as guides in all situations where the driver does not have a clear vision of the path of travel. If necessary, two spotters should be assigned when backing in a difficult spot–one covering each side of the vehicle. The spotter(s) shall be on the ground, to the rear of the vehicle, and shall remain visible to the driver at all times. If the driver loses sight of the spotter(s) at any time, the driver shall immediately stop the vehicle. When someone is there to assist the driver they must be clearly informed that company policy states that the driver is still responsible. Drivers are to use the advice of the helper; not to depend upon them. If a driver backs into a fixed object or otherwise has a collision, the driver will be held responsible despite the use of a helper. Every backing accident should be considered driver error or responsibility. Employees need to understand that they must take personal responsibility for their actions and will be held accountable. Violations of safety policies will be met with disciplinary actions that are immediate, certain, and applied equally to everyone. Effective backing collision prevention systems integrate multiple technologies such as sensing devices that sound an alarm when an object is near the vehicle or closed-circuit television cameras. Radar and sonar systems may not be dependable in snow and cold, or in cluttered areas. Sonar systems do not work well in congested areas. For lighter trucks, the Ford 2016 F-150 has a backup assist that helps in steering when backing a trailer, but drivers should still walk their intended path and use a spotter, if needed. How does one learn to become a truck driver? What is the training standard? To safely drive a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) takes a certain skill set. Ideally, these skills are developed in a manner ensuring both confidence and judgement in their application. The “mechanical skills” of driving come first and may become a barrier for some who don’t pick up on the rhythm of manually shifting or backing. Age and aptitude usually contribute to success in this area. There has been a gradual shift to automatic transmissions. About 40% to 50% of new trucks, depending on the make, are equipped with automatic transmissions. Some states have statutory training requirements covering minimum length of training or course content. The U.S. DOT only requires a learner’s permit and road test for a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). The DOT sponsored a Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee (ELDTAC) earlier this year with the mission of developing minimum mandatory training requirements. The Professional Truck Driver Institute was established in 1986 and like the ELDTAC, developed a set of standards with the help of industry stakeholders. Graduates of PTDI schools receive a PTDI Certificate of Attainment from the school or PTDI seal on the school’s certificate. The average length of PTDI-certified courses is four to six weeks. Courses could be as short as two weeks (minimum of 148 contact hours with one-on-one training) to 12 weeks or more. But Driver Training Shouldn’t End at the Beginning . . . Drivers often report their safety skills start to become stale after initial training. In some cases, training was cursory. Essential skills like coupling, trip-planning, and preparing a log-book were rushed through or not done at all. Little time may have been spent on advanced skills like load securement, defensive driving, skid training or emergency procedures. The United Kingdom has instituted a new, five-year period Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) periodic training program. The CPC is costly (£3,000 or about $4566 U.S.), and has resulted in a drop in license renewals and a driver shortage in the UK. Companies employing drivers in the U.S. and Canada prefer in-house training or the help of on-line training providers. The American Trucking Association estimates about $7 Billion a year is spent on driver safety training. What Should A Recurrent Training Program Look Like? Recurrent training is required by other modes of transportation as rail or air. Recurrent training is important because initial safety training often becomes stale or forgotten. Over time drivers can become reactive instead of proactive. Recurrent training can also help in keeping up with new regulatory and technological changes. Recurrent safety training can be customized to meet organizational needs. One way to start is to conduct a knowledge survey in a specific area of interest, be it emergency procedures, electronic logging or defensive driving. Another productive means to both gather and impart safety information is by a round table discussion. The group can openly discuss various driving scenarios and/or review recent safety incidents for determining the root cause. Any training done should be structured. Studies have shown that a structured orientation results in employees feeling more confident and engaged at work. • Beware of the “hit and run” approach: training that is too brief, with no follow-up, resulting in transfer-to-the-job skills of no more than 30% of the training content. • Everything there is know about a topic cannot be taught in one session. • Don’t throw the book at them. Break everything down into smaller chunks. Learning experts have found that adults cannot learn new skills by merely listening to a set of instructions. Adults need time to absorb new information, use it experimentally, and integrate it with their existing knowledge base. Other Blogs That may be of Interest . . . Should Congress Raise Truck Insurance Requirements? Will you be ready? Motor carriers should plan for an eventual increase in truck and bus (including school buses) insurance requirements. In April 2014 the FMCSA issued a report calling for higher truck insurance limits. On July 10, 2015, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced The Truck Safety Act, requiring, among other things, that motor carriers have at least $1.5 million in insurance. While that bill won’t become law, on Nov. 13, Jami Jones of Landline Magazine (the official Publication of the Owner-Operator Independent Drives Association — which runs its own truck insurance operation) reported (Battle over attempts to increase trucking insurance heats up) that efforts to raise truck insurance continue — by a push of some Senators to remove the provisions in the current in the House version of the highway bill (Sections 5501 and 5503) that require the FMCSA to justify any increases before raising the minimum insurance requirements. The article recommends immediately contacting specific Congressional Representatives and Senators by phone via the Capitol switchboard or their websites, to show support for keeping motor carrier insurance requirements at their current levels. The April 2014 FMCSA Report, required under MAP-21, says that motor carrier insurance is inadequate in about 1% of claims (catastrophic claims) due, mostly, to higher medical costs and should be raised — based on the consumer price index — from 1985 levels. Truck insurance based on the CPI would go from the current $750,000 level to $1,623,771. The report says the FMCSA has no data on the projected costs of the increased insurance requirements. (1.) Assign responsibility to someone in the organization to control the expense. This does not have to be a full time Risk Management job. But any cost area not reviewed or controlled tends to grow over time. (2.) Get help from the insurance company. Top insurance agents and brokers are always eager to meet with clients to help control their costs — some even on a quarterly basis. Many small business people do not realize that insurance companies have what is known as a loss-control department whose only function is to help businesses reduce claims. (3.) Make sure your firm or organization has the right amount of insurance. The right amount of insurance may be higher than the statutory or legal requirements. The right amount of insurance may change when operations change. Your agent is happy to help in this area. Do you have a solid safety program? The primary aim of a health and safety program is to ensure workforce well-being and business continuity. Many times safety training is an automatic boost to productivity, which in turn boosts profitability. Do you assess and deploy new safety technologies? Check out if your insurance company has any discounts available for safety technology. (5.) Avoid collisions and claims. Do you have written cell-phone, safety belt, passenger, and vehicle-use policies? Many small companies I talk to, do not, assuming employees “know better,” or even admitting they believe there is little the employer can do in these areas. Do everything possible to limit the chances of driver distraction. Do you have a strong vehicle inspection and maintenance program? Are employees vetted for their background and experience? Are all new driver-employees given a road-test? Are more experienced drivers given safety check rides? Do you conduct a post-collision analysis of any crash? Was the driver following too closely? Was the driver distracted? Was the driver fatigued? Was the driver in a rush because of a deadline? Did poor road, weather, lighting or equipment conditions affect the driver’s ability to drive safely? Were there any other factors that may have caused the collision — remote (occurring well before the collision) or — direct (occurring immediately before or during the collision). If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, then examine why the condition existed, to drill down to the root cause of the crash. In future blogs we’ll review other proven strategies and tactics to better reduce risks and protect assets while lowering overall cost. Disclaimer: Reference to any specific product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, company name or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the author or a guarantee of any specific results. This blog is for informational purposes only. Thank you. Other related posts . . . If Insurance is the Flower, Is Loss Control the Weed? A number of transportation companies in the past few years in the Midwest have seen explosive growth. One consequence of bringing new people on-board is an increase in the number of incidents and accidents. Some say there is no such thing as an “accident.” Things don’t just happen on their own. Many times there are indicators leading up to the actual event, a series of close-calls and near-misses. The warning signs are ignored. Then something happens. Really quick. One defintion of an accident is an unplanned event resulting in injury or illness, or damage to property or the environment. Some safety investigators prefer to call all accidents an incident until an investigation is completed and a cause assigned. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires an accident register for DOT recordable accidents. The DOT defines an accident as an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle which results in: (a.) a fatality (b.) Bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident, or (c.) One or more of the vehicles incurs disabling damage, requiring it to be towed from the scene. 2. An occurrence involving only the loading or unloading of cargo. Other events, where someone is injured, are covered by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). While loading and unloading trucks, OSHA regulations govern, including “at the dock, at the rig, at the construction site, at the airport terminal and in all places truckers go to deliver and pick up loads.” The trucking industry is addressed in specific OSHA standards for recordkeeping and the general industry. An OSHA recordable accident is a work-related injury or illness that must be reported to OSHA. Who is covered under the new rule? Employers do not have to report an event or incident to OSHA resulting from a motor vehicle accident on a public street or highway. However employers must report the event if it happened in a construction work zone. Any injuries and illnesses that occur during an employee’s normal commute to and from work are not considered work-related, and therefore not recordable for OSHA’s purposes. OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation at Section 1904.31(a) requires employers to record the recordable injuries and illnesses of contract employees they supervise on a day-to-day basis, even if these workers are not carried on the employer’s payroll. Section 1904.31(b)(2) further clarifies that the host employer must record the injuries and illnesses of temporary workers it supervises on a day-to-day basis. Section 1904.31(b)(3) states that if the contractor’s employee is under the day-to-day supervision of the contractor, the contractor is responsible for recording the injury or illness. Struck-by: A person is forcefully struck by an object. The force of contact is provided by the object. Struck-against: A person forcefully strikes an object. The person provides the force or energy. its very nature, is harmful and causes injury. Contact-with: A person comes in contact with a harmful substance or material. The person initiates the contact. Caught-on: A person or part of his/her clothing or equipment is caught on an object that is either moving or stationary. This may cause the person to lose his/her balance and fall, be pulled into a machine, or suffer some other harm. Caught-in: A person or part of him/her is trapped, or otherwise caught in an opening or enclosure. Caught-between: A person is crushed, pinched or otherwise caught between a moving and a stationary object, or between two moving objects. Fall-to-surface: A person slips or trips and falls to the surface he/she is standing or walking on. Fall-to-below: A person slips or trips and falls to a level below the one he/she was walking or standing on. Over-exertion: A person over-extends or strains himself/herself while performing work. Bodily reaction: Caused solely from stress imposed by free movement of the body or assumption of a strained or unnatural body position. A leading source of injury. Over-exposure: Over a period of time, a person is exposed to harmful energy (noise, heat), lack of energy (cold), or substances (toxic chemicals/atmospheres). Slips and falls continue to be the biggest problem area for injuries and fatalities. Enforce the three-points-of-contact rule for climbing in and out of the truck and cranking the dollies. Proper non-slip footwear is essential not only in winter, but year-around. Most hand injuries arise from not wearing gloves. Drivers of flatbeds and dumps need to be made aware of the danger zone around the truck when loading or unloading. Drivers of vans and reefers should not be inside the van when powered lift trucks are loading and unloading. Thank you for reading this. Save a safe day and a great weekend. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, at least three tractor-trailers rolled over in Iowa. Wind gusts are suspected to have contributed to the crashes. This is a concern because truck rollovers are the number one cause of fatalities for commercial drivers, especially if the driver is not wearing a safety belt. Weather reports usually tell us two or three characteristics of wind: direction and speed and sometimes the speed of any gusts. A straight tailwind is great. Pushing air is one of the biggest reasons trucks do not get great fuel economy. A headwind always takes extra fuel to overcome air resistance (drag). There are several ways wind is defined. Basic wind speed is a measurement of average wind over a period of ten minutes. (ISO 4354) As it is an average, that means actual wind speeds can be higher. Wind speed fastest mile measures the speed of the wind as it moves one mile and are typically higher than wind measured over a period of ten minutes. Wind gust speed, a sudden increase or decrease in wind velocity, is determined by a gust factor (about 1.5) applied to the average wind speed. Surface winds are considered dynamic and are constantly changing. Trucks pulling dry vans or reefers are most at risk for high-wind hazards. A trailer does not have to be moving to be damaged. A strong enough wind gust can break a trailer sitting in a parking lot. The most critical wind direction is wind blowing perpendicular to the direction of travel or a side-gust wind. Drivers may first notice a rocking sensation from the wind gust, as if riding in a boat. Vehicle speed has an effect on whether or not a loss of control will occur at a given wind gust speed. Loss (or gain) of vehicle control may be induced by driver inputs as steering, accelerating or braking. Here the driver was able to make an unbelievable recovery by pulling off the road into a Kansas field. Wind gusts can cause the trailer to swing out in low traction conditions as standing water, snow or ice. Leave plenty of following distance between other commercial motor vehicles. A number of states enforce a 500 foot following distance rule for trucks. Drivers may be given tickets for following too closely on bridges also. One company had three of their trucks traveling together, blown off the road in strong winds. Gusts approached 50+ MPH, lifting this trailer’s wheels off of the road. • Check the weather as part of the trip-planning routine. • If the weather turns bad, keep a “weather radio” handy and tune in to the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) system. NWR is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous around-the-clock weather information. • Keep in mind that actual wind speeds and gusts may be higher than broadcast weather reports. Wind can be unpredictable. • Reduce speed in windy conditions. • Reduce speed in inclement weather: rain, snow, or when driving on icy roads. • Reduce speed in low traction conditions as rain, snow, or ice. • Don’t bunch up several trucks in a road convoy. • Don’t drive in risky, high wind conditions. • Insure any freight is properly distributed for a low Center of Gravity. If one does a Google search on “car hits parked truck,” the search results in over 35 million results. Everyday, it seems, someone is running into the back of a truck somewhere. Rear-end collisions are always destructive and messy. Running into a truck is almost like running into a brick wall. Metal twists and bends. There is always the chance of under-ride. There is the chance of fire. People can get seriously hurt. It’s a mess. But it only gets worse. If the collision does result in an injury or fatality, it is likely that the crash will result in a lawsuit. Both the truck driver and company will be sued. Pre-trial dispositions will be taken and every safety practice, policy, and procedure will be called into question. Somebody has to pay for this collision. Somebody will pay . . . Even if a settlement can be negotiated before the trial, insurance premiums will rise. There is the chance that the insurance coverage was not enough, so assets will have to be sold to make up the difference. What’s the best alternative? Collision avoidance. • The breakdown lane is for Emergencies only. Answering a phone call from dispatch is not an emergency. Checking directions or a map is not an emergency. Even running out of fuel is not an emergency, and one driver was fined $1000 for this. Yes — non-emergency stops are illegal. Drivers need to do their pretrip planning and pretrip inspections to avoid any and all non-emergency stops on the shoulder of the expressway. • The expressway is not a rest area. Again, unless it’s an emergency situation, there should be no parking and napping on the side of the expressway or ramps, and definitely no sleeping. Drivers need to keep track of their hours and leave a safety margin for themselves to find a place to park. This is difficult, but not impossible. • Areas with guardrails, bridges, and tunnels are extra risky. Guardrails signal some sort of off-road hazard. Guardrails can act as “channels” and direct vehicles into a commercial vehicle that is parked next to the guardrail. The same with bridges or tunnels. There is no “out” for another vehicle to get around the parked vehicle. So, for example, a driver notices he has a flat tire and decides he will wait for road service. If the truck must remain on the expressway, then driver should stop well beyond the guardrail, bridge or tunnel, put on the emergency flashers and set up the warning triangles. • Don’t stop in an exit ramp, if at all possible. Don’t park in center turn lanes. Don’t park in places marked no parking. Don’t park in malls where truck parking is restricted. Don’t park near schools. Some jurisdictions have strict anti-idle laws near schools and/or other civic buildings. Never drop a trailer against the flow of traffic or in an oncoming lane, as vehicles may run under the kingpin. If legally parked on the street, a couple of 24 inch traffic cones with reflective tape can be placed behind the vehicle. Don’t park in curves or under overpasses or other areas where the vehicle may be not be easily seen. Don’t park in an area before bright lights that can hide the silhouette of the truck at night. Drivers should never walk along the truck with their backs to traffic. Make sure drivers know how to properly set up warning triangles in an emergency. When the Gales of November Come Early . . . Living in Michigan, one is surrounded by the Great Lakes and its ships. In its day, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the day on November 10, 1975 when the Fitzgerald went down with its crew. We don’t want to think about it, but somewhere in the U.S., depending on the altitude and location, it’s already snowing and blowing. Now is the time to be proactive and start thinking about the cold weather. This not only means winterizing the fleet, but developing a winter mindset as well. Get ready for the cold starts, frozen brake lines and sticky fifth wheel locking mechanisms. Here are some often overlooked areas . . . Make sure all the grease buildup on the fifth wheel is removed in and around the lock jaw, throat and the pivot points. Degrease, clean, and inspect the fifth wheel. Follow the manufactures’ guidance. Be sure to lube it with water-resistant lithium grease — on all of the fifth wheel-to-trailer contact surfaces. This needs to be done. Be aware of new “solid precipitation” laws that cover snow, ice, hail and sleet on a moving motor vehicle. States without specific snow/ice removal laws may charge drivers for “negligent driving” — or operating in a way that endangers or is likely to endanger another person or property. Southern drivers . . . if you are delivering in the snow belt, note that your tires will be warm coming off the road. Parking on the snowpack in a truckstop or dock may result in the warm tires melting the snow and forming ice. Don’t spin the drive wheels. Feather the fuel. If the drives start to spin, then stop. Try the interlock, if the truck is equipped with one. Another winter tactic is to start off in a gear or two higher. This helps to keep the wheels from spinning. Sand should help stop a spin. Backing up and placing a chain under the tire may provide traction. Don’t spin your wheels is always sound advice. Control of speed in inclement weather is essential. The contact patch of each tire is a little more than the palm of one’s hand. This means that slamming on the brakes on a snow-covered road can easily result in a jack-knife or the truck doing a 180-degree turn. Ice or wet ice is much worse . . . Raleigh, NC— On Monday, this truck jackknifed while trying to avoid an accident. When the gales of November come early, we need to change our driving mind-set. Everything just takes longer from the get-go. Slow down on those wet or snow-covered roads and get set to enjoy the ride. Use of safety belts by truck drivers is on the rise. Safety conscious organizations have a safety belt policy and they enforce it. Why? Professional drivers use their safety belts because they know safety belts save lives. • Would have saved 3 out of every 5 people killed in vehicle crashes. • Reduces the risk of fatal or serious injury by up to 50%. • Ensures driver control of the vehicle— when it is needed most. • Protects the driver’s head, spinal cord, organs and limbs. • In a rollover a truck driver is 80% less likely to die. So the next time your are spec’ing your fleet or retrofitting your safety belts, consider using colors that stand out. An oft-heard complaint from drivers is that they had their safety belt on when stopped for a roadside inspection, but the officer did not notice before they unbelted and this resulted in a citation and CSA points. Use of a brightly colored safety belt may help reduce these types of citations and give your company the safety edge. Thank you for reading this, and many thanks and best wishes to Paul Abelson on his new endeavors. Did you know that lane splitting is permitted in California? Lane splitting” refers to the practice of riding a motorcycle between clearly marked lanes for traffic traveling in the same direction. The goal of splitting lanes is to keep moving at a reasonable speed through slow or stopped traffic. Permitted means it is neither legal nor illegal to do. So in certain conditions (low speeds) and situations (neat rows of cars), a highly experienced motorcycle rider has the option of lane splitting in California. Congested traffic or stop-and-go traffic is one of the most dangerous and risky situations to be in for motorcycle riders. Drivers of larger vehicles may make sudden stops or not be aware of the motorcycles in their proximity, making sudden lane changes or other maneuvers resulting in a conflict or collision. Motorcycles and their riders can become trapped or crushed between vehicles that don’t stop in a backup. Lane splitting and filtering (riding a motorcycle between stopped motor vehicles to the front of the pack, typically at a intersection with a traffic signal), is legal in many countries, but is not in the U.S. It is not recommended by the CHP that lane splitting be done, “Between trucks, buses, RVs, and other wide vehicles,” or on curves, near exit ramps, or on a double yellow line, etc., to name a few risky situations. Professional drivers always share the road. If traffic is slow and motorcycles are lane splitting, position the vehicle in the center of the lane, as motorcycles may be lane splitting on both sides of the truck. Professional drivers do not interfere with motorcycles lane splitting, filtering, or riding in the carpool lane or on the shoulder. They are only driving in the manner they judge to be the safest. Opening a vehicle door to impede a motorcycle is illegal (CVC 22517). Drivers noticing motorcycles that are lane splitting — need to be constantly aware of the movement of the lane splitters as well as all other vehicles around their vehicle, and should always be ready to stop, if necessary. Thank you for reading this. Have a super-safe day. It’s always good to reconnect with a previous truck driving student, especially after a year or so of experience. Drivers have the same problems as anyone else starting out in a new career. Sometimes the employer doesn’t pay them right away and they have to move on. It happens. Sometimes they don’t get any respect on the receiver end (like pulling into a GM dock during break time. Breaks are sacrosanct to the UAW; please pardon their french while they explain). New drivers make mistakes — like topping the truck or parking in the wrong spot — usually from not paying attention or being distracted. Starting out is always hard. There’s a lot to learn and a short time in which to learn it. Mustafa (not his real name) was from Detroit and he drove for Swift. He said his moment of truth happened while tooling down a mountain in California. Trucks were passing him downhill so he decided to “go with the flow.” His trainer apparently had nodded off. When he looked up, he gave Mustafa an earful. Mustafa did not. It took a while for the brakes to cool at the bottom of the mountain. Other stories don’t always have happy endings. They generally involve speeding, or pushing things to the limit, or taking shortcuts. Take the case of Ray, who I hadn’t seen in a few years. Ray (not his real name) came in wearing a neck brace and needed a certified tractor-trailer road test for a Dr’s clearance. Ray filled me in on the details. He was driving in southern Michigan in winter. Ray was doing the speed limit when he came across some fresh snow — then a patch of black ice underneath. To make a long story short, he was in a hurry (get-home-itis), didn’t slow down, ended up off the roadway, upside down, and had broken his neck . . . He lost a year from work, a long, painful year. Frank was not a student, but also needed a tractor-trailer road test for a medical clearance. One side of Frank’s face had deep scars. Frank was putting air in a new truck tire, when it exploded, shredding one side of his face, ripping his thumb off and severely injuring him. “No time for that,” said Frank. Oddly, he it seemed he had enough time for several surgeries, a long stretch of rehab, and even enough time to drive about eighty miles to see me . . . Bob (name changed to protect the guilty) took a job with a small local company. Within a month he was back, looking for work. His was an incredulous story. Everywhere he had driven, Bob claimed, was beyond the speed limit, pushed on by the trainer. He didn’t feel comfortable driving that way. He quit his job, he said, after his trainer ran a 4-way stop. “Are all the trainers like that?” he asked. Within a six months of seeing Bob, the company folded after it lost its operating authority for multiple safety violations and unpaid fines. If I had any advice to give any driver, it would be to stick with what you know. Don’t watch what other drivers are doing: their loads and equipment are different. Take everything you are told with the proverbial grain of salt, especially if the person is not responsible for your consequences. Recall the old teamster saying — the emptiest wagon makes the most noise. Don’t let others redefine the game. Many times in transportation we hear the terms hazardous materials and dangerous goods. In hauling goods we should know what these terms really mean. Hazardous materials is a term used by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Hazardous materials (sometimes called hazmat, for short) means a substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has designated as hazardous under Section 5103 of Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103). The term includes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials, materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see CFR 172.101), and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in Part 173 of Subchapter C of this chapter. “Dangerous Goods” is an international term used by aviation organizations: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA defines dangerous goods as articles or substances which are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment and which are shown in the list of dangerous goods in these regulations or which are classified according to the Regulations. Drivers need a Group A or B CDL with a hazardous materials endorsement to haul hazardous materials in amounts requiring placarding. If the vehicle is small, a Group C CDL is required. “X” — An X Endorsement will appear on the license instead of the H and N codes when an applicant receives both the tanker and hazardous materials’ endorsements. By ICAO/IATA requirements, training is required before performing a regulated job function and every two years. Under 49 CFR §177.816 (c) The training required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section (specific driver’s requirements) may be satisfied by compliance with the current requirements for a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with a tank vehicle or hazardous materials endorsement. For any placardable amount of hazardous materials, intrastate or interstate, the shipper or transporter must register with the U.S. DOT/RSPA. Registration information can be obtained by calling 202-366-4109. States may have additional requirements, depending on the nature of what is being hauled. “Shipping Paper” is a document used to identify hazardous materials during transport. With few exceptions (see Material of Trade), shipping papers must accompany all shipments, even if the materials are for your own use. Know that certain routes may be restricted or prohibited to shipments of flammable liquids or explosive materials or other types of hazmat. Michigan law (Section 257.669) requires any vehicle that is marked or placarded to stop prior to crossing a railroad grade. Any handler of hazardous materials knows how complex regulations for hazmat shipments can be. Protect yourself by knowing the restrictions and regulations for shipping or hauling hazmat or dangerous goods. Labelmaster put together an infographic of 2015 regulatory changes here.

2019-04-23T08:13:47Z

https://part380.com/blog/2015/11/

What a great Christmas we had! We were able to see a lot of friends and family and host a full house for several days in the midst of packing everything up. You can't really ask for a better "last christmas in the States (for a while)". Thanks to everyone here and more, we are currently at 101% of funding! What a great Christmas present. Our PNG plane tickets arrived in the mail. We are expecting the shipping company to arrive January 10th, to haul our belongings to Papua New Guinea. We are moving out January 13. We have tickets in hand for Waxhaw, North Carolina for 8 weeks of training and then we're leaving for PNG in March. 101% sounds like an exciting number, and it is! But there are numbers and then there are numbers. I am cautioned when sharing the "inner workings of mission finances" and I'm not sure really why. I've heard the advice, and honestly if I get in trouble I'll probably get more cautious in what I share. But again, my intention here is to demystify missions. I've been raised in the church and I've held many of the same misconceptions about missions as many people have. This entire process is a huge eye opener to me. See even though we're told "you can go once you get 100% of support" the truth is, you really should be higher than 100% of "promised commitment". There is the promise, and then there is the actual. People are people and they sometimes forget, or their circumstances change and the funding you planned on doesn't come in. A true miracle would be if we received 100% of the commitment. 100% equals the budget it takes for us to live in PNG and it's a very stripped down budget. The common question is "what happens to the extra?" 100% means that we've reached 100% of the comitted support required by our budget. In a perfect world any extra would go towards unexpected costs, towards immediate needs, or into savings for future needs (such as vehicles and gas, which we have not budgeted for since we do not own a vehicle over there yet). However in a realist's world, sometimes accounts dip under 100% support on a month by month basis. Sometimes the funds didn't come in, and sometimes emergencies required straying from the budget. Missionaries tend to play a lot of catchup, which is why working for an organization who can afford to allow you to play catchup. They have been burned in the past by this though, which is why they require 100% before being allowed to go to the field these days. If one dips too low, to often, they are encouraged to return and do more partnership development (fund raising). So we gleefully tell you, we're at 101%, and we wouldn't shy away from being at 110% before we depart, the extra money will go to cover the eventual loss we expect over time. We do expect to see a few drop offs as churches change and people age. Glory to God, this is all in His hands. And miraculously, it's been chiefly through individuals. That's unheard of really. Most missionaries depend on churches. In our scenario, each and every person is a major player in getting and keeping us in PNG. So Thank YOU! and Merry Christmas to your house! Christ the Lord be glorified forever and ever! For those that have been praying. My son had tubes put in his ears, and his adenoids removed yesterday around 1pm. The procedure went smoothly. His adenoids were very large. He's almost back to his normal self, except he's been unable to hold down solids but he's working through it. What a trooper, was calm the whole time. -we needed him in quick, the doctor got him in 3 days later because he was sympathetic to our cause. -the anesthesiologist (sp?) had done several volunteer global short term trips himself and even was able to compare notes with my wife on certain places. He was GREAT with kids, a very pleasing bedside manner. -that time of day the recovery room was empty so we got focussed attention. -after we got home, my wife, who wasn't feeling great, finally took a moment to realize she had strep. We were able to get the oncall doctor to write a scrip for drugs for her without a visit and she's feeling a TON better today. That almost NEVER happens. God had his hand on this family through this entire process, I'm sure there is more but I'm pretty tired from taking care of sickies all night. Yesterday was the first time I ever had to see my kid attached to an I.V., with breathing mask and everything. I admire the strength of so many of my friends who have had to do that for prolongued periods of time during their child's infancy. Ear tubes and adenoid surgery is a cake walk compared to some of that stuff. And through it all, somehow my little son, with his bravery and calmness, facing his own nerves, made me respect him and proud and thankful to God all at the same time. It is amazing what God will help us get through. Prior to the surgery I was talking and walking with him. We spoke about bravery. "Son, bravery is when you do something you need to, even though it scares you to do it. Can you think of an example?" "yeah, like I'm scared to go to Papua New Guinea, but I'm gonna go." From a child's mouth, at any moment, without warning can come silliness, or poignancy. He said that our son has fluid in his ears, and recommended implanting tubes. At age 5 when chronic fluid is prsent, they usually take a look at the adnoids and possibly remove them. A procedure akin to removing tonsils. -it could resolve his hearing issue and not have permanent loss. -his current hearing loss, should it be permanent, isn't enough to affect his speech or learning or functioning. (not strong enough to require a hearing aid), and isn't progressive if we treat it now. Because of our timeline the doctor was able to fit us in this Friday. Which is another huge answer to prayer. Being fit into our insurance plan AND his schedule 2 days after seeing him? It's not because it was an emergency but because the doctor would like to check up on him before we left for N. Carolina! also throw in a side prayer that our visas come through soon. thank you! PRAISE GOD, that's a load off our minds. There is more going on than I can even blog but the energy is very high around here. We're very very excited. I tend to use that word a LOT these days. Funding wise, we haven't technically reached 100% yet, we still need some more monthly committments and partners. However we have reached 100% if you look at it another way. (it's funny how finances can be viewed in multiple ways) So we're cleared to leave the country! We're hopeful that by the time we actually leave we'll be at 100% EVERY way you look at it, but 1 way is good enough for us for now. 1 - you'll never be higher support wise, than you are when you first leave. why? - because people won't feel your presence anymore, won't see your energy, won't experience your enthusiasm, and will forget your face over time. why? - because people will stop sending for various reasons, or forget to start. So, by no means are we intending to stop, for multiple reasons. We're very excited to actually start creating experiences to write you all about. Pictures! New stories! The good stuff! The exciting stuff... what God is doing over there stuff! Well we've begun packing too. Giving away furniture, selling stuff on craig's list, donating to the neighbors, hauling away junk, putting stuff in boxes, and trying to find people who'll store a box or two for us here and there. It is quite the logistical puzzle to craft moving, when to get rid of what furniture, when to sell/donate cars, when to quit work, and when to pack up... say.. your computer equipment, etc. All signs are pointing to GO... but there are a few more obstacles God has to clear. January 13 - we fly to Waxhaw, North Carolina to live in an apartment for 8 weeks. During those 8 weeks we will undergo cultural sensitivity training and technical training while our kids attend a local school. March 10, we return from NC to stay in the Bay area for 1 week, visiting, saying goodbye, and tieing up loose ends. March 17, we begin to fly to PNG. - packing. Logistics of getting it all done. - holidays. We're hosting Christmas, and it'll be a very full house, with family from both sides attending. IT promises to be a mixture of the stress of moving, the emotional stress of leaving, the logistic stress of having visitors stay in our home, and the christmas commotion of all the goings on. It's a perfect storm, and everyone is going to feel the pressure. But, the reason for it all is love. Folks want to be around us during this time, even if part of them are upset at us for taking away the grandkids, they love us. Pray that all of us can be kind and sincere during this time. -our son's hearing. This is a very personal issue and one that we share not to embarrass our son. He's 5yrs old, and the doctor's are telling us we might expect some percentage of permanent hearing loss. A few weeks ago, I noticed something odd about his hearing and didn't dismiss it as a young child being stubborn. We did an impromptu hearing test and he didn't do so well. So we went to his pediatrician. She said she suspected fluid, and because we were leaving the country in 3 months, put him on aggressive anti-biotics. Aggressive anti-biotics is a bit scary of a thought because I had heard of children being deaf because of this type of treatment for ear infections. In fact memory serves that one year our son had 2 infections and the dr. said a third would require tubes instead of anti-biotics. The treatment possibly cleared up the fluid but a tympanogram proved no movement of his tympanic membrane. So we went to an audiologist who said there might be "some" fluid but they suspect a percentage of permanent loss. So on Tuesday we see a specialist. What are they going to tell us? We don't know yet. We have many questions. We need more data on his situation first. As you would guess, there are a lot of questions, and a lot of prayer needed about this right now. As always, Pray that God would envelop us in a pocket of God's presence. That we would defer all decisions to Him, that we would submit gladly to His will and recognize it. Yesterday we sold the kid’s swingset. AT noon I posted on craigslist, by 1pm I had cash in hand and someone was tearing down the big wooden structure. By 4pm the structure was gone. That was nice. I love our kids. Another example of God preparing them for this ministry. They take change so well. My son is anxiously awaiting today when we give the neighbor his train table. That was a funny moment for me. I had forgotten my daughter knows her apple types well. Today I said goodbye to my vhs movie collection. I started it in 1991, in college I used to lend movies to people. As a young kid my mom used to say “you have a gift for remembering movie trivia.” And I did, and I do. When people ask my hobbies I often say “film”. But I don’t say it with pride, I say it with shame. When we’re sitting around talking and someone says “you know that guy.. in that one film… who did that thing?” and I quickly reply with all the relevant data. I don’t take joy in that. It was easy on some of the lame ones, and harder when I got to some of my favorite classics. I was struck by a sobering thought. I looked at the futility of collecting these movies now on a nearly defunct medium, unloved for years, and finally put into the trash. I felt sad, as if I had wasted a lot of time and energy. I wonder if this is a small fraction of what it would feel like to stand before God on judgement day and realize your entire life was spent chasing the wrong thing. Lord, I don’t want to chase the wrong things. I know movies aren’t sinful, but I also know they're trifles, not things to be largely concerned with. God help me not to continue the habit of spending too much time on trifles. God give me a consuming fire for your Word. God I know myself and I know I have these moments of clarity that are later overridden by unbroken habits. God help me to break that habit. When we first started this adventure we had a list of prayer requests before God. "God, these are the concerns on our heart, we will follow you and obey you regardless of whether or not these are answered, but we put them before you." In the past year, that list has been systematically answered. We still have petitions before Him, but He has graciously answered the chief concerns on our heart, and now we stand before the threshold ready to serve Him with an unburdened and unworried heart. It is such a wonderful confirmation that God would alleviate those concerns of ours. We have all but 2 pieces of papers in to submit our visa application. We've been working hard on this. There are many doctor's visits and revisits to get all the papers we need. I'm anxiously awaiting one email so we can submit our visas. We're starting to investigate air fare to Papua New Guinea! 95% is when you begin the final preparations! --we still need free long term storage for our stuff. --we still need around $160 more p/month to meet our criteria. -God is working, he's comforting our last minute worries, He's providing for us in so many ways, He's even making work exodus go smoothly. I had a dream last night that shook me a bit. I rarely pay attention to dreams, but you know sometimes they can affect you emotionally as you wake up and start your day. I woke up with questions and fears. Instinctively I turned to the Word. I grabbed my "Message" and walked outside after 6am and read it. Sometimes the Message is best for morning light reading. I prefer NKJ for the more mental exercises. --God what if I'm making a huge mistake? Should I keep my job? --God what about the spiritual attack I'll be putting my family under? they're a joke with no punch line. --God what if I make a huge mistake and mess up my family's future? his path blazed by God, he's happy. God has a grip on his hand. --Okay I get it, but God how do I make sure I don't falter and mess things up? I'm only human. his feet are as sure as a cat's. insolent souls are on a dead-end street. God speaks to His people. I am very uplifted. I've been listening to John Piper and one thing he mentions is that there are two parts of the Christian faith. the other is desiring God. I tell you my passion is that God's Word would pump through my life like blood through my veins. WOW. I can't help but get excited about that. God is so good, so praiseworthy! Get excited about His stuff! I recently got an email. We've been praying that God would see fit to increase the bandwidth in PNG before we got onsight in January. the email today was exciting news. they are deploying new internet service technology (I'm being vague on purpose) which will allow them more reliability and bandwidth! There are a lot of technical questions at the moment, but, it is a definite and direct answer to prayer. God is awesome. He chooses to bless us through continued answer to prayer and He is worthy of praise. When we see answers to prayer like this we get excited! God thank you! We do not deserve these mercies! Well, summer is over and the kids are back in school. Calvin started Kindergarten this year and Sydney is in second grade. We had a very busy summer, but were blessed to have a chance to spend lots of time with some of our extended family. Those times become much more precious when you realize that by next summer we will be living halfway across the globe. We’d like to take a minute to say thanks to all of you who are partnering with us in this journey. Your prayers and financial support are invaluable. We are definitely looking forward to getting to Papua New Guinea, but this time we spend in preparation has given us a chance to get to know some amazing people who are a part of our team. In fact, this summer Kendal had the privilege of meeting some of our prayer partners. The residents of the retirement community where Kendal’s mom works have been faithfully praying for us for the past year. While in Oregon this summer, Kendal had a chance to meet this amazing group of people and share with them a little more about what we will be doing and where we are going. What a blessing to meet and share with these faithful members of our team! We are at 84.8% with $600 p/month left to discover. We don’t use the word “raise” because really we aren’t earning or raising any money, but you as our partners are supporting us because you care. We are constantly reminded that we are on God’s clock, not our own. Personally, I (Chad) would like to see 100% before September ends. That would mean we could buy plane tickets to North Carolina at the best value, and make all our training on time, as well as finalize the details of moving. It is an interesting limbo state that we are currently in. If we do not reach 100% in time to purchase plane tickets and leave in January, then we will have to wait until the following August to go. God is sovereign, His timing is perfect. He has answered so many prayers that indicate that this January is the right time that we are acting in faith He will provide. All signs point to January as being when He wants us to depart, which is why we strongly believe we will reach 100% in time. Please pray. Currently we have reached out to everyone we know, and friends of people we know. Historically missions finances primarily come from churches, but that does not seem to be the method God had in mind for us as over 95% of our current funds come from individuals. If you attend a church that has an active missions department please contact us. If you are interested in partnering with us through prayer or finances please contact us. Please pray that God provide the 100% in time. Again, thank you to everyone for your prayer and support. It takes a team to accomplish this work, and we are very thankful to God for you. wow, a lot of stuff has happened. In the interest of getting the information out, we sort of hacked up the original format to squeeze in the info. 2 - God would bring folks who have committed to joining us, to telling us what level they are comfortable with.... .still in progress but some folks are saying "remember when we committed months ago.. .well this is how much we'd like to give.." God really worked out a major issue for us. POC is a 14 week in country camp/training based on teaching you how to live in the country. My future manager needs me at the job at soon as possible to train me before he leaves in country. If I were to attend the 14 week training it would drastically lower my ability to do my job right out of the gates (I like to hit the ground running). So now the story is... in January we'll be attending 5 weeks of training, move to PNG, live there for 6 months, and then go to the 14 week training, which will allow us not only to have more time acclimating, but create a better appreciation for the 14 week training as well as more preparation. All in all, God moved a mighty mountain for us recently! and we're waiting for the final 24% of people to let us know what they are comfortable with committing to! We're excited... the rubber is meeting the road and we're ready to go!!! -that our funding hits 100% by September. -that our visas and work permits go through smoothly. This is very exciting stuff! We're seeing God answer prayers in His incredible style! People are asking us if we're excited. The answer is yes! Today we moved passed the 70% support line into 75% support! That is exciting. 80% is our next milestone. We'd like to be there by the end of July. And we'd like to be at 100% by the end of August. That's our timing, God's timing seems to be keeping in line with that, and we definitely will wait on Him. We are going to take some family time this July, and hope to fit in some time to visit churches and friends. We have submitted the application for the kids enrolment to school, and we have finalized the Visa application (it takes a while to get all the documentation in) and are sending it in today. Pray that all paperwork gets to it's proper destination and is processed in a timely fashion and that things go smoothly. It is definitely a discipline to do your paperwork thoroughly and on time, and completely. A discipline that is part of the job and that we are learning. On a personal note, I find it ironic because I have always disliked paperwork, and now I am at a time in my life when paperwork is a huge portion of my day. Doesn't God always work like that? Always trying to strengthen us in our weak areas (-;. As my folks used to say... "it builds character". Today marks 67% of our financial goal! We have begun our Visa application process and require prayer that it goes smoothly. There is a lot of paperwork to fill out and rules and regulations to adhere to, official copies of this and that to get and such. We do our best to make sure this all goes through smoothly, and then trust God to guide it all to the right people to get it through. As we start sending off document after document, pray for it's smooth sailing. We are now at 60% financial partnership! Only 40% more to go! If you know of any interested parties we have yet to contact please let us know. the financial data is out of date because in 2 weeks time we have had such a response that we were unable to keep up with it. we've finished newsletter2, a few weeks ago. now we're compiling everyone's email addresses. With each email we send out, we save approximately one dollar. (printing costs and mailing costs). So in the interest of stewardship, we've taken the extra week to compile email addresses. 51% financial partnership!!!! (as of 5/13/06) We jumped right passed 50 and went straight to 51% !!! YAH....YIPPEEE!!! (didn't want to give a search engine free advertising). Also, for those of you who desire a more personal touch, the newsletters aren't it. The newsletters go to a wide range of people, and as such, are typically more informative and general... as is the news. For the personal touch, look first to the blog, which while public, is more personal. And secondly we do try to keep in touch with everyone on a personal level as well. If you have any questions, or simply want to talk, we would love to have a chat with you. God answers prayer in incredible ways. I (chad) have learned throughout my life to pray for everything. I don't believe in coincidence, and I don't believe anything is too small to pray about. God is all powerful, to Him it is as hard to raise full support for missions as it is to find a good parking space. His power can handle both with relative ease. In our eyes, things are harder, and so we tend to gravitate towards only releasing the harder things to God. BUT, in my daily life I pray continually, and while I sometimes do feel silly praying for the small stuff, I definitely have seen God take those opportunities to be glorified and encourage me. Well I was taking my time, not being rude at all, and I paused at an intersection to let people go, but jsut as I did, a large group of people decided to cross the street and block the river of traffic coming at me, so I took the opportunity and pulled behind a big convertable with one man driving. His bumper stickers read: "hedonist" "apes evolved from creationists" and "boycott A.A." I thought "God, this man apparently lives his life in mockery of you." Well, the man was looking to his left, I don't know why, because I was looking to my right, and right in front of him, a car was pulling out. This man missed it completely, and I got a prime parking spot. I laughed and thanked God. Not only, did God part the waters to allow me to drive smoothly, but He gave me a perfect parking spot in a very encouraging way as if to say "there will be those that mock me, but I reward my faithful." It seems like a small thing, but I believe when you have eyes to see, you can see God working everywhere. I do not know how many of these thoughts I should share. They are personal and not completely matured. Yet we desire to remain sincere and open to those who support us, because the end goal is to glorify God. Sincerely voicing the thoughts and struggles are part of the missionary process. People can never truly know unless you share, and unfortunately for the reader, when I am passionate I am also verbose (well on paper anyway). Keep in mind as you read, the context, we haven't been in the field for many years and thus we consult those who have been and are encouraged. We're aware we probably represent the youthful vitality one expects from "newbies". I see friends in professional ministry being absorbed by the frustrations of the professional side of their work. I see movies about priests that have lost their faith. Always these movies show men who once had a lively relationship with God and now are consumed with selfish desires and have lost that connection with God. I hear of missionaries who burn out and return home from the field. I desire to serve God with my life. God can search my heart and know that I am a wickedly selfish man. I know that I am no good on my own. I know that I seek out selfish pursuits, but also, if I possess any wisdom at all, I know that these pursuits will not end in happiness, and the only true contentment can be found in God’s presence. On top of that I know that all of these things are temporary. My life is flying past my eyes, and the only investment worth making is in God’s eternal kingdom. Worship helps me with my focus and motivation. I read the Scripture and I see God’s character and in a world where all is failing me, where many things are empty and devoid of goodness I see God shining above it all. God is so good and so Holy. And when I concentrate on that, little else matters to me. My self fades away, my soul desires to be with God’s holiness. As if I’m taking a huge drink after years of thirst, soaking in God’s holiness. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, so long as I’m worshiping God through thought and action, and whatever I end up doing, I need to be convinced that I’m doing it to worship the goodness of God. Right now, I’m convinced the way to do that is to go to PNG and take my family. The risk is that we would be consumed by the process and lose sight of worshiping God, which would be the failure of the project. But I see no evidence that in not going that risk becomes any less. In fact, I am anxious for the opportunity to throw my life into a situation where I am stripped of my American culture and comforts and thus can measure how much I truly depend on God for all things. And continue to live a life where I am dependant upon God. As a westerner, there is much I do not understand about dependence. 4And do you remember God's answer? 5It's the same today. There's a fiercely loyal minority still--not many, perhaps, but probably more than you think. 6They're holding on, not because of what they think they're going to get out of it, but because they're convinced of God's grace and purpose in choosing them. If they were only thinking of their own immediate self-interest, they would have left long ago. My selfish nature and Bible study already tell me what I will get out of serving God, assuming I do it correctly. But I also know that none of these rewards will be sufficient motivation to forebear the suffering that will most likely accompany any faith developing scenario. (I use the term faith-developing instead of testing on purpose). So these rewards are not what motivates me. There is a sense of duty, yes. A sense of doing what is right also. There is a sense of not losing face among those invested in our success as well. But these motivations will crack under the pressure too. The motivation that will truly uphold us during the times when we can’t take any more, will be because we are convinced of God’s grace and purpose in choosing us. And we are. God’s grace is immeasurable. The fact that He chose us is inconceivable. We are fully confident of this. Couple that with a daily dose of worshiping His goodness and Holiness and what you have are addicts for God. Perhaps this pushes the illustration a bit extreme. A drug addict, will do anything for their next fix. But they also know when they’re getting fake stuff. It doesn’t have the same effect. That is how we intend to let the Spirit be our rudder. When entering God’s presence and sensing even a sliver of His holiness becomes something we can no longer do we will know that there is an issue we need to work out and right before God. We desire to be submissive to Him, so we can stay close to Him, because He is good. We are addicted to God's holiness, we breath it in as often as we can. When you remain in this state, you eyes and ears and heart maintain a sensitivity to the Spirit that helps guide. The risk of losing sight of God's plan is the same at home as it would be in the field. The pressures are strong against you whenever you are doing what God would have you do. The cultural adaptation stress can be a huge factor. As a missionary you are more in the public eye. A spiritual failure at home can go unnoticed, but a spiritual failure in the field will not go unnoticed. Also though, the stigma that comes with a missionary returning before retiring is that perhaps they failed in their mission. It's sad but that is an assumption that some folks make "what went wrong?" Maybe nothing went wrong at all. But that is a different topic. We refuse to disobey God's call because the risk for failure is great. The risk of embarrassment is great. Failure is simply not an option. My family has been specifically prepared for this, we have been specifically called. We have the qualities required for success both in faith, character and personality. I can give you a very convincing resume of why we are very well suited for the work before us, and odds are you already know us and are convinced of our abilities yourself (otherwise you would not be supporting us). But none of that matters. There is only one requirement God needs and that is willingness. We are obedient and willing and submissive to what God puts on our hearts. God does the rest. In fact He even accomplishes the obedience and willingness simply by means of being who He is. He is completely good, and completely Holy. We are compelled to Him. We are not relying on odds or on pedigrees, we are relying solely on God's provision. God will not fail, and thus we will cling to His coat tails the entire way. Yes the pressures of cultural adaptation will be great. Yes the spiritual warfare will be present. Yes financial pressure will be a stress. There is a long list of reasons why we can fail. God is greater than all of them, God does not fail. We can fail, we will fail. God will prove faithful and compensate. As partners in this ministry you have opened yourselves up for failure as well. You have committed to pray for us, and the more effective our ministry is at tearing down the strongholds of Satan, the more the people who pray for us will be under attack. Few consider this. Know that God overcomes. God is faithful. And so, when the times come where we feel we want to give up, we will first go to God and admit it. We will ask God to shore us up, to meet us and supply. No one truly seeks to suffer, but we will not shy from it when it comes. We expect hardship, something that as Americans who have been blessed our entire lives is not something that we confront often. So when it comes, many people will wonder if we will be able to handle it or not. We don't know ourselves, but we do know that our instinctive reaction will be to plead to God for help through it. We do not ask to avoid pain, but we desire to seek God's face in the midst of it, and in the end, be more fit to glorify God. We look forward to blogging the great stories of God proving faithful. For where the odds are their worst, when things seem impossible, those are the places that God absolutely shines without doubt. We are so anxious for those times, because it brings us all closer to God. Pray for those times for yourself and each other. Pray that this ministry would be a collective of submissive servants who live only so that God can be glorified. Burnout is a reality. Stress can be overwhelming. Wycliffe has mandatory counciling and has good training and preparation for handling stress. We have been reading books and studying to prepare. Many practical steps have been taken to assure the full success of this ministry, but in the end, it comes down to the reality of every situation in life. How much are we going to try and handle without God? The answer is 0.00% There isn't any success to be had on our own. after re-reading this I realize that we have already undergone some spiritual attack and stress and suffering. In each instance, as a couple we immediately turned to God in prayer. In each instance, God met us there quickly and completely and so amazingly "God-like" that it was undeniably Him. The term "God-thing" applies because it is during these moments of sorrow, stress, weakness, complete humanity, that God is glorified because only He fit those jigsaw like missing pieces of the puzzle. The story we blogged about my daughter carrying the backpack for my wife was such an example of God supplying for us when we were needing encouragement greatly. well, since we're not really sure at what time we'll be leaving or ready to go, we're in a mode of.... preparing. Faithfully working towards the idea that the money will come in before January '07. we're planning to pack for a trip to a place we've never lived in. Well first we talk to a lot of folks who live there or have lived there, and take in all their advice. Then we look at our belongings and consider what can stay and what needs to go. Ironically we look forward to simplifying our lives, and yet have been advised to buy many things unobtainable over there. Like advil. In the midst of this we are keeping in mind the idea of simple living. Depending on God. And balancing that with our passion to create a home environment for people. for me personally, it seems very silly to be asking "how many computers should I bring?" one for me, one for the wife, one for the kids, one for spare parts, one as a server...... really how many is "enough". For my wife the question is photo albums, we're told not to bring anything we can't afford to lose at first... should something go wrong somewhere in the shipping process. and then... we'll most likely need to move all of this stuff multiple times a year. Managing this issue of "stuff" is a blessing to us from God because my wife and I are rather compatible in this area. Neither of us are too materialistic. Both of us have our areas of "i need this..." and each of us can be stretched and challenged enough to adapt that it makes it an adventure. We both loved "colonial house" (a pbs special). The idea of getting away from dependence on technology, of a return to simplicity. Now we are facing the reality of making choices... what stays, what goes, and what needs to be purchased for whatever reason to take with us? Whatever decisions are made, we'll survive and be strengthened by any "lack" we might experience. We also hope that it will develop a truer sense of priorities. Even if we think our priorities are right now, there is nothing like good old fashion testing your mettle. -physical conditioning to be able to handle the training camp 3 day backpacking hike. well we are working on finding the people who want to partner with us in prayer and or financially. We have spoken in a few groups, and right now see our ministry as a process of informing and discovering. Our home church is having a missions emphasis month and so we're involved in helping other missionaries where we can. We're writing a lot of letters right now, and seeing where that leads. We're at 23% of our goal right now, and we're hoping to be at 100% before August but that all depends on God's timing. This part of the process is the part where there might not be as much to blog primarily because financial matters inherently involve a bit of privacy. But we can still talk about what God is doing and what He is showing us. Right now He is showing us how wonderfully excited so many of you are about us as friends and about our joining together in ministry!

2019-04-21T22:03:25Z

http://gng2png.blogspot.com/2006/

Welcome to Design journal #19: Pre-Alpha Experiences. The last Design Journal we had was back in May of 2016 and was over 4,000 words! Well, sit back and relax because this one is longer. While it has been a while, the time has come to return to our origins and once again spend some time talking about what we're doing differently in Chronicles of Elyria and why it'll make for a better overall game. Given that our last DJ was on Kingdom Management, and that we first mentioned our Pre-Alpha experiences back in June of 2016, it should be no surprise that in this DJ we're going to dive into those Pre-Alpha experiences in greater depth. So let's get started. What is a Pre-Alpha Experience? In most modern MMOs the developers spend a non-trivial amount of time in research and development experimenting with different engines, taking their existing engine and re-purposing it for a new game idea, and creating tech demos to verify the validity of their ideas before even beginning production. Once production begins there's generally still months (if not years) of early development to get to a point where they feel comfortable showing it to the world at large. This 'Pre-Alpha' milestone is an indication that, while the game isn't yet feature-complete, its overall direction, features, and visual style are more or less 'locked in'. At that point, all that remains is implementation of the remaining features and iteration on the current ones until they reach a state of quality that the studio feels comfortable calling them complete. The problem is, by the time a game hits pre-alpha it's often too late to make any significant changes to the design of the game. Aside from cosmetic, easily-altered items or things so game-breaking that the game would be lost without it, modifications to the core design are often viewed as too costly to change at this stage of development. In a formulaic game that sticks close to the typical features of a genre, this is generally a safe bet. But Chronicles of Elyria is anything but typical. With the vast number of new, never-before-seen features and the re-imagining of several well-established ones, it's extremely important that we have an opportunity to change tack on anything which could jeopardize the overall fun of the game. Our solution? Pre-Alpha Experiences. Put plainly, Pre-Alpha Experiences are opportunities for players to jump into some form of the game as early as possible - even before pre-alpha, to provide feedback. This has many advantages to us (and to you) beyond the obvious. Let's look at them a bit shall we? Perhaps the most important reason is the opportunity for early feedback. Obviously, the sooner we get feedback from our target audience, the more likely we are to be able to make changes in a timely fashion. There's nothing mysterious here. The key is finding a way to get feedback from players before development progresses too far! A slightly less obvious but equally important reason is community engagement. For an MMO to be successful it requires a certain 'critical mass' of players. For existing intellectual properties or well-established companies it's still difficult, but possible, for them to gather that critical mass of players within the few months leading up to the launch of the game. But a grass-roots game like Chronicles of Elyria requires a slow, rolling boil. It's going to take between now and launch with us continuously reaching out and growing the community for us to hit our target numbers. But all the outreach and evangelizing in the world is useless if players come to the site, see the game is in-development and then immediately bounce. We need a way to capture and retain players throughout the development process. The pre-alpha experiences give players something to do in the interim. This also has the pleasant side effect of preventing players from becoming idle. So it serves as not only a good tool for maintaining player engagement, but is also just a good cure for boredom. Next, one of the biggest challenges any MMO - or really any RPG – faces, is connecting players to the rich history of the world. This is often done by placing books in the world for players to read, or creating quests and story arcs that talk about the history of the world. When players feel a sense of connectedness with the past, it naturally makes them more concerned about and responsive to potential futures. By making the events of our pre-alpha experiences persistent - that is, by accepting the events that occur in the pre-alpha experiences as part of the game's history - it gives players the unique opportunity to be a part of, to experience first-hand, and to drive the history of the world. There's no stronger connection to the past a player can have. By the time launch happens, players will have been responsible for writing the history of the previous 30-50 years. So, when the books and NPCs talk about recent events in history, those players who were part of it will feel a stronger connection. Speaking of recent history, one of the things we've learned in the last year is how important it is to temper expectations and to prevent a NMS (Not Much t'See) situation. By that I, of course, mean years of us talking about the features and mechanics of the game only to have you get into the game and discover none of it is there. We prevent this by gradually adding the mechanics to our Pre-Alpha experiences. This should increase confidence in what we're doing and give you all a strong impression of what is and isn't going to make it in the final game. Ok. With all of that out of the way, let's dig in to the three Pre-Alpha Experiences for Chronicles of Elyria. Note that each of the following - Prologue: The Awakening, ElyriaMUD, and Kingdoms of Elyria - each provide a different user experience and are designed to best meet the objectives outlined above as quickly as possible. One of the main objectives is, of course, to get feedback on the different features of the game. So the main thing to know as we move forward is that each of the three pre-alpha experiences are designed to test a subset of the roughly 40 different feature areas and hundreds of individual features of the game. When I talk about each experience I'll highlight some of the most important feature areas we'll be testing. The first of the Pre-Alpha experiences I wanted to talk about is the Prologue. Put as succinctly as possible, the Prologue is an offline, playable demo (desktop UE4 client) of Chronicles of Elyria. But, like many of our approaches to game development, game mechanics, marketing, etc., the Prologue serves a dual purpose. There are likely to be small amounts of features from other feature areas, such as Identities but, as some of the Pre-Alpha Experiences provide more direct opportunities to test these features/areas they'll only make a cameo appearance in the Prologue. Now, in addition to being a sandbox in which to experiment with the aforementioned game mechanics, the Prologue also provides players an opportunity to experience a pivotal moment in the history of Elyria - The Awakening. Thus, the Prologue provides a narrative experience which will take players from the town of New Haven, down to the mining village of Silver Run, and back up again. Because of the subset of features provided, as well as the narrative story arc, Prologue should play like a short, single-player RPG. While not a stand-alone game, and initially limited to a small set of crafting professions, combat trees, etc. the Prologue will continue to be iterated on throughout development, and will act as a test-bed for new user-experiences as they're added. By the time players complete the Prologue, they should have a good idea what the 'feel' of the game is, but will still be lacking an understanding of how the multiplayer elements of the game will work, as well as the features of the dynamic story engine. To really understand those requires jumping into the second Pre-Alpha Experience. The second Pre-Alpha experience is ElyriaMUD. When we first talked about ElyriaMUD about nine months ago we initially described it as a traditional text-based MUD. However, in December of 2016 I took a trip over to London to visit with Improbable. While there, Herman Narula, the CEO of Improbable and I sat down and had a conversation about the scope of the Pre-Alpha Experiences. He made a compelling argument about the accessibility of a text-based RPG and how likely we were to get the player-engagement we wanted. At the same time, I realized that providing ElyriaMUD as a 2D, sprite-based game would allow us to further test the positional queries of our game. Things like 'If I'm within X of this building, provide Y passive bonus.' The result is that we've transitioned away from perceiving ElyriaMUD as a text-only RPG, and instead intend for it to be a richer, more accessible 2D Graphical MUD. Instead of using a traditional MUD client, we will instead build a simple 2D game client - likely using Unity. And, of course, like with the Prologue, ElyriaMUD will have cameo features as well, such as survival mechanics, combat, crafting, etc. These are there as necessary elements to test the other intended features of the game, but aren't there to validate those specific mechanics. In many cases, such as combat, they exist in ElyriaMUD as a shadow or completely disassociated version of the final system. I.e. Don't expect combat in ElyriaMUD to work like it does in Prologue / CoE. Likewise, while there will be crafting in ElyriaMUD, it's more to validate the overall system of gathering resources, converting them into crafting materials, crafting components, and then constructing them into objects. The user experience of crafting will not be the same as Prologue / CoE. In terms of game-play, where the Prologue has a narrative story intended to expose players to The Awakening, ElyriaMUD will leverage the Soulborn Engine to expose characters to a dynamic, evolving story-line in which they have control of the narrative. And like Prologue, not all feature areas and features will be available as initial release. Over time we'll continue to integrate new features and functionality into the Graphical MUD. Finally, ElyriaMUD takes place before the events of the Prologue in the overall history of Elyria. The final Pre-Alpha Experience we're working on is Kingdoms of Elyria. This is, in some ways, the lightest in terms of its features and mechanics but, in many ways, has been (and remains) the most difficult to design. In Chronicles of Elyria, as players shift in social status from adventurer to aristocracy to nobility, their play experience changes, quite necessarily. Where once they focused on their individual deeds - whether that be exploration or crafting - their focus now begins to shift to something larger than themselves. As a member of the Aristocracy - Mayors & Barons, the focus of the game grows to include concern for the welfare and development of their settlement. This is everything from ensuring that it has the necessary resources, to making strategic decisions about the benefits to inhabitants. In this way, it plays a lot more like a settlement simulation (SimSettlement?). Likewise, as someone moves from Aristocracy to Nobility their scope continues to increase. Counts must now be concerned about everything that goes on within the boundaries of their county. That includes resource management, roads & infrastructure, trade between neighboring counties, and the shared wealth of the individual settlements. Dukes must also care about the safety and security of each of the counties within their duchy, and must enforce the law to protect its inhabitants from thieves, murderers, and other miscreants. Finally, Kings and Queens must determine the overall trajectory and win-condition for the Kingdom. In all cases, each tier of aristocracy and nobility are responsible for setting laws and tax rates within their domains and settlements so they have enough resources to complete their objectives. As you can see, as you move up the hierarchy of Nobility the game plays more and more like a Kingdom Management game. It should be noted that while there will again be cameo features in KoE, they're significantly fewer in number. Instead, there's shared features with ElyriaMUD which are intentionally added. This is because the two games, while potentially different game clients, are linked. Reputation & fame, government conflicts, broken laws, and the changing economy are all shared between the two games. But what is the actual play experience of KoE? We're still iterating on it. At the moment, the plan is for KoE to be a top-down, 2D graphical overlay game - likely built with Unity, much like a traditional Kingdom Management game. From this birds-eye view, the players will be able to open up the UI to change laws, alter manufacturing goals, set new tax rates, and specify technology to research. In the event that someone was to obtain a casus belli, this perspective allows someone to direct markers to indicate where the armies should mobilize. It even allows the players to send couriers to mobilized military to change their orders. Direct markers? Send couriers? Why not just issue the commands to the mobilized military directly? When I first mentioned Kingdoms of Elyria back in June I said 'Kingdoms of Elyria is intended for the nobility and aristocracy. But what about the gentry or other players...' After which I proceeded to talk about ElyriaMUD. What might not have been obvious is that these are not just sort-of linked, but intimately linked. When a Count changes the tax rates on their map in KoE, it changes the tax rates of the people who call the same settlement home - in ElyriaMUD. When a Duke issues commands in KoE to a mobilize a military unit on their map, it's a request to the members of their duchy to mobilize at that location - in ElyriaMUD! And when a Duke sends a courier to a staged army on a nearby border telling them to cross over and attack the neighboring duchy - it's a request to those people stationed at that encampment to engage. A King, Duke, Count, or Aristocrat's success in Kingdoms of Elyria is based largely on the support of their followers in ElyriaMUD. One of the advertised goals of our Pre-Alpha experiences is to allow players to alter the history of their world. But to do this, the actions of ElyriaMUD and KoE must be persistent. This naturally raises questions about what can and cannot be done in KoE and ElyriaMUD. So let me take a moment to talk briefly about that. First, let me dispel with peoples' concerns right away. Kingdoms of Elyria and ElyriaMUD are prequels to Chronicles of Elyria. When you purchased a title from our online store or Kickstarter you were purchasing your opportunity to be a King, Duke, Count, or Aristocrat at launch of Chronicles of Elyria. This means that you cannot / will not lose your titles either through playing or not playing KoE or ElyriaMUD. These are entirely optional play experiences. That said, what you didn't buy during Kickstarter or through our online store was a domain of a specific size. As previously advertised, counties, duchies, and kingdoms come in all shapes and sizes. Nobody is guaranteed the largest (or the smallest) of the domains. Throughout Kingdoms of Elyria, the actions of the players will dictate the previous 30-50 years of history of the Kingdoms. This includes the positions of the borders. It is possible, through KoE, to grow & shrink the size of your domain. We recognize that not all players like the idea of directly engaging with enemy player-kingdoms and would be much more comfortable playing against NPCs. We also recognized that with 100% of the kingdoms, duchies, and counties in a region occupied by players, your only option would be direct PvP with other players. So we've gone ahead and mitigated this. When we first announced our intentions to allow people to purchase titles and to govern lands we were basing it on a system of a random distribution. That is, we were planning to have 3-5 kingdoms per continent, 6-10 duchies per kingdom, and as many as 50 counties per duchy. We did this with the idea that players would quietly sit in the forums for the next year and talk with anxious excitement about the game until Settlement / Domain selection. At that point, they'd go ahead and form alliances, enemies, etc. In short, we expected the Dance of Dynasties to begin with Settlement / Domain selection. We were wrong. People started dancing the Dance immediately and, within a short period, there were well-established Kingdoms and Duchies and a slew of Counties that had already pledged their allegiance to one Duke or another. I couldn't answer him. All I could say was 'We'll find out during settlement / domain selection.' But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that it was counter-productive to the community building the players were doing and that we were encouraging. I needed to find a way to solve this. After spending several months thinking about it, last month during the Exclusive Q & A with the high-level backers I proposed my solution in order to get feedback. The proposed solution was to change from a random distribution across servers to a fixed number of domains per region. Once I had decided to lock in the numbers of Kingdoms, Duchies, and Counties per server it was just a matter of knowing how many. My first response was just to take the averages of the ranges we'd previously defined. That would have resulted in about 4 kingdoms per continent, 8 duchies per kingdom, and around 36 counties per duchy. But then I looked at the store purchases and realized that there were far fewer counties being purchased than I expected, which would leave a lot of empty, unowned land. At the same time, I realized there were more kingdoms being purchased than expected and worse - people buying two kingdoms and duchies! So this suggested I should move up to the maximum number of kingdoms & duchies and the minimum number of counties, which would have resulted in 5 kingdoms per continent, 10 duchies per kingdom, and around 16 counties per duchy. This was a reasonable approach, but then I remembered Kingdoms of Elyria. It occurred to me that if I increased the number of Kingdoms, Duchies, and Counties a bit it would result in slightly smaller starting sizes, but would give players the opportunity to attack and engage with their NPC neighbors. This would allow them to once again grow their domains back to their original - and perhaps larger size. This seemed like a win-win to me. The players got more control of their final domain sizes, and players who didn't want to participate in KoE would likely hold onto more of their domains due to buffer zones. As I said, I presented these ideas during the January Q&A with the high-level backers and got mostly - aside from the Oceanus server - positive feedback. This gives everyone room to breathe and grow during KoE, and lets you be the masters of your fate. Keep in mind again, it's impossible to lose your domain, but it is possible for it shrink or grow - potentially even consuming neighboring NPC domains entirely! I know, I know. It'll be ok. For those of you out there who do not currently have titles, I don't want you to feel left out. Kingdoms of Elyria & ElyriaMUD are exciting opportunities for player engagement, collaboration, teamwork, and community growth. Thus, we'll be offering Store Credit (and Influence) for certain activities and participation in KoE and ElyriaMUD. This means it's theoretically possible for someone to gain enough credit to purchase a title they didn't previously own. We don't expect this to be a hugely common occurrence, but it is possible for new Mayors / Barons to emerge from KoE. It's extremely unlikely, anyone could earn enough Influence / Store Credit from KoE to become a new Count. Who can play the different pre-alpha experiences? As you might guess from the name, the Pre-Alpha Experiences are just that, pre-alpha. As a result, they're very early iterations on many of the mechanics. We'll be rolling ElyriaMUD, Prologue, and KoE out first to the Alpha 1 backers, then Alpha 2, then Beta, then Beta 2, and finally to those people who've purchased only the basic game. Note that events in ElyriaMUD and KoE only become official once it's rolled out to all paid players. The earlier waves/releases are for testing and stabilization. We've spent a large part of this DJ talking about the different Pre-Alpha experiences, as well as the benefits of the Pre-Alpha experiences. But what about the costs? Surely there's a ton of work involved in the development of these extra games? Wouldn't we be insane to try and do three games in addition to Chronicles of Elyria? If we were attempting to create three additional games we would be. But we're not. It's important to note that, aside from the UI and the inexpensive 2D graphics we're adding for KoE and ElyriaMUD, all the mechanics and functionality for these three Pre-Alpha experiences are already required for the complete version of Chronicles of Elyria. All we're doing is detaching the features from the final game in a way that allows us the benefits listed above. But how? Interface-Driven Development. Consider a microwave oven plugged into a wall socket. A microwave oven is a fairly complex piece of equipment with microwave emitters, electronics, mechanical components, etc. At the same time, the system of infrastructure on the other side of the wall socket is equally complex. You've got a full house of wiring and grounds, local substations, and complex power stations. So you've got two sides of a complex system that depends on one another to provide value, but neither of them really care what's on the other side of the wall socket. In theory, you could plug a high-powered battery into the wall behind the wall socket. So long as there's an AC adapter on it, the microwave oven won't care you're missing the wiring, substation, or generator. It needs power, it's getting power, that's all it cares about. Likewise, while you could plug a microwave to the wall socket, you could just as easily plug in a lamp, game console, or a cell phone charger. Either way it completes the circuit and draws power from the back-end. The key point here is that the wall outlet creates an interface between the two complex systems. An MMO is much the same. On one end of a network you've got a client and on the other you've got a complete back-end server. Both require the other to function properly, but neither really care - if done correctly - what lies on the other end. While we are developing our Prologue as an offline demo, we're doing so with the knowledge of our future plans. So rather than developing the offline demo to, for example, pull the list of characters you've created directly from disk, it does so through an implemented interface. This interface, in the case of the Prologue, hides a system behind it which pulls the character list from local storage, but the Prologue doesn't know that. This means that by replacing that hidden component which pulls data from disk with another component that pulls data from the cloud, the client continues to function the same. Similarly, while we're writing our back-end server as an engine on top of SpatialOS, our engine uses a well-defined protocol for receiving messages. So long as the messages come in the correct protocol, it doesn't care what kind of client is sending them. It could be the Chronicles of Elyria game client... or it could be a 2D Graphical MUD client. The presence of a network layer creates a sort of 'wall socket' for us that allows us to make forward progress without caring about what's on the other end. When will the pre-alpha experiences be available? The final question I want to address is when will the Pre-Alpha experiences be available. We don't know yet. We continue to make progress on all three of them simultaneously and, once we've reached a critical turning point in their development, will have a more solid idea of when they'll be available. What I can say is that our order of development hasn't changed. Right now we're primarily focused on the implementation of the Prologue and ElyriaMUD, however we're also focusing heavily on World Generation and the web for the purpose of Settlement Selection. Our next major milestone is Settlement Selection and after that, the Prologue, ElyriaMUD, and KoE are likely just a few months away. Are all 3 of the differing pre-alpha games Caspian mentioned still available as we are still pre-Alpha? Honestly, if I had the money to fund this entire game, I would. It's been years since I've been excited about an upcoming game and never with this much potential. I just hope you stay true and avoid a "NMS" situation. *not this specifically. But it implies a..mindset that the devs have towards its players. I feel that playing CoE will be like dealing with a cell phone carrier. You think your just paying for cell phone service, but your gonna get hit with ridiculous fees and charges. As in you'll have to pay for additional game features and what not. Seriously this pops up the the recent threads and I saw your post. What make a you think the devs are going to make you pay for additional features? Oh wait there isn't one. Oh wait again that's not this game. Maybe it's the spaceships that are being sold for over $100 each. Ah that must be it, you have mistaken this game for another one that had a successful kickstarter but has turned into a big money slink for its investors. So on that basis please make your your posting in the right game forum before making silly comments like this. Posted By **CptBloodBeard** at 8:09 PM - Sun Aug 06 2017 > > *not this specifically. But it implies a..mindset that the devs have towards its players. > > I feel that playing CoE will be like dealing with a cell phone carrier. You think your just paying for cell phone service, but your gonna get hit with ridiculous fees and charges. As in you'll have to pay for additional game features and what not. > > Like I've said before, I hope I'm wrong. But I'm pretty sure this'll be the case. And if the game launches and it is, I'm gonna be blasting the forums with I TOLD YOU SO Seriously this pops up the the recent threads and I saw your post. What make a you think the devs are going to make you pay for additional features? Maybe it's the extra money shop that sells legendary gear.... Oh wait there isn't one. Maybe it's the recent release stating that there will be monthly patches you have to pay for.... Oh wait again that's not this game. Maybe it's the spaceships that are being sold for over $100 each. Ah that must be it, you have mistaken this game for another one that had a successful kickstarter but has turned into a big money slink for its investors. So on that basis please make your your posting in the right game forum before making silly comments like this. Pay to build and pay to play definitely. To win... nope. Search the boards. Definitely not pay to win. Even with Noblility packages, they will spend a great deal of time managing resources, land, and other players. It will be a different aspect of the game for each level/rank of players within a kingdom. It should be very interesting to see how things play out through the Alpha and Beta stages of testing and finally release. Haven't been this excited over an MMO in quite some time. Definitely not pay to win. Even with Noblility packages, they will spend a great deal of time managing resources, land, and other players. It will be a different aspect of the game for each level/rank of players within a kingdom. It should be very interesting to see how things play out through the Alpha and Beta stages of testing and finally release. Haven't been this excited over an MMO in quite some time. So this confirms that we pay to access the MUD and what not, AND we'll have to pay additionally for the Toolkit? Haha I knew it. This game could be fun, but it's gonn be pay to win. So this confirms that we pay to access the MUD and what not, AND we'll have to pay additionally for the Toolkit? Haha I knew it. This game could be fun, but it's gonn be pay to win. Really looking forward to the coming months. Great job folks! Great post. This answered several of my questions. I am so looking forward to this game, but I am also enjoying watching its development and being a part of that. The other games that I currently play have lost a lot of their "flavor"??? because of my anticipation of COE. I am particularly excited about ElyriaMUD. Trying hard to be patient! What a good read! This really gave me a better understanding how the roll-out of the Per-Alpha Experiences is going to work and what to expect of them. For all new comers, I will suggest taking the time to read through this DJ. It will give you a nice understanding of what is about to unfold in the next few months coming. Great work on all the developers. Keep it up. when will the pre-alfa open to those who buy the game? They'll announce when Pre-Alpha experiences will be available. Posted By **MIkaido** at 5:21 PM - Thu Apr 20 2017 > > when will the pre-alfa open to those who buy the game? They'll announce when Pre-Alpha experiences will be available. I've been reading through this game and thinking about a LitRPG book I've read, written by pseudonym Brent Roth. This game sounds a lot like the story and if it's anything close I really look forward to playing it. Like the main character of that book, I look forward to the challenge and expect to start with the basic. Can't wait. None of us can wait. It's shaping up awesomely and they have a superb team on board. Posted By **Teak** at 4:22 PM - Tue Apr 11 2017 > > I've been reading through this game and thinking about a LitRPG book I've read, written by pseudonym Brent Roth. This game sounds a lot like the story and if it's anything close I really look forward to playing it. Like the main character of that book, I look forward to the challenge and expect to start with the basic. Can't wait. Elyria isn't based on any existing book, film, game title, real life characters etc. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental :) None of us can wait. It's shaping up awesomely and they have a superb team on board. So more information on NPC presence in the CoE universe will be appreciated. I think CoE will lose lots of potential players if it focuses primarily on PVP content to the exclusion (or minimization) of PVE. You are looking at CoE through old style mmo glasses. In CoE there is no pve or pvp. The entire game is a sandbox with players doing everything from gravedigger to king. NPCs will fill in where there isn't a PC for a specific job. Your traditional pve "bosses" and bandits parts are played by players now including raid bosses like vampires or liches. You will not be able to tell who is a player and who is an NPC (assume their AI does a better job pathing than most) and will likely interact with them virtually the same. There will be no artificial safe zones or super NPCs. A player is literally an NPC when offline and a NPC is just a shell waiting for a spark of life ( player ) to soul jack their body. As for losing players SBS has repeatedly stated the game will be a niche game and they are happy with that. @RanceJustice *So more information on NPC presence in the CoE universe will be appreciated. I think CoE will lose lots of potential players if it focuses primarily on PVP content to the exclusion (or minimization) of PVE.* You are looking at CoE through old style mmo glasses. In CoE there is no pve or pvp. The entire game is a sandbox with players doing everything from gravedigger to king. NPCs will fill in where there isn't a PC for a specific job. Your traditional pve "bosses" and bandits parts are played by players now including raid bosses like vampires or liches. You will not be able to tell who is a player and who is an NPC (assume their AI does a better job pathing than most) and will likely interact with them virtually the same. There will be no artificial safe zones or super NPCs. A player is literally an NPC when offline and a NPC is just a shell waiting for a spark of life ( player ) to soul jack their body. As for losing players SBS has repeatedly stated the game will be a niche game and they are happy with that. Thank you for putting forth these plans! I've a couple of questions that perhaps someone could illuminate me on the details.. With regards to PvE, I am very glad that there is some discussion about NPC kingdoms. You are correct that there are many, players - even Gentry, Aristocracy, and Nobility, d prefer to focus less on PVP, and instead favor PVE elements, roleplaying, and other facets of the game, no matter at what "tier" they play (ie a King, Duke, or Count who may be most interested in making their vassals/ residents as strong thriving as they can be in kingdom management and whatnot, working with other title-holders cooperatively, and competing primarily against NPCs). With this in mind, throughout not just the pre-release elements, but roles will PvE content play in the fully "Live" version of CoE? Will this range from NPC bandits and monsters for individual players to fight against , NPC traders in various cities etc.. all the way up to full NPC kingdoms or other land grants? Will there be both "monstrous/enemy/evil" NPC kingdoms that generally exist in opposition to all sorts of PCs, as well as a variety of "Player-Like NPC" Kingdoms in and to which players can live, swear their loyalty, ally etc... and will generally be very similar and open to the same sort of behavior at all levels as PC kingdoms? Are there plans to put NPC Kingdoms exclusively in their own locales to start or will there also be NPC controlled lands within ostenstibly PC controlled Kingdoms; that is to say, a PC King has both PC and NPC ruled Duchies, who in turn have both PC and NPC Counties etc... which would make for interesting play, but will have to have some good mechanics in place to ensure that PCs don't immediately attempt to overthrow their fellow "nearby" NPC peers because its easier than going after another player. Alpha 1 access was the old Astronomer tier at $350, and now it's the Magistrate tier. Not sure of the price, but I think $500? From there, there is Alpha 2 access, Beta 1, and Beta 2. Mixed up with all this is prologue, then KoE/CoEMUD, and then Exposition, then launch. Currently, there is no access before Alpha 1 that I know of, and that is not currently accessible. Alpha 1 access was the old Astronomer tier at $350, and now it's the Magistrate tier. Not sure of the price, but I think $500? From there, there is Alpha 2 access, Beta 1, and Beta 2. Mixed up with all this is prologue, then KoE/CoEMUD, and then Exposition, then launch. Currently, there is no access before Alpha 1 that I know of, and that is not currently accessible. As a result, they're very early iterations on many of the mechanics. We'll be rolling ElyriaMUD, Prologue, and KoE out first to the Alpha 1 backers, then Alpha 2, then Beta, then Beta 2, and finally to those people who've purchased only the basic game. I think Wicked was confusing the Prologue and Exposition (which is not a pre-Alpha experience) when he mentioned the $350 tier. Though access to Exposition is from the $120 tier so maybe they are mixing it up with something else. Anyway you do not need to buy more than the base game to get access to all three experiences as long as you are patient. Everyone who buys the base game will get access to all three eventually. However, as with everything they will need testing and that means those who have bought tiers that have access to those tests will get to play them sooner: > As a result, they're very early iterations on many of the mechanics. We'll be rolling ElyriaMUD, Prologue, and KoE out first to the Alpha 1 backers, then Alpha 2, then Beta, then Beta 2, and finally to those people who've purchased only the basic game. > > From the OP I think Wicked was confusing the Prologue and Exposition (which is not a pre-Alpha experience) when he mentioned the $350 tier. Though access to Exposition is from the $120 tier so maybe they are mixing it up with something else. Anyway you do not need to buy more than the base game to get access to all three experiences as long as you are patient. But HOW can I get acces to the pre-alpha experience. HOW can I get acces to Elyriamud and HOW can I get acces to KoE. To get access to prologue you need to buy the tier associated with prologue. I think it is the $350 tier. I think Elyria Mud and KoE is available to everyone when it is released but to test it BEFORE release you need the alpha test tier purchased. Posted By **Florencus** at 3:52 PM - Tue Mar 07 2017 > > But HOW can I get acces to the pre-alpha experience. HOW can I get acces to Elyriamud and HOW can I get acces to KoE. To get access to prologue you need to buy the tier associated with prologue. I think it is the $350 tier. I think Elyria Mud and KoE is available to everyone when it is released but to test it BEFORE release you need the alpha test tier purchased. Every time i look something up I get this dj. I have so many questions and this does not help. What questions do you have. I am new to the game but have been doing a lot of research in it, I may be able to point you in the right direction. Can we get a Dev Journal about the music and sound of CoE? I'm hearing music in Q&A's, and gameplay but you've never directly discussed them. Music and sounds are integral parts of gameplay, and as a musician I'd love to see them get the recognition they deserve!! I think you may be a little confused Eruhin. There are no PvE "zones" in CoE. NPC kingdoms are not PvE kingdoms, they are simply kingdoms not claimed by PCs so instead have NPCs in the leadership roles in their place. If anything these NPC kingdom will have even more PvP disruption on them as players will be actively trying to consume them as part of the Dance to make their own territory larger come Exposition. That';s one thing I too was concerned about. However, I imagine that if the devs wanted to (and I think they should) there are ways they could encourage PVE even in such a situation. For instance, if the idea that there are NPC owned Baronies/Counties etc... that are sworn to the same Count/Duke/King (PC or NPC) than the system should be set up to for the most part, encourage peace between them. After all, that's how Feudalism worked for the most part. Its one thing for border areas to clash - say duchies or counties that border on another hierarchy/kingdom etc.. but generally, the Nobility wanted peace in the realm and their bannermen to not spend time infighting for no good reason. Sure, it happened, but it was relatively rare that someone would breach the King's/Duke's/Count's peace to attack their neighbor and it would not be without severe repercussion. Building those systems into CoE too will help to mitigate that issue. Now of course that's for "fully integrated" NPCs. I do think its also worthwhile to have "NPC Bad Guys" - such as bandits (on the basic, on the ground adventurer level) and hostile kingdoms ( on top, management level) in which players can't normally spawn etc... until there's a major upset like the PC kingdoms banding together and the server-wide "raid victory" of taking down one of these kingdoms and allowing it to be opened to PCs and part of the "civilized world". These will provide an existential threat especially to borders of the "civilized" world, give PvE players something they enjoy, all while teaching them the basics of Kingdom-level warfare without having to go up against Players who have a lot more to lose. Of course I'd like to see other PVE content on every level, from the aforementioned bandits, to lurking "monsters" and threats, to say... a coven of necromancers or something threatening a Barony, so the Baron would call sworn Knights and take on citizen levies and adventurers to put a stop to it... providing a reward that can be then dispensed as he sees fit. But what's this... an ancient tome the necromancers were using. Will the Baron give it to the local church to be destroyed? Send it to the University (or whereever magic might be studied) elsewhere in the County, so its "gifts" can be imparted to the province? Will the Count object and overrule the issue, claiming the risk of a pestilence is too high to be worth its study? And on and on it goes on all levels of the game.. There are plenty of opportunities for engaging PVE experiences and I hope to see many of them in CoE. I see other MMOs (one, notably) that is similar to CoE in some ways, but in others it is putting the bulk of its content mostly on PVP which I think will drive away a large audience that could come and help make the world much more immersive and engaging. All of the "throne war" elements can still happen and thee can still be upsets, but providing for pure PVE content and having areas that are not totally safe but are more conducive to those who want to play this way . For instance, Kingdom A is an "anything goes" PVP friendly kingdom where various Nobles don't mind the struggle for power among their subordinates etc. Kingdom B on the otherhand is made up of Nobles who don't permit this kind of squabbling and only approves fighting against enemies of the kingdom etc, which is more favorable to PVE types. Now, some of those enemies of Kingdom B may be both NPC and PC owned lands, but the players can choose (or, are "encouraged" / ordered) to help defend the border zone or try to roust the Kingdom's enemy on an official incusion if they wish. However, they can also stay on the "interior" to mostly have to deal with the aforementioned NPC cultists, bandits etc.. Sure, thieves,an assassin or murderous band of PVPers could find their way into Kingdom B's lands and its citizens may be affected, but there would be bounties, trials, jail time, fines etc... so it wouldn't be "tolerated"" the same way they would be in Kingdom A. So yeah..lots of potential for depth. PVP and PVE are equally important in a title like this. That';s one thing I too was concerned about. However, I imagine that if the devs wanted to (and I think they should) there are ways they could encourage PVE even in such a situation. For instance, if the idea that there are NPC owned Baronies/Counties etc... that are sworn to the same Count/Duke/King (PC or NPC) than the system should be set up to for the most part, encourage peace between them. After all, that's how Feudalism worked for the most part. Its one thing for border areas to clash - say duchies or counties that border on another hierarchy/kingdom etc.. but generally, the Nobility wanted peace in the realm and their bannermen to not spend time infighting for no good reason. Sure, it happened, but it was relatively rare that someone would breach the King's/Duke's/Count's peace to attack their neighbor and it would not be without severe repercussion. Building those systems into CoE too will help to mitigate that issue. Now of course that's for "fully integrated" NPCs. I do think its also worthwhile to have "NPC Bad Guys" - such as bandits (on the basic, on the ground adventurer level) and hostile kingdoms ( on top, management level) in which players can't normally spawn etc... until there's a major upset like the PC kingdoms banding together and the server-wide "raid victory" of taking down one of these kingdoms and allowing it to be opened to PCs and part of the "civilized world". These will provide an existential threat especially to borders of the "civilized" world, give PvE players something they enjoy, all while teaching them the basics of Kingdom-level warfare without having to go up against Players who have a lot more to lose. Of course I'd like to see other PVE content on every level, from the aforementioned bandits, to lurking "monsters" and threats, to say... a coven of necromancers or something threatening a Barony, so the Baron would call sworn Knights and take on citizen levies and adventurers to put a stop to it... providing a reward that can be then dispensed as he sees fit. But what's this... an ancient tome the necromancers were using. Will the Baron give it to the local church to be destroyed? Send it to the University (or whereever magic might be studied) elsewhere in the County, so its "gifts" can be imparted to the province? Will the Count object and overrule the issue, claiming the risk of a pestilence is too high to be worth its study? And on and on it goes on all levels of the game.. There are plenty of opportunities for engaging PVE experiences and I hope to see many of them in CoE. I see other MMOs (one, notably) that is similar to CoE in some ways, but in others it is putting the bulk of its content mostly on PVP which I think will drive away a large audience that could come and help make the world much more immersive and engaging. All of the "throne war" elements can still happen and thee can still be upsets, but providing for pure PVE content and having areas that are not totally safe but are more conducive to those who want to play this way . For instance, Kingdom A is an "anything goes" PVP friendly kingdom where various Nobles don't mind the struggle for power among their subordinates etc. Kingdom B on the otherhand is made up of Nobles who don't permit this kind of squabbling and only approves fighting against enemies of the kingdom etc, which is more favorable to PVE types. Now, some of those enemies of Kingdom B may be both NPC and PC owned lands, but the players can choose (or, are "encouraged" / ordered) to help defend the border zone or try to roust the Kingdom's enemy on an official incusion if they wish. However, they can also stay on the "interior" to mostly have to deal with the aforementioned NPC cultists, bandits etc.. Sure, thieves,an assassin or murderous band of PVPers could find their way into Kingdom B's lands and its citizens may be affected, but there would be bounties, trials, jail time, fines etc... so it wouldn't be "tolerated"" the same way they would be in Kingdom A. So yeah..lots of potential for depth. PVP and PVE are equally important in a title like this. First off, thanks for all the hard work and thought as to the best ways to implement and roll out the game and make it enjoyable for the players. As someone who games for fun and much prefers PvE over the stress of PvP as a means of relaxation, I like the fact you are increasing the number of PvE areas so they will act as buffers between kingdoms since I find building and industry much more enjoyable than the PvP aspects of games. Has there been thought given to what happens if/when a PvP based kingdom grows big enough to consume the NPC buffer regions and directly threaten PvE-based kingdoms? Are any explicit game mechanics planned to help support PvE based kingdoms, or is the plan to leave this up to player negotiations, alliances, trade treaties, etc? These questions become especially important since I agree that early involvement of the player base in game development should significantly increase the base, and provide much more manpower for kingdoms to expand and control NPC areas. First off, thanks for all the hard work and thought as to the best ways to implement and roll out the game and make it enjoyable for the players. As someone who games for fun and much prefers PvE over the stress of PvP as a means of relaxation, I like the fact you are increasing the number of PvE areas so they will act as buffers between kingdoms since I find building and industry much more enjoyable than the PvP aspects of games. Has there been thought given to what happens if/when a PvP based kingdom grows big enough to consume the NPC buffer regions and directly threaten PvE-based kingdoms? Are any explicit game mechanics planned to help support PvE based kingdoms, or is the plan to leave this up to player negotiations, alliances, trade treaties, etc? These questions become especially important since I agree that early involvement of the player base in game development should significantly increase the base, and provide much more manpower for kingdoms to expand and control NPC areas. This is a fantastic way to engage the community in the development process. I am very excited to see how it all works out in the end. While I have not purchased a title yet, I am hoping to in the near future. Great post! Awesome can't wait for all this to go down , I'll be paying off my baron/astronomer title soon ! It seems as though you have separated "crime and punishment" and "laws". One will be tested in the MUD and the other in KoE. How can you test one without the other? Also realize that KoE and ElyriaMUD will work in unison, they will be tested together, and what happens in one will affect the other. Posted By **The_White_Mask** at 5:24 PM - Sun Feb 26 2017 > > It seems as though you have separated "crime and punishment" and "laws". One will be tested in the MUD and the other in KoE. How can you test one without the other? Also realize that KoE and ElyriaMUD will work in unison, they will be tested together, and what happens in one will affect the other. One is the ability to enforce laws, the other is the ability to create/change them. Posted By **The_White_Mask** at 08:24 AM - Sun Feb 26 2017 > > It seems as though you have separated "crime and punishment" and "laws". One will be tested in the MUD and the other in KoE. How can you test one without the other? One is the ability to enforce laws, the other is the ability to create/change them. I deeply appreciate how SBS is willing to break down the development process like this. The continued transparency and honest verbage of this team is going to win over a lot of people. Time will tell how long they stay; I'm definitely enthusiastic for the long-term future of this game. I agree! Most AAA companies nowadays like to keep themselves in the dark, away from the public, where lies and miscommunication can spawn. They have handled themselves well, and they deserve acknowledgement for that. Agree , I just hope they are as good at developing games as they are at handling/producing them and this game will be the best MMO to ever be created ! Wow, that was a lot of information. So much so, that I don't even know where to begin or even where I'm allowed to begin. I really appreciate your DJ, you can keep writing longer ones and i won't complain. My concern is about the influence points we can earn at ElyriaMUD and at KoE, if some players start gathering too much influence you could possibly start rising the prices of all stuff in the exposition. I have seen that in a ton of games and it's really unfair. A easy way out is to limit the amount you can gain a day or week, or simply not rising the prices haha. Thank you. I can see where you are coming from. But from my personal perspective, if you were to limit the amount a player gets per day then that might deter players for playing longer periods of time if that player cares a lot (or only about) their influence points. For example: If the cap is so much and it is rather easy to reach that cap, then a player may grind for that progress but then quit once they reached that cap. I understand a lot of people are not like that and they might enjoy the game for what it is, but it is a thought to keep in mind. I can see where you are coming from. But from my personal perspective, if you were to limit the amount a player gets per day then that might deter players for playing longer periods of time if that player cares a lot (or only about) their influence points. For example: If the cap is so much and it is rather easy to reach that cap, then a player may grind for that progress but then quit once they reached that cap. I understand a lot of people are not like that and they might enjoy the game for what it is, but it is a thought to keep in mind. That's right, i also want to get as much influence as i can and keep playing these amazing experiences, but it's just a concern that it can happen. Great read! I personally really like the info in these developer's journals. They give the player base a good look into the process's behind the massive undertaking of an MMO. While I am sure several in the community are well aware of the intricacies of programming/developing a game, I personally do not. Transparency is a rare thing these days and it's enjoyable seeing it from a crowd-funded enterprise. In a sense, I see these dev. journals as more of a meeting with your shareholders, than bland info. sent from some large corporation to its player base. Thank you, and as always, looking forward to the next update (and an official launch date). How much information is going to be released prior to settlement/domain selection and family name generation regarding local and regional geography of settlements, cultural features such as language, mythology and theology, and the local flora and fauna that is central to daily life i.e. animals that are eaten or used for construction or clothing. I got the impression from the Q&A and journal that most of this information except for tribes (which could contain everything listed above) and a basic overview of local resources will be unavailable before the initial names are locked in. The reason I ask is that this kind of information helps in the creation of immersive names for settlements and families; personally, I have tried not to think too much about this kind of thing until I know for sure where my settlement will end up. As cool as it is seeing the kingdoms come alive on the forums it seems that they all fit with the medieval northern European look and feel of the new haven/titan steppes area and, if I’m not mistaken, most of these kingdoms will be in vastly different biomes. How much information is going to be released prior to settlement/domain selection and family name generation regarding local and regional geography of settlements, cultural features such as language, mythology and theology, and the local flora and fauna that is central to daily life i.e. animals that are eaten or used for construction or clothing. I got the impression from the Q&A and journal that most of this information except for tribes (which could contain everything listed above) and a basic overview of local resources will be unavailable before the initial names are locked in. The reason I ask is that this kind of information helps in the creation of immersive names for settlements and families; personally, I have tried not to think too much about this kind of thing until I know for sure where my settlement will end up. As cool as it is seeing the kingdoms come alive on the forums it seems that they all fit with the medieval northern European look and feel of the new haven/titan steppes area and, if I’m not mistaken, most of these kingdoms will be in vastly different biomes. I'm beyond excited to be a part of this amazing game. I hope it lives up to expectations of all it's fans. I have no doubt it will since it's in the capable hands of gamers who share our passion. These questions are very specific, and could probably be answered in one word. Is this all possible? I begin as a Count, selecting my county seat as a Civilian settlement. My brother joins the county, as a Baron (his backing tier), selecting a military settlement. He joins as part of my family. Other family members // friends join as family members. As a Count and a Baron, my brother and I build a small hamlet each, as a supply / gathering point, ie within 20 mins of our main settlements. These we buy with EP as personal holdings. In the (hopefully not) event I happen to be displaced as a Count, I expect to lose my county seat. Presumably however, my personal holdings (including the small hamlet), I would continue to own, as would my brother, if he lost his Barony? As family members, to retain a non-abandoned state on the local lands, any family member can visit them? I think the answer to your questions are yes. This is from my research into this game, which I think is going to be great. You should keep your personally owned lands even if you lost the title. From my reading in the DJ's any family member visiting you property keeps it from becoming abandoned. When you mention 'Artificial Intelligence (NPC)', does that include 'offline character scripting' (default and custom), or is that not going to be tested in the pre-alpha stage? I'm also curious about this. It seemed a major part of their initial promise to people was the ability to do meaningful things in the game with a constrained time schedule i.e. a lot of time offline because LIFE. I would hope that the two would be developed in conjunction, hopefully we'll see more as the MUD comes to be. This game looks kinda fantastic but I have to ask, Will it be translate to Spanish? or... will there be translations to any language? or will the game be in elyrian only? translations need to be quite good, if i want to make contracts with someone that doesnt speak my language. best would be that contracts are written in elyrish/elyrian and every language needs to adapt :P I cant give someone a contract written in german, spanish, portuguese if the target person only speaks english and chinese... just wont work. Posted By **Mixras** at 10:28 PM - Fri Feb 24 2017 > > This game looks kinda fantastic but I have to ask, Will it be translate to Spanish? or... will there be translations to any language? or will the game be in elyrian only? translations need to be quite good, if i want to make contracts with someone that doesnt speak my language. best would be that contracts are written in elyrish/elyrian and every language needs to adapt :P I cant give someone a contract written in german, spanish, portuguese if the target person only speaks english and chinese... just wont work. @Caspian One question that came to mind during the Q&A yesterday I had I thought I would share here. On a multitude of occasions my wife and I (as well as other friends/guild mates) have discussed that game X or game Y should have waited to release the game and worked out the bugs/mechanics rather than rush to release. So with that in mind, is the intention of SBS to truly test the different game mechanics and functionalities to a higher level of satisfaction irregardless to the release date of the game? Thanks again for sharing your DJ and being so upfront with the community. This is a rarity and greatly appreciated. It shows your willingness to share your successes and failures alike and being open with the community. That in my mind shows trust and integrity. Thank you. @Caspian One question that came to mind during the Q&A yesterday I had I thought I would share here. On a multitude of occasions my wife and I (as well as other friends/guild mates) have discussed that game X or game Y should have waited to release the game and worked out the bugs/mechanics rather than rush to release. So with that in mind, is the intention of SBS to truly test the different game mechanics and functionalities to a higher level of satisfaction irregardless to the release date of the game? Thanks again for sharing your DJ and being so upfront with the community. This is a rarity and greatly appreciated. It shows your willingness to share your successes and failures alike and being open with the community. That in my mind shows trust and integrity. Thank you. I second this comment and question! Great and interesting news! I just miss some commitment on high level release dates. I'm aware of delays which cannot be predicted but at least referring e.g. to 4Q 2017 or so would set some realistic expectations. For now, when I speak to individual people, they predict dates starting with summer 2017 and ending with game release in 2021. That is a bit huge range, isn't it? This is super exciting Caspian! I think Prologue, ElyriaMUD, and KoE will bring in a lot more players and retain more in the long run as people will have tangible things to play with, which are connected to the main game! And now that ElyriaMUD is going to be 2D and not simply text base? That's going to be much more exciting for a lot more people! This is super exciting Caspian! I think Prologue, ElyriaMUD, and KoE will bring in a lot more players and retain more in the long run as people will have tangible things to play with, which are connected to the main game! And now that ElyriaMUD is going to be 2D and not simply text base? That's going to be much more exciting for a lot more people! And less so for those of us that were fond of (and looking forward to) the MUD. i would like to know how many skills and skilltrees the Prologue will be reduced to (if it is)? in regards to combat, and more importantly (for me), to crafting. can we test every craft, or is it just one to see how it can work? will taming/farming be in it? i would like to know how many skills and skilltrees the Prologue will be reduced to (if it is)? in regards to combat, and more importantly (for me), to crafting. can we test every craft, or is it just one to see how it can work? will taming/farming be in it? okay, well i am very impressed, and this has really helped me get hyped. (as if i wasn't hyped enough already.) now i should probably start working on my towns recruitment page... gotta get some troopers to help expand the county. ty for the update. Ok, a question about Prologue. I know that it is just a short demo, but will we be able to replay it multiple times? I have played full featured rpg games multiple times over each with a different way (Character class and race). I know CoE doesn't have set classes, but I would like to play it as a crafter, an explorer, possibly different tribes to see what I prefer. Granted, I realize that because of already pledged to liege lords for CoE, I might not have an option to play different tribes in CoE as the tribes are likely region locked, but I am still curious to maybe play something other than the regional tribes. Hey Moonlynx, while the Prologue can technically be played multiple times, you won't find as much replay value as you might with fully finished games. For example, we'll likely have mining, smithing, lumberjacking, carpentry, and maybe a handful of other production / gatherer skills depending on how different each crafting profession is. That said, we won't have even half of the available crafting professions as CoE and more to the point, there will be a limited number of items that can be crafted. This is to give you an idea of what crafting feels like. But in the absence of a player-economy, trainers spread around the world to learn new patterns and techniques, it's not like one could just be content being a "crafter" for the prologue. Likewise, while you could be an Explorer in the Prologue to go off and find some interesting encounters, in the absence of a full party of adventurers the encounters won't be nearly as interesting as in the actual game. Similarly, one of the primary goals of an Explorer in CoE is to find the locations of unique or rare materials so the information can be sold to gatherers. But w/o other players to sell it to, the information is less useful. What I'm getting at is that the Prologue isn't intended to be an opportunity to try CoE in different roles - that requires the full multi-player experience. Finally, unlike most single-player RPGs, one thing that is true in the Prologue is that it is still event-based. Success or failure is predicated on you completing the necessary objectives in a timely fashion. Wander off too far, too long, and the story will proceed without you to one conclusion or another. As for tribes, while there will be other tribes present in the demo, and you could potentially play as a few region-specific tribes, they don't change the play so significantly that it would be worth re-playing just to experience a different one. Posted By **Moonlynx** at 02:37 AM - Fri Feb 24 2017 > > Ok, a question about Prologue. I know that it is just a short demo, but will we be able to replay it multiple times? I have played full featured rpg games multiple times over each with a different way (Character class and race). I know CoE doesn't have set classes, but I would like to play it as a crafter, an explorer, possibly different tribes to see what I prefer. Granted, I realize that because of already pledged to liege lords for CoE, I might not have an option to play different tribes in CoE as the tribes are likely region locked, but I am still curious to maybe play something other than the regional tribes. Hey Moonlynx, while the Prologue can technically be played multiple times, you won't find as much replay value as you might with fully finished games. For example, we'll likely have mining, smithing, lumberjacking, carpentry, and maybe a handful of other production / gatherer skills depending on how different each crafting profession is. That said, we won't have even half of the available crafting professions as CoE and more to the point, there will be a limited number of items that can be crafted. This is to give you an idea of what crafting feels like. But in the absence of a player-economy, trainers spread around the world to learn new patterns and techniques, it's not like one could just be content being a "crafter" for the prologue. Likewise, while you could be an Explorer in the Prologue to go off and find some interesting encounters, in the absence of a full party of adventurers the encounters won't be nearly as interesting as in the actual game. Similarly, one of the primary goals of an Explorer in CoE is to find the locations of unique or rare materials so the information can be sold to gatherers. But w/o other players to sell it to, the information is less useful. What I'm getting at is that the Prologue isn't intended to be an opportunity to try CoE in different roles - that requires the full multi-player experience. Finally, unlike most single-player RPGs, one thing that is true in the Prologue is that it is still event-based. Success or failure is predicated on you completing the necessary objectives in a timely fashion. Wander off too far, too long, and the story will proceed without you to one conclusion or another. As for tribes, while there will be other tribes present in the demo, and you could potentially play as a few region-specific tribes, they don't change the play so significantly that it would be worth re-playing just to experience a different one. Great info, thanks for all your hard work. I can't wait until we get Prologue. Things will really start to become a reality then!! Another great update! I can't wait to get in and start helping to give feedback! Oy-vey. My head is bleeding. I suddenly have a supersized respect for the monarchs of this game. I am finally feeling like I have backed a "winner". It's been a long time in coming. I can neither confirm nor deny whether that was my intention or not. Posted By **nashoxx** at 5:52 PM - Thu Feb 23 2017 > > When I read "NMS" I thought No Man's Sky lol I can neither confirm nor deny whether that was my intention or not. what mechanics, if any, are in place for a Count or a Duke who is on layaway, and hasn't completed his/her layaway come Land Selection time. are they SOL or would they be able to claim an NPC County/Duchy if any are still in existence at the time they complete their layaway? @Caspian what mechanics, if any, are in place for a Count or a Duke who is on layaway, and hasn't completed his/her layaway come Land Selection time. are they SOL or would they be able to claim an NPC County/Duchy if any are still in existence at the time they complete their layaway? I do believe it was said in the past that any title on layaway that wouldn't be complete by the time land selection happens would be converted into store credits. Posted By **Dleatherus** at 8:51 PM - Thu Feb 23 2017 > > @Caspian > > what mechanics, if any, are in place for a Count or a Duke who is on layaway, and hasn't completed his/her layaway come Land Selection time. > > are they SOL or would they be able to claim an NPC County/Duchy if any are still in existence at the time they complete their layaway? I do believe it was said in the past that any title on layaway that wouldn't be complete by the time land selection happens would be converted into store credits. Would have been good to know if the same growth principle that applies to counts in KoE was being applied to dukes and kingdoms. ie some counties and duchies begin as neutral - success in KoE helps to determine which they begin loyal to.. It's the same in both. With now 12 duchies per kingdom, any that have not been claimed by KoE can be expanded into to increase the size of an existing duchy. Posted By **Oracle** at 4:52 PM - Thu Feb 23 2017 > > Would have been good to know if the same growth principle that applies to counts in KoE was being applied to dukes and kingdoms. ie some counties and duchies begin as neutral - success in KoE helps to determine which they begin loyal to.. It's the same in both. With now 12 duchies per kingdom, any that have not been claimed by KoE can be expanded into to increase the size of an existing duchy. Sorry for tagging on a little late but does this mean that Entire counties could potentially disappear (if they are NPC) from one dutch and end up in another or would County A from Dutchie A simply decrease in size as Dutchie B grows in size? And What about taking Counties, and Dutchie from other kingdoms? Same thing as above? @Caspian Sorry for tagging on a little late but does this mean that Entire counties could potentially disappear (if they are NPC) from one dutch and end up in another or would County A from Dutchie A simply decrease in size as Dutchie B grows in size? And What about taking Counties, and Dutchie from other kingdoms? Same thing as above? Second, a question, what if some king is killed few times during MUD? Does he lose opportunity to continue growing his Kingdom? Or deaths hold no such impact during MUD? First, nice post! Second, a question, what if some king is killed few times during MUD? Does he lose opportunity to continue growing his Kingdom? Or deaths hold no such impact during MUD? Death do not hold impact in the MUD. Caspian's reason he stated in the Q&A was since this is history, this basically translates (for your scenario) "The king had a lot of frequent naps and constantly woke up with new scars around his neck. " Posted By **Gothix** at 4:46 PM - Thu Feb 23 2017 > > First, nice post! > > Second, a question, what if some king is killed few times during MUD? > Does he lose opportunity to continue growing his Kingdom? > > Or deaths hold no such impact during MUD? Death do not hold impact in the MUD. Caspian's reason he stated in the Q&A was since this is history, this basically translates (for your scenario) "The king had a lot of frequent naps and constantly woke up with new scars around his neck. " Great reading as always. I am happy to see that the offical launch will be same for everyone. I think you forgot exposition ;) Things happening in exposition will carry over to launch, but not everyone will take part in exposition. Posted By **Mesis** at 01:36 AM - Fri Feb 24 2017 > > Great reading as always. I am happy to see that the offical launch will be same for everyone. I think you forgot exposition ;) Things happening in exposition will carry over to launch, but not everyone will take part in exposition. Another great DJ. Always good to hear the how and why when it comes to the games development. Looking forward to the, often eluded, tribes DJ. Another great DJ. Always good to hear the how and why when it comes to the games development. Looking forward to the, often eluded, tribes DJ. Any number of settlements/towns/baronies per county? I am REALLY eager to know how many cities we can have per county as all of the barons & mayors in the county I am a part of seem to have backed at a higher tier (Governor or Magistrate). If we can have as many cities as we want, I may up my pledge to Magistrate or Governor to start with a larger settlement.

2019-04-25T02:08:58Z

https://chroniclesofelyria.com/blog/17384/DJ-19-PreAlpha-Experiences

CO2, water, and CH4 (methane) and some other minor gases are so-called “greenhouse gases” because they absorb infrared energy. However, be careful to avoid the common misunderstanding that the earth and its atmosphere behave like a garden greenhouse; that is not true. Greenhouses are closed systems except to incoming energy. Earth is an open system, open to receive energy, as well receive gases and other matter from space and also open to transmit energy, gases and matter back into space. A greenhouse is a poor analogy for earth’s climate. Greenhouse gases also re-emit almost instantly the energy they absorbed, emitting that energy at a slightly lower energy than which it was absorbed. Rarely is that emission mentioned in the news or by climate alarmists. Proponents of global warming want you to believe that energy is stored and builds up in the atmosphere in a sort of hothouse or pressure cooker, but that is not true. In most locations, the concentration of water vapor (including clouds) in the atmosphere is far higher than CO2 and methane, that is, there are far more water vapor molecules in a given volume of air than there are CO2 or methane. Near the equator and bodies of water, swamps and tundra water vapor in atmosphere will be near 100% relative humidity. That is, the air is saturated, no more water vapor can be added to the air at that temperature and air pressure. Water vapor in air is found in the range of 0% to 100% relative humidity. Cold air holds very little water vapor. The air at the poles is usually very dry. Warm air holds much water vapor. Air in the tropics is usually humid. The tropics and sub-tropics receive large amounts of solar irradiation during the day, but none at night. During the day, the surface of ocean water is warmed by solar radiation and that warmth results in release of large amounts of CO2 and CH4 as well as water vapor into the atmosphere; the amount of these released gases dwarfs all contributions of these gases by humans. At night, the cooler ocean surface absorbs large amounts of CO2. CO2 is very soluble in cold water. The oceans and subsea floor hold far more methane (CH4) than all petroleum and fossil fuels ever discovered, and this methane is continuously degassed out of warm water and soil into the air. CH4 released into open air spontaneously converts (oxidizes) to CO2 and water at standard temperature and pressure. CH4 + 2 O2 -> CO2 + 2 H2O + a small amount of energy. Almost all CH4 originated as living cells. The cells died, entered the soil, rivers, lakes and ocean as runoff, metabolized and degraded by natural biological activity; this is the ultimate source of almost all fossil fuel on earth. That natural resource is continuously renewing and unlikely to be exhausted so long as there is life in the oceans. Water vapor is the dominate greenhouse gas, absorbing by far both more direct solar energy and indirect solar energy re-emitted by the earth. More than 70% of the earth is covered with liquid water and about 40% of the earth and liquid water is receiving direct solar radiation every day. Additional liquid water is on land and in soil and plants. Solar radiation increases the molecular activity of liquid water molecules until they can no longer be held by the surface tension of the water. These active water molecules evaporate, i.e. release energetic water molecules, to become gaseous water vapor in the atmosphere. This release of energetic molecules cools the surface of the water, not warm the water, they just left. Your skin is cooled when your sweat evaporates. Liquid water is far denser than air. Dense liquid water in the oceans is a huge reservoir of stored energy. The oceans contain greater than 1000 times more energy than the atmosphere; this means that earth’s atmosphere as a whole – regardless which gases make up the atmosphere – cannot warm the oceans in any significant amount. And this means the oceans are warming the atmosphere. The oceans are controlling the weather and climate on earth, not the atmosphere. The oceans are warmed by direct and indirect solar radiation as well as volcanic and tectonic forces resulting from gravity. The specific gas molecules (nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, as well as CO2, methane, and several other trace gases) that make up the atmosphere, each with their various concentrations, individually or in combination, are irrelevant to the long-term average temperature of the planet. In other words, an atmosphere of 100% CO2 could not significantly change the earth’s average temperature; instead, the ocean with its huge heat content would control the temperature of the 100% CO2 atmosphere. The atmosphere cannot warm significantly the earth over an extended time period, such as a year. But a warm ocean current, such as an El Nino, can change our climate and weather overnight. However, water vapor and CO2 cause relatively minor temperature changes of the atmosphere at the surface (troposphere.) Water vapor and CO2 delay the release of energy from the earth into outer space, and this is most evident at night. Night time air temperatures at earth’s surface would be significantly cooler without water vapor and CO2. In a sense, greenhouse gases act as a nighttime insulator for the earth. The effects of this are clearly seen at night. In warm, humid climates like New Orleans, the warmth of the air is retained late into the night, finally cooling by morning. Water vapor and CO2 do that. In dry desert or arctic areas, the warmth of the day very rapidly is re-radiated into outer space and nighttime temperatures plunge rapidly. The absence of water vapor and CO2 do that. CO2 has the same effect as water vapor/humidity except in far less amount than water vapor/humidity. CH4 is even less than CO2. Nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) are the primary gases in the atmosphere, but these gases are mostly transparent to direct incoming solar radiation. Transparent means there are very limited or no energy bands available in these gaseous molecules to absorb energy at the wavelengths of the incoming solar radiation. A significantly large amount of solar energy is reflected by earth’s clouds, land and water surfaces back into outer space; this effect is known as albedo. The other atmospheric gases in total comprise about 1% of the atmosphere; this 1% includes water vapor, the inert gases (mostly argon which makes up 0.93%) and the trace gases. Carbon dioxide, methane and all other trace gases combined make up only about 0.04% of air. Most radiant energy of the sun is transmitted through the gases in the atmosphere to the surface, i.e. to water and land surface, where it is absorbed. Most solar radiation is in the higher energy infrared, visible and ultraviolent wavelengths. Visible light, UV, X-Ray, and gamma radiation are all higher energy (higher frequency/shorter wavelength) than IR. Water vapor absorbs at certain visible energy bands…so we see darkening clouds as water vapor concentration increases. Solar radiation is absorbed by the molecules at the surface of water and land and then is spread through conduction and convection and dissipated in the energy cascade in the molecules of the water or solid matter. Some energy is re-emitted from the surface of land and water into the atmosphere but at lower energy, longer wavelengths, lower frequency than which it was originally absorbed. Solar radiation received by the earth is known as Total Solar Irradiance (TSI). TSI has a cycle involving multiple variables which I will not go into here except to point out that climate cycles on earth correlate well with the TSI cycle and also with ocean temperature cycles known as PDO. Temperature does not track CO2 very well (figure 11 below). Note temperature is flat, increasing, declining, and increasing while CO2 is increasing. Statistical correlation is weak. Over longer time periods, the correlation between CO2 and temperature is very poor. The two trends are widely diverging as seen in the graphic below. If the global warming hypothesis were valid, these two trends would be parallel or converging. For the remainder of this discussion, I will consider only energy in the infrared (IR) wavelengths. Molecules in water and land absorb IR at several discrete higher energy/shorter IR wavelengths that match discrete energy bands of the electrons of each molecule. If the incoming energy does not match an energy band of the molecule, or if that energy band is not available to absorb because the band is already occupied with energy, then the energy passes through the molecule without being absorbed. If the IR energy is absorbed, then in a fraction of a second, part of that energy is dissipated as kinetic energy (various motions such as stretching, bending, and vibrations internal to the molecule or collisions with other molecules) leaving slightly lower energy/slightly longer wavelength/slightly lower frequency IR energy. That lower energy is then re-emitted. Since part of the energy has already been dissipated internally by the molecule, the emission has a longer wavelength, lower frequency of IR than the IR that was originally absorbed. Energy is not stored in a molecule except in the macro sense of all molecules taken together, and then only temporarily while the energy is progressively dissipated. Energy moves from one molecule to the next and at each step the energy is reduced. By this process, IR energy is absorbed by a water vapor, or CO2 molecule, or CH4 molecule for only fraction of a second and then re-emitted at a longer wavelength (lower frequency, lower energy, cooler). This cascade continues progressively downward in the energy until eventually the remaining energy is dissipated as kinetic energy by collision with other molecules, or various internal molecular motions. IR radiation is a sub-spectrum within the overall solar radiation spectrum. IR is 49.4% of solar energy reaching the outer atmosphere of earth. H2O, CO2, and CH4 absorb IR radiation ONLY at specific, discrete wavelengths (or quanta, or energy bands). Other wavelengths, which include most down-dwelling IR radiation directly from the sun, pass transparently through the molecules. Water vapor does absorb some incoming direct IR radiation. Some H2O, CO2, CH4 absorption wavelengths overlap (see graphic Figure 5-2), that is, these three molecules absorb IR at some of the same discrete wavelengths. This means that the gas which has the highest concentration in air absorbs and re-emits the most IR radiation. On average, water vapor including clouds is the highest concentration among the greenhouse gases, and thereby water vapor including clouds is the dominant greenhouse gas. Most direct solar IR passes through air molecules to interact with molecules on the surface of water or land. Thus, infrared radiation is largely responsible for warming Earth’s surface, both land and water. In other words, the sun is not DIRECTLY warming the atmosphere, but INDIRECTLY warming the atmosphere. Most solar energy is absorbed in the molecules of the ocean and land which in turn warm the atmosphere. Most greenhouse warming is caused by reflected IR and IR emitted after dissipation from higher energy visible and UV energy. We don’t perceive visible light as heat; but when visible light interacts with matter, unless reflected, its energy is dissipated step by step in the downward energy cascade as described above until it becomes longer wavelength IR which then we perceive as heat. Re-radiation, conduction and convection from the surface of water and land warms the atmosphere. IR energy only penetrates a few meters beneath the surface in liquid water in the oceans and lakes, while visible light transmits many meters beneath the surface of water, progressively loosing its colors from red to eventually higher energy blue and finally no visible light at increasing depth. The higher energy, shorter wavelength, higher frequency UV, x-ray and gamma energy mostly transmits through liquid water and finally interacts with molecules in solid matter in land or sea floor, or minimally with inorganic molecules dissolved in ocean water. Molecules on land and the seafloor surface are irradiated by these higher energy wavelengths, absorbing this energy, or conducting it further, and then these molecules progressively dissipate their energy as described above to progressively longer wavelengths and lower energy, eventually to IR wavelengths. The energy cascade continues on down the energy spectrum to satellite, wireless, radio, TV, MRI wavelengths and finally dissipated as kinetic motion of the molecule itself or collision. The earth and the atmosphere also reflect and emit energy back into outer space, mostly in the visible and IR bands. IR emission from the atmosphere, water and land into outer space occurs day and night and is measured by satellite. Earth is an open system, continuously re-radiating its energy (which originally came from the sun) back into outer space, that is, radiating from higher energy earth to the much lower energy outer space beyond our atmosphere. The fact that earth’s temperature is relatively stable over long periods of time, millions of years in multiple geological periods, implies that there is a balance between incoming energy and outgoing energy. I won’t go further into this energy balance topic here. Over the very long time period of millions of years leading to the present, the earth has been in a slow cooling trend and has had a slowly declining atmospheric CO2 concentration as indicated in these graphics; this is probably contrary to what you have been told and taught. On the other hand, and probably what you have been taught, in the geological short term, that is since the Little Ice Age and Industrial Revolution, earth warmed and total CO2 concentration increased. However most of that warming occurred before the 1950’s and that period was prior to the highest CO2 emissions by humans due to use of fossil fuels. In other words, the warming that followed the end of the Little Ice Age had very low CO2 concentration, thus that CO2 could not have caused the warming that occurred. The warming that occurred since the end of the Little Ice Age is within the statistical variation of the much longer-term cooling trend. In geological terms, since there is year-round ice at both poles, our present period is part of an interglacial period within an ice age. There has been global warming during our lifetime, mostly occurring before the 1950’s, but this warming is not unprecedented. And there has also been global cooling during our lifetime, also not unprecedented. Returning to our “greenhouse gases,” the takeaway point is, again, the sun heats the earth, then the earth heats the atmosphere. The atmosphere is not heating the earth. According to the laws of thermodynamics, energy only flows from higher energy earth to the lower energy atmosphere. Earth (oceans and land) heat the air, not the reverse. Where can we measure this effect in the natural world? Detrended (i.e. seasons removed) sea surface temperatures versus air temperatures, we see in the graph below that increasing air temperature ALWAYS FOLLOWS increasing sea surface temperature. No matter how high the CO2 or methane concentrations are in the air, the ocean temperature will control the air temperature of the earth. In bulk, like insulation, water vapor, CO2, and methane temporarily delay but do not halt the continuous dissipation of energy/heat via the process described in the above paragraphs. According to the proposed hypothesis for human-caused global warming (AGW), the continuing accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere causes or forces increased warming in the atmosphere. The hypothesis requires disregarding the important facts that warming has currently stopped and also that there has been cooling for some periods in our lifetimes and historically, when according to AGW there should have been an increasing rate of warming due to the increasing concentration of CO2. Also, again falsifying the AGW hypothesis, when warming periods have occurred, there is no difference in the rate of warming during those periods despite the fact that CO2 has increased. Based on a single molecule, one CH4 molecule absorbs more energy and re-emits more energy than one CO2 molecule, and one CO2 molecule absorbs more energy and re-emits more energy than one H2O molecule. But, the concentration (or abundance) of water vapor in air is about 1%, while the concentration of CO2 in air is only about 0.04% (or 400 ppm) and the concentration CH4 in air is only about 0.0018% (or 1.8 ppm). Thus more water vapor molecules in the air absorb more IR energy upgoing from the earth. Also, the IR radiation absorption wavelengths of water vapor overlap most of the IR radiation absorption wavelengths of CO2 and CH4. Since the concentration of water vapor is more than 10 times higher than that of CO2 and 100 times higher than CH4, the IR radiation emitted by the ocean, land and sun is more than 10 times more likely to be absorbed by water vapor molecules than by CO2 molecules and 100 times more likely to be absorbed by water vapor molecules than CH4 molecules. Then, when the water vapor, CO2 and CH4 molecules re-emit their energy upgoing and horizontally, or else collide, once again these emissions or collisions are far more likely to be interactions with a water vapor molecule; these phenomena change with increasing altitude. With regard to CO2 and CH4, the net result is that exponentially less warming results from each incremental increase in CO2 or CH4 concentration. The natural logarithm function is the inverse of the exponential function. The graphic below illustrates the natural log curve of temperature versus CO2 concentration that results from progressively increasing the CO2 concentration. In climatology terms, climate and temperature sensitivity are progressively diminished as CO2 concentration increases. Each doubling of CO2 concentration results in incrementally less warming, following a logarithmic progression. The available quantum energy bands of CO2 and CH4 are already occupied with energy received from nearby molecules. Adding more absorbing molecules decreases the mean-free-path of the radiation between molecules. Progressively higher levels of CO2 (and methane) produce progressively less warming. The absorbance of radiation is logarithmic. Furthermore, of the approximate 400 ppm (or 0.04%) total CO2 concentration in earth’s atmosphere, humans from all sources emit only about 3% of that total. About 97% of atmospheric CO2 is natural. About 98.5% of total CO2 is absorbed by nature. CO2 concentration has been increasing since the end of the Little Ice Age, around the time of the Industrial Revolution, primarily because earth has been slowly warming since that time. The human contribution is minimal. But, since CO2 is not causing significant warming (or even reproducibly measurable warming), and since the earth is in fact becoming greener according to NASA satellite studies, then there is no good reason to reduce CO2, or to reduce use of fossil fuels. Also, since most CO2 is natural, there is no practical way for humans to significantly reduce atmospheric CO2 concentration. Carbon sequestration, carbon offsets, carbon taxes, carbon trading are environmentally useless, harmful, economically wasteful, fraud. On the contrary, there are benefits to higher CO2, such as increasing crop yields. And there are also benefits to warming. Despite clear evidence that the atmosphere is not significantly warming the planet, and under the laws of physics the atmosphere could not significantly warm the planet, still some politicians and scientists try to alarm citizens to persuade them that increasing CO2 and CH4 concentration forces catastrophically dangerous, large increases in temperature trends by increasing absorption of IR by water vapor. The alarmists’ torturous and unvalidatable hypothesis and models treat water vapor as part of a feedback system rather than as the dominant greenhouse gas. But, if this hypothesis were true, and it is not, since CO2 has been increasing steadily since the end of the Little Ice Age (CO2 increased about 150% from a very low CO2 level), then we should be seeing rapidly rising global temperature due to this feedback forcing effect, and we should be seeing a difference in rate of warming over time (or significant difference in second derivative.) However, the temperature trend has been only slightly increasing, and then only sometimes, and the warming trends are not exceptional or unprecedented in nature, and the overall temperature trend is diverging from the steadily rising CO2 trend. If CO2 were the cause of warming, then the CO2 and temperature trends would be parallel or converging during the same time periods, and the CO2 increasing trend would occur before the warming trend; however, these correlations are not found in real world evidence unless the time periods are cherry-picked or the data has been manipulated. Even worse for the climate alarmists, there are multiple time periods, decades, where the temperature trend decreased while CO2 trend increased…for example the 1960s to late 1970s when most scientists and news outlets were proclaiming global cooling. CO2 cannot force both warming and cooling. Climate catastrophe and gloom are entirely based on computer models, models which have never been validated against scientific observations. Cover of Time magazine, January 31, 1977. Most CO2 is emitted by the oceans and lands, naturally, by degassing caused by the slow warming trend since the Little Ice Age. Warmer water holds less CO2 than cold water. The relative partition ratio of a gas such as CO2 between water and air is controlled by Henry’s Law. Compared to the atmosphere, the oceans contain enormous energy (as already shown). Oceans contain about 50 times more CO2 than the atmosphere and 20 times more CO2 than the biosphere on land. It would take 10,000 years for humans to change the temperature of the ocean by a mere 1 degree even if humans devoted all energy resources full time to that effort. The effects of the oceans on the earth’s climate are enormous, but the warming effect of human CO2 is trivially tiny. The claim that the relatively tiny amount of CO2 contributed to the atmosphere by humans is controlling earth’s temperature is falsified according to the rules of science. We mere humans are not able to change the temperature of earth by adding or subtracting CO2, no matter the amount of CO2. Even if the air were 40% CO2, an amount that is 1000 times higher than today’s total CO2 and 10,000 times higher than the human contributed CO2, the atmosphere can not significantly warm the oceans. Oceans are a gigantic heat sink or reserve, moderating the earth’s temperature and controlling earth’s climate. This is NOT to say that humans do not affect temperature and climate in other ways, such as building cities, roads, planting or cutting forests and fields, etc. This IS to say that AGW, the hypothesis of human-caused global warming by the contribution of a mere 0.004% of the total CO2 emissions, is scientifically wrong. The human contribution to global warming is statistically insignificant, so tiny it is unmeasurable in the real world; the hypothesis of human-caused global warming/climate change has been falsified by real world observations and experiments. Bottom line: the global warming / climate change agenda is a giant, global fraud. The where, why, who, and when proponents knew it was a fraud is a subject for another day and a court of law. The global warming/climate change agenda is a global, political scheme to re-distribute wealth, change national economic systems away from capitalism, reduce national and individual sovereignty and reduce citizen control of private property, and hand over funding and control to unelected supra-national alliances and organizations like the UN and the EU. Figure 12. Sherwood Idso, PhD. http://www.co2science.org and https://thebestschools.org/special/karoly-happer-dialogue-global-warming/happer-major-statement/ Dr. Sherwood Idso with Eldarica pine trees grown in various amounts of CO2 in experiments done about 10 years ago when the ambient concentration of CO2 was 385 ppm. S.B. Idso and B.A. Kimball, “Effects of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on Regrowth of Sour Orange Trees (Citrus aurantium; Rutaceae) after Coppicing,” American Journal of Botany, 1994, 81: 843–846. Figure 13. https://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html Table 4a. 14. Sorokhtin et al. (2007) Sorokhtin, O.G., Chilingar, G. V., Khilyuk, L.F. (2007). Global Warming and GlobalCooling. Evolution of Climate on Earth,Developments in Earth & Environmental Sciences 5, Elsevier, ISBN 978-0-444-52815-5. As with others, thank you for this effort. I meet thrice annually with a group of businessmen to pursue interesting ideas, politics and our own personal development. Climate Change always provokes heated discussion which labor under too little knowledge and amid great certainty. I wanted to take your article, in printed form, as a means of better understanding the issue. Alas, your numerous slides of graphs and data won’t print. Any other way I can get a printable file? Thanks again. thank you for this wonderful article. Being a layman it helps me very much to understand the atmosphere a little bit more. Wondering what is your opinion? Thanks for those kind words and these references. I will review them. I thought your post was well done and requested (in the comments section) some feed back from others at Climate, Etc. It did end up generating some feedback. I really don’t want to start an internet war (I’m just a curious layperson), but would be interested in what you think about some of the comments made about your post above. That said, I totally understand if you don’t wish to do so. People seem to get very defensive, not watch their manners, etc. Thanks for letting me know Geoff. I wrote this by request of some friends who are laypeople. They liked it, so I posted it here on my blog. Of course many technical details are glossed over and simplified. Dr. Curry’s blog is far more technical, of course. I read it, but I missed that post. I will take a look. Thanks. I appreciate very much Dr. Curry’s blog and I have followed it for years. I read that entire thread and all the comments. I do not respond to ad hominem comments such as ‘doom.’ But, for your information, I was trained as a chemist and my entire career (30+ years) was selling, servicing, supporting and managing people who do that in scientific instruments such as gas and liquid chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectrophotometers, scanning confocal laser fluorescent instruments, etc, worldwide. I have measured the absorption and emission of water, CO2, CH4 etc and many other of their properties using multiple techniques from all the way back to college laboratory classes to putting a gimbled mass spectrometer in a C-130 for NOAA to fly through hurricanes. Title: The Relationship between Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration and Global Temperature for the Last 425 Million Years. I’ve only gotten as far as the 3rd paragraph, but I noticed few errors. Greenhouse gases also re-emit almost instantly the energy they absorbed, emitting that energy at a slightly lower energy than which it was absorbed. That is incorrect, in two respects. 1. When a molecule of CO2 absorbs a longwave IR photon, it usually does not re-emit that energy as another photon. On average, it takes about one second before it emits another photon, but (at typical temperatures and 1 Atm pressure), only a few nanoseconds before it gives up the absorbed energy by collisional transfer to another air molecule. That means its several hundred million times more likely to loose the absorbed energy by collision with another air molecule, than by re-emission of a photon. That’s why the GHG molecules in that atmosphere stay in thermal equilibrium with the rest of the air. 2. When a CO2 molecule in the atmosphere does give up energy by emitting a photon, it is not “slightly lower” than the energy it absorbed. It might be a bit higher, if the molecule happens to be moving in the direction in which the photon is emitted, causing the photon to be blue-shifted. Or it might be a bit lower, if the molecule happens to be moving in the opposite direction, causing the photon to be red-shifted. But energy is conserved, there’s no loss of energy taken out as a toll by a molecular middleman. Near the equator and bodies of water, swamps and tundra the concentration of water vapor in atmosphere will be near 100%. … Water vapor concentration in air is found in the range of 0% to 100%. Cold air holds very little water vapor. The air at the poles is often very dry. Warm air holds much water vapor. E.g, at a sweltering 40°C = 104°F, a cubic meter of air at 100% RH holds 51.1 grams of water. The cubic meter of air, however, weighs about 1.29 kg. 0.051 / 1.29 = 0.0395, i.e., 3.95% by mass. However, water vapor is only 18/29 = 0.62 the density of dry air, and gaseous concentrations are customarily expressed by volume ratios. 3.95% by mass = 6.4% by volume = 64000 ppmv. Also, you wrote, “The air at the poles is often very dry.” That’s an understatement. The air at the north pole is always fairly dry, because it is always fairly cold. But the air at the south pole is always EXTREMELY dry, because it is always EXTREMELY cold. I only got to your point 1. With regard to your number 1, that is what I said. Higher energy/higher frequency IR (or NIR) is emitted at a lower frequency/lower energy or else it was transmitted transparently altogether. The difference between the absorbance and emission energies is dissipated on molecular motions. Lower energy, longer wavelength IR is dissipated entirely in molecular motions or collisions with no radiation. That is incorrect. The emission and absorption spectra are identical. Sorry. You are mistaken. I have made these measurements myself. The energy differences between absorption and emission are documented in the literature. Please remember that this is not a scientific publication for peer review. It is a general understanding for laypeople. Otherwise I would have posted a long bibliography, and a much longer article and different format is expected. For example, an understanding of the differences between relative humidity (a climate or weather term) as compared to concentration was beyond the needs, intent or message of my article. The point of this article is that the atmosphere as a whole is not controlling the climate, regardless the composition of the atmosphere. Therefore CO2 cannot cause global warming. You still ought to use the correct terms. “Concentration” has a specific meaning. The concentration of N2 is about 78%, by volume. The concentration of O2 is about 21%, by volume. The concentration of Ar is about 1%, by volume. The concentration of CO2 averages about 410 ppmv (0.041%), by volume. The concentration of H2O vapor varies from near zero to about 7%, by volume. That’s incorrect. Weather and climate “happen” in the atmosphere. The temperatures that so many people are obsessing over are air temperatures. So the atmosphere certainly is a part of the climate system, and CO2 in the atmosphere does cause the surface of the Earth, and the Earth’s lower atmosphere, to be warmer than they would be without it. Your comment: “The concentration of N2 is about 78%, by volume. The concentration of O2 is about 21%, by volume. The concentration of Ar is about 1%, by volume. The concentration of CO2 averages about 410 ppmv (0.041%), by volume. The concentration of H2O vapor varies from near zero to about 7%, by volume.” is the same as my article. Sorry, the atmosphere as a whole is not controlling the climate, regardless the composition of the atmosphere. CO2 cannot cause global warming. CO2 is only provides temporary insulation in the lower altitudes near sea level. In upper altitudes, CO2 is radiating into space. CO2 adds no energy to the system. CO2 only buffers or delays the energy emitted from the surface into space. The atmosphere is between 30 and 40 C warmer than it would have been without CO2. I modified the paragraph to include relative humidity. Frankly, I think it makes it more confusing to have both concentration and relative humidity. But, we’ll see what the laypeople say. Here’s the new paragraph: In most locations, the concentration of water vapor (including clouds) in the atmosphere is far higher than CO2 and methane, that is, there are far more water vapor molecules in a given volume of air than there are CO2 or methane. Near the equator and bodies of water, swamps and tundra water vapor in atmosphere will be near 100% relative humidity. That is, the air is saturated, no more water vapor can be added to the air at that temperature and air pressure. Water vapor in air is found in the range of 0% to 100% relative humidity. concentration. Cold air holds very little water vapor. The air at the poles is usually very dry. Warm air holds much water vapor. Air in the tropics is usually humid. And, by the way, a GHG molecule is rarely (i.e. but for 2 moments per day like correctness of the proverbial clock) “in thermal eqilibrium with the rest of the air.” Like the earth as a whole, net net, the GHG molecule is losing energy at night, or during the day, net net, it is gaining energy. The integral calculus would be interesting to model. Equilibrium is a bulk quantity only. Energy stays in motion. Thanks for your intelligent comments. If you would like to edit this, upgrade it, or re-write it entirely, please give it your best. I’d add to it, I’d say: “climate catastrophe and gloom are entirely based on models”. Only a small number of scientists believe that basic model. Only tiny number of scientists ever went over the maths and model in detail. David Evans explains this model in a series of blog posts and criticised it in a paper. He presents an alternative model which explains why the catastrophe model is wrong. Dr Roy Clark gives more fundamental criticisms of the catastrophe model & outlines a better model too. The big problem (and opportunity) we have convincing warmists is they believe on the basis of authority, not evidence. The authority is wrong but its case is rarely addressed, and never presented in detail. Note: “in detail” = count those times when you saw this basic model fully explained to you. In my case, the count = 1 (by skeptic Evans). Why are warmists not presenting their basic model more often? Do they have something to hide? Thanks Mark. Good idea on the climate catastrophe comment. And, yes warmists have a lot to hide. A very nice explanation of how the air/land/sea temperature of the planet works. Technical concepts explained very well, but with a minimum of mathematics. This explains very well the “non-problem” of CO2. Further explanation of how the planet has warmed and cooled over the eons would require delving into astronomical and solar cycles. I hope this writer will take all that on in a follow-on piece written as well as this was. I’ve bookmarked and printed this blog, and will happily pull it out as a Reality Reference for the rational and intelligent people I encounter who only know what they’ve heard from the CAGW crowd. Thanks Ken. I will keep your suggested additional paper in mind also. May I introduce to you, Bud and Can, David Dilley, who is working too on astronomical, solar and lunar cycles in regard to climate. His 2012 article is as great as yours here. Thank you. I will review these. Thanks for reading. Thanks Ken. Let me know if you have or get any questions. Also, don’t miss the science paper linked at the bottom of my article. It’s recent but even more technical. It challenges the AGW crowd to consider a new paradigm.

2019-04-22T06:14:22Z

https://budbromley.blog/2019/01/15/co2-is-not-causing-global-warming/

In the midst of a fiercely contested presidential race, Snowden remains steadfast in his distrust of partisan politics and declined to endorse any particular candidate or party, or even to label his beliefs. But he stresses that the U.S. government can win back trust and confidence through rigorous accountability to citizens and by living up to the ideals on which the country was founded. 0:00 Meet the Free State Project. Edward Snowden, thank you so much for joining us. We’re talking from the Liberty Forum of the Free State Project. In 2003, [the organizers] created a project where they said, “We’re going to get 20,000 people to agree to move to New Hampshire and make the state a freer and more interesting, more innovative and fun place.” They recently passed the 20,000 mark so the great migration has started and at some point I’ve been asked to welcome you to come to New Hampshire, to a free state when you have time. And I’ve been told that among other things, it will be a free and independent New Hampshire. They’re even getting rid of the state liquor stores and they’re not going to have extradition with the rest of the United States. So hopefully you can join us. Let’s talk about the story that’s very much in the news now: The issue of Apple being requested by court order to unlock the cell phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. You recently tweeted, “This is the most important tech case in a decade. Silence means Google picked a side, but it’s not the public’s.” Can you elaborate on that? Is Apple really on the public’s side? And how does strong encryption of personal communication, even when utilized by terrorists, strengthen freedom and liberty? 00:53 Apple vs. the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Why should strong encryption be legal? ES: This is an incredibly complex sort of topic. When you think about the whole Google/Apple thing, first off, Google did come forward. Their CEO made some comments in sort of the defense of the ability of private enterprises not to be constricted by government but to sort of do softer work at their direction rather than at the direction of their customers. Now it was very tentative, but hey, it’s a start. When we think about sort of Apple, are they the big champions of liberty and individual rights, it’s not really about that. We’re not looking for the perfect heroes here, right? It’s “don’t love the actor, love the act.” And what we see is that what the FBI is asking for right is in the wake of the San Bernadino shootings which are of course legitimate crimes, this is an act of terrorism as it’s been described. And they said “alright, we’ve got this private product out there that’s designed to protect the security of all customers, not a particular individual customer, but it’s a binary choice. Either all of us have security, or none of us have security. And so the FBI went “yeah yeah yeah, that’s great but we want you to strip out some essential protections that you built into this program so we can attack the program in a certain way.” And as a technologist, this is deeply disturbing to me because I know that we’ve had laboratory techniques since the 1990s that allow the F.B.I. and other organizations that have incredible resources to unilaterally mount hardware attacks on security devices to reengineer their software without compelling private actors, private enterprises, private individuals to work contrary to their will. Now prior to this there are important court precedents that have equated code to speech. It’s an act of creation, an act of expression when you program something, which is no different than someone writing a paper or building a house. These are things that are guided by your intention. And if the government can show up at any time, at any house, at any individual and say “regardless of your intention, regardless of your idea, regardless of your plan, you don’t work for you, you work for us, that’s a radically different thing. And whether it’s Apple or Google or anybody else who at least challenges that assertion of authority and allows us to litigate that, both in the courts and in the public domain, this is critical. Because prior to this moment, these things were being litigated in secret in front of a secret court, a foreign intelligence surveillance court. In 33 years, [FISA courts were] asked by the government 33,900 times to authorize surveillance or reinterpretations of statutory law that are more favorable to the government, that we never knew about because all of these decisions are classified. In those 33,900 times in 33 years, the government got a no from this court only 11 times in 33 years. And that’s why it matters and that’s why I think this is important. NG: Can I ask a follow up question and part of this is legal and part of this is kind of technological, I mean is any communication really secure anymore? David Brin 20 years ago talked about the transparent society: privacy is done, get over it. And if no communication is really secure anymore, is it a problem or is there a way to actually hold the government accountable and to restrain it, or corporations for that matter? Is this beyond a question of government acting and corporate acting and individual acting because certainly Brin was writing long before Facebook and social media where people are giving away oodles of information again and again (and all freely). So is any communication private anymore and if it isn’t, then what next? 05:02 Is privacy dead? Should we just get over it? ES: Well this is again, a really complex question. I could talk for a lot longer than the time we have on it. But the idea here is that there are different kinds of surveillance. Mass surveillance, which is typically done on communications in transit right, as they cross the internet over lines that you don’t own, but you don’t have a choice not to use because of the nature of the modern communications grid. You can’t say “I want my communications to only route this network.” Once they leave your home, once they leave your handset or your cell phone or whatever device you’re using, it’s out of your control and it gets routed invisibly across borders, across systems, across enterprises. The danger of this is that any one of these actors, whether they’re corporate actors, whether they’re governments, and we know for a fact that governments particularly are using this sort of capability. As they transit, if they are transiting electronically naked, that is unencrypted, anybody can read these. They can capture these, they can store these, they can do whatever they want with them and there’s no indication that it happened. So this is the property of course that spies like, whether they’re corporate or they’re state. NG: It’s that nobody even knows they’re being spied on. ES: Right. Does this mean that there’s nothing that works, no. There are ways to shelter the content of the communication which is basically, if you think about what’s in the e-mail, what’s in the register with Amazon.com or the call that you made on a voiceover IP system, or the text message that you send through a certain app, they can no longer read that. All they can see, what you’re doing is those communications that were electronically naked have now been closed. They’ve been armored in the kind of thing that means I can’t just look under your skirt and see what’s happening there. All they can do is see that now there’s a covered wagon sort of moving down the trail. That cover allows you to have some measure of privacy but there’s still a danger here which is they can monitor the movement of the wagons. And this is what the government refers to as metadata. But they’ll be near enough to see who you’re meeting with, when you got there, what the license plate of your car was, when you left, where you traveled to, where you slept at night. Now this stuff is being done on a mass, indiscriminate scale to all of us, even today, even sort of after these reforms. The government stopped holding these repositories of data for a particular phone collection program who everybody in the country calls, but they said the phone companies can still hold this information and we’ll just ask them for it. But for the internet, they haven’t made any changes to those programs as a result. Now when we talk about the direct factual challenges there, there are two points. One is armoring the in-transit communications. This is a principle called end-to-end encryption. Now the Founding Fathers of the United States used encryption to protect their communications. Benjamin Franklin did a number of enciphering systems himself because he recognized that when great power has intensely detailed private information about the political activities of groups that are acting in manners that they would find inconvenient or burdensome, it’s going to be a very short revolution and we would have lost. So they sort of asserted means of defense. That is what is happening today, for the internet is a standard. It’s not targeted against the United States government, it’s targeted against all actors who seek to subvert the intention of the users. We’re trying to protect everyone everywhere across borders. We’re not just fighting the NSA, right, this is about China, Russia, North Korea, whoever you’re afraid of, we can protect everyone from all of them by working together. There is still that further measure of metadata, sort of “me data” again, the private activity records, where how do we conceal the fact that a communication occurred as opposed to the details that occurred within it. And that’s still an area of active research. There are programs that are developed that do help this, but this is still actively a topic of research. 10:48 What would a legal and effective government surveillance program look like? NG: People like William Binney, Kirk Wiebe, and Thomas Drake [whistleblowers against surveillance]: You’re not against the government actually acting to ensure the safety of citizens. Can you talk a little bit about what would a government surveillance program that is legal and effective look like for you? How would they play that out without inevitably [abusing their reach]? You’ve written about that what the government can do and what it should do, are merging, that there’s no sense of morality. But how do we put that kind of stopping point where we have a government that can help protect us but not ultimately surveil us constantly? ES: Well, the first point here is to recognize that the nature of open societies, free societies, right, nations of liberty, is that life does entail some measure of risk. You’re only going to be perfectly protected if you sort of bury yourself under the ground and live in prison. And then, you’ll still be at risk from the inmates that are walking the asylum with you. Life involves risk, it involves choice, it involves contest. That’s a problem because it radically reorders the balance of power in society. It is preemptively restricting our rights without any cause to do so to create a sort of surveillance time machine that allows them to go back and say no matter what you’ve done, we know what that was. We can analyze you, we can assess you. And why this matters is it’s no longer justice. It’s only order, and these are very different things. 14:53 Could we have stopped the slide into mass surveillance? NG: Six years ago this month, in 2010, in an Ars Technia forum under your unfortunate pseudonym “TheTrueHOOHA,” you asked, “did we get to where we are today via a “slippery slope that was entirely within our control to stop or was it a relatively instantaneous sea change that sneaked in undetected because of pervasive government secrecy?” With what you were just talking about, how would you answer that question now? Are we frogs in a pot of water that’s getting warmer and warmer or was there a switch that was turned on and that’s how this happened? ES: So first off let me caveat as a privacy advocate, I’ve never publicly owned these posts. And this is not to say “oh these aren’t me” or anything like that. The individual in question who offered these posts seems to have a suspiciously large amount of correlating events in their life that match mine. But the point here is that when individuals write under pseudonyms right, there’s a reason for it. [It’s] so individuals can be judged on the basis of their ideas, their engagement in a particular conversation rather than their personalities. NG: And certainly in American history, such as the Federalist papers [which were published anonymously], we are a country that was founded on anonymous speech in many ways. You, or whoever it was, was participating in a grand tradition…. ES: For the sake of argument, let’s presume that individual was me. The idea here is, “Could we have arrested this slide?” And at the time, contemporaneous to that, I think it was circa 2009, 2010, I was still working for the CIA, I had just moved to the NSA. I believe. And I didn’t have the same kind of comprehensive insights into how the system had arisen. And of course, if I would have been in this position writing as this individual, the idea would be, “Well, we should’ve seen this coming, right?” It would have been incremental, there would have been some public indications. But when you look at the public record of how the institutions of mass surveillance occurred in the United States—they occurred under a veil of secrecy. And when officials were challenged on them, even under oath, even on camera, they lied about them. Johnson: Does the NSA routinely intercept American citizens’ e-mails? Sen. Wyden: Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans? Clapper: Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect, but not wittingly. ES: So this is sort of the challenge. Can we stop policies? Can we arrest them? Can we have a voice in them? Can we have a vote on them if they are intentionally and wittingly concealed from us? 19:04 How can government earn back the trust and confidence of the American people? NG: By all indications—look at Gallup or Pew or other surveys—trust and confidence in government to either be effective or to do the right thing, these are at or near historic lows. How does government win back the trust? I’m going to ask the libertarian question in a second, but most of us here are libertarians, not anarchists [groaning and baby crying]. And the anarchist is crying in the background there, but how does government gain back the trust and the confidence of the American people? Because we saw this in the 1970s with the Church Committee hearings and a general hollowing-out of belief in government. Libertarians want a government that is smaller than it is perhaps, but one that is effective and is legitimate. How does government win back the people’s trust? ES: Accountability. I mean, the whole idea behind the divide and the simple language of a private citizen and a public official is that we know everything about them they know nothing about us, because they are invested with powers and privileges that we don’t have. They have the ability to sort of direct the future of society, and as a result it is incumbent to assume a level of responsibility and accountability to the public for the exercise and abuse of those authorities that simply does not exist today. And that’s the problem. They know more about us than they ever have in the history of the United States and some would argue in any society that sort of ever existed before. At the same, thanks to aggressive expansions of state secrecy authorities, the use of classification and so on and so forth, and even simple management of the press where, you know, they play leaking games and they don’t give comment on this, that, or the other, or more directly aggressive things like we just saw with the Director of National Intelligence, the most senior intelligence official in the United States. They’re excusing themselves from accountability to us at the same time they’re trying to exert greater power over us. And that I think leads to an inevitable result over time. Whether through good intentions or bad, that the public is no longer partner to government, but merely subject to it. 21:40 What’s wrong with the political parties in the US? ES: I should caveat this with the fact that I’m an engineer, not a politician. My opinions being what they are, I look at systems in terms of incentives. Where are the incentives, and how does human behavior emerge in response to those incentives? We’ve approached what in game theory terms is called a Nash equilibrium, which is where you’ve got a limited set of choices that each player in the game can make and they’ve identified what is the most optimal move that they can make in the context of that game and so they play the same move every time hoping that in some rounds they’ll win even if over time they’ll lose because they’ll have the maximized score possible for the given set of constraints that exist. Now what this means is that people go, “Well I dislike this side, I dislike this individual, I dislike this tribe more than I dislike the other one and so I’ll pick this one.” And so they start voting against. It’s important to have the principle of understanding who I will vote for, but also who I won’t vote for. But we need to disentangle this from parties. 24:27 What are Snowden’s political beliefs? Is he a libertarian? NG: That by the way is the ethos behind the Free State Project—very much so. So can I ask on a technical question: Can you vote in the election? Can you send in an absentee ballot? And if you do, will you make your vote public? It’s a secret ballot, but it would be kind of an interesting observation to see who you voted for. ES: This is still a topic of…active research [laughter]. NG: You know, as I mentioned before, this is an overwhelmingly libertarian crowd and one of the things that libertarians talk about besides reducing the size, scope, and spending of government and maximizing individual freedom is recognizing that economic liberties and civil liberties are conjoined and inseparable. In some of the clips that you showed, people were asking, “Are you tracking Amazon purchases? Are you tracking cell phones?” We see that surveillance covers economic activity as well as civil or personal communication. How do you define your politics or ideology and where did it come from? Do you consider yourself a libertarian or a classical liberal? Are these terms that are meaningful to you? Or how do you think about ideology I guess. ES: Well you know there’s a whole field of political theory that I don’t really subscribe to in terms of classifying people on the basis of their beliefs. Because what it’s trying to do is it’s trying to establish tribes, it’s trying to establish common identities. And while I do think that is valuable and important for the sense of collective action, for me, it’s not really the right fit. I do see sort of a clear distinction between people who have a larger faith in liberties and rights than they do in states and institutions. And this would be sort of the authoritarian/libertarian axis in the traditional sense. And I do think it’s clear that if you believe in the progressive liberal tradition, which is that people should have greater capability to act freely, to make their own choices, to enjoy a better and freer life over the progression of sort of human life, you’re going to be pushing away from that authoritarian axis at all times. Because authoritarianism is necessarily about the ordering and control of society. Now they can argue that that will produce a better quality of life, but it cannot be argued that it would provide a freer life. And for me, I’m on the side of freedom. 26:27 How did Snowden educate himself? Is he helped or hurt by his lack of formal education? That’s coming out of a classical liberal tradition [which gave] birth to the American founding. You’re an autodidact in many ways. You don’t have fancy degrees and I don’t see diplomas on the wall behind you. Talk a little bit about the process of how did you educate yourself and how does that play into larger roles of the types of educations that governments or societies give people. Is it to liberate them? Is it to kind of subjugate them? Talk about where you came from in terms of your ideas and your self-learning. For me, yes, I did not graduate from high school. Instead I got a G.E.D., and I don’t have the formal education and that’s held me back in a lot of ways. In terms of just wanting to have some kind of formal education, it’s difficult to go back and get later on. Like chemistry, right? I’m really interested in chemistry but lacking the formal education, it’s just kind of a pain to go back and read textbooks later on. At the same time, I have a very broad and diverse education on a number of different topics and this has helped me in my professional career because I was much more conversant and fluent on a number of topics that ended up being very highly valued in the national security space that really aren’t taught in school, particularly when it comes to system security and anonymity online, in certain ways, how to combat that. This illustrates a key point which has been reflected by other thinkers before, it’s not original to myself, which is there is a very strong difference, a bright line difference between your schooling and your education. And we should all be careful not to let the one influence the other. 28:48 Why did Snowden see bulk surveillance differently than his NSA coworkers? NG: You were working with people and you’ve talked about this, who had similar backgrounds and technical skills but then you brought a moral dimension to what you were seeing when you were working for the government as a sub-contractor. Was it a moral education that was lacking in the people around you? Or was there something in the way that you learned that triggered that sense of “You know, we all know this is unconstitutional or this is wrong?” Why was it you who actually decided to bring it to the public’s attention? ES: Well, I represented a different generation in many ways than the majority of sort of the institutional structure at the NSA and CIA because of course I was the new group in. But I was also sort of the first generation of children of the internet, right? When you think about where my biggest influences are in that context, my reading, my writing, well of course yeah we read the history of course yeah, we read the books and the traditions and the classics as well, which classics do you get directed to, which come to your attention? That becomes part of a sort of zeitgeist debate that occurs all around the world. You have a much larger mixing of perspectives. And because of that, nationalism— blind nationalism—is less effective. Because there’s a very real difference between allegiance to country, allegiance to people and allegiance to state, which is what nationalism today is really more about. The institution can come and go but the people remain. And this kind of context is what differed. I brought a Constitution in and put it on my desk because I had a personal interest in it and I thought it was relevant to the work. And there were a number of people that I worked with, co-workers and colleagues, particularly when I started raising sort of alarm internally about these programs and saying, “Something doesn’t smell right here” who agreed with me, who were interested, who had different interpretations who challenged back and forth, but who cared. And then there were others who didn’t, who said the Constitution didn’t really matter, who would literally say, “You know, who cares about the 4th Amendment, the 5th Amendment?” and so on and so forth, the 1st Amendment. It doesn’t really matter, this thing is from hundreds of years ago. It’s no longer relevant and look, we’ve got a job to do. There’s bad guys out there and we’re going to decide who they are and what we’re going to do about them. The problem with that that I would argue is how designations of national security are made in the first place. There’s a real-life case here that I think is relevant to a lot of people where the FBI had a lead on the individual. They were a religious leader, a sort of community leader that the government state believed was in contact with or under the sway of sort of agents of foreign power. And this is common with all people who are involved with any kind of radical politics. If you challenge the prerogatives of the state, they presume it’s at the direction of another state because that’s simply how the thinking works. The attorney general was briefed on the case, they said, “Yeah, let’s wiretap this guy even though he’s a US citizen, son of a popular cleric, fairly well known” and they put him on a watch list. They said “in the event of a national emergency, martial law you know, F.E.M.A. and so on and so forth we’re going to detain this person because they are dangerous. They are a destabilizer, they are a radicalizer, in the modern vernacular.” And the FBI actually made a determination that out of all of the similar radicals in the United States, this individual was the most dangerous from the standpoint of national security. Does anyone in the room know this case? Do you recognize him? And the determination was made two days after he gave the “I Have a Dream” speech. That is what a threat to national security looks like [displays image of Martin Luther King, Jr.]. There’s a very real difference between the public interest and the national interest. When you hear national interest, when you hear national security, think state interest, think state security and you’ll be on the right track. 33:03 Was the NSA involved in gathering evidence against Ross Ulbricht? NG: Let me finish with three quick questions if I might. First, in the case of Ross Ulbricht, who was prosecuted for founding the Silk Road website and is now effectively [serving] a life sentence. Do you assume, or should we assume that the NSA was involved in corroborating or gathering evidence which they might have denied in the actual trial? ES: Just to elaborate on that… But the NSA and the United States is part of a large group called the Five Eyes Network, right. This is the United States, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. And these five countries, they sort of mix everything together in a common pot, and they share and share alike. They’re not allowed to ask a partner to violate their laws, but partners can share information that would have been in violation of their laws if they didn’t ask for it. Now not to say that particular strategy applied in this context, but the difference between the National Security Agency’s authorities and particularly the British equivalent of the NSA, the G.C.H.Q, is [that] the UK is allowed to use NSA systems that we built, that work in the United States and everything else against, or under the mandate of what’s called a serious crimes authority that’s completely unrelated to national intelligence prerogatives. And this includes drug trafficking. They are literally mandated for this. They use our systems for this. And the fruits of their investigations they can share freely with us. So I would say yes, of course, and it was foolish in the court case, I understand why they did it, he didn’t want to own the server at the time, he didn’t want to say “yes, this is mine” therefore the judge wouldn’t allow him to make a sort of 4th Amendment argument here that investigatory restrictions had been violated. But it seems unthinkable to me that there was not an intelligence angle internationally that was involved in that case. 35:39 Will the government eventually give up fighting internet commerce? Or will they just change tactics? ES: I’m not sure. Again, this is something that is quite beyond my expertise. But I would say there are models in history to look at to sort of draw from. Look at the prohibition on alcohol. Eventually crime groups gained influence, they gained power, and they were difficult to combat as a result. Therefore, the government reevaluated the policy and found that it would be more in line with their interests, not the public’s interests, but their interests, if they ended that prohibition. And we see similar things happening with prohibition of marijuana today. Now that’s not to say that I think there’ll be necessarily a global free-for-all, but technology is providing new means to enforce human rights and traditional concepts of human interaction through technology rather than through law, across borders, regardless of jurisdictions which allows people to communicate privately, associate privately, care about one another privately. For example, in Russia there are prohibitions on who and how you can love one another as there were in the United States quite recently. And this kind of thing is being challenged in ways that I think will be difficult to subvert. Does this mean that sort of great powers are just going to, you know, throw their hands up, give up, and walk away? I think that’s unlikely. However, the individual is more powerful today than they ever have been in the past. And this is why you see governments that feel threatened by an individual like Julian Assange, who’s trapped in an embassy. Because despite the fact that they can control the physical location of someone, the power of the reliable sort of old, bad tools of political repression, are increasingly losing their weight. 37:32 How can Snowden advocate freedom from a place like Russia? NG: And the irony is not lost where you’re sitting in an authoritarian regime talking about how people are freer and more empowered than ever. That is an irony that I hope people will cogitate on for a long time. When we talked about the presidential election, what would a candidate have to do in order for you to say “you know what, that is the type of thinking on surveillance or on individual freedom and liberty from surveillance that I can get behind?” What would they have to do? It’s important to understand that I never intended to end up in Russia. Originally, I was hoping to get to Iceland. After that, Latin America when Iceland fell through. But the State Department cancelled my passport, trapping me in Russia when I was initially on the move, as soon as they heard I was in the air. Despite the fact that I’ve asked several times, they’ve refused to reinstate it, which is quite interesting. The United States of course criticizes me for being in Russia but at the same time they won’t let me leave. Be that as it may, there’s a deeper point here, a philosophical point here about hypocrisy. Is it hypocritical to be somewhere else and not be as concerned with that locality as you are with your own? And I would argue that it’s not. I owe my first duty, my first allegiance, my first loyalty to fixing my country before I try to solve the problems of the rest of the world, right? We’ve got to get our house in order first. We don’t want Russia or China or North Korea or Iran or France or Germany or Brazil or any other country in the world to hold us up as an example for why we should be narrowing the boundaries of liberty around the world instead of expanding them. 41:00 How should we teach children about the Internet? NG: So, that’s another way of saying you definitely won’t be voting in this election I think. A final question, and this goes to what the Free State Project is about because it is a brushfire for freedom and for liberty and it’s 20,000 people and even already with less than 2,000 people who’ve moved here, they’ve changed various types of laws and culture in New Hampshire, which is already a pretty free place. You talked about being a kind of child of the internet. You know, many of us are parents, and our children should “read” the internet in its entirety, but what are the places, what are the texts that they should read? It is true [that the internet] decentralizes knowledge and you come across the serendipity of all sorts of perspectives, which is incredibly empowering and important. What are the practices that are good, that would give [children] an independent, critical ability to kind of move into a world which is both nationalistic in a good sense -you are an American and you seem to still be proud to be an American - but not statist. Where do we go on the internet? Where should we be asking our children to spend some time? ES: I think it’s less important to go to specific texts as it is to demonstrate how specific texts are written. If I were a parent trying to help my child understand the internet, the key exercise that I would do is I would go look at cases that are super partisan today right, extraordinarily charged. And I would get two radically different rewritings of the same story and I’d make them read both. And I’d do this on a number of different things to show, because this is something that a lot of older people fall prey to who aren’t so familiar with the internet and they just get their news from a single landing page or portal or whatever. And also young people who get super-filter-bubbled because they sort of opt into communities that create a sort of groupthink, where it’s are always people sort of agreeing with what they say. [That] was not available the same 20 years ago on the internet or 10 years ago on the internet really. There weren’t walls that were quite so high separating communities. The idea here is to show that the truth lies spread across the abundance of sources. The beauty of the internet is that you no longer have to rely on a single source. You no longer are vulnerable to the broadcast that is “this is the voice of truth, this is the voice of fact” but it’s important to understand that sources that you prefer can still be wrong, even if they’ve got the right principles, the right ideas, the right values. Getting the facts right matters more than anything else. NG: You’re talking about the internet really as the fulfillment of the Enlightenment project of kind of competing versions of truth in a marketplace of ideas and an understanding about the construction of knowledge and truth rather than its self-evident presentation without argument following. You can just nod. 43:43 Under what conditions would Snowden return to the United States? NG: For a final-final question, what would be the conditions under which you would voluntarily return to the United States? Are there terms that you would be happy for? And this is something, again not to harp on politics because all of us I think are living our lives beyond politics but, that’s one of the things you hear, like: Well you should come back and you know, have your day in court, etc.” What would be the conditions under which you might return? ES: Right, so this is interesting, it’s evolved quite a bit. Originally, I volunteered myself for prison, but I said that I wouldn’t be, I wouldn’t allow myself to be held up as a deterrent to other people who are trying to do the right thing. And that was fundamentally contrary to what the government wanted to do. Of course, they wanted to nail a scalp on the wall as a warning to the others. And even though I was quite flexible here, it was Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon papers, the secret classified history of the war in Vietnam in 1971, that showed the government had not only lied us into the war, but they kept lying to us to keep us in it despite the fact that they knew there was no way to win. And he told me that this was a mistake. And eventually he convinced me of this in the sense of to what do we owe our first loyalty? To law or to justice? And to submit ourselves to sort of a government that is sort of intentionally trying to deter the political beliefs and political acts of other people merely on the basis of law, as though that were a substitute for morality or superior to morality, is a very dangerous precedent to set. Now, I’m still, this is I think, most people might be surprised by this, but fairly more trusting in the value of government and institutions than Daniel Ellsberg, who since his initial work, has just been an extraordinary crusader and a true radical in the best way, for more than a generation now. But when it comes to what’s the current context, what’s the current state of play that we’ve been at? I’ve told the government that I will return if they guarantee a fair trial where I can make a public-interest defense of why this was done and allow the jury to decide if it was right or wrong in the context of both legality and morality. And the United States responded with a letter from the attorney general saying they promise they would not torture me. I’m not kidding, I have that letter. So it’s still kind of a work-in-progress but we’ll see where it goes. NG: Well, thank you so very much for your time. ES: Thank you. I look forward to seeing you in New Hampshire. Produced by Todd Krainin and Nick Gillespie. Cameras by Meredith Bragg and Krainin.

2019-04-18T18:19:47Z

http://transformingfreedom.com/hyperaudio/apple-vs-fbi-privacy-nsa-and-more

NRPM: Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information. II. Provisions of the proposed rule. We propose to establish a new subchapter C to title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Although the rules proposed below would only establish two new parts (parts 160 and 164), we anticipate the new subchapter C will eventually contain three parts, part 160, 162, and 164, with parts 161 and 163 being reserved for future expansion, if needed. Part 160 will contain general requirements and provisions applicable to all of the regulations issued under sections 262 and 264 of Public Law 104-191 (the Administrative Simplification provisions of HIPAA). We anticipate that Part 162 will contain the Administrative Simplification regulations relating to transactions, code sets and identifiers. The new part 164 will encompass the rules relating to the security standards authorized by section 1173(d), the electronic signature standard authorized by section 1173(e), and the privacy rules proposed below. The new part 164 will be composed of two subparts: subparts A and E, with B, C, and D being reserved. Subpart A will consist of general provisions and subpart E will consist of the final privacy rules. Because the new part 160 will apply to the privacy rules, as well as the other Administrative Simplification rules, it is set out below. The discussion below describes the entities and the information that would be subject to the proposed regulation. Section 1171 of the Act defines several terms and our proposed rules would, for the most part, simply restate the law or adopt definitions previously defined in the other HIPAA proposed rules. In some instances, we propose definitions from the Secretary’s Recommendations. We also propose some new definitions for convenience and efficiency of exposition, and others to clarify the application and operation of this rule. We describe the proposed definitions and discuss the rationale behind them, below. 1. Act. We would define “Act” to mean the Social Security Act, as amended. This definition would be added for convenience. 2. Covered entity. This definition would be provided for convenience of reference and would mean the entities to which part C of title XI of the Act applies. These are the entities described in section 1172(a)(1): health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers who transmit any health information in electronic form in connection with a transaction referred to in section 1173(a)(1) of the Act (a “standard transaction”). In the preamble we occasionally refer to health plans and the health care providers described above as "covered plans," "covered providers," or "covered plans and providers." We note that health care providers who do not submit HIPAA transactions in standard form become covered by this rule when other entities, such as a billing service or a hospital, transmit standard electronic transactions on their behalf. The provider could not circumvent these requirements by assigning the task to its agent, since the agent would be deemed to be acting as the provider. 3. Health care. We would define the term “health care” as it is defined in the Secretary’s Recommendations. Health care means the provision of care, services, or supplies to a patient and includes any: (1) preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care, counseling, service, or procedure with respect to the physical or mental condition, or functional status, of a patient or affecting the structure or function of the body; (2) sale or dispensing of a drug, device, equipment, or other item pursuant to a prescription; or (3) procurement or banking of blood, sperm, organs, or any other tissue for administration to patients. 4. Health care clearinghouse. We would define “health care clearinghouse” as defined by section 1171(2) of the Act. The Act defines a “health care clearinghouse” as a “public or private entity that processes or facilitates the processing of nonstandard data elements of health information into standard data elements.” In practice, clearinghouses receive transactions from health care providers, health plans, other health care clearinghouses, or business partners of such entities, and other entities, translate the data from a given format into one acceptable to the entity receiving the transaction, and forward the processed transaction to that entity. There are currently a number of private clearinghouses that contract or perform this function for health care providers. For purposes of this rule, we would consider billing services, repricing companies, community health management information systems or community health information systems, “value-added” networks, switches and similar organizations to be health care clearinghouses for purposes of this part only if they actually perform the same functions as a health care clearinghouse. We would note that we are proposing to exempt clearinghouses from a number of the provisions of this rule that would apply to other covered entities (see §§ 164.512, 164.514 and 164.516 below), because in most cases we do not believe that clearinghouses would be dealing directly with individuals. In many instances, clearinghouses would be considered business partners under this rule and would be bound by their contracts with covered plans and providers. See proposed § 164.506(e). We would adopt this position with the caveat that the exemptions would be void for any clearinghouse that had direct contact with individuals in a capacity other than that of a business partner. 5. Health care provider. Section 1171(3) of the Act defines “health care provider” as a “provider of medical services as defined in section 1861(u) of the Act, a provider of medical or other health services as defined in section 1861(s) of the Act, and any other person who furnishes health care services or supplies.” We are proposing to define “health care provider” as the Act does, and clarify that a health care provider is limited to any person or organization that furnishes, bills, or is paid for, health care services or supplies in the normal course of business. This definition would include a researcher who provides health care to the subjects of research, free clinics, and a health clinic or licensed health care professional located at a school or business. Section 1861(u) of the Act contains the Medicare definition of a provider, which encompasses institutional providers, such as hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities. Section 1861(s) of the Act defines other Medicare facilities and practitioners, including assorted clinics and centers, physicians, clinical laboratories, various licensed/certified health care practitioners, and suppliers of durable medical equipment. The last portion of the proposed definition encompasses appropriately licensed or certified health care practitioners or organizations, including pharmacies and nursing homes and many types of therapists, technicians, and aides. It also would include any other individual or organization that furnishes health care services or supplies in the normal course of business. An individual or organization that bills and/or is paid for health care services or supplies in the normal course of business, such as a group practice or an “on-line” pharmacy accessible on the Internet, is also a health care provider for purposes of this statute. For a more detailed discussion of the definition of health care provider, we refer the reader to our proposed rule (Standard Health Care Provider Identifier) published on May 7, 1998, in the Federal Register (63 Fed Reg 25320). 6. Health information. We would define “health information” as it is defined in section 1171(4) of the Act. “Health information” would mean any information, whether oral or recorded in any form or medium, that is created or received by a health care provider, health plan, public health authority, employer, life insurer, school or university, or health care clearinghouse; and that relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual, the provision of health care to an individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual. In this paragraph we attempt to clarify the relationship between the defined terms “health information,” “individually identifiable health information” and “protected health information.” The term “health information” encompasses the universe of information governed by the administrative simplification requirements of the Act. For example, under section 1173 of the Act, the Secretary is to adopt standards to enable the electronic exchange of all health information. However, protection of personal privacy is primarily a concern for the subset of health information that is “individually identifiable health information,” as defined by the Act (see below). For example, a tabulation of the number of students with asthma by school district would be health information, but since it normally could not be used to identify any individuals, it would not usually create privacy concerns. The definition of individually identifiable health information omits some of the persons or organizations that are described as creating or receiving “health information.” Some sections of the Act refer specifically to individually identifiable health information, such as section 1177 in setting criminal penalties for wrongful use or disclosure, and section 264 in requesting recommendations for privacy standards. Finally, we propose the phrase “protected health information” (§ 164.504) to refer to the subset of individually identifiable health information that is used or disclosed by the entities that are subject to this rule. 7. Health plan. We would define “health plan” essentially as section 1171(5) of the Act defines it. Section 1171 of the Act refers to several definitions in section 2791 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 300gg-91, as added by Public Law 104-191. For clarity, we would incorporate the referenced definitions as currently stated into our proposed definitions. As defined in section 1171(5), a “health plan” is an individual plan or group health plan that provides, or pays the cost of, medical care (see section 2791(a) of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act)). This definition would include, but is not limited to, the 15 types of plans listed in the statute, as well as any combination of them. The term would include, when applied to public benefit programs, the component of the government agency that administers the program. Church plans and government plans are included to the extent that they fall into one or more of the listed categories. a. “Group health plan” (as currently defined by Section 2791(a) of the PHS Act). A group health plan is a plan that has 50 or more participants (as the term “participant” is currently defined by section 3(7) of ERISA) or is administered by an entity other than the employer that established and maintains the plan. This definition includes both insured and self-insured plans. Section 2791(a)(1) of the PHS Act defines “group health plan” as an employee welfare benefit plan (as defined in current section 3(1) of ERISA) to the extent that the plan provides medical care, including items and services paid for as medical care, to employees or their dependents directly or through insurance, or otherwise. b. “Health insurance issuer” (as currently defined by section 2791(b) of the PHS Act). Section 2971(b) of the PHS Act defines a “health insurance issuer” as an insurance company, insurance service, or insurance organization that is licensed to engage in the business of insurance in a State and is subject to State law that regulates insurance. c. “Health maintenance organization” (as currently defined by section 2791(b) of the PHS Act). Section 2791(b) of the PHS Act currently defines a “health maintenance organization” as a federally qualified health maintenance organization, an organization recognized as such under State law, or a similar organization regulated for solvency under State law in the same manner and to the same extent as such a health maintenance organization. These organizations may include preferred provider organizations, provider sponsored organizations, independent practice associations, competitive medical plans, exclusive provider organizations, and foundations for medical care. d. Part A or Part B of the Medicare program (title XVIII of the Act). e. The Medicaid program (title XIX of the Act). f. A “Medicare supplemental policy” as defined under section 1882(g)(1) of the Act. Section 1882(g)(1) of the Act defines a “Medicare supplemental policy” as a health insurance policy that a private entity offers a Medicare beneficiary to provide payment for expenses incurred for services and items that are not reimbursed by Medicare because of deductible, coinsurance, or other limitations under Medicare. The statutory definition of a Medicare supplemental policy excludes a number of plans that are similar to Medicare supplemental plans, such as health plans for employees and former employers and for members and former members of trade associations and unions. A number of these health plans may be included under the definitions of “group health plan” or “health insurance issuer,” as defined in paragraphs “a” and “b” above. g. A “long-term care policy,” including a nursing-home fixed indemnity policy. A “long- term care policy” is considered to be a health plan regardless of how comprehensive it is. h. An employee welfare benefit plan or any other arrangement that is established or maintained for the purpose of offering or providing health benefits to the employees of two or more employers. This includes plans that are referred to as multiple employer welfare arrangements (“MEWAs”). i. The health care program for active military personnel under title 10 of the United States Code. See paragraph “k”, below, for further discussion. j. The veterans health care program under chapter 17 of title 38 of the United States Code. This health plan primarily furnishes medical care through hospitals and clinics administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. k. The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) as defined in 10 U.S.C. 1072(4). We note that the Act’s definition of “health plan” omits several types of health care provided by the Department of Defense (DOD). Sections 1171(5)(I) and 1171(5)(K) cover only the health care program for active duty personnel (see 10 U.S.C. 1074(a)) and the CHAMPUS program (see 10 U.S.C. 1079, 1086). What is omitted is health care provided in military treatment facilities to military retirees (see 10 U.S.C. 1074(b)), to dependents of active duty personnel and to dependents of retirees (see 10 U.S.C. 1076), to Secretarial designees such as members of Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, and to foreign military personnel under NATO status of forces agreements. Health care provided by the DOD in military facilities to the aforementioned persons is not included as a “health plan” under HIPAA. However, these facilities would still be considered to be health care providers. l. The Indian Health Service program under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1601, et. seq.). This program furnishes services, generally through its own health care providers, primarily to persons who are eligible to receive services because they are of American Indian or Alaskan Native descent. m. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program under 5 U.S.C. chapter 89. This program consists of health insurance plans offered to active and retired federal employees and their dependents. Although section 1171(5)(M) of the Act refers to the “Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan,” this and any other rules adopting administrative simplification standards will use the correct name, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. One health plan does not cover all federal employees; over 350 health plans provide health benefits coverage to federal employees, retirees, and their eligible family members. Therefore, we will use the correct name, The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, to make clear that the administrative simplification standards apply to all health plans that participate in the Program. n. An approved State child health plan for child health assistance that meets the requirements of section 2103 of the Act, which established the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). o. A Medicare Plus Choice organization as defined in 42 CFR 422.2, with a contract under 42 CFR part 422, subpart K. p. Any other individual plan or group health plan, or combination thereof, that provides or pays for the cost of medical care. This category implements the language at the beginning of the statutory definition of the term "health plan": "The term 'health plan' means an individual or group plan that provides, or pays the cost of, medical care . . . Such term includes the following, and any combination thereof . . ." This statutory language is general, not specific. Moreover, the statement that the term "health plan" "includes" the specified plans implies that the term also covers other plans that meet the stated criteria. One approach to interpreting this introductory language in the statute would be to make coverage decisions about plans that may meet these criteria on a case-by-case basis. Instead we propose to clarify its coverage by adding this category to the proposed definition of "health plan"; we seek public comment on its application. The Secretary would determine which plans that meet the criteria in the preceding paragraph are health plans for purposes of title II of HIPAA. Consistent with the other parts of HIPAA, the provisions of this rule generally would not apply to certain types of insurance entities, such as workers’ compensation and automobile insurance carriers, other property and casualty insurers, and certain forms of limited benefits coverage, even when such arrangements provide coverage for health care services. 29 U.S.C. 1186(c). We note that health care providers would be subject to the provisions of this rule with respect to the health care they provide to individuals, even if such providers seek or receive reimbursement from an insurance entity that is not a covered entity under these rules. However, nothing in this rule would be intended to prevent a health care provider from disclosing protected health information to a non-covered insurance entity for the purpose of obtaining payment for services. Further, under proposed § 164.510(n), this rule would permit disclosures by health care providers of protected health information to such insurance entities and to other persons when mandated by applicable law for the purposes of determining eligibility for coverage or benefits under such insurance arrangements. For example, a State workers’ compensation law that requires disclosure of protected health information to an insurer or employer for the purposes of determining an individual’s eligibility for medical or other benefits, or for the purpose of determining fitness for duty, would not be disturbed by this rule. 8. Secretary. This term means the Secretary of Health and Human Services and any other officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services to whom the authority involved has been delegated. It is provided for ease of reference. 9. Small health plan. The HIPAA does not define a “small health plan,” but instead explicitly leaves the definition to be determined by the Secretary. We propose to adopt the size classification used by the Small Business Administration. We would therefore define a “small health plan” as a health plan with annual receipts of $5 million or less. 31 CFR 121.201. This differs from the definition of “small health plan” in prior proposed Administrative Simplification rules. We will conform the definitions in the final Administrative Simplification rules. 10. Standard. The term “standard” would mean a prescribed set of rules, conditions, or requirements concerning classification of components, specification of materials, performance or operations, or delineation of procedures in describing products, systems, services, or practices. This definition is a general one, to accommodate the varying functions of the specific standards proposed in the other HIPAA regulations, as well as the rules proposed below. 11. State. This term would include the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. This definition follows the statutory definition of “State” in section 1101(a) of the Act. 12. Transaction. We would define “transaction,” as we have done in other Administrative Simplification regulations, to mean the exchange of information between two parties to carry out financial or administrative activities related to health care. A transaction would be (1) any of the transactions listed in section 1173(a)(2) of the Act, and (2) any transaction determined appropriate by the Secretary in accordance with Section 1173(a)(1) of the Act. a. Health claims or equivalent encounter information. This transaction could be used to submit health care claim billing information, encounter information, or both, from health care providers to payers, either directly or via intermediary billers and claims clearinghouses. b. Health care payment and remittance advice. This transaction could be used by a health plan to make a payment to a financial institution for a health care provider (sending payment only), to send an explanation of benefits remittance advice directly to a health care provider (sending data only), or to make payment and send an explanation of benefits remittance advice to a health car provider via a financial institution (sending both payment and data). c. Coordination of benefits. This transaction could be used to transmit health care claims and billing payment information between payers with different payment responsibilities where coordination of benefits is required or between payers and regulatory agencies to monitor the furnishing, billing, and/or payment of health care services within a specific health care/insurance industry segment. d. Health claims status. This transaction could be used by health care providers and recipients of health care products or services (or their authorized agents) to request the status of a health care claim or encounter from a health plan. e. Enrollment and disenrollment in a health plan. This transaction could be used to establish communication between the sponsor of a health benefit and the payer. It provides enrollment data, such as subscriber and dependents, employer information, and primary care health care provider information. A sponsor would be the backer of the coverage, benefit, or product. A sponsor could be an employer, union, government agency, association, or insurance company. The health plan would refer to an entity that pays claims, administers the insurance product or benefit, or both. f. Eligibility for a health plan. This transaction could be used to inquire about the eligibility, coverage, or benefits associated with a benefit plan, employer, plan sponsor, subscriber, or a dependent under the subscriber’s policy. It also could be used to communicate information about or changes to eligibility, coverage, or benefits from information sources (such as insurers, sponsors, and payers) to information receivers (such as physicians, hospitals, third party administrators, and government agencies). g. Health plan premium payments. This transaction could be used by, for example, employers, employees, unions, and associations to make and keep track of payments of health plan premiums to their health insurers. This transaction could also be used by a health care provider, acting as liaison for the beneficiary, to make payment to a health insurer for coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles. h. Referral certification and authorization. This transaction could be used to transmit health care service referral information between health care providers, health care providers furnishing services, and payers. It could also be used to obtain authorization for certain health care services from a health plan. i. First report of injury. This transaction could be used to report information pertaining to an injury, illness, or incident to entities interested in the information for statistical, legal, claims, and risk management processing requirements. j. Health claims attachments. This transaction could be used to transmit health care service information, such as subscriber, patient, demographic, diagnosis, or treatment data for the purpose of a request for review, certification, notification, or reporting the outcome of a health care services review. k. Other transactions as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation. Under section 1173(a)(1)(B) of the Act, the Secretary may adopt standards, and data elements for those standards, for other financial and administrative transactions deemed appropriate by the Secretary. These transactions would be consistent with the goals of improving the operation of the health care system and reducing administrative costs. 13. Business partner. This term would mean a person to whom a covered entity discloses protected health information so that the person can carry out, assist with the performance of, or perform on behalf of, a function or activity for the covered entity. Such term includes any agent, contractor or other person who receives protected health information from the covered entity (or from another business partner of the covered entity) for the purposes described in the previous sentence. It would not include a person who is an employee, a volunteer or other person associated with the covered entity on a paid or unpaid basis. 14. Designated record set. This term would be defined as a group of records under the control of a covered entity from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, and which is used by the covered entity to make decisions about the individual. The concept of a “designated record set” is derived from the Privacy Act’s concept of a “system of records.” Under the Privacy Act, federal agencies must provide an individual with access to "information pertaining to him which is contained in [a system of records]." 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(1). A “system of records” is defined as "a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual." 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(5). Under this rule, we would substitute the term “covered entity” for “agency” and limit the information to that used by the covered entity to make decisions about the individual. We would define a “record” as "any item, collection, or grouping of protected health information maintained, collected, used, or disseminated by a covered entity." Under the Privacy Act, "the term 'record' means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph." 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(4). For purposes of this rule we propose to limit the information to protected health information, as defined in this rule. “Protected health information” already incorporates the concept of identifiability, and therefore our definition of “record” is much simpler. For health plans, designated record sets would include, at a minimum, the claims adjudication, enrollment, and patient accounting systems. For health care providers, designated record sets would include, at a minimum, the medical records and billing records. Designated record set would also include a correspondence system, a complaint system, or an event tracking system if decisions about individuals are made based, in whole or in part, on information in those systems. Files used to backup a primary data system or the sequential files created to transmit a batch of claims to a clearinghouse are clear examples of data files which would not fall under this definition. We note that a designated record set would only exist for types of records that a covered entity actually “retrieves” by an identifier, and not records that are only “retrievable” by an identifier. In many cases, technology will permit sorting and retrieving by a variety of fields and therefore the “retrievable” standard would be relatively meaningless. 15. Disclosure. This term would be defined as the release, transfer, provision of access to, or divulging in any other manner of information outside the entity holding the information. 16. Health care operations. We propose the term “health care operations” to clarify the activities we consider to be “compatible with and directly related to” treatment and payment and therefore would not require authorization from the individual for use or disclosure of protected health information. Compiling and analyzing information in anticipation of, or for use in, civil or criminal legal proceedings. Our definition proposes to limit health care operations to functions and activities performed by a health plan or provider or by a business partner on behalf of a health plan or a provider. Our definition anticipates that in order for treatment and payment to occur, protected health information would be used within entities, would be shared with business partners, and in some cases would be shared between covered entities (or their business partners). However, a health care operation should not result in protected health information being disclosed to an entity that is not the covered entity (or a business partner of such entity) on whose behalf the operation is being performed. For example, a health plan may request a health care provider to provide protected health information to the health plan, or to a business partner of the health plan, as part of an outcomes evaluation effort relating to providers affiliated with that plan. This would be a health care operation. We are aware that the health care industry is changing and that these categories, though broad, may need to be modified to reflect different conditions in the future. 17. Health oversight agency. We would define the term “health oversight agency” as it is defined in the Secretary’s Recommendations. See section II.E. below for further discussion. 18. Individual. We would define “individual” to mean the person who is the subject of protected health information. We would define the term to include, with respect to the signing of authorizations and other rights (such as access, copying, and correction), various types of legal representatives. The term would include court-appointed guardians or persons with a power of attorney, including persons making health care decisions for incapacitated persons, persons acting on behalf of a decedent’s estate, where State or other applicable law authorizes such legal representatives to exercise the person’s rights in such contexts, and parents subject to certain restrictions explained below. We would define this term to exclude foreign military and foreign diplomatic personnel and their dependents who receive health care provided or paid for by the DOD or other federal agency or entity acting on its behalf, and overseas foreign national beneficiaries of health care provided by the DOD or other federal agency, or non-governmental organization acting on its behalf. The purpose of our proposal is to define and limit the circumstances in which an individual’s protected heath information could be used or disclosed by covered entities. As discussed above, we are proposing to make the use and exchange of protected health information relatively easy for health care purposes and more difficult for purposes other than health care. As a general rule, we are proposing that protected health information not be used or disclosed by covered entities except as authorized by the individual who is the subject of such information or as explicitly provided this rule. Under this proposal, most uses and disclosures of an individual’s protected health information would not require explicit authorization by the individual, but would be restricted by the provisions of the rule. Covered entities would be able to use or disclose an individual’s protected health information without authorization for treatment, payment and health care operations. See proposed § 164.506(a)(1)(i). Covered entities also would be permitted to use or disclose an individual’s protected health information for specified public and public policy-related purposes, including public health, research, health oversight, law enforcement, and use by coroners. Covered entities would be permitted by this rule to use and disclose protected health information when required to do so by other law, such as a mandatory reporting requirement under State law or pursuant to a search warrant. See proposed § 164.510. Covered entities would be required by this rule to disclose protected health information for only two purposes: to permit individuals to inspect and copy protected health information about them (see proposed § 164.514) and for enforcement of this rule (see proposed § 164.522(e)). The proposed rule generally would not require covered entities to vary the level of protection of protected health information based on the sensitivity of such information. We believe that all protected health information should have effective protection from inappropriate use and disclosure by covered entities, and except for limited classes of information that are not needed for treatment and payment purposes, we have not provided additional protection to protected health information that might be considered particularly sensitive. We would note that the proposed rule would not preempt provisions of other applicable laws that provide additional privacy protection to certain classes of protected health information. We understand, however, that there are medical conditions and treatments that individuals may believe are particularly sensitive, or which could be the basis of stigma or discrimination. We invite comment on whether this rule should provide for additional protection for such information. We would appreciate comment that discusses how such information should be identified and the types of steps that covered entities could take to provide such additional protection. We also invite comment on how such provisions could be enforced. Covered entities of all types and sizes would be required to comply with the proposed privacy standards outlined below. The proposed standards would not impose particular mechanisms or procedures that covered entities must adopt to implement the standards. Instead, we would require that each affected entity assess its own needs and devise, implement, and maintain appropriate privacy policies, procedures, and documentation to address its business requirements. How each privacy standard would be satisfied would be business decisions that each entity would have to make. This allows the privacy standards to establish a stable baseline, yet remain flexible enough to take advantage of developments and methods for protecting privacy that will evolve over time. Because the privacy standards would need to be implemented by all covered entities, from the smallest provider to the largest, multi-state health plan, a single approach to implementing these standards would be neither economically feasible nor effective in safeguarding health information privacy. For example, in a small physician practice, the office manager might be designated to serve as the privacy official as one of many duties (see proposed § 164.518(a)) whereas at a large health plan, the privacy official may constitute a full time position and have the regular support and advice of a privacy staff or board. Similarly, a large enterprise may make frequent electronic disclosures of similar data. In such a case, the enterprise would be expected to remove identifiers or to limit the data fields that are disclosed to fit the purpose of the disclosure. The process would be documented and perhaps even automated. A solo physician’s office, however, would not be expected to have the same capabilities to limit the amount of information disclosed, although, in the cases of disclosures involving a small number of records, such an office could be expected to hide identifiers or to limit disclosures to certain pages of the medical record that are relevant to the purpose of the disclosure. In taking this approach, we intend to strike a balance between the need to maintain the confidentiality of protected health information and the economic cost of doing so. Health care entities must consider both aspects in devising their solutions. This approach is similar to the approach we proposed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the administrative simplification security and electronic signature standards. This section addresses the requirements that we are proposing when protected health information is disclosed pursuant to the individual's explicit authorization. The regulation would require that covered entities have authorization from individuals before using or disclosing their protected health information for any purpose not otherwise recognized by this regulation. Circumstances where an individual’s protected health information may be used or disclosed without authorization are discussed in connection with proposed §§164.510 and 164.522 below. where a covered entity asks an individual to authorize it to disclose or use information for purposes other than treatment, payment or health care operations. In addition, this section proposes conditions where a covered entity or the individual initiates an authorization for use or disclosure of psychotherapy notes or research information unrelated to treatment. See discussion above in section II.C.1.c. Individually identifiable health information is used for a vast array of purposes not directly related to providing or paying for an individual’s health care. Examples of such uses include targeted marketing of new products and assessing the eligibility of an individual for certain public benefits or for commercial products based on their health status. Under these rules, these types of uses and disclosures could only be made by a covered entity with the specific authorization of the subject of the information. The requirements proposed in this section are not intended to interfere with normal uses and disclosures of information in the health care delivery or payment process, but only to permit control of uses extraneous to health care. The restrictions on disclosure that the regulation would apply to covered entities may mean that some existing uses and disclosures of information could take place only if the individual explicitly authorized them under this section. Authorization would be required for these uses and disclosures because individuals probably do not envision that the information they provide when getting health care would be disclosed for such unrelated purposes. Further, once a patient’s protected health information is disclosed outside of the treatment and payment arena, it could be very difficult for the individual to determine what additional entities have seen, used and further disclosed the information. Requiring an authorization from the patient for such uses and disclosures would enhance individuals’ control over their protected health information. We considered requiring a uniform set of requirements for all authorizations, but concluded that it would be appropriate to treat authorizations initiated by the individual differently from authorizations sought by covered entities. There are fundamental differences in the uses of information and in the relationships and understandings among the parties in these two situations. When individuals initiate authorizations, they are more likely to understand the purpose of the release and to benefit themselves from the use or disclosure. When a covered entity asks the individual to authorize disclosure, we believe the entity should make clear what the information will be used for, what the individual's rights are, and how the covered entity would benefit from the requested disclosure. Individuals seek disclosure of their health information to others in many circumstances, such as when applying for life or disability insurance, when government agencies conduct suitability investigations, and in seeking certain job assignments where health is relevant. Another common instance is tort litigation, where an individual's attorney needs individually identifiable health information to evaluate an injury claim and asks the individual to authorize disclosure of records relating to the injury to the attorney. There could also be circumstances where the covered entity asks an individual to authorize use or disclosure of information, for example to disclose it to a subsidiary to market life insurance to the individual. Similarly, the covered entity might ask that the individual authorize it to send information to a person outside that covered entity – possibly another covered entity or class of covered entity – for purposes outside of treatment, payment, or health care operations. See proposed § 164.508(a)(2)(ii). This section describes uses and disclosures of protected health information that covered entities could make for purposes other than treatment, payment, and health care operations without individual authorization, and the conditions under which such uses and disclosures could be made. We propose to allow covered entities to use or disclose protected health information without individual authorization for such purposes if the use or disclosure would comply with the applicable requirements of this section. These categories of allowable uses and disclosures are designed to permit and promote key national health care priorities, and to ensure that the health care system operates smoothly. For each of these categories, this rule would permit – but not require – the covered entity to use or disclose protected health information without the individual’s authorization. Some covered entities could conclude that the records they hold, or portions of them, should not be used or disclosed for one or more of these permitted purposes without individuals’ authorization (absent a law mandating such disclosure), even under the conditions imposed here. The proposed regulation is intended to reflect the importance of safeguarding individuals’ confidentiality, while also enabling important national priority activities that require protected health information. We considered permitting uses and disclosures only where law affirmatively requires the covered entity to use or disclose protected health information. However, because the activities described below are so important to the population as a whole, we decided to permit a covered entity to use or disclose information to promote those activities even when such activities are not legally mandated. In some cases, however, we would permit a use or disclosure only when such use or disclosure is authorized by other law. The requirements for verification of legal authority are discussed in each relevant section. Where another law forbids the use or disclosure of protected health information without the individual’s authorization, nothing in this section would permit such use or disclosure. Other law may require use or disclosure of protected health information. If such a use or disclosure is not otherwise addressed in proposed § 164.510(b) through (m), we would in proposed § 164.510(n) permit covered entities to use or disclose protected health information without individual authorization pursuant to any law that mandates such use or disclosure. To be in compliance with this rule, the covered entity must meet the requirements of such other law requiring the use or disclosure. Similarly, nothing in this rule would provide authority for a covered entity to restrict or refuse to make a use or disclosure mandated by other law. The HIPAA legislative authority generally does not bring the entities that receive disclosures pursuant to this section, including public health authorities, oversight and law enforcement agencies, researchers, and attorneys, under the jurisdiction of this proposed rule. We therefore generally cannot propose restrictions on the further use and disclosure of protected health information obtained by the recipients of these disclosures (unless the recipient is also a covered entity). We believe, however, that in most instances it is sound policy to restrict further uses and disclosures of such protected health information. For example, the Secretary’s Recommendations proposed that protected health information obtained by researchers not be further disclosed except for emergency circumstances, for a research project that meets certain conditions, and for oversight of research. We believe that federal legislation should include appropriate restrictions on further use and disclosure of protected health information received by entities for purposes such as those described in this section. We note that, under S.578 (introduced by Senator Jeffords), protected health information disclosed for oversight could not be used against the subject of the protected health information unless the action arises out of and is directly related to a health care fraud or a fraudulent claim for benefits, unless such use is judicially authorized.. We believe such safeguards strike the right balance between encouraging national priority oversight activities and protecting individuals’ privacy. The provisions of this section contain requirements related to use and requirements related to disclosure, as appropriate to each of the purposes discussed. For many of these purposes, only requirements relating to disclosure are proposed because there are no appropriate internal uses for such a purpose. Examples include disclosures for next-of-kin and disclosures for banking and financial purposes. For many of these permitted disclosures, we would require the covered entity to verify the identity of the requestor and his or her legal authority to make the request. Requirements for verifying the identity and authority of requests for information are further discussed in II.G, “Administrative Requirements.” As discussed in more detail in section II.G.3. of this preamble, the verification requirement would apply where the identity of the person making the request is not already known to the covered entity (e.g., where the disclosure is not part of a routine business transaction). We would ask health plans and health care providers to take reasonable steps to verify the identity of persons requesting protected health information, such as asking to see a badge or other proof of the identity of government officials, and would allow covered entities to rely on the statement of government officials and others regarding the legal authority for the activity. We would not require covered entities to make an independent inquiry into the legal authority behind requests for protected health information. The provisions below would permit covered entities to use or disclose protected health information without individual authorization, pursuant to certain requirements. Although health care clearinghouses would be defined as covered entities under this rule, in most instances clearinghouses will be receiving and maintaining protected health information as the business partner of a covered health plan or provider. In such cases, proposed § 164.510(a)(2) provides that the clearinghouses that hold protected health information as business partners would not be permitted to make uses or disclosures otherwise permitted by this section unless such uses or disclosures also were permitted under the terms of the contract between the clearinghouse and the business partner. The following proposed sections are intended to facilitate individual understanding of and involvement in the handling of their protected health information. Four basic individual rights would be created under this section: the right to a notice of information practices; the right to obtain access to protected health information about them; the right to obtain access to an accounting of how their protected health information has been disclosed; and the right to request amendment and correction of protected health information. The rights described below would apply with respect to protected health information held by health care providers and health plans. We are proposing that clearinghouses not be subject to all of these requirements. We believe that as business partners of covered plans and providers, clearinghouses would not usually initiate or maintain direct relationships with individuals. The contractual relationship between a clearinghouse (as a business partner) and a covered plan or provider would bind the clearinghouse to the notice of information practices developed by the plan or provider and it will include specific provisions regarding inspection, copying, amendment and correction. Therefore, we do not believe the clearinghouses should be required to provide a notice or provide access for inspection, copying, amendment or correction. We would require clearinghouses to provide an accounting of any disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment and health care operations to individuals upon request. See proposed § 164.515. It is our understanding that the vast majority of the clearinghouse function falls within the scope of treatment, payment, and health care operations and therefore we do not believe providing this important right to individuals will impose a significant burden on the industry. We invite comment on whether or not we should require clearinghouses to comply with all of the provisions of the individual rights section. In § 164.518, we are proposing general administrative requirements for covered entities. We would require all covered entities to designate a privacy official, train members of their workforce regarding privacy requirements, safeguard protected health information, and establish sanctions for members of the workforce who do not abide by the entity’s privacy policies and procedures. In addition, we are proposing that covered plans and providers be required to establish a means for individuals to complain to the covered plan or provider if they believe that their privacy rights have been violated. In the discussions of each proposed provision, we provide examples of how different kinds of covered entities could satisfy these requirements. In proposed § 164.520, we would require covered entities to develop and document their policies and procedures for implementing the requirements of this rule. This requirement is intended as a tool to facilitate covered entities’ efforts to develop appropriate policies to implement this rule, to ensure that the members of its workforce and business partners understand and carry out expected privacy practices, and to assist covered entities in developing a notice of information practices. The scale of the policies developed should be consistent with the size of the covered entity. For example, a smaller employer could develop policies restricting access to health plan information to one designated employee, empowering that employee to deny release of the information to corporate executives and managers unless required for health plan administration. Larger employers could have policies that include using contractors for any function that requires access to protected health information or requiring all reports they receive for plan administration to be de-identified unless individual authorization is obtained. this practice does not use or disclose any protected health information that is not authorized or permitted under the federal privacy regulation and therefore does not request any authorized disclosures from patients. Staff R.N. reviews all individually authorized requests for disclosures to ensure they contain all required elements and reviews the copied information to ensure only authorized information is released in response. Information requests that would require extensive redaction will be denied. Larger entities with many functions and business relationships and who are subject to multi-state reporting and record-keeping requirements would need to develop and document more extensive policies. A health plan would need to describe all activities that would be considered health care operations and identify the use and disclosure requirements of each activity. A health plan may determine that underwriting department employees must provide a written request, approved by a team leader, to access any identifiable claims information; that such requests must be retained and reviewed every quarter for appropriateness; and the underwriting department must destroy such information after use for an approved activity. We urge professional associations to develop model policies, procedures and documentation for their members of all sizes. We are proposing general guidelines for covered entities to develop and document their own policies and procedures. We considered a more uniform, prescriptive approach but concluded that a single approach would be neither effective in safeguarding protected health information nor appropriate given the vast differences among covered entities in size, business practices and level of sophistication. It is important that each covered entity’s internal policies and procedures for implementing the requirements of this regulation are tailored to the nature and number of its business arrangements, the size of its patient population, its physical plant and computer system, the size and characteristics of its workforce, whether it has one or many locations, and similar factors. The internal policies and procedures appropriate for a clearinghouse would not be appropriate for a physician practice; the internal policies and procedures appropriate for a large, multi-state health plan would not be appropriate for a smaller, local health plan. After evaluating the requirements of federal, State, or other applicable laws, covered entities should develop policies and procedures that are appropriate for their size, type, structure, and business arrangements. Once a covered plan or provider has developed and documented all of the policies and procedures as required in this section, it would have compiled all of the information needed to develop the notice of information practices required in § 164.512. The notice is intended to include a clear and concise summary of many of the policies and procedures discussed in this section. Further, if an individual has any questions about the entity’s privacy policies that are not addressed by the notice, a representative of the entity can easily refer to the documented policies and procedures for additional information. Before making a material change in a policy or procedure, the covered entity would, in most instances, be required to make the appropriate changes to the documentation required by this section before implementing the change. In addition, covered plans and providers would be required to revise their the notice of information practices in advance. Where the covered entity determines that a compelling reason exists to take an action that is inconsistent with its documentation or notice before making the necessary changes, it may take such action if it documents the reasons supporting the action and makes the necessary changes within 30 days of taking such action. In an attempt to ensure that large entities develop coordinated and comprehensive policies and procedures as required by this section, we considered proposing that entities with annual receipts greater than $5 million 1 be required to have a privacy board review and approve the documentation of policies and procedures. As originally conceived, the privacy board would only serve to review research protocols as described in § 164.510(j). We believe that such a board could also serve as “privacy experts” for the covered entity and could review the entity’s documented policies and procedures. In this capacity, the overriding objective of the board would be to foster development of up-to-date, individualized policies that enable the organization to protect health information without unnecessarily interfering with the treatment and payment functions or business needs. This type of review is particularly important for large entities who would have to coordinate policies and procedures among a large staff, but smaller organizations would be encouraged, but not required, to take a similar approach (i.e., have a widely representative group participate in the development and/or review of the organization’s internal privacy policies and the documentation thereof). We solicit comment on this proposal. We also considered requiring the covered entity to make its documentation available to persons outside the entity upon request. We rejected this approach because covered entities should not be required to share their operating procedures with the public, or with their competitors. We recognize that the documentation requirement in this proposed rule would impose some paperwork burden on covered plans and providers. However, we believe that it is necessary to ensure that covered plans and providers establish privacy policies procedures in advance of any requests for disclosure, authorization, or subject access. It is also necessary to ensure that covered entities and members of their workforce have a clear understanding of the permissible uses and disclosures of protected health information and their duty to protect the privacy of such information under specific circumstances.

2019-04-23T20:20:51Z

https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/nrpm-standards-privacy-individually-identifiable-health-information/ii-provisions-proposed-rule

11 kids filled my home last night- 3 seniors, 3 juniors, and 5 sophomores. It is one of the most gratifying events of the year. Our current scholarship students make dinner for the new scholarship students. They share the concerns they had about coming to HOPAC, how their transition has been, and advice for the new students. Everything they say I have heard before, but there are different students saying it each year. It reminds me of what my seniors were like when they came to HOPAC almost two years ago and who they are today. One senior said, “Miss, you said this when I started and I still remember and hold on to this. You said, ‘If you leave HOPAC and you are only a good academically, we have failed you. We care about you holistically. Your life should be impacted not just academically, but in every other way as well.” I get to see students come into HOPAC and blossom into who God designed them to be. Sometimes they apologize for being too loud or too quiet; I laugh. No need to apologize. I want you to be comfortable in YOUR skin, not who others think you should be. I am not the one making the transformation in these kids’ lives. I just get to witness it and sometimes God uses me. But I am part of a team of teachers, parents, and prayer warriors around the world that care deeply for each of our HOPAC kids. And at least our older kids, ones that have studied in other schools, they see the difference. They FEEL the difference. They experience the difference and love sharing with everyone what an amazing life-changing opportunity they have had to study at HOPAC. In order to have victory, though, there needs to be a battle to be won. Sometimes that battle is self-esteem, learning hurdles, family pressure, financial, or just life as a teenager. Most often, if not all the time, the battle is spiritual. I have felt it and recognized it more often this year than any other year. Many days, I wanted to crumble and run away from the battle. But then I remember there wouldn’t be a battle if lives weren’t being changed! So when my bank account is at zero, my tire is flat for the sixth time in 8 months, both of my ACs quit working, and I have been sick for 10 days with the Dengue Fever (I have been told you feel worse than Malaria) and I am weary and want to quit, I remember that I am in a battle fighting for precious lives. I was watching a video of a few Christian apologists answering people’s questions and one of the men said, that people from other religions are most often converted to Christianity in two ways. 1) dreams or 2) seeing the love of God through another person. It is the first that we pray for and the second that we live out and students see in school. When after they graduate, the alum say, “There was something different at HOPAC than I am experiencing anywhere else.” Then I get to question them until they make the connection that it was the teachers that genuinely love them like God loves them. We don’t always see the fruit, but sometimes we do! I just saw a post that one of my alum from three or four years ago was baptized. And one of my youth group kids asked if I would stay in Dar until he returned the end of June to be here for his baptism. Both students that had grown up in a mixed religion family taking a firm stand in the faith that God has called them to. My permit is currently being renewed. Pray it goes through with no issues. I am contacting several churches over the next few weeks to try to get another church or two to support me. I currently only have one. If your church would be open to considering supporting another missionary, please let me know! As we quickly approach the end of the school year, pray for our seniors as the reality of leaving HOPAC and moving on to the next stage of life becomes more real and scary. Pray for me and our staff as we help prepare them for “Good Good-byes”. And for me as I plan everything for seniors and process saying good-bye to yet another class of amazing students. “I never realized we had students at HOPAC that weren’t Christian. Why don’t we make that a requirement?” This was the start of conversation I had with someone shortly after returning from Young Life camp. He had been one of the leaders on the trip. Nearly 75% of our senior school had chosen to attend “the best weekend of their life”. As this person and I continued to talk, I shared with him how it would look to those that weren’t Christian and when else would these non-Christian kids have the opportunity to experience the gospel like they can at HOPAC. And besides all that, we cannot assume that just because the parents are Christian that the kids are. He responded, “Mine will be.” I reminded him that he can guide and encourage them, but he cannot make them be a Christian. That has to be a personal decision. That weekend and conversation was a beautiful example of how schools are such important place of ministry. The conversation reminded me of a few conversations I had over the holiday while I was home. I had a few people ask, “If she is a teacher, why should we support her?” I realized it has been awhile since I started at HOPAC and many new people have joined my email list since then and may not have heard about the mission of HOPAC, TeachBeyond, and why I need to raise support. The story is much bigger than teaching Lifeskills, getting students into university, and photography. So, let me take a few minutes to share the bigger picture and when I am home this summer, let’s meet for coffee or come to one of my events and hear more than I can say in a page (because who reads after one page) or in 5-10 minutes in church. In 1994, a group of missionary families got together with a vision of starting a school to support the missionary community in Dar es Salaam, and the great East Africa region. One of the main reasons missionaries leave the field is for better education for their children. Today, HOPAC has grown to almost 400 kids. Our primary vision is still to serve the missionary community. HOPAC is now one of the elite schools in Tanzania. The equivalent schools are three times more expensive. HOPAC is able to keep education affordable by recruiting missionaries to be teachers. We receive a small housing allowance, that just covers rent. My support covers every other cost from electricity, groceries (feeding teens is expensive!), and ministry expenses. When I first moved to Tanzania, people were encouraging me to get involved with various ministries outside of HOPAC. I was struggling with feeling guilty that I just wanted to spend time with my students. They were why I came to Tanzania but when I looked at my pictures of the cute kids from the orphanage and my seemingly well-dressed kids from school, I worried that people would think I shouldn’t be here or think I was working with rich kids and shouldn’t financially support me. But God reassured me that my ministry was my students. Despite appearances, they needed teachers committed to loving them unconditionally and feeding into their lives not just in the classroom. Yes, some come from wealthy families, but most are missionary families, on scholarship, or barely keeping their head above water because they want the best education for their children. When I say to the kids, “Most of your teachers are not getting paid by HOPAC to be here, what does that tell you about them?” The students realize how much their teachers love them and want to help them. HOPAC’s values that are printed on our logo and school uniform say SERVICE*LEADERSHIP*STEWARDSHIP. Through a Biblical worldview, these values are instilled in our students. They leave HOPAC valuing community involvement and equipped to be leaders and changemakers in the world. Many times schools raise the kids. At HOPAC, kids’ lives are changed. Every year I see it. Students enter one way, by the time they graduate they are a different person. This happens when campus is a safe space. Teachers show unconditional love and push the students to grow in every way. And especially when we can help them grow to understand a genuine, personal faith. Living a Christ-centered life out for the students. What does that look like? Juice and crackers in my office for those who didn’t get breakfast (and probably didn’t get dinner last night either). Attending soccer and basketball games because most won’t have family come cheer them on. Creating a non-judgmental space to ask hard questions. Especially showing forgiveness, grace, and mercy when they screw up. They are kids. They make bad decisions. How we respond in love and appropriate discipline can be the best example to them. Helping students see God’s love and plan for their lives when it all feels overwhelming and like they are walking into a dense fog. Reassuring them they are not alone, one step at a time, they will be okay. Then celebrating when they get the university acceptances. Through school and youth group, we help students develop a firm foundation in their faith so they can stand firm when they get to university. And for those that aren’t Christians, seeds are planted that when they are in the world and see how different HOPAC was, they realize the element that made the difference was our faith in Jesus. Yesterday was Youth Group. My favorite part of the week. We had a record number of people yesterday but all engaged in the discussion. Somehow a general question lead into “Is Christianity fun? Should it be? What is perception and what is truth?” And so many different directions from there. It is so exciting to hear my students ask honest questions, answer each other, and wrestle with truth. I love how they love and support each other. But more than anything, I love how God has brought each person; each with their own story, experiences, and perceptions. 19 people filled my home yesterday EXCITED to talk about faith and life. A true genuine Christian walk is far from boring! Yes, it has its ups and downs, but share a meal with my students and me. See them light up when His truth becomes real to them, when his peace comforts them, when the connection is made that their identity is only in how God sees them, not how men judge them. Youth Group has been having a great time learning about what it means to Love Dar through our church series exploring Loving the City, Loving the Children, Loving the Environment, and Loving the Poor. During the week of service we went and visited out friends at Green Pastures. One of my favorite activities in August is catching up with my alumni before they head back to school! A few lunches, an pizza night, and a panel discussion in Lifeskills class. I LOVE hearing what every one has been up to! First day of school!!!! Worshiping with the whole school community is always a blessing. A significant part of my time as school starts both before and after school starts is helping the new students settle in well. Grade 9 gets a bonding day on campus and Grade 11 get a weekend away on the beach! Grade 12 also get a day away on the beach after their parent meeting. It is a time to hang out as a class, think about goals for the this year, and discuss some of the details of their senior year. Finally, I get to get students excited to think about their future in university. One of the ways we do that is by hosting university fairs. The first one for this year was 26 schools from the UK. A friend introduced me to a new person in our community and was telling him, “She has such a cool job!” Yes, I do. I love my job. But the truth is, my favorite part of my job is everyone’s job. It is loving those around us. It is reminding our students. “I see you, I care about you, and you are loved!” It is looking beyond the marks on a paper and recognizing those less than acceptable marks are a cry for someone to see they are struggling. It might be learning hurdle, it might be a social issue (i.e. bullying), it might be a home issue, and all of it is an identity issue. Are students lazy? Yes. Are students deceitful? At times, yes. Are students broken? Absolutely. Do they need to be loved anyway? More than we know! They make mistakes. They need to be loved unconditionally but not all of them, sadly probably a majority, have no idea what it feels like to be loved unconditionally. How can we expect them to begin to comprehend God’s love if we aren’t modeling it ourselves; If we aren’t creating safe places for them to share their questions, fears, and stories? That is my goal in my office, in my classroom and in my home. What are you doing to create those spaces for those in your life where you are at? Thank you for continuing to support my ministry here in Tanzania. Lives are being changed by our team at HOPAC, a team that loves each student unconditionally even with all the baggage they bring with them to school. Thank you to those of you that responded to my letter this summer. I was able to raise about half of my goal of $500 for monthly support through those who increased their support and a few new ones. Thank you!!!! I had also set a goal of doubling my monthly support team. I am eight people away from that goal. Would you consider being a monthly supporter? I have supporters from $10 a month to $400 a month. Whatever fits your budget! Not able to commit monthly? One time gifts are just as helpful! The teens I feed every week thank you!!! There is no team I would rather do this crazy job with than this amazing group of people! Some days it is fun to count the number of “hats” I wear in one day: teacher, counselor, advocate, tutor, Life Coach, photographer, friend, admissions, tour guide, caterer, travel agent, fundraiser, but most important is an image bearer of God (Read my blog about that here!). I hope through all I do, students see it is done in love, God’s love for them! A great way to show that was at the assembly I was honored to speak at in February. Thank you all for praying it was one of the best responses from students I have seen. I was amazing to see God use me to speak to students. If you would like to read more about it, you can read that blog here. It is through His love, student’s lives are changed. Today was the last day of regular classes for our Grade 11 and 12 students. Over the next six weeks they will write as many as 12 tests. As I talked to my seniors today about being their last regular day of class, we reflected back to when they started in Grade 11 and how much they have grown. They readily admit they are a hard class but are now able to see the growth in themselves and as a class because we, as teachers, didn’t give up on them, they didn’t give up on themselves. Because of the love God showered down on them through HOPAC staff, they have grown in their faith and for some have become Christians. I am able to show God’s love here because you, there, support me in your prayers and financially. I know that I and other HOPAC staff are the physical body here, but it is the prayers of many around the world that are changing the lives of our students here at HOPAC. I was at lunch with a couple of my students this past weekend when they both commented, “HOPAC develops us academically, yes, but more importantly, they change us into better people! They care about WHO we are and help us grow in every way.”What they said next brought tears to my eyes, “HOPAC has allowed me to have the childhood I never had.” I know it sounds strange coming from 19 year old boys, but what they meant was that they were safe at HOPAC to be completely themselves. They can let down their guard and be safe at HOPAC. It truly is a Haven of Peace for them. June 1 & 2 I am taking my photography team to Zanzibar for some experience in street photography, marketing photography, and fine art photography. It is a great time really invest in the lives of these kids. Please pray for great conversations and a safe trip. A few of the students are not sure they will beable to attend because of the cost. I hope to ease the financial burden so they can attend stress-free and as a reward for the hard work and eagerness to learn photography they have shown all year. Would you be willing to donate towards this trip? The total cost of the trip is $700. I would love to raise $500 towards the cost. Pray for HOPAC as we hire new staff and as I transition once again to friends leaving and new staff coming including out principal. I will have my fourth supervisor in 6 years. Pray for our seniors. This class does not deal with transition as well as other classes have. Many have already expressed their concerns regarding graduation and classmates leaving. Please pray they can focus on exams and finish well while saying good good-byes. My WhatsApp was a flurry of messages last night as students tried to convince me we shouldn’t have school tomorrow (despite my telling them I have no power over the decision). The light-hearted banter and enthusiasm reminded me of Snow Days back home in Michigan. Every year in school we would have 3-5 snow days. Days when the roads were too bad to get to school. We usually welcomed a day off school except when it fell on Christmas party day. Some years it was so bad, the businesses would close so even as adults we got snow days! They were a forced slow-down day. Go back to bed, sleep in, read, relax, binge watch the series we were behind on. So no, we did not have a snow day, but after having 36 hours of heavy rain, we had a rain day. Many roads are impassable. It is a welcomed recovery day after a very hectic week for both me and my students. With this blessing comes a heavy heart and many prayers for those living in living in lower areas severely affected by the heavy rains. So today, after a good long sleep, I am enjoying the cool weather, enjoying a good cup of coffee with my pup curled up beside me reflecting on the amazing week I had last week. My life is always a bit on the crazy side, but this week even more! University fair tomorrow, dinner at my house with my current and new HOPAC scholarship students tomorrow night, guest speaker (Tanya Crossman for those who read about TCKs) on campus Wednesday and Thursday, G12 is running the school Talent Night which will be Friday night at 6:00, and my G11 will be taking the ACT on Saturday so after school prep every day this week. I am barely keeping my head above water this week. Prayers of energy and focus would be greatly appreciated! It was an AMAZING week! Thank you to all who saw this post and prayed. It was only through God’s strength and peace that I stayed sane and everything was a great success. It was an exceptionally busy week, but it gives a good glimpse into my life and responsibilities. IG Takeover Week: For TeachBeyond, my friend Jenn and I offered to take a turn doing an Instagram Takeover! So this past week, we shared on @teachbeyond some images from our week. Most pictures were taken on my old phone this week so I apologize for the image quality. Youth Group: My week started on Sunday with youth group after church. They surprised me this week with a birthday box full of notes from them and others in the church. Then we settled in and talked about how to watch movies with discernment and watched “The Shack”. University Fair: Three or four times a year, HOPAC hosts university fairs with 20+ representatives. This week, we had 21 Universities mostly from the US. Scholarship Dinner: Each year, HOPAC offers 2 or three full scholarships to attend HOPAC for grade 11 and 12. After the students have been selected, I host a dinner at my home with my current scholarship students and the new ones. The goal is to provide an opportunity to ease concerns, answer questions, and provide encouragement. I have my current students help with preparation and mostly have them facilitate the discussions. It is a privilege to sit back and hear how HOPAC has impacted them and see how they have grown in confidence and maturity in the time they have been at HOPAC. Senior Pics: As we near graduation and end of the school year, Senior pics are due! This week I was planning a night for several students to do a group shoot later in the month and I had the opportunity to spend time with this wonderful young woman! ACT Prep: Grade 11 students have been preparing since January for the ACT exam. Once a week we would have a tutoring session. The test was this past Saturday so everyday after school this week was reserved to support last minute prep. I am so proud of the hard work these students put in! Even coming in on a Saturday to practice a full-length exam! Long days means Tessa gets to visit after school. She even has a fan club! Host Speaker: This week was extra special. We were able to host Tanya Crossman author of Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century. She spoke with parents, teachers and in my Grade 11 & 12 Lifeskills classes. My interest and research in TCKs is what first brought me to HOPAC. It was wonderful to spend lunch with Tanya and talk to someone who shares the same passion. Talent Night: The week ended with our annual Talent Night. This year it was run by the Grade 12 for a fundraiser for their senior trip. It made for a hectic couple of weeks, but I am so proud of the performers and especially the G12 that planned everything!!! In addition, this week I had Parent Teacher Consultations, Lifeskills Classes, admissions planning, relationship building, calming down seniors and encouraging them through senoritis, Campus Service supervision; As well as planning Graduation dinner, Senior Trip, Graduation, and a photography trip. I am grateful for “Snow Days”. Days to stop, relax and reflect. It was an amazing week last week and now, after my TZ “snow day” I am ready to jump in tomorrow for another great week! At HOPAC, over 100 of our students traveled four hours to a Young Life camp for the “The best weekend of their life”. It was an amazing weekend! I could tell so many stories of challenges, changed lives, and the spiritual battles around us. But one little story stands out. It seems insignificant. There is a flock of sheep on the grounds of the camp. A few days before we came, twin lambs were born. The girls in my cabin thought they were adorable and wanted to catch them and pet them so they went running after flock. A few minutes later they returned. I realized, If we have grown up in the church, we have heard many times. “Jesus is the good shepherd. We are sheep.” But this doesn’t make any sense if we don’t understand what this means. I mentioned this to a co-worker and he said, “Sounds like you are leading assembly!” As I gave it more thought, I remembered The Friday we left for YL camp, I had to run home a minute. As I was walking up to the back gate, a sheep was on campus running towards me. I tried to herd it back towards the gate but it didn’t know me so I just scared it more. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that I encountered this sheep the same weekend. Fast forward a month and here I am sharing my message to 160 senior school students. There is a message God wants you to hear about the Good Shepherd. Sound familiar? Do you understand them? When I told my dad I was going to be talking about the shepherd and sheep, he asked, “do you know the difference between a shepherd and a sheep herder?” I didn’t. He said a shepherd leads and a sheep herder follows behind, pushing them to where he wants them to go. Generally, sheep don’t take well to pushing. Sheep need a shepherd, they need to be lead. Driving from Arusha to Serengeti, I would see several boys with their sheep at the same watering hole and wondered how they figure out which animal goes with which shepherd. The shepherd calls them and they know their master’s voice! They trust him and follow him. He leads them to food and water. He provides for his sheep. More importantly he protects the sheep. When animals are threatened, what are their natural instincts? They will either Fight, flight or take on a posture. Think about sheep- can they fight off a wolf? Rear-up, bit, kick, attack? Can they outrun a wolf? How about a scary posture? like a growling dog, a spitting cat? See why sheep need a shepherd? A good shepherd is fearless and will fight off the wolf with his rod and staff. Did you know, Sheep will not lay down unless they feel safe. Scared sheep will stay standing or run. Even the FEAR of a wolf too close will kill a sheep. So only when a shepherd leads to them pastures where they feel safe will they fully rest by laying down. We too need a shepherd. A GOOD shepherd. You might be thinking, sheep sound like dumb animals. I am NOT a dumb animal! I don’t need a shepherd. I am doing just fine on my own. Teachers- How many of you thought you were just fine on our own without a shepherd at some point in your life? Where you? How many of you thought you could protect yourselves only to find out later that you needed a shepherd to protect you? How many of you have wandered astray in your life and the good shepherd came and found you and brought you back? As it says in John 10, our shepherd calls us by name. Can you hear his voice? Or are other voices, wolves, or other predators leading us astray? We try to protect ourselves, but get weary and frightened. We build walls around us to try to protect ourselves but actually then isolate ourselves from the flock, from the green pastures and refreshing streams. But even when we build this wall, there is a gate. We run around on our side of the wall like the lost sheep on campus. All kinds of fears prompting our survival instincts. We run, run from people, run from our past, run from God. Maybe we run in circles looking busy, trying to feel fulfilled. That is what I do. I run. I run and hide but there is no place I can go where he can’t see me. We fight! You don’t know me. You don’t know my story! Get away from me. Spread rumors, act out in disrespect, bully, say cutting words. Maybe literally try to fight with fists. Or we take on a scary posture. Glare a people, ignore people, take on a bristly body posture that says don’t come near me. This might work short term, but not against the wolves or the thieves. The evil in the world that wants to steal our joy and peace, our souls, to keep us from finding our eternity with Christ. The false teachers, bad religion, the cultural lies. Those wolves and thieves aren’t scared of sheep. That is why we need our shepherd. Without him we would be devoured. Picked off one by one by the wolves that come to kill and destroy. Our shepherd, He isn’t afraid of the wolves! The wolves are afraid of him! That means, shouldn’t we want to be right by his side? To show how much he isn’t scare of them, He prepares a FEAST for us in the presence of those enemies. He laid down his LIFE to protect us from them. Psalm 23 says that our Shepherd is our provider. He says we will not lack. He will provide what we need. He leads us to green pastures where we feel safe enough to lay down and truly rest. When we run around trying to protect ourselves and provide for ourselves without the shepherd we grow weary. We can’t sustain it. The shepherd leads us to a place where we can find contentment and peace- not to be confused with being happy all the time but peace knowing our shepherd has our back. Where HE can restore our soul. Our mind, passions, desires, feelings and emotions. He doesn’t promise a life without hardship, but he leads us through those valleys, through the shadow of death. But we don’t need to be afraid! Because we are following our protector! And finally, not only does he protect us, provide for us, bring us to a place of contentment and peace-, we get to dwell in the house of the Lord forever! He came so that we could have life and not just life, but an abundant life! What is an abundant life? Well it isn’t a life where you feel you are lacking something, empty and dissatisfied. It is a life that is meaningful, purposeful, joyful, and eternal. The shepherd doesn’t “put up with us”. He KNOWS us. We are his prized possession. He wouldn’t lay down his life for something he didn’t care about. He looks for us when we wander away. He never thinks, “that one is hopeless or that one has wandered away one too many times. I give up on that one. NEVER! He doesn’t want a single lamb to get devoured by the wolves. He doesn’t consider how broken, bruised our messed up we think we are. He doesn’t sit there, “well they did this, they are now damaged, dirty, not as valuable… not worth my time to get them” Absolutely not!!! Please hear this! What he sees is his beloved little lamb is hurting and he wants to help you heal. So, when John says the shepherd stands at the gate calling, who is he calling? Think he isn’t calling you and that is why you don’t hear him? He is calling those who know his voice and have wandered away so those who call themselves Christian but aren’t representing Christ in their lives. He is calling those who aren’t Christian and are running around lost seeking rest somewhere but aren’t finding it in their family’s religion or a life without religion. He is calling those of you who are Christian to a life closer to him. Growing up in a Christian home, I had heard about God speaking but never really understood what that meant. I would listen to messages and go on “Silent Retreats” to learn to listen for the voice of God but only recently, maybe within the last year can I say I have really learned to recognize his voice. Before that, he used other people or my gut to confirm decisions or choices. My conscious wouldn’t let me be okay with things that were counter to his will. About a year ago, I was taught that God’s voice isn’t a different voice. It is my own voice speaking truth in love. Since learning that, I am recognizing more when he is speaking to me. Any time I question if it was him, I ask for a confirmation and many times someone will tell me exactly what God told me. For example, when I was preparing this talk, there were so many different directions I could have gone. As I prayed about it, God told me to speak on the shepherd as our protector. Before I had prayed, I sent a message to a friend of mine that had grown up raising sheep and was now a pastor. I asked her what came to mind regarding the sheep and shepherd. Her response- the most important thing is he is our protector! So the protector, the Good shepherd is standing at the gate in your wall calling you to follow him to green pastures where you can find rest in him, where you can heal. To streams of water so he can fill you, bless you to over flowing with peace. What is keeping you from hearing his voice? From allowing HIM to protect you? What fears are drowning out the shepherd’s voice that you feel you need to protect yourself from? Are there distractions? He isn’t a big scary being running trying to catch you! He wants so much more for you than a life of fear, worry, regret. He wants to lead you to freedom from whatever fears or regrets are holding you captive! Take a moment in silence. Ask the good, loving shepherd, “What is holding me back? What do I need freedom from? Why have I built walls and what do you need to do to be freed from my own captivity” He has left the 99 to find you. He isn’t chasing you down like a mad man. He is a shepherd looking for his prized possession because he loves you! You are too important to him to abandon you. It doesn’t matter where you are, if you call to him he comes to you. I have so much to be thankful for. This year I am especially thankful for my youth group. It was started for my Grade 11 and 12 students that were coming to God’s Tribe on their own. Last year I had about 5 this year it is over 10 and growing. We meet at my house after church, share meal together, share the best parts of our week, and spend time praying for each other. Then, I just ask, “So what did you take from today’s message?” and usually an hour or longer discussion goes from there. The group is now expanding to college age and Grade 10 too as friends invite friends. Enjoying American Thanksgiving together. Missing a few this week. sitting there, I was speaking with one of the students about patience and how God was still teaching me patience. “You? but you are so patient!” So I gave the example of how was waiting on God to know if this was my last year or not and how that was such an exercise of patience right now. Every year I re-evaluate and pray to know if I am called another year. Every other has been easy. Last year was a little harder. This year, I needed a clear message from God. I just didn’t know for many reasons. Just before church started, I was going to head over to the seat where I usually sit and the kids all said, “no stay here on the bleachers with us!” How could I say no, haha. As we were in worship, one of the new students leans over and says, “look miss, everyone is here because of you.” I just smiled and continued singing, then the still small voice said, “This is why you are here, stay” tears… I was pretty sure that was the affirmation I had been waiting for. I know it was from God. It came with such peace. But yet, I was hesitant to say 100% that I am committing to be here another year. I had been sick the previous week so I missed my regular Bible study. That same Sunday in the evening, I watched the video I had missed. Soooooo much spoke to me. Not letting fear make my decisions. Trusting what might seem strange to others. Stepping out in faith. Wow! It would not have had the same impact if I had been present Tuesday. I couldn’t deny a second longer that God was clearly calling me back to Tanzania for 2018-19 school year. So I am excited to say, I am staying another year! I am blessed to work with amazing staff and students, to be supported by so many people in so many ways, and to serve an amazing, loving God! Thank you all for your prayers and support. Today on giving Tuesday and as we look towards the end of the year, will you consider supporting the work being done with teens in Tanzania? From youth group to pizza nights, photography training, university preparation, and developing life skills, students are being impacted and seeds of faith are being planted and watered. Funds raised the end of this year will be used for food for youth group ($50/week) and pizza nights ($75/week) as well as journals, Bibles, and Bible study resources for youth group. Praying for you all to have a blessed Christmas season! Current Monthly Support: 86% ($285/mth needed to be 100%). Please click on “Join the Team” towards the top of the page for more information including one time needs. Please go to "Join My Team" above the posts for more information! Thank You!

2019-04-19T14:53:40Z

https://rebeccalaarman.wordpress.com/

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The impact of the war on the United States was nowhere near as devastating as it was in Europe and the Pacific, where the battles were waged, but it still profoundly changed everyday life for all Americans. On the positive side, the war effort finally and definitively ended the economic depression that had been plaguing the country since 1929. It also called upon Americans to unite behind the war effort and give of their money, their time, and their effort, as they sacrificed at home to assure success abroad. The upheaval caused by white men leaving for war meant that for many disenfranchised groups, such as women and African Americans, there were new opportunities in employment and wage earning. Still, fear and racism drove cracks in the nation’s unified facade. Although the United States had sought to avoid armed conflict, the country was not entirely unprepared for war. Production of armaments had increased since 1939, when, as a result of Congress’s authorization of the Cash and Carry policy, contracts for weapons had begun to trickle into American factories. War production increased further following the passage of Lend Lease in 1941. However, when the United States entered the war, the majority of American factories were still engaged in civilian production, and many doubted that American businesses would be sufficiently motivated to convert their factories to wartime production. Just a few years earlier, Roosevelt had been frustrated and impatient with business leaders when they failed to fully support the New Deal, but enlisting industrialists in the nation’s crusade was necessary if the United States was to produce enough armaments to win the war. To encourage cooperation, the government agreed to assume all costs of development and production, and also guarantee a profit on the sale of what was produced. This arrangement resulted in 233 to 350 percent increases in profits over what the same businesses had been able to achieve from 1937 to 1940. In terms of dollars earned, corporate profits rose from $6.4 billion in 1940 to nearly $11 billion in 1944. As the country switched to wartime production, the top one hundred U.S. corporations received approximately 70 percent of government contracts; big businesses prospered. In addition to gearing up industry to fight the war, the country also needed to build an army. A peacetime draft, the first in American history, had been established in September 1940, but the initial draftees were to serve for only one year, a length of time that was later extended. Furthermore, Congress had specified that no more than 900,000 men could receive military training at any one time. By December 1941, the United States had only one division completely ready to be deployed. Military planners estimated that it might take nine million men to secure victory. A massive draft program was required to expand the nation’s military forces. Over the course of the war, approximately fifty million men registered for the draft; ten million were subsequently inducted into the service. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt insisted on flying with an African American pilot to help fight racism in the military. The First Lady was famous for her support of civil rights. Approximately 2.5 million African Americans registered for the draft, and 1 million of them subsequently served. Initially, African American soldiers, who served in segregated units, had been used as support troops and not been sent into combat. By the end of the war, however, manpower needs resulted in African American recruits serving in the infantry and flying planes. The Tuskegee Institute in Alabama had instituted a civilian pilot training program for aspiring African American pilots. When the war began, the Department of War absorbed the program and adapted it to train combat pilots. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt demonstrated both her commitment to African Americans and the war effort by visiting Tuskegee in 1941, shortly after the unit had been organized. To encourage the military to give the airmen a chance to serve in actual combat, she insisted on taking a ride in a plane flown by an African American pilot to demonstrate the Tuskegee Airmen’s skill. When the Tuskegee Airmen did get their opportunity to serve in combat, they did so with distinction. In addition, forty-four thousand Native Americans served in all theaters of the war. In some of the Pacific campaigns, Native Americans made distinct and unique contributions to Allied victories. Navajo marines served in communications units, exchanging information over radios using codes based on their native language, which the Japanese were unable to comprehend or to crack. They became known as code talkers and participated in the battles of Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Peleliu, and Tarawa. A smaller number of Comanche code talkers performed a similar function in the European theater. While millions of Americans heeded the rallying cry for patriotism and service, there were those who, for various reasons, did not accept the call. Before the war began, American Peace Mobilization had campaigned against American involvement in the European conflict as had the noninterventionist America First organization. Both groups ended their opposition, however, at the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, respectively. Nevertheless, during the war, some seventy-two thousand men registered as conscientious objectors (COs), and fifty-two thousand were granted that status. Of that fifty-two thousand, some accepted noncombat roles in the military, whereas others accepted unpaid work in civilian work camps. Many belonged to pacifist religious sects such as the Quakers or Mennonites. They were willing to serve their country, but they refused to kill. COs suffered public condemnation for disloyalty, and family members often turned against them. Strangers assaulted them. A portion of the town of Plymouth, NH, was destroyed by fire because the residents did not want to call upon the services of the COs trained as firemen at a nearby camp. Only a very small number of men evaded the draft completely. Dwight D. Eisenhower rose quickly through the ranks to become commander of the European Theater of Operations by June 1942. Most Americans, however, were willing to serve, and they required a competent officer corps. The very same day that Germany invaded Poland in 1939, President Roosevelt promoted George C. Marshall, a veteran of World War I and an expert at training officers, from a one-star general to a four-star general, and gave him the responsibility of serving as Army Chief of Staff. The desire to create a command staff that could win the army’s confidence no doubt contributed to the rather meteoric rise of Dwight D. Eisenhower. During World War I, Eisenhower had been assigned to organize America’s new tank corps, and, although he never saw combat during the war, he demonstrated excellent organizational skills. When the United States entered World War II, Eisenhower was appointed commander of the General European Theater of Operations in June 1942. Promoted to the level of one-star general just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dwight D. Eisenhower had never held an active command position above the level of a battalion and was not considered a potential commander of major military operations. However, after he was assigned to the General Staff in Washington, DC, he quickly rose through the ranks and, by late 1942, was appointed commander of the North African campaign. Excerpts from General Eisenhower’s diary reveal his dedication to the war effort. He continued to work despite suffering a great personal loss. General McNaughton (commanding Canadians in Britain) came to see me. He believes in attacking in Europe (thank God). He’s over here in an effort to speed up landing craft production and cargo ships. Has some d___ good ideas. Sent him to see Somervell and Admiral Land. How I hope he can do something on landing craft. Father dies this morning. Nothing I can do but send a wire. One thing that might help win this war is to get someone to shoot [Admiral] King. He’s the antithesis of cooperation, a deliberately rude person, which means he’s a mental bully. He became Commander in Chief of the fleet some time ago. Today he takes over, also Stark’s job as chief of naval operations. It’s a good thing to get rid of the double head in the navy, and of course Stark was just a nice old lady, but this fellow is going to cause a blow-up sooner or later, I’ll bet a cookie. Gradually some of the people with whom I have to deal are coming to agree with me that there are just three “musts” for the Allies this year: hold open the line to England and support her as necessary, keep Russia in the war as an active participant; hold the India-Middle East buttress between Japs and Germans. All this assumes the safety from major attack of North America, Hawaii, and Caribbean area. We lost eight cargo ships yesterday. That we must stop, because any effort we make depends upon sea communication. I have felt terribly. I should like so much to be with my Mother these few days. But we’re at war. And war is not soft, it has no time to indulge even the deepest and most sacred emotions. I loved my Dad. I think my Mother the finest person I’ve ever known. She has been the inspiration for Dad’s life and a true helpmeet in every sense of the word. I’m quitting work now, 7:30 p.m. I haven’t the heart to go on tonight. What does Eisenhower identify as the most important steps to take to win the war? Even before the official beginning of the war, the country started to prepare. In August 1940, Congress created the Defense Plant Corporation, which had built 344 plants in the West by 1945, and had funneled over $1.8 billion into the economies of western states. After Pearl Harbor, as American military strategists began to plan counterattacks and campaigns against the Axis powers, California became a training ground. Troops trained there for tank warfare and amphibious assaults as well as desert campaigns—since the first assault against the Axis powers was planned for North Africa. As thousands of Americans swarmed to the West Coast to take jobs in defense plants and shipyards, cities like Richmond, California, and nearby Oakland, expanded quickly. Richmond grew from a city of 20,000 people to 100,000 in only three years. Almost overnight, the population of California skyrocketed. African Americans moved out of the rural South into northern or West Coast cities to provide the muscle and skill to build the machines of war. Building on earlier waves of African American migration after the Civil War and during World War I, the demographics of the nation changed with the growing urbanization of the African American population. Women also relocated to either follow their husbands to military bases or take jobs in the defense industry, as the total mobilization of the national economy began to tap into previously underemployed populations. Roosevelt and his administration already had experience in establishing government controls and taking the initiative in economic matters during the Depression. In April 1941, Roosevelt created the Office of Price Administration (OPA), and, once the United States entered the war, the OPA regulated prices and attempted to combat inflation. The OPA ultimately had the power to set ceiling prices for all goods, except agricultural commodities, and to ration a long list of items. During the war, major labor unions pledged not to strike in order to prevent disruptions in production; in return, the government encouraged businesses to recognize unions and promised to help workers bargain for better wages. As in World War I, the government turned to bond drives to finance the war. Millions of Americans purchased more than $185 billion worth of war bonds. Children purchased Victory Stamps and exchanged full stamp booklets for bonds. The federal government also instituted the current tax-withholding system to ensure collection of taxes. Finally, the government once again urged Americans to plant victory gardens, using marketing campaigns and celebrities to promote the idea. Americans responded eagerly, planting gardens in their backyards and vacant lots. Wartime rationing meant that Americans had to do without many everyday items and learn to grow their own produce in order to allow the country’s food supply to go to the troops. The federal government also instituted rationing to ensure that America’s fighting men were well fed. Civilians were issued ration booklets, books of coupons that enabled them to buy limited amounts of meat, coffee, butter, sugar, and other foods. Wartime cookbooks were produced, such as the Betty Crocker cookbook Your Share, telling housewives how to prepare tasty meals without scarce food items. Other items were rationed as well, including shoes, liquor, cigarettes, and gasoline. With a few exceptions, such as doctors, Americans were allowed to drive their automobiles only on certain days of the week. Most Americans complied with these regulations, but some illegally bought and sold rationed goods on the black market. View an excerpt from a PBS documentary on rationing during World War II. Civilians on the home front also recycled, conserved, and participated in scrap drives to collect items needed for the production of war materiel. Housewives saved cooking fats, needed to produce explosives. Children collected scrap metal, paper, rubber, silk, nylon, and old rags. Some children sacrificed beloved metal toys in order to “win the war.” Civilian volunteers, trained to recognize enemy aircraft, watched the skies along the coasts and on the borders. As in the previous war, the gap in the labor force created by departing soldiers meant opportunities for women. In particular, World War II led many to take jobs in defense plants and factories around the country. For many women, these jobs provided unprecedented opportunities to move into occupations previously thought of as exclusive to men, especially the aircraft industry, where a majority of workers were composed of women by 1943. Most women in the labor force did not work in the defense industry, however. The majority took over other factory jobs that had been held by men. Many took positions in offices as well. As white women, many of whom had been in the workforce before the war, moved into these more highly paid positions, African American women, most of whom had previously been limited to domestic service, took over white women’s lower-paying positions in factories; some were also hired by defense plants, however. Although women often earned more money than ever before, it was still far less than men received for doing the same jobs. Nevertheless, many achieved a degree of financial self-reliance that was enticing. By 1944, as many as 33 percent of the women working in the defense industries were mothers and worked “double-day” shifts—one at the plant and one at home. Still, there was some resistance to women going to work in such a male-dominated environment. In order to recruit women for factory jobs, the government created a propaganda campaign centered on a now-iconic figure known as Rosie the Riveter. Rosie, who was a composite based on several real women, was most famously depicted by American illustrator Norman Rockwell. Rosie was tough yet feminine. To reassure men that the demands of war would not make women too masculine, some factories gave female employees lessons in how to apply makeup, and cosmetics were never rationed during the war. Elizabeth Arden even created a special red lipstick for use by women reservists in the Marine Corps. “Rosie the Riveter” became a generic term for all women working in the defense industry. Although the Rosie depicted on posters was white, many of the real Rosies were African American, such as this woman who poses atop an airplane at the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California (a), and Anna Bland, a worker at the Richmond Shipyards (b). Although many saw the entry of women into the workforce as a positive thing, they also acknowledged that working women, especially mothers, faced great challenges. To try to address the dual role of women as workers and mothers, Eleanor Roosevelt urged her husband to approve the first U.S. government childcare facilities under the Community Facilities Act of 1942. Eventually, seven centers, servicing 105,000 children, were built. The First Lady also urged industry leaders like Henry Kaiser to build model childcare facilities for their workers. Still, these efforts did not meet the full need for childcare for working mothers. The lack of childcare facilities meant that many children had to fend for themselves after school, and some had to assume responsibility for housework and the care of younger siblings. Some mothers took younger children to work with them and left them locked in their cars during the workday. Police and social workers also reported an increase in juvenile delinquency during the war. New York City saw its average number of juvenile cases balloon from 9,500 in the prewar years to 11,200 during the war. In San Diego, delinquency rates for girls, including sexual misbehavior, shot up by 355 percent. It is unclear whether more juveniles were actually engaging in delinquent behavior; the police may simply have become more vigilant during wartime and arrested youngsters for activities that would have gone overlooked before the war. In any event, law enforcement and juvenile courts attributed the perceived increase to a lack of supervision by working mothers. Tens of thousands of women served in the war effort more directly. Approximately 350,000 joined the military. They worked as nurses, drove trucks, repaired airplanes, and performed clerical work to free up men for combat. Those who joined the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) flew planes from the factories to military bases. Some of these women were killed in combat and captured as prisoners of war. Over sixteen hundred of the women nurses received various decorations for courage under fire. Many women also flocked to work in a variety of civil service jobs. Others worked as chemists and engineers, developing weapons for the war. This included thousands of women who were recruited to work on the Manhattan Project, developing the atomic bomb. During the Great Depression, movies had served as a welcome diversion from the difficulties of everyday life, and during the war, this held still truer. By 1941, there were more movie theaters than banks in the United States. In the 1930s, newsreels, which were shown in movie theaters before feature films, had informed the American public of what was happening elsewhere in the world. This interest grew once American armies began to engage the enemy. Many informational documentaries about the war were also shown in movie theaters. The most famous were those in the Why We Fight series, filmed by Hollywood director Frank Capra. During the war, Americans flocked to the movies not only to learn what was happening to the troops overseas but also to be distracted from the fears and hardships of wartime by cartoons, dramas, and comedies. By 1945, movie attendance had reached an all-time high. This link shows newsreel footage of a raid on Tarawa Island. This footage was shown in movie theaters around the country. Many feature films were patriotic stories that showed the day’s biggest stars as soldiers fighting the nefarious German and Japanese enemy. During the war years, there was a consistent supply of patriotic movies, with actors glorifying and inspiring America’s fighting men. John Wayne, who had become a star in the 1930s, appeared in many war-themed movies, including The Fighting Seabees and Back to Bataan. Besides appearing in patriotic movies, many male entertainers temporarily gave up their careers to serve in the armed forces. Jimmy Stewart served in the Army Air Force and appeared in a short film entitled Winning Your Wings that encouraged young men to enlist. Tyrone Power joined the U.S. Marines. Female entertainers did their part as well. Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich entertained the troops. African American singer and dancer Josephine Baker entertained Allied troops in North Africa and also carried secret messages for the French Resistance. Actress Carole Lombard was killed in a plane crash while returning home from a rally where she had sold war bonds. General George Marshall awards Frank Capra the Distinguished Service Cross in 1945 (a), in recognition of the important contribution that Capra’s films made to the war effort. Jimmy Stewart was awarded numerous commendations for his military service, including the French Croix de Guerre (b). E. B. White was one of the most famous writers of the twentieth century. During the 1940s, he was known for the articles that he contributed to The New Yorker and the column that he wrote for Harper’s Magazine. Today, he is remembered for his children’s books Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web, and for his collaboration with William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Style, a guide to writing. In 1943, he wrote a definition of democracy as an example of what Americans hoped that they were fighting for. We received a letter from the Writer’s War Board the other day asking for a statement on ‘The Meaning of Democracy.’ It presumably is our duty to comply with such a request, and it is certainly our pleasure. Surely the Board knows what democracy is. It is the line that forms on the right. It is the ‘don’t’ in don’t shove. It is the hole in the stuffed shirt through which the sawdust slowly trickles; it is the dent in the high hat. Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time. It is the feeling of privacy in the voting booths, the feeling of communion in the libraries, the feeling of vitality everywhere. Democracy is a letter to the editor. Democracy is the score at the beginning of the ninth. It is an idea that hasn’t been disproved yet, a song the words of which have not gone bad. It is the mustard on the hot dog and the cream in the rationed coffee. Democracy is a request from a War Board, in the middle of the morning in the middle of a war, wanting to know what democracy is. Do you agree with this definition of democracy? Would you change anything to make it more contemporary? The need for Americans to come together, whether in Hollywood, the defense industries, or the military, to support the war effort encouraged feelings of unity among the American population. However, the desire for unity did not always mean that Americans of color were treated as equals or even tolerated, despite their proclamations of patriotism and their willingness to join in the effort to defeat America’s enemies in Europe and Asia. For African Americans, Mexican Americans, and especially for Japanese Americans, feelings of patriotism and willingness to serve one’s country both at home and abroad was not enough to guarantee equal treatment by white Americans or to prevent the U.S. government from regarding them as the enemy. The African American community had, at the outset of the war, forged some promising relationships with the Roosevelt administration through civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune and Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet” of African American advisors. Through the intervention of Eleanor Roosevelt, Bethune was appointed to the advisory council set up by the War Department Women’s Interest Section. In this position, Bethune was able to organize the first officer candidate school for women and enable African American women to become officers in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. As the U.S. economy revived as a result of government defense contracts, African Americans wanted to ensure that their service to the country earned them better opportunities and more equal treatment. Accordingly, in 1942, after African American labor leader A. Philip Randolph pressured Roosevelt with a threatened “March on Washington,” the president created, by Executive Order 8802, the Fair Employment Practices Committee. The purpose of this committee was to see that there was no discrimination in the defense industries. While they were effective in forcing defense contractors, such as the DuPont Corporation, to hire African Americans, they were not able to force corporations to place African Americans in well-paid positions. For example, at DuPont’s plutonium production plant in Hanford, Washington, African Americans were hired as low-paid construction workers but not as laboratory technicians. During World War II, African Americans volunteered for government work just as white Americans did. These Washington, DC, residents have become civil defense workers as part of the Double V campaign that called for victory at home and abroad. During the war, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), founded by James Farmer in 1942, used peaceful civil disobedience in the form of sit-ins to desegregate certain public spaces in Washington, DC, and elsewhere, as its contribution to the war effort. Members of CORE sought support for their movement by stating that one of their goals was to deprive the enemy of the ability to generate anti-American propaganda by accusing the United States of racism. After all, they argued, if the United States were going to denounce Germany and Japan for abusing human rights, the country should itself be as exemplary as possible. Indeed, CORE’s actions were in keeping with the goals of the Double V campaign that was begun in 1942 by the Pittsburgh Courier, the largest African American newspaper at the time. The campaign called upon African Americans to accomplish the two “Vs”: victory over America’s foreign enemies and victory over racism in the United States. Despite the willingness of African Americans to fight for the United States, racial tensions often erupted in violence, as the geographic relocation necessitated by the war brought African Americans into closer contact with whites. There were race riots in Detroit, Harlem, and Beaumont, Texas, in which white residents responded with sometimes deadly violence to their new black coworkers or neighbors. There were also racial incidents at or near several military bases in the South. Incidents of African American soldiers being harassed or assaulted occurred at Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Alexandria, Louisiana; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Tampa, Florida. African American leaders such as James Farmer and Walter White, the executive secretary of the NAACP since 1931, were asked by General Eisenhower to investigate complaints of the mistreatment of African American servicemen while on active duty. They prepared a fourteen-point memorandum on how to improve conditions for African Americans in the service, sowing some of the seeds of the postwar civil rights movement during the war years. Mexican Americans also encountered racial prejudice. The Mexican American population in Southern California grew during World War II due to the increased use of Mexican agricultural workers in the fields to replace the white workers who had left for better paying jobs in the defense industries. The United States and Mexican governments instituted the “bracero” program on August 4, 1942, which sought to address the needs of California growers for manual labor to increase food production during wartime. The result was the immigration of thousands of impoverished Mexicans into the United States to work as braceros, or manual laborers. Forced by racial discrimination to live in the barrios of East Los Angeles, many Mexican American youths sought to create their own identity and began to adopt a distinctive style of dress known as zoot suits, which were also popular among many young African American men. The zoot suits, which required large amounts of cloth to produce, violated wartime regulations that restricted the amount of cloth that could be used in civilian garments. Among the charges leveled at young Mexican Americans was that they were un-American and unpatriotic; wearing zoot suits was seen as evidence of this. Many native-born Americans also denounced Mexican American men for being unwilling to serve in the military, even though some 350,000 Mexican Americans either volunteered to serve or were drafted into the armed services. In the summer of 1943, “zoot-suit riots” occurred in Los Angeles when carloads of white sailors, encouraged by other white civilians, stripped and beat a group of young men wearing the distinctive form of dress. In retaliation, young Mexican American men attacked and beat up sailors. The response was swift and severe, as sailors and civilians went on a spree attacking young Mexican Americans on the streets, in bars, and in movie theaters. More than one hundred people were injured. Japanese Americans also suffered from discrimination. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor unleashed a cascade of racist assumptions about Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans in the United States that culminated in the relocation and internment of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, 66 percent of whom had been born in the United States. Executive Order 9066, signed by Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, gave the army power to remove people from “military areas” to prevent sabotage or espionage. The army then used this authority to relocate people of Japanese ancestry living along the Pacific coast of Washington, Oregon, and California, as well as in parts of Arizona, to internment camps in the American interior. Although a study commissioned earlier by Roosevelt indicated that there was little danger of disloyalty on the part of West Coast Japanese, fears of sabotage, perhaps spurred by the attempted rescue of a Japanese airman shot down at Pearl Harbor by Japanese living in Hawaii, and racist sentiments led Roosevelt to act. Ironically, Japanese in Hawaii were not interned. Although characterized afterwards as America’s worst wartime mistake by Eugene V. Rostow in the September 1945 edition of Harper’s Magazine, the government’s actions were in keeping with decades of anti-Asian sentiment on the West Coast. After the order went into effect, Lt. General John L. DeWitt, in charge of the Western Defense command, ordered approximately 127,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans—roughly 90 percent of those of Japanese ethnicity living in the United States—to assembly centers where they were transferred to hastily prepared camps in the interior of California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Arkansas. Those who were sent to the camps reported that the experience was deeply traumatic. Families were sometimes separated. People could only bring a few of their belongings and had to abandon the rest of their possessions. The camps themselves were dismal and overcrowded. Despite the hardships, the Japanese attempted to build communities in the camps and resume “normal” life. Adults participated in camp government and worked at a variety of jobs. Children attended school, played basketball against local teams, and organized Boy Scout units. Nevertheless, they were imprisoned, and minor infractions, such as wandering too near the camp gate or barbed wire fences while on an evening stroll, could meet with severe consequences. Some sixteen thousand Germans, including some from Latin America, and German Americans were also placed in internment camps, as were 2,373 persons of Italian ancestry. However, unlike the case with Japanese Americans, they represented only a tiny percentage of the members of these ethnic groups living in the country. Most of these people were innocent of any wrongdoing, but some Germans were members of the Nazi party. No interned Japanese Americans were found guilty of sabotage or espionage. Japanese Americans standing in line in front of a poster detailing internment orders in California. Despite being singled out for special treatment, many Japanese Americans sought to enlist, but draft boards commonly classified them as 4-C: undesirable aliens. However, as the war ground on, some were reclassified as eligible for service. In total, nearly thirty-three thousand Japanese Americans served in the military during the war. Of particular note was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, nicknamed the “Go For Broke,” which finished the war as the most decorated unit in U.S. military history given its size and length of service. While their successes, and the successes of the African American pilots, were lauded, the country and the military still struggled to contend with its own racial tensions, even as the soldiers in Europe faced the brutality of Nazi Germany. This U.S. government propaganda film attempts to explain why the Japanese were interned. The brunt of the war’s damage occurred far from United States soil, but Americans at home were still greatly affected by the war. Women struggled to care for children with scarce resources at their disposal and sometimes while working full time. Economically, the country surged forward, but strict rationing for the war effort meant that Americans still went without. New employment opportunities opened up for women and ethnic minorities, as white men enlisted or were drafted. These new opportunities were positive for those who benefited from them, but they also created new anxieties among white men about racial and gender equality. Race riots took place across the country, and Americans of Japanese ancestry were relocated to internment camps. Still, there was an overwhelming sense of patriotism in the country, which was reflected in the culture of the day. What were American women’s contributions to the war effort? Many American women joined the armed forces, where they served as nurses, repaired and piloted airplanes, drove trucks, and performed clerical duties. Women in civilian life assumed occupations, often in the defense industries, that would have gone to men in times of peace. Women who did not take on wartime employment also contributed by recycling scarce materials, buying war bonds, planning meals using rationed foods, and generally making do with less.

2019-04-19T12:39:39Z

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-hostos-ushistory/chapter/the-home-front/

While there are many options to choose from (from indoor and outdoor-specific tables to compact tables for small spaces, and more), not all tables are going to suit all needs and budgets – which is why we created this guide. In it, we plan to cover all the best table tennis table brands, types, and budgets to help you make an informed decision. inding a quality ping pong table that not only suits your needs but also sits within your budget range may seem daunting, even if you know where and how to look. There are many options and factors to consider before making the final decision. In this guide we’ve composed customer reviews, player reviews, online and in person interviews, and days of research into a comprehensive guide that you won’t find a better version of online. This guide compares and reviews 9 of our top picks ordered by rating to make browsing easy. You can jump directly to any table that interests you using the menu below. Finally, there’s a useful buyer’s guide at the bottom of the page that helps explain what to look for when buying a ping pong table. The best overall table tennis table on the market is, undoubtedly, the STIGA Advantage. Despite its budget-friendly price, it’s competition-ready and fits all the tournament specifications. Even the net is far better quality than most of the others we’ve reviewed – including those which are USATT approved – proving that this table is exceptional value for the money. As with our other STIGA table tennis table review, it is so quick and easy to set up the STIGA Advantage Table Tennis Table. It takes just a few minutes and can be done alone, but we would advise getting two people to pick up and turn over the table when you’re ready to play. At 190 pounds in total, it isn’t practical to turns over on your own. From the moment this ping pong table is put together, its quality is obvious. It looks and feels like it’s been built to a far higher standard than the price tag would imply, offering strength and bounce like many expensive, professional tables. This table would suit an amateur or intermediate level player who is looking for a table which they can use to train, develop and improve their skills. This is definitely possible with the STIGA Advantage. The 15mm thick playing surface tops high density MDF construction. It isn’t the thickest, but it is remarkably smooth and even, providing the perfect, highly responsive playing surface for super fast play. Everything about this table tennis table is ready for competition, including the dimensions, materials and even the net. The tournament grade net is made from heavy duty cotton and measures 72 inches across, with the option to easily adjust the tension so that it fits perfectly. Having a ping pong table and net set that is already set up to a tournament standard is fantastic for anyone looking to compete at a high level. We’ve chosen the STIGA XTR Outdoor Table Tennis Table as the best outdoor table tennis table on the market. Featuring exterior grade netting, top table construction that can withstand various weather conditions and a sturdy, galvanized steel construction, this design is durable and enjoyable for gameplay. However, with a top surface thickness of just 6mm, it simply doesn’t offer a professional level of performance or bounce. The STIGA XTR Outdoor Table Tennis Table can be assembled in about 10 minutes. This is a dramatic improvement on the Kettler table. This is a full size table, offering a playing surface that measures 9 feet long and 5 feet wide. This is perfect for getting in some serious practice or gathering round a few friends for some multiplayer fun. It can also be folded up for single player play or for very compact storage. In fact, in terms of storage, this is one of the smallest full sized tables that we’ve come across. Like the JOOLA Midsize Compact Table Tennis Table, the two halves of the STIGA XTR can come apart to be used individually as free-standing tables. Alternatively, the two halves can nest into one another, creating a slimline profile which doesn’t need much storage space. We found it very simple to switch between the main play, solo play and fold-down configurations. The legs might be made from galvanized steel, but they have been made with an automatic opening feature which makes it easier to open and close the table without worrying about supporting a heavy weight or pinching fingers. When it’s folded for storage, a latch can be used to lock the two halves in place, meaning safety at all times for the whole family. If you do happen to setup the table on uneven ground, it’s not a problem. While the Kettler outdoor table was prone to bending (creating an uneven playing surface which could not be rectified easily), the STIGA XTR includes adjustable rubber levelers to ensure that you can always play on a level table. It also features wheels which can be locked into place to ensure that the table doesn’t move while you’re playing. The quality and flexibility of this ping pong table is great, but we were disappointed by the thickness of the playing surface. At just 6mm thick it is thinner than most recreational household tables, and while it delivers a surprising amount of bounce, experts and professionals will find that it isn’t as responsive as thicker surfaces. That said, it still feels great to play on, and for fun, recreational, outdoor use, beginners are unlikely to notice a difference. In terms of specs, the JOOLA Inside 15mm Table Tennis Table is very similar to the STIGA XTR. The difference is that here, the playing surface is almost three times as thick as the outdoor table, offering exceptional bounce and playability. It’s a great indoor table tennis training tool of better quality than the price suggests. Like the STIGA XTR, assembly of this table tennis table was impressively quick. All it required was fitting and tightening about 8 bolts– unlike the hours of difficulty that come with the Kettler and MD Sports tables. We were impressed with the durability of this ping pong table. The legs, which measure 1.5 inches wide, are made from strong steel, but they do fold away for compact storage. In addition, the quality feels like it can stand up to pretty aggressive, attack play without bending, breaking or becoming damaged. The sturdy frame is finished with both rubber levelers for ensuring an always-level playing surface, as well as casters for rolling the table away for storage. Like the STIGA XTR, these can be locked to keep the table safe when not in use. Each half of the table (which can either be folded up for playback mode or kept for separate) features four wheels, so whether you move the two halves individually or together, the process is simple and smooth. At 15mm thick, the playing surface gave some serious bounce. It responded well, stood up to some hard, attacking shots, and fired off some challenging spins. We found that the bounce was uniform across the whole table, thanks to a 1.5 inch wide apron. Overall, we really like this table. It checks just about every box in terms of flexibility, performance and functionality, but it doesn’t quite have the really impressive specifications which would elevate it to the ranks of the professional, competitive table tennis tables. However, for a price of under $400, it makes a great buy and a fantastic investment for the ping pong enthusiast. At over $1500, the Butterfly Centrefold 25 Rollaway Table Tennis Table is by far the most expensive table we’ve reviewed, but it’s also the best suited to top level use, making it our choice as the best professional table money can buy. This is the exact design that was used during the US ITTF Pro Tour Championships in 2004 and 2005. Thus you can get one of the top athletes’ preferred tables for your own personal use. This ITTF approved table tennis table has been used in some top level tournaments, including the 2004 and 2005 US Open ITTF Pro Tour Championships, so we shouldn’t have been surprized at the quality. However, if you’ve only played on cheaper, recreational tables, you’ll notice a significant improvement. The Butterfly Centrefold 25 Rollaway Table Tennis Table is tournament ready, including a net which is suitable for tournament use. The top playing surface measures 1 inch thick (25mm), making it by far the thickest surface of all our professional ping pong table reviews. This brought unrivalled bounce which we could use to lay down some powerful shots and tricky curve balls. You can definitely see why this model appeals to professional players, but the overall gameplay experience may be a little too challenging for beginners to handle. Despite its high level performance, this isn’t a complicated table to use. It arrives fully assembled – great for getting started straight away – and it’s easy enough for one person to move on their own. This is down to the 4 lockable wheels which measure 5 inches in diameter: although these aren’t as numerous as the wheels that you’ll find on the Joola Inside table, they run smoothly and silently. As you’d expect, this table tennis table can fold away when not in use. However, unlike most of the other options we’ve looked at, this is a one piece design. On the one hand this means that it doesn’t stow away in quite as narrow a space; but on the other hand, it means that there’s less room for error, gaps and misaligned sections – perfect for keeping up that professional standard at all times. Thick playing surface gives an exceptional bounce. The JOOLA Midsize Compact Table Tennis Table is our pick for the best midsize compact table tennis table. Measuring 72 inches long and 36 inches wide, it’s two thirds of the size of a full tournament sized table, but it’s still at the regulation height. This table is designed for easy storage. When it came to assembling and setting up, the JOOLA Midsize Compact Table Tennis Table was by far the easiest of all our ping pong tables reviewed. It comes completely pre-assembled –saving hours on the set-up time of the Kettler and the MD Sports tables. All you need to do is unfold the legs and clamp on the net, all of which take a matter of seconds. The table itself is made up of two halves. When it comes to storing the table away, it isn’t a case of folding down the sides like most tables. Instead, the two halves come apart and the legs fold up so that they can be stored separately. Each half is a square measuring 36 inches, only a few inches thick, it stows away easily in even the smallest living spaces. As they’re free-standing, the two ping pong table halves could be used as smaller tables, but we wouldn’t recommend this as it would risk damaging the playing surface. The foldaway nature of this table does mean that it hasn’t been designed with rigid, industrial strength construction. The legs are flimsier than we’d expect from a professional table, but for a midsize table of this size and purpose, the legs and frame are more than adequate. When it’s fully set up as a table tennis table, this design is at the correct height for tournaments. This makes it comfortable for both adults and children to use. However, in terms of overall playing size, its area is two thirds of the size that you’d get from a full-sized table making it ideal for kids or small living spaces. If you’re new to table tennis then you might find the small playing surface a challenge, but if you’re more experienced you should be able to easily place your shots. This ping pong table is never going to compete against high quality, professional, tournament-ready table tennis tables, but for the low price (under $200), it makes a fantastic training table for recreational play. For a table tennis table that costs over $600, we expect quality. Luckily, JOOLA is such a well-known, reputable brand name, that with the JOOLA Rally TL 300, they didn’t disappoint. It has similar specs to the JOOLA Inside table tennis table – offering the same playing surface thickness – but you get high quality workmanship, ball holders and abacus counters as added extras. Assembly of the JOOLA Rally TL 300 was fairly straightforward, taking us around half an hour, but this is a short amount of time to spend putting together a piece of high quality sporting equipment which is so well built. One aspect of assembly which slowed us down was the mounting of the ball holders, which wasn’t clearly explained in the instructions. However, once put together, the table offers a fantastic gameplay experience. The surface, which is made from professional grade MDF which is 15mm thick, gives a consistent amount of bounce across the whole surface of the table. We tried both offensive and defensive play, and we were impressed at how durable the surface seemed to be in holding up to some of our harder shots. We guess that’s why this table is USATT approved, having been the brand of choice by so many top-level professional players. In terms of safety latches and storage options, the JOOLA Rally TL300 offers the same flexibility as other tables such as the JOOLA Inside table and the STIGA XTR. This is proof of its reliable design features and suitability for both match play and solo practice. However, as touched upon earlier, this table comes with added bonuses not found in the other table tennis table reviews. These include corner ball holders at every corner and magnetic abacus scorers to make playing fun and easy. It seems to be a bit hit or miss as to whether these added extras are included in the box, so if your table arrives and they haven’t been added to the package, get in touch with the manufacturers. This is worth doing as they do enhance the table tennis experience, especially when practicing for tournaments or playing for fun with friends. The JOOLA NOVA DX Indoor/Outdoor Table Tennis Table is the second most expensive of all those we’ve reviewed, so we had high expectations. The playing surface was a little disappointing, as was the ease of aligning the two table halves, but don’t let this detract from what is a great value purchase considering the table’s lifespan. It’s been designed for long-term outdoor use, so it’s rare to find an outdoor table of this quality that can withstand the elements so well, while still providing high level table tennis training. As with most JOOLA tables, setup of the JOOLA NOVA DX was a breeze. The only exception was the installation of the net, where the instructions aren’t clear as to how it should fit into place. The net connection system does tend to work loose occasionally, but this is nothing that a quick tightening can’t remedy. Although the leg levelers are fantastic for evening out the playing surface – especially on a table which can be used outdoors, potentially on uneven ground – adjusting them seemed to be quite difficult. The fact that the table is made up of two separate halves, like most of the ping pong tables we’ve reviewed, means that in the middle where the two sections meet (along the net line), the two halves of the table can become misaligned. It was more difficult to get the exact height the same on both halves than we’ve found with other similar designs, but the net mechanism was useful for hiding this minor inconvenience. Despite this, both the table top and the frame are very well built. All elements of this table tennis table have been designed for constant outdoor use all year round. You might worry that some cheaper models will warp or delaminate after years’ of outdoor use, but that isn’t a concern with a table of this price and quality. This is because the top playing surface is made from a weather-resistant aluminium plastic composite, so it won’t warp over time. Although it might seem like this is a fairly big investment for your family, it works out as excellent value for money when you consider the long lifespan of this product. The table might last for years, growing with your family, but if anyone wants to progress to a professional skill level, they might find the 6mm thick surface disappointing. Considering that the Kettler Outdoor table is almost four times as thick for a very similar price, it would be nice if this surface was slightly thicker. However, this doesn’t detract from what is a well built table that still gives great bounce and performance, even after being used outdoors for years at a time. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Kettler Outdoor Table Tennis Table has been designed for outdoor use: this isn’t just a recreational table to use on vacation; this is a seriously impressive piece of sporting equipment. It fits tournament regulations and has a playing surface which is noticeably thicker than the MD Sports table tennis table, delivering far superior, professional levels of bounce, speed and gameplay. We have been really impressed by the Kettler Outdoor Table Tennis Table. Outdoor tables are stereotyped as being flimsy, cheap toys to be used and abused by kids and adults alike, but we found this model to rival some of the more expensive professional indoor ping pong tables. For example, the top playing surface is 22mm thick, which is exactly the kind of quality that we’d expect from a club table. It delivers great spin, a fact which is enhanced when you flip up one side to get in some solo practice. The playing surface features UV-resistant, waterproof and anti-glare technology to make it suitable for outdoors use. The top surface can be used in changing weather conditions, and you needn’t worry about the rest of the table. Aluminium has been included in the design to prevent warping and to control expansion and/or contraction that occurs from different types of weather. A cover is also included for added protection against the elements – although bear in mind that, the net must be removed first. In addition, the legs have been fashioned from galvanized steel so they’ll never corrode. The frame can stand up to the weather, but we were disappointed in its strength and stability. We have a feeling that if you handle your table roughly, the frame could be prone to bending and buckling, rendering it uneven and impractical to use. We love the fact that Kettler has designed this table with safety in mind. It features a dual lever to prevent you from knocking the mechanism and closing the table accidentally . In addition, when you fold up one side to play solo, they have patented their design mechanism to eliminate all gaps between the horizontal side of the table and the vertical side. This means that no matter how aggressively you play, you can never lose your ball in the gap, and you can never pinch or trap your fingers or hands. The MD Sports ping pong table is sized up for tournament play, but if you’d rather get in some solo practice or store it away, it can be easily folded away. Once you move past the fact that assembly takes a few hours, this is a great table for recreational and leisure use. Measuring nine feet long and five feet wide, this table is perfect for practicing your ping pong skills on the same size table that you’d find in tournaments and competitions. The 15mm thick playing surface has just the right amount of bounce for everyday home use, although clubs and professional players might find that it’s a little too thin. However, we were impressed at how well it responded to our spins and powerful, offensive shots. This table does come with everything you need to get started, especially useful if it’s your first table. The posts which hold the net in place are so easy to fit that they can be clamped onto the table in a matter of seconds. Two paddles and two balls are included with the set, but they are of cheap quality. If you’re going to invest in a good ping pong table such as this one, we would definitely recommend getting hold of some professional ping pong rackets to match – especially if you intend to take your gameplay to anything more than recreational level. When not being used by multiple players, you can fold one side of the table up for single person play or practice, or fold both sides down for storage. It’s easy to fold the table in this way – you don’t need any tools – but assembly is a different story. Before you can play for the first time, you’ll need to spend a few hours putting the table together, preferably with the help of a friend and some power tools. What Is The Difference Between An Indoor Ping Pong Table And An Outdoor Ping Pong Table? What Is The Correct Size For Ping Pong Table Wheels? How Long Is A Ping Pong Table? How Wide Is A Ping Pong Table? How Tall Is A Ping Pong Table? Where Do You Want To Keep The Table? What Type Of Play/use Are You Planning? How Does It Fit Within The Three Key Principles? How Long Are Ping Pong Tables? What Are The Best Ping Pong Table Brands? While professional ping pong tables are made to be used indoors, the best ping pong tables will provide you with an ideal playing surface, regardless of how or where you play. As a result, the same principles apply to both indoor and outdoor ping pong tables. In both cases, you’ll be looking at the playing surface, the durability and the ease of storage. Putting these features to one side, one of the biggest differences between ping pong tables is that folding table tennis tables are usually – but not exclusively – built for indoor use. If you intend to play outdoors but need to store your table folded, you might want to look into buying a folding indoor table and taking it outside to play in good weather. Just as no two ping pong paddles give the same performance or bounce, ping pong tables with different surfaces will give completely different gameplay experiences. Most professional tables have top surfaces made from plywood, plastic, or even fiberglass. You’ll notice the difference in the amount of bounce you can achieve: In general, thinning layers of wood provide less bounce than thicker surfaces, so thicker is almost always better. Look for a table where the playing surface measures 18 to 20mm (0.7 to 0.8 inches) thick for optimum performance. When comparing table tennis tables, the thickness of the top layer should be your primary concern since this is what gives your ball its bounce. The bottom layer just acts as the skirting, so its thickness should not be an influential factor in your decision-making process. Most home tables should sit firmly around the 19mm (0.75 inch) mark, but if you can’t afford the $300-400 price tag, you can find cheaper options. A table measuring between 15 and 19mm (0.6 and 0.75 inches) thick will be decent enough to play on, but aim for something better if you intend to play regularly. Don’t even think about choosing a table with a playing surface that’s any thinner than this as you simply won’t be getting enough bounce for your money. At the professional end of the spectrum, competition level tables tend to be 25mm (1 inch) thick. These are the most expensive tables on the market, but you’re guaranteed quality and a fantastic gameplay experience. For a decent bridge between home use and competition standard, look for a table measuring 22mm (0.9 inches) thick as this is the standard commonly used by clubs. Needless to say, you’re going to want a good quality, sturdy frame that can withstand rigorous use – especially if you intend to reach a professional playing standard. Fixed, non-folding tables provide a more stable frame than folding tables. Due to the rigid construction. However, the drawback with these tables is that they have to stay open all the time. Some cheaper models have lightweight frames made from wood, but most tables have stainless steel frames for unrivaled strength. These are heavy in weight, but also heavy duty. Look for stability, rigidity, the ability to move the table and the possibility of adjusting the feet on uneven playing surfaces. Of course, if you’re particularly tall or you intend to play with children, you should look for a table which can be raised or lowered to a comfortable height. While you’re comparing the strength of ping pong table frames, you should remember that tournaments set strict guidelines on table sizes, so make sure the frame you choose fits within the rules. You are probably asking yourself: how big is a ping pong table? A good value ping pong table offers not only stability but an even playing surface and a net. For the best overall experience, flexibility, convenience and safety are other key features. Professional table tennis nets allow you to adjust the height, needed to enter tournaments. Cheap, flimsy, clip-on nets don’t tend to offer much adjustment – or accuracy. You might also see retractable nets on the market. While these are great at being adjustable to fit in different sized tables, they aren’t usually stable enough to be used in serious matches. Remember that tournament ping pong tables state that the net (as well as the posts securing it at each side of the table) should be 15.25 cm (6 inches) above the top of the table, with the bottom of the net as close to the playing surface as possible. The net can be made from any spun fibre, as long as it’s soft and dark with a light yellow or white tape across the top. There are also regulations about the size and type of knots, as well as the size of the holes making up the mesh. Convenience is the name of the game in so many aspects of modern life, and ping pong is no exception. That’s why so many tables are designed to fold away – some even come with wheels or casters – meaning that the table can be stored easily and simply rolled out for use. If you’re buying a table for domestic use or for a commercial space with lots of kids, safety should be a priority. When it comes to ping pong tables, there is always a risk of trapping fingers when putting away or folding out a foldable ping pong table. Look for a table which comes with a lever for easy, smooth folding and unfolding – and even a lock to stop the table from coming apart when in place. In addition, choose a table with padded corners to prevent injuries to children. If you play table tennis regularly or if you’re training professionally, it’s probably worth keeping your table and net up all the time. However, if that isn’t possible, you do have a few different options. We’ve already established that retractable nets offer the most ease and convenience when fitting to different tables. Clip on nets offer slightly more permanence, although the loaded springs which are used to hold them in place can be quite heavy. This makes taking them off and putting them on regularly much less convenient than some other designs. The professional nets which offer the ideal solution come with clamps to fasten them in place (and which also make them adjustable), so they can be removed without too much hassle. The wheels which let you move your ping pong table easily come in different sizes depending upon the size of the table. 125mm is a common diameter for ping pong table wheels, but junior tables are usually smaller. Some tables are fitted with adjustable feet instead of wheels to ensure that you’re playing on a level surface. It goes without saying that full size tables which don’t fold need much more space. In these cases, storage can be an issue, especially as you need extra room around the table to play. Don’t be tempted to double up your ping pong table as a regular table as this will damage the playing surface and hinder your gameplay experience. Folding tables are much easier to store. Typically folding in half, they can end up needing a space no more than a few inches wide. These tables often have wheels, so it’s easy to slide them into a closet or into a corner in most average living spaces. Tables should be 274 cm (9 feet) long. Tables should be 152.5 cm (5 feet) wide. The playing surface should be 76 cm (2 feet 6 inches) above the ground. In order not to feel cramped or claustrophobic, you will want an extra 5 feet of empty space at each end of the ping pong table. You will also be moving from side to side, so you should clear an extra few feet on each side. In total, you should plan to have a space measuring 19 feet long by 11 feet wide; as a bare minimum. Here, you’ll mainly be choosing between indoor and outdoor use. As we’ve already seen, the difference between indoor and outdoor tables is not great. You’ll also need to think about where you want to store the table when not in use, as a folding table might be your only realistic option. If you see table tennis as a hobby or leisure activity to enjoy at home with your family, you can probably get away with a slightly less expensive, lower spec ping pong table. Provided that the table meets your basic requirements, there’s no need to spend more money on extra features which are superfluous if you will only be playing occasionally. As we explored earlier, these basic requirements include an adequate playing surface thickness, a strong frame with plenty of room to move around, a good quality net, a table that’s easily stored and extra safe design features. However, if you take ping pong seriously and if you intend to play professionally, you will need to invest in a good quality table. Stability, a good quality surface, safety features, durability and flexibility will all boost your performance. Ping pong tables designed for tournament use should be 2.74m (9 feet) long and 1.52m (5 feet) wide – but if you’re trying to see whether you have enough room at home to keep one, don’t forget to factor in extra space around the table for you to move! You should add an extra five feet at each end of the table and 2-3 extra feet to each side. Remember to keep the top surface thickness, the strength of the frame, the convenience, the ease of storage and the net height at the forefront of your mind when comparing the best table tennis tables. If you’re considering a table that doesn’t check one of these boxes, it isn’t going to deliver in terms of performance. You should always buy within your means. If you have big ambitions but a small budget, start off with a smaller, cheaper, entry-level model and work your way up. By then your skills have improved enough to benefit from a better quality table. Junior or hobby ping pong tables can be as cheap as $40, but you get what you pay for. For a price this low, you can’t expect good quality, durability or a table that will stand up to hours of constant use. At the other end of the scale, the best professional ping pong tables can cost 100 times as much: it’s not uncommon to see tables costing $3000-4000. Buying one of these tables is an investment, usually accessible to the most successful, skilled and ambitious players only. For an average, middle of the range, family ping pong table, you can expect to pay a few hundred dollars. Ping pong tables designed for tournament use should be 2.74m (9 feet) long and 1.52m (5 feet) wide – but if you’re trying to see whether you have enough room at home to keep one, don’t forget to factor in extra space around the table for you to move! Tables for unofficial play can be different sizes. For example, junior tables are typically about three-quarters of the full size. Deciding which ping pong table brands are the “best” is a subjective matter. However, some of the most popular brand names which you’re likely to come across during your research are Killerspin, JOOLA, Cornilleau, STIGA and Butterfly. A ping pong table is not like any other table. It’s a piece of sporting equipment, so you need to take good care of it if you want the best performance. You should keep the top surface clean and free from debris, but don’t be tempted to use any harsh chemicals that you might find underneath your kitchen sink. A simple mix of water and vinegar should be used to clean the table. Use a soft cloth, gentle, circular movements, and don’t forget to remove the net before you clean. When not in use, you should take care as to how and where you store your table. Protective covers can be bought to guard against dust and spillages.

2019-04-21T22:45:13Z

https://fringepursuits.com/best-ping-pong-table

Coccolithophores are a vital part of oceanic phytoplankton assemblages that produce organic matter and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) containing traces of other elements (i.e. Sr and Mg). Their associated carbon export from the euphotic zone to the oceans' interior plays a crucial role in CO2 feedback mechanisms and biogeochemical cycles. The coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi has been widely studied as a model organism to understand physiological, biogeochemical, and ecological processes in marine sciences. Here, we show the inter-strain variability in physiological and biogeochemical traits in 13 strains of E. huxleyi from various biogeographical provinces obtained from culture collections commonly used in the literature. Our results demonstrate that inter-strain genetic variability has greater potential to induce larger phenotypic differences than the phenotypic plasticity of single strains cultured under a broad range of variable environmental conditions. The range of variation found in physiological parameters and calcite Sr:Ca highlights the need to reconsider phenotypic variability in paleoproxy calibrations and model parameterizations to adequately translate findings from single strain laboratory experiments to the real ocean. Copyright: © 2016 Blanco-Ameijeiras et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was funded by the "European Project on Ocean Acidification" (EPOCA) (which received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 211384) and partly by the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) and by the Center of Excellence "The Future Ocean" to ML; the Abbey-Santander Internationalization Fund, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU), and Ministry of Science and Education (Government of Spain) to SBA; the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico Brasil (CNPq, Processo: 405585/2013-6) to MNM; and ERC-STG-240222PACE for funding HS and AMV. Strains RCC1212 and RCC1258 were obtained from the RCC through the ASSEMBLE program (FP7-227799). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The coccolithophore species Emiliania huxleyi belongs to a group of unicellular photosynthetic protists covered by plates of calcite (CaCO3) termed coccoliths . Coccolithophores are major producers of CaCO3 and key players in the Earth's climate system . They contribute to the biological carbon pump via the combined effects of calcification, photosynthesis, and the downward transport of particulate material to the oceans' interior . Although there are numerous extant coccolithophore species, E. huxleyi is used as a model species in many physiological , ecological , oceanographic , paleoceanographic , and modelling studies because of its global importance and the ease to culture it under a broad range of environmental conditions . Emiliania huxleyi harbors a genome constituted by core genes plus genes distributed variably amongst strains, which supports a considerable intra-species variability . This enables E. huxleyi to form large seasonal blooms in temperate waters and subpolar regions under a wide variety of environmental conditions . Based on the morphological identity of the coccoliths, E. huxleyi is separated in seven morphotypes , although the relationship between geographic origin and morphotype genetic distance is unclear . Within the species concept of E. huxleyi, numerous diploid non-calcifying cells have been identified which lost the ability to form calcified scales following prolonged culture [10, 15] or unfavorable experimental conditions . Taking into account the morphological diversity found within the species concept of E. huxleyi a high physiological variability is expected. The cosmopolitan distribution and bloom-forming capacity of E. huxleyi , its distinct optical features and sinking properties [18, 19] make E. huxleyi a suitable model organism for parameterization studies in Earth System modelling. The biogeochemical signature of E. huxleyi's coccoliths is used to develop paleoproxies because of their abundant fossil record starting in the Quaternary [20, 21]. The abundance of trace elements replacing Ca ions in calcite, such as strontium (Sr) and magnesium (Mg) is driven by thermodynamic, kinetic, and biological factors, facilitating the development of paleoproxies based on the ratio between the element of interest and calcium. The Sr:Ca ratio is used to estimate coccolithophore productivity , and the Mg:Ca ratio is used to reconstruct seawater temperature [23, 24] and track CO2 .Recently, the incorporation of boron (B) in the calcite has been related to seawater pH . However, phenotypic variability in coccolith elemental ratios is virtually impossible to address in sediment samples because only morphotypes can be differentiated. In this study we characterize intra-species phenotypic variation and its implications in 13 strains of E. huxleyi measuring physiological parameters (growth rate, particulate organic and inorganic carbon content [POC and PIC], particulate inorganic: organic carbon [PIC:POC],particulate carbon:nitrogen [C:N]) and coccolith geochemistry (Sr:Ca and Mg:Ca ratios). The high variability observed in our results highlights the importance of account for inter-strain variability when using E. huxleyi as a model organism in marine studies ranging from experimental work to past ocean reconstructions and model parameterizations. Monoclonal cultures of 13 E. huxleyi strains were obtained from the Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA), the Roscoff Culture Collection (RCC), the Algobank-Caen and the Microalgal Culture Collection and the Plymouth Culture Collection of Marine Algae. Nine coccolith-bearing strains, including three morphotypes (A, B and R; see Table 1), and four non-calcifying strains from various latitudes were grown in semi continuous batch cultures under identical conditions (Table 1). Strain morphotype identification followed previously published studies [15, 27, 28, 29]. Cultures were maintained at 19.15 ±0.75°C (Table 1), with a 12:12h light:dark cycle under light irradiance of 126.03 ±8.96 μmol quanta m-2 s-1 supplied by cool-white fluorescent lamps (Osram LUMILUX) and determined using a LI-COR (LI-189) Quantum Sensor (Q 39308). The cultures were daily agitated by manual swirling. Culture medium was prepared from coastal Atlantic Ocean filter-sterilized (0.22 μm) natural seawater. Salinity was determined using a refractometer. Filtered seawater was enriched with 91.4 μM of NaNO3, 5.3 μM of NaH2PO4 (Table 1) [30–32], and trace metals and vitamins were added according to f/2 medium . Triplicate flasks containing medium were inoculated with cultures in exponential growth phase pre-acclimated for a minimum of 8 generations. Cells were inoculated at ~100 cell ml-1 and harvested at cell densities of 28,000 ±5,000 cell ml-1 to minimize changes in carbonate chemistry and nutrient availability that could potentially lead to CO2 and/or nutrient limitation. Table 1. Origin of the Emiliania huxleyi strains and environmental culture conditions. Cell density, pH, salinity and irradiance were monitored during the incubations. Daily in-situ pHtotal and temperature were determined on sub-samples using a pH-meter with a temperature probe (EUTECH EcoScan—pH/mV/°C) (S1 Table). During the experiments the medium carbon chemistry was measured for each replicate flask. Both, daily monitoring and final harvesting were performed at the same time of the day within a 3–5 h interval after the start of the light phase. The seawater carbonate system parameters were calculated from temperature, salinity, and the concentration of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA) and phosphate using the software CO2SYS (S1 Table). Total alkalinity and DIC were determined using the (Versatile INstrument for the Determination of Tritation Alkalinity) VINDTA, calibrated with Certified Reference Material (CRM) for oceanic CO2 measurements, Marine Physics Laboratory of Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of San Diego, following Mintrop . Precisions for TA and DIC were ±7.45 μmol kg-1 and ±4.7 μmol kg-1, respectively. Dissolved inorganic nitrate (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) were determined according to Hansen and Koroleff using a HITACHI U-2000 Spectrophotometer at the GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany. The precisions for DIN and DIP were ±0.1 μM and ±0.02 μM, respectively. In order to measure calcite Sr:Ca and Mg:Ca ratios cells were concentrated by centrifugation of ~1.5 l of culture at 1970 × g for 20 min using a Hettich ROTANTA 460RS Centrifuge, and subsequent freeze drying of the pellet. Before analysis, the samples were treated to remove organic-Mg cellular phases with hydroxylamine-hydrochloride (NH2OH·HCl + NH4OH) followed by three consecutive oxidation steps (using H2O2) according to Blanco-Ameijeiras et al. . The samples were dissolved in 50 μl of ultrapure 2% HNO3 and diluted to 500 μl with Milli-Q. Elemental composition of the samples was determined using the Thermo iCAP 6300 Series ICP Spectrometer, at the Geology Faculty of the University of Oviedo (Spain). All samples were diluted to a common Ca concentration, seeking the highest possible value within the range of standard calibration solutions (Ca = 15, 50, 100 ppm). Calibrations were performed with multi-element standards offline using the intensity ratio method described in de Villiers et al. . Seawater Sr:Ca and Mg:Ca ratios were determined separately by the method of standards addition in culture medium samples filtered through 0.22 μm, diluted to 1:200 and 1:10 respectively and measured with a Thermo iCap 6300 Series ICP spectrometer as described above. The partition coefficients of Sr (DSr) and Mg (DMg) between coccolith calcite and seawater were calculated following Eq 1, where x is the trace element of interest. Cells were counted using a ZEISS Axioskop 40 light microscope with 200× magnification in a Neubauer haemocytometer (0.1 mm depth; 0.0025 mm3). Growth rate (μ) was calculated following Eq 2, where c0 and c1 are the cell concentrations at the beginning and at the end of the experiment, respectively, and Δt is the period of incubation in days. Growth rate was determined as the average counts on triplicate measurements. Determination of coccosphere and cell volume was performed on a Beckman Coulter Multisizer III, fitted with an aperture tube orifice diameter of 70 μm. Analyses were performed with the program MULTI 32 program (Beckman Coulter). Coccospheres were decalcified to determine the cell volume by adding HCl to culture aliquots until pH 5.0 was reached, which results in coccolith dissolution. After two minutes, the pH was rapidly readjusted to its original value in the culture by adding of 100 mM NaOH, following a modified version of the method described by Linschooten et al. . Cell integrity was checked with the optical microscope with 400× magnification. Samples for total particulate carbon (TPC), particulate organic carbon (POC), total particulate nitrogen (TPN), and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) were prepared by filtering aliquots onto pre-combusted 25 mm GF/F filters, followed by storage at -20°C until required for subsequent analysis. The samples for POC and PON analysis were fumed with sulfurous acid for 24 h to remove particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) from the filters. The filters were dried at 60°C for 24 h, packaged in pre-combusted aluminum foil , and analyzed on a Thermo Finnegan flash EA1112 elemental analyzer using acetanilide as the calibration standard. PIC was calculated as the subtraction of POC from TPC. Inorganic and organic carbon production (Prod) were calculated according to Eq 3 and expressed in pg C cell-1 d-1. In addition, calcium (from the PIC) was measured using a Thermo iCap 6300 Series ICP Spectrometer to determine PIC assuming that Ca concentration in organic phases is negligible. The two methods to measure PIC were compared to each other because both are widely used in the literature and results are often assumed to be comparable (see details and discussion in S1 Notes, S1 Fig). Averaged values are given by the statistical mean and the standard deviation (SD) of three replicate samples per treatment. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test that the differences in biogeochemical parameters (coccosphere volume, cell volume, growth rate, particulate carbon and nitrogen cell quotas, particulate carbon production, stoichiometric ratios and DSr) between strains were statistically different. Correlation of the biogeochemical parameters was determined using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r). Statistical analyses were performed using SigmaPlot (Systat Software, San Jose, CA). The average seawater pHtotal for all the strains was 7.97 ± 0.04, pCO2 was 479.82 ± 37.96 μatm, total alkalinity (TA) was 2272.40 ± 18.04 μmol kg-1, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was 2055.39 ± 13.16 μmol kg-1 and Ω-Calcite was 3.75 ± 0.25 (S1 Table). The shift in DIC due to cells consumption and production of inorganic carbon was <2.5%. Average nitrate concentration was 93.0 ± 3.4 μM and average phosphate concentration was 3.9 ± 1.1 μM (Table 1). Irradiance during the incubation oscillated between 117.08 ±5.94 and 134.99 ±1.63 μmol quanta m2 s-1 and the average temperature during the incubation was 19.32 ±0.45°C. Coccosphere (cell + coccoliths) volume was statistically different between strains (P <0.001) varying between 46.18 ±3.58 μm3 (M184CCMP1A1) and 121.45 ±25.82 μm3 (RCC1212) (Table 2). After coccoliths dissolution, the cell volume varied between 34.13 ±0.10 (B92/11) and 92.18 ±12.48 μm3 (RCC1212) (Fig 1). Inter-strain differences in cell volume were statistically different between strains (P <0.001). Fig 1. Histogram of three physiological parameters. (A) Cell size; cell volume (grey area) and coccolith layer (white area), which includes the attached coccoliths; (B) Growth rate (μ) and particulate organic and inorganic carbon cell quota; and (C) particulate organic and inorganic carbon production, comparing the13 strains grown under identical environmental conditions. (*) Indicates non-calcifying strains. Characters at the base of the bars indicate the morphotype corresponding to each strain. “n/a” indicates that there is not an available morphotype classification for that strain. Values were calculated as averages of three replicates. Error bars represent standard deviation between replicates. Table 2. Physiological parameters measured in this study and collected from the literature. The growth rate of E. huxleyi strains was significantly different between strains (P <0.001). It ranged from 0.53 ±0.01 d-1 to 1.45 ±0.01 d-1 (Fig 1). The fastest growth rate was observed in NZEH and the lowest in the non-calcifying strain CCMP1280. Non-calcifying strains showed lower growth rates between 0.53 ±0.01 d-1 and 0.93 ±0.02 d-1, whilst those of calcifying strains varied between 0.67 ±0.01 and 1.45 ±0.01 d-1 (Table 2). Growth rate of non-calcifying strains was on average 19.28% lower than in calcifying strains (P = 0.015). Growth rate was inversely correlated with coccosphere volume, cell volume and PIC cell quota (r = -0.522, -0.479 and -0.481, respectively; P <0.05) (S2 Table). POC cell quota ranged from 4.56 ±0.28 to 23.04 ±1.80 pg C cell-1 in the strains South Africa and RCC1212, respectively (Fig 1). Amongst the calcifying strains, PIC cell quota ranged from 0.59 ±0.64 to 12.49 ±1.54 pg C cell-1 in strains M184CCMP1A1 and RCC1212, respectively. These two parameters were directly correlated (r = 0.727; P <0.05). PIC cell quotas showed a direct correlation with coccosphere size and cell volume (r = 0.788 and 0.847, respectively; P <0.05). Similarly, POC cell quota was positively correlated with coccosphere volume and cell volume (r = 0.691 and 0.725; P < 0.05). Production of POC ranged from 3.62 ±0.22 pg C cell-1 d-1 in South Africa strain to 15.62 ±1.25 in RCC1212, and PIC production ranged from 0.69 ±0.45 pg C cell-1 d-1 in M184CCMP1A1to 8.46 ±0.81 pg C cell-1 d-1 in RCC1212 (Fig 1). The average PIC:POC ratio for the calcifying strains was 0.48 ±0.26 (Fig 2). The highest values of PIC:POC were observed in RCC1258 (0.94 ±0.02) and South Africa (0.66 ±0.40) strains (Fig 3). All the particulate carbon parameters tested for the E. huxleyi were statistically different between strains (P <0.001), with exception of PIC/POC were P = 0.127 (S2 Table). Fig 2. Particulate organic and inorganic carbon cell quota proportions for the 13 strains. Each value includes three replicates while the error bars represent the standard deviation. The numbers next to the symbols indicate the strain code. (*) indicates non-calcifying strains. Grey lines indicate the different particulate inorganic to organic carbon ratios (PIC:POC). Fig 3. Particulate carbon to particulate nitrogen ratio (C:N) cell quotas. Each value includes three replicates (error bars represent the standard deviation). The numbers next to the symbols indicate the strain code. (*) indicates non-calcifying strains. Continuous grey lines indicate the different C:N. Average PON was 1.31 ±0.45 pg N cell-1 for the 13 strains used in this study. The range of variation was between 0.63 ±0.22 and 2.43 ±0.23 pg N cell-1. The PON showed a direct significant correlation with POC and PIC cell quota, and cell volume (r = 0.917; 0.559 and 0.583, respectively; P <0.05). The carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) ranged between 5.48 ±0.73 to 12.37 ±2.69, observed in NZEH and AC474, respectively. Average C:N for all the E. huxleyi strains was 9.40 ±1.90 pmol:pmol (Fig 3). The C:N ratio was inversely correlated with growth rate (r = -0.451; P <0.05). Both, PON and C:N were statistically different between strains (P <0.001). Calcite Sr:Ca ratio was measured in triplicates in the 9 calcifying strains of E. huxleyi (NZEH, RCC1212, South Africa, AC474, AC472, RCC1258, B92/11, M184CCMP1A1 and M181CCMP88E). Average Sr:Ca was 3.28 ± 0.32 mmol:mol (Table 3) and the individual samples ranged from 2.75 ± 0.06 to 3.71 ± 0.03 mmol:mol (Fig 4). The strontium-partitioning coefficient (DSr) ranged from 0.350 ± 0.007 to 0.475 ± 0.004. Both, Sr:Ca and DSr were statistically different between strains (P <0.001 and P = 0.034, respectively). The average calcite Mg:Ca was 0.39 ± 0.06 mmol:mol (Table 2). The indicators of organic phase’s contamination (phosphorus (P):Ca and iron (Fe):Ca) were below 6.5 and 41 mmol:mol, respectively. Fig 4. Comparison of the strontium to calcium ratios (Sr:Ca) from the 9 calcifying strains with the Sr:Ca from a single strain cultured under different irradiance levels. White symbols represent single values compiled from Stoll et al. . Colored symbols represent mean values of three replicates obtained from our laboratory cultures. Error bars are standard deviation of three replicates. Table 3. Magnesium (Mg) and strontium (Sr) concentrations in culture medium and in coccolithophore calcite, and the corresponding partitioning coefficients (Drx). Many experiments have investigated the physiological response of E. huxleyi under future ocean acidification scenarios obtaining contrasting results (summary in ) but recently a unifying concept was developed , showing that the shifting in optimal pCO2 observed in different strains is also affected by culture conditions such as light and temperature . Intra-species variability has been suggested as key factor for the recorded variability in physiological responses [9, 27, 44]. However, the large variety of experimental set ups, environmental conditions and different investigated strains hamper any attempt to estimate the magnitude of this phenotypic variability. Our approach suggests that phenotypic variability of physiological and biogeochemical traits between strains grown under identical environmental conditions may reflect genotypic differences. Thus, we examined phenotypic variability amongst 13 strains representative of different ocean biogeographic provinces grown under identical culture conditions. We acknowledge that the chosen environmental conditions do not reflect strain specific optimal conditions neither do they represent the biogeographic conditions at the site of isolation. Some of the investigated strains have been maintained in culture collections for decades. For example, strain “South Africa” (Table 1) has been kept in culture for 30 years. In these cases, the genetic drift and adaptation to culture conditions over time represents a potential bias given that the phenotype of the strains investigated may no longer accurately represent the initially isolated cells. In general, older cultures are more likely to have departed from their “natural state” than newer isolates, especially in terms of traits that are not under selection under culture conditions . Yet, most of the strains were widely used in many research studies during the last 20 years (Table 1). Therefore, our results (S2 Table) are relevant for comparison of literature strain-specific responses. Despite several studies showing a genetic separation between strains originating in the northern and southern hemisphere [12, 14, 13], physiological and biogeochemical parameters measured in our experiments do not separate between strains from the two hemispheres. For instance, the two B morphotypes included in this study, strain 1212 (from southern hemisphere) and 1258 (from northern hemisphere), showed similar biogeochemical properties (S2 Table). The morphometric analysis performed here suggests that A type strains have typically small volumes and that B type strains possess the largest cell volumes (Fig 1). However, the small number of strains used in this study might prevent us from drawing conclusive results in relation to the biogeographic origin of the strains. Latitudinal origin of isolation was not reflected in the variation of physiological parameters or morphotype identities. Thus, at ~19°C we would expect to find strains from mid-latitudes growing at optimum conditions, while the same temperature for strains isolated at high latitudes might be the upper or lower threshold for growth depending on the average annual temperature at the site of isolation [46, 47]. However, other physico-chemical parameters such as light regimes and seawater CO2 concentrations could shift the maximum peaks of the physiological and biogeochemical properties under the same temperature [25, 43, 48]. Our results are in line with those obtained by Reid et al. , where functional diversity based on enzyme activity assays of 52 strains of E. huxleyi showed no significant effects of strains grouped according to biogeographic origin. A mechanistic relationship between particulate organic and inorganic carbon, and growth rates was suggested by Buitenhuis et al. . However, we only find a moderate inverse correlation between growth rate and cell volume (r = -0.479; P = 0.002), POC production (r = -0.59; P <0.001) and C:N (r = -0.441; P = 0.005). Our results suggest that strains with higher cell volume entail lower growth rate and higher carbon production (r >0.73; P <0.001) (S2 Table). Therefore, the PIC and POC production are strongly determined by cell volume, and hence PIC and POC cell quota. The variation of PIC and POC production, and the PIC:POC ratios are in agreement with values previously reported in the literature [27, 32]. It is surprising that the range of strain-specific phenotypic variability for the different parameters determined here is much higher than the maximum variation registered in previous studies for a single strain growing under increasing concentrations of seawater CO2 . For instance, the maximum variation of growth rate, POC and PIC cell quota, within a range of about 900 μatm of CO2, determined by Langer et al. , corresponds to only 49, 25, and 23%, respectively, of the variation determined in the present study for 9 strains under identical environmental conditions. This suggests that the inter-strain genetic variability has greater potential to induce larger phenotypic differences than the phenotypic plasticity of a single strain cultured under a broad range of variable environmental conditions. In the ocean, the shifts in PIC:POC ratios in a population are likely to be more strongly controlled by the changes in population composition (dominating strains) than the plasticity of PIC:POC of a given strain as suggested by the results obtained by Beaufort et al. . Thus, the combination of strain-specific values of organic and inorganic carbon cell quotas, and growth rates represent the strain-specific biogeochemical signature with potential to specifically contribute to the biological carbon pump when it dominates large blooms (Fig 1). The range of C:N variability determined in this study (between 5.48 and 12.37) covers the systematic variation between phytoplankton groups reported in Quigg et al. . Interestingly, the direct correlation between C:N ratios and cell volume (r = 0.47, P<0.005), along with the inverse correlation with growth rate (r = -0.44, P = 0.005), reveals hints on the implication of cell size on biogeochemical cycling of elements . Thus, the nitrogen remineralization rate in the water column could be largely affected by cell volume, which is strain-specific. The strain-specific stoichiometric variations have implications on the export of carbon and other elements (N, P, etc.) to the deep ocean. Coccolithophores are commonly integrated in biogeochemical models because they dominate pelagic PIC production and export. Models largely rely on the limited experimental datasets available for PIC production. Extrapolations from experimental work on single strains might lead to over/underestimated results when not taking into account the genetic diversity and ecophysiological plasticity within the species [43, 48]. For instance, if we compare the range variation of PIC:POC ratios recorded in our study (between 0.12±0.05 and 0.94±0.02) with the parameterization used by Gehlen et al. this issue becomes evident. The range of PIC:POC variation registered in our study with saturation state with respect to calcite (ΩCalcite) = 3.75±0.25 was 1.2-fold larger than that recorded for a single strain of E. huxleyi (0.3–1.0 ) within range from 2 to 10 ΩCalcite, and for a mesocosm bloom dominated by the same species (0.3–0.9 ). Therefore, finding a way to include E. huxleyi's functional diversity in biogeochemical models is essential to improve our understanding about the role of this species on global biogeochemical cycling of elements and the effect of climate change-driven selection on the populations. However, the lack of systematic biogeographic information on physiological parameters complicates the integration into models. The calcite Sr:Ca ratio for each strain was well within the range of reported values from other culture experiments [42, 57]. No correlation was found between calcite Sr:Ca ratios, growth rates, cell and coccosphere volume, and calcification rates (P > 0.05). However, it should be noted that six strains (excluding the three outermost calcite Sr:Ca of strains AC474, SA and NZEH) follow a positive trend of increasing calcite Sr:Ca along with increasing growth rate, as previously described by Stoll et al. . The range of variation of calcite Sr:Ca for the 9 calcifying strains used for elemental analyses (from 2.75 to 3.57 mmol:mol) was 3 times higher than the Sr:Ca range (2.78 to 3.05 mmol:mol) detected in a single strain of E. huxleyi (CCMP374) cultured at different light levels (Fig 4). The strains displaying the smallest and largest ratios (SA and AC474, respectively) were not isolated at high latitudes, therefore, we can discard the effect of adaptation to a baseline temperature lower than the 19.3°C used in this study. Since all the strains were cultured under nutrient replete conditions, and harvested during the exponential growth phase, physiological control is assumed to be similar for all strains. Differences in the calcite Sr:Ca ratio may be due to inherent genomic properties controlling seawater Sr transport mechanisms, both, at the level of extracellular membrane and the coccolith vesicle, where calcification takes place . Thus the incorporation of Sr into the calcite lattice of E. huxleyi is strain-specific. The wide calcite Mg:Ca ratio variation was influenced by incomplete removal of organic matter that can bias intra-species comparisons (Table 2) when calcite content is low in relation to POC, i.e., in low calcifying strains . Given that the organic phases of phytoplankton contain an order of magnitude more Mg (~560 mmol:mol of P) than, for example, Sr (~54 mmol:mol of P) , removal of organic phases is critical in determining Mg in E. huxleyi owing to the small size of the samples and the low calcite content (~40 ppm Ca; see Table 2). In our study, only the highest calcifying strains displayed relatively low organic matter content as indicated by the P:Ca and Fe:Ca ratios, which were used as indicators of organic contamination in the calcite samples (Table 2). After the cleaning pre-treatment only 5 samples from 3 strains (SA, 1212 and NZEH) satisfied the requirements established to consider the measurement of calcite Mg:Ca ratio as acceptable: (1) Fe:Ca ratio < 50 mmol:mol, and (2) P:Ca < 6 mmol:mol . We conclude that Mg/Ca ratios cannot be used with confidence for E. huxleyi due to the difficulties to remove organic phases from the samples. We suggest that E. huxleyi is not a good candidate for measuring calcite Mg:Ca, and thus should not be used to reconstruct any property using the geological record. However, in larger species such as Gephyrocapsa oceanica, Coccolithus pelagicus, or Calcidiscus leptoporus the Mg organic phases are easier to clean, and thus calcite Mg:Ca measurements are more reliable for applications in paleo-reconstructions [25, 37]. We show a relationship between intra-species diversity and variability in coccolith geochemistry, which is an important factor in proxy calibration of primary productivity (Sr:Ca) [8, 24, 25]. In addition, organic biomarker proxies (alkenone-derived carbon isotopes fractionation) to determine ancient pCO2 scenarios are affected by strain-specific variability on cell volumes and POC quotas . In order to obtain an accurate calibration of productivity, temperature, and pCO2, strain biogeochemical identity within the species concept of E. huxleyi needs to be considered. Therefore, inter-strain variability will have to be incorporated into the palaeopoxy calibration and its error margins. Inter-strain complexity driven by strain functional diversity has the potential to mask variations in elemental composition associated to interactions with environmental conditions due to strain-specific acclimation patterns and element discrimination capacity . This complexity might limit the direct use of elemental ratios as paleoproxies. However, changes on calcite Sr:Ca could be used to detect and characterize climate driven changes in dominant strains, which could shed light on determining what and how climatic events drive changes in coccolithophore community composition and evolution . The impact of climate change on coccolithophores predicted for the next 100 years as a result of anthropogenic activity will ultimately depend on their capability to adapt. The frequency of environmental changes will determine adaptation; i.e., new beneficial mutations, horizontal gene transfer, or recombination [64, 65]. The genetic variability and different metabolic repertoires of E. huxleyi have the potential to make this species particularly resilient in novel environments . Additionally, the phenotypic variability of E. huxleyi showed in this study constitutes an enormous advantage to mitigate the effects of rapid climate change, since physiological functioning of phytoplankton is expected to be phenotypically buffered against such environmental heterogeneity . Thus, high diversity of environmentally induced responses [27, 67] has the potential to lead to different evolutionary outcomes . As a counterpoint, the complexity in intra-species resilience, adaptation and competition of E. huxleyi might complicate the application of paleoproxies to reconstruct ancient climate scenarios, predictions of the ocean carbon pump strength and efficiency, the biogeochemical cycles and ecological impacts in future climate scenarios. Phytoplankton intra-species genetic variability is well studied [69, 70]. Yet, this study provides additional evidence of intra-species physiological variability of the coccolithophore species E. huxleyi, revealing strain-specific elemental signatures and growth rates. Thus, it can be expected that blooms dominated by a certain strain have different signatures in the biological pump and the elements they export. Most of the strains included in this study have previously been used in laboratory experiments investigating the response of coccolithophores to projected global change (increase in seawater CO2, temperature, nutrients) showing variable responses . Our results provide a frame of comparison for the phenotypes that have been used in many laboratory and model studies. In addition, the great variability reflected in the calcite elemental composition and the physiological parameters highlight the need to take in account the intra-species for the calibration of paleo-proxies. S1 Fig. Comparison of carbon measurements. We used particulate carbon parameters (PIC, POC and TPC) determined with two different techniques: (1) carbon concentration using an elemental analyzer, and (2) calcium concentration using ICP-AES, and results were compared. This was done to compare the two most used carbon-measuring techniques in the literature and assess possible errors or deviations. S1 Notes. Comparison of particulate carbon parameters (PIC, POC and TPC) determined using two different techniques. S1 Table. Culture medium’s carbonate system of our strains and of published strains. S2 Table. 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2019-04-20T01:45:04Z

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0157697

So Christianity is full of miracles. The gospels say that Jesus performed many miracles, like healing people of their diseases and walking on water. Christians today believe that God can work miracles in response to their prayers. And, of course, the central event in Christianity – the resurrection of Jesus – is a miracle. So if miracles can’t happen then Christianity is in trouble. But why think that miracles can’t happen? After all, if there is a God then surely miracles are the sort of thing you’d expect him to be able to do. (What sort of god would he be, if he couldn’t perform miracles?) And yet many people, even those who believe in God, struggle with the idea that miracles can happen. One worry that people can have about miracles is the vague sense that this is too mythological, too supernatural, for rational, scientific, modern people to believe in. Turning water into wine might seem like magic trick, or else hocus-pocus, and we’re smart enough to know that magicians deal in illusions, not realities. But this kind of objection is rather vague and its not immediately clear what the problem is. Of course, if someone comes to you and says “I can make a rabbit appear in my hat”, you have every right to suspect that the rabbit is just hidden away somewhere and isn’t going to appear from nothing. But that doesn’t mean miracles are impossible, it just means we’re rightly suspicious of those trading in illusions. And there is a danger that simply dismissing miracles as myth or magic: we’re simply engaged in snobbery not proper rational enquiry. Perhaps a more sophisticated objection is that miracles break the laws of nature. From our repeated experience, and from scientific investigation, we know that the universe behaves in ordered and regular ways. The sun rises every day, things fall down (not up), and dead people don’t come back to life. These are laws of nature – exceptions do not occur, else they wouldn’t be laws. And that is all well and good but it suggests that the laws of nature have priority over everything else – that the laws of nature were before everything and overrule everything. Now even for the atheist, this is not the case. Because if you believe that the universe came into being from nothing, then it is not the laws of nature that were before everything else but nothing – if this were true, the laws of nature would be as arbitrary as the rest of existence. So the atheist has no particular reason for suspecting that the laws of nature will continue to operate, except that they have so far. But for the believer, the laws of nature do not have priority either. Because if there is a God, who created the universe, then he is responsible for the laws of nature. Now he is God such a sloppy creator that he made rules and laws that even he couldn’t change? Is it credible to think that God could create gravity and yet be unable to change it when necessary? If that idea just seems too silly to be true, then the objection to miracles evaporates. the atheists assumes the high ground and asks Christians to prove the creation of the universe, but the atheist has no more ability to explain the beginning of the universe than the Christian. The atheist accuses the Christian of something he is guilty of himself, namely belief without empirical evidence. The atheist berates the Christian for something which he has no better answer. In fact, the atheist answer would seem to ultimately assume that the effect of the universe resulted without a cause, an absurdity. A pseudoscience is a set of beliefs or practices that pretends at being science—that puts forth evidence and arguments which it says are scientifically sound, but in fact are not. Pseudoscientists argue in support of new fundamental forces (e.g., Rupert Sheldrake’s morphic resonance) and even entities (e.g., ancient aliens). The TV show Ghost Hunters is a prime example; they even have instruments—like voice recorders, EM meters, laser thermometers (and deluxe carrying cases)—which seem scientific, but of course do nothing to detect ghosts. But all pseudosciences have one thing in common: The arguments and reasoning they put forth violate basic rules of scientific reasoning. Whether it be Gnostic mysticism, or German Liberal Rationalism, throughout Christian history there have been numerous attempts to separate the effects, or “inner truth” Christianity from it’s concrete grounding in the narrative of God’s interaction with Israel and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. In other words, we want the value of “loving your enemies” and “forgiveness” without grounding it in the Cross where the Godman concretely loved his enemies and forgave them with his own blood. We want the sense of gratitude and joy on a sunny day without grounding it in the Creator God who gives it to us and currently sustains all things in things in being. idea that science is logical, purely rational, that it is detached and value-free, and that it is, for all these reasons, morally superior. The Gospels on which Christianity relies were written hundreds of years after the fact and are mostly reinventions of other pagan traditions? Each of these propositions is not only false but easily proven to be so, as even the most minimal exertions show. Yet believing any, and many more like them, are touted by “New Atheists” as marks of superior intelligence, as enlightened thinking, even as commonsense reasonableness. To these infinitely self-assured folks, disbelief is a synonym of rational. It’s just a guess, but perhaps this irrational belief is why it is so hard to persuade New Atheists of their errors? The presence within us of an objective moral law ‘written on our hearts’ points instead to the existence of an eternal Goodness and Intelligence which created us and our universe, enables us to think, and is the eternal source of our best and deepest values. In other words, Lewis argues, atheism cuts its own throat philosophically, because it discredits all human reasoning, including the arguments for atheism. “If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning.” (Mere Christianity). Only by acknowledging that there is a God, he concludes, can we hope to make sense of human existence, the world we inhabit, and, paradoxically, the problem of evil. Am I arguing that “miracles happen too often?” Yes, but Gilson misses my point. It had nothing to do with science, it had everything to do with god. Gilson argued in True Reason that god wants his creationsto be “responsible moral agents;” and god also wants his creations to learn from experience. All of these things would not be possible if we lived in a world “of constant supernatural intervention” because “if there isto much chaos (“noise”) in a transmission, the message (signal) can’t get throughto be clearly understood.” (130)I argued that, at least according tonumerous Christians around the world, their god intervenes in the affairs of the worldon a daily basis and I provided one, among other examples, of a Christian friend who thanked god for coming across a set of chairs in someone’s yard.I also argued that far from being opposed to constant supernatural intervention the entire basis of Christianity is built upon supernatural intervention, including god coming down in human form as Jesus to the creation of the world out of absolutely nothing, which are in fact acts of the supernatural, unlike what Gilson stated in his reply (“it’s more than slightly difficult to see how God violated natural law by creating natural law (as creation ex nihilo indicates).”). Gilson’s argument makes no logical sense. Christians argue all the time that “something cannot come from nothing” but for Christians apparently it’s OK. And I suppose a man rising from the dead or a god-man coming down from heaven isn’t a supernatural event? Gilson says nothing about these core beliefs of Christianity. The embrace of a specific belief has rather a lot of do with your geographical location, and nothing at all to do with what is and is not actually true. It is those around you that draw you in. Derren Brown, the illusionist, did a series on Channel 4 in the UK called Fear and Faith. During this at one point he gave somebody a camera to record a video diary and told her that for the next two weeks they would be manipulating events in her life so that she could learn life lessons, and that she was to record those lessons on her video diary. Darren Brown is well-known for doing the hidden camera thing and so this idea, once planted, was embraced as factual. One week later she had a video crammed full of the lessons she had learned during the events that they had staged. The reveal was that they had done nothing at all except give her the idea and a camera – everything that happened was her reading meaning into random events. – This is exactly the same psychology at play in the “born again” experience where Jesus is with you and helps you out each day. Me neither. I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to go to suffer everlasting torment, however bad they were in life, and I don’t like the idea of a god would want that either. The idea of unending pain is not only intolerably cruel but to pretend that in any sense someone could deserve that fate so unjust as to be positively wicked. Regardless of how bad someone behaved, regardless of how many crimes they committed, no-one could do enough evil to justify an infinite punishment. Even worse is the suggestion that anyone who misses out on salvation will end up with the same punishment; petty crook and genocidal dictator alike, they all must endure an eternity of pain and suffering. A god who behaved in this way could not be described as “merciful“, could not even be described as “just”. Such a god could only be described as wicked. But the God I believe in is both merciful and just, so I can’t believe that He would send anyone to hell. Leave aside for a moment what Jesus meant by “soul” and “hell”, it is clear that Jesus did not think of hell as many Christians do. For Jesus, hell is not a place where the soul suffers eternal conscious torment. Instead hell is a place where the soul is killed, destroyed, finished, done. Jesus promises eternal life. The opposite of eternal life is not eternal conscious torment but eternal death. Jesus makes this clear in the words considered above. Whoever rejects the offer will “not see life”. They don’t go on living in torment and agony for all eternity. They just stay dead. That’s the fate of the wicked, that’s the fate of those who reject Jesus’ offer of life, they stay dead. The question then is why do so many Christians believe in hell, given that is a horrible idea and not what Jesus taught? For some people, though they call themselves “Christian”, just use the doctrine of hell as a stick to beat their neighbours. There also probably some truth in the claim that the historic church used the threat of hell as a way of controlling its followers. But there are also many sincere and well-intentioned Christians who still believe in hell. This is because they are used to reading the Bible a certain way and have never been shown that it was written differently. Many Christians believe that the soul is immortal, that it not only survives death but can never die. This is not what Jesus or the early Christians taught, but if you believe that the soul cannot die then you must believe it goes somewhere after death. You wouldn’t want to belief that wicked people end up in a good place (a lot of Christians believe they go to heaven when they die), so there must be a bad place for the bad people to go to. Once you’ve got this idea in your mind then you read the Bible to fit that idea. For example, whilst Jesus never talks about eternal conscious torment, he does talk about “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46). If you already believe that bad souls go to a bad place when they die, it is convenient to read “eternal punishment” as though it said “eternal conscious torment”. That’s not what Jesus said, but that’s what many Christians think. It also does not help that Christians today have forgotten what Jesus meant when he used the word “hell”. When Jesus talks about hell he is usually using the word gehenna, which literally means “Valley of Hinnom“. This was a place in ancient Israel where the worshippers of the pagan god Molech would perform human sacrifices, including burning children (e.g. 2 Kings 23:10). This practice is condemned by God through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:35). Jeremiah uses the imagery of being burnt in the Valley of Hinnom to portray the fitting punishment for those who practiced such evil (Jeremiah 7:31-32). This is the background to the word gehenna in the New Testament where it represents the fate of the wicked. When Jesus talks about the ‘fire of hell‘ (Matthew 5:22) he is using the word gehenna, using this imagery for the destruction of death. The other word used by Jesus for hell is hades. Though in greek mythology hades was both the abode of the dead and the god of the dead, in the New Testament hades simply refers to the grave. In either case Jesus was not referring to a place of eternal conscious torment for the wicked, as many people now think about hell. As you can see from this overview I do not think that Christians should believe in hell and as such I do not think that hell provides any obstacle to believing in God. Jesus does not teach that the wicked go to hell and I do not know of any other part of the bible that teaches this idea. Wherever people got the notion of hell from it was not from God and not part of his message to mankind. I can understand that you would not want to believe in a god that condemned people to hell, though your personal dislike would not determine whether or not such a god existed. But the notion of hell is inconsistent with everything we know about the God who does exist; inconsistent with his goodness and inconsistent with his message to mankind. Because of the symbolic nature of the language, some people question whether hell consists of actual fire. Such reasoning should bring no comfort to the lost. The reality is greater than the symbol. The Bible exhausts human language in describing heaven and hell. The former is more glorious, and the latter more terrible, than language can express. In Christian tradition it is usually associated with the notion of eternal punishment, especially by fire. This idea appears in Isaiah. 66:24, but it is not clearly associated with a place. Jewish writings from the third century B.C. onward, speak of places of punishment by fire for evil spirits and the wicked dead (1 Enoch 18:11-16; 108:3-7, 15; 2 Esdras 7:36-38). The book of Revelation describes a lake that burns with fire and brimstone in which the wicked will be eternally punished (Revelation 19:20; 20:14-15; 21:8). One aspect of the great controversy about hell, and about Bell’s thesis, is the meaning of the word Gehenna in the New Testament. Most English translations contribute to the confusion by replacing the word Gehenna with hell, instead of leaving it untranslated, as it should be, since it is the name of a specific geographical place on earth. The scriptures indicate that hell is nothing more than mankind’s common grave. Proof of this is provided by a verse of scripture in the Bible, which no hellfire-believing Christian can explain away. I’m referring to the scripture that says Jesus Christ–the epitome of a perfect, sinless, and obedient man–died and went to hell. When most people think of hell, they think of Satan in that red suit with two horns and a pitchfork somewhere in the depths of the Earth where souls are tormented day and night on some kind of giant char broiler. Do something wrong in life and you’re condemned to an eternal damnation of flames. None of this could be further from the truth, and we should know better, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (II Corinthians 2:11).The English word hell comes from the Anglo-Saxon hel, or in the genitive case helle, which means a “hidden place”, from the Anglo-Saxon word helan, meaning “to hide”. Whether it’s the word sheol in the Old Testament, or gehenna or hades in the New Testament, they all mean either the grave or the state of death. In their disputes about the meaning of Gehenna, both men overlooked the significance of Gehenna as a topographical feature in the land of promise, and one of the valleys which Isaiah said will be filled, as John the Baptist proclaimed. [Luke 3:5]From Gehenna, one views Jerusalem as an outsider; the teachings of Jesus encourage us to get into the kingdom of God, and obtain life. +The sayings of Jesus about Gehenna also apply to the present age. Gehenna is a judgment. [Mat. 5:22, 23:33] Jesus referred to it as something we should avoid at any cost, even if it means loss of our right eye, or our right hand, or our right foot. [Mat. 5:29, 30] Jesus said God is able to destroy “both soul and body” in Gehenna, and that we should fear him. [Mat. 10:28, Luke 12:5] This suggests that the warnings about Gehenna apply to our present lives; being cast into it represents the spiritual condition, of being outside the holy city.Being cast into Gehenna contrasts with entering into life. [Mat. 18:9] Scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites are called “children of Gehenna.” [Mat. 23:15] Balfour correctly pointed out “no Gentile is ever threatened with Gehenna punishment,” as that threat applies especially to those in Jerusalem. One must be in the holy city, in order to be cast out of it. While the threat of “the damnation of Gehenna” applies only to Jews, the heirs of salvation, who are “in Christ,” are called Jews, and “the circumcision,” in a spiritual sense; Jesus used the threat of Gehenna figuratively and metaphorically to warn the saints who dwell in the heavenly Jerusalem. Thus, sheol and hades were the same place and must have been occupied by the redeemed since the Messiah was there while His body lay in the grave. That the lost were also there, but in a separate area, is clear from Christ’s statement that when the rich man died, “in hades he lift up his eyes, being in torment….” That in his torment he could see Lazarus and Abraham in comfort (Luke 16:19-31) further indicates that the redeemed were also in hades yet distinct from the damned. That part of hades, which Christ referred to as “Abraham’s bosom,” must have been the “paradise” in which Jesus promised to meet the believing thief on the cross that very day (Luke 23:43). If God is so loving why doesn’t He universally forgive everyone? Love is only part of God’s character. He is also infinitely and perfectly just. How can God forgive someone who admits no guilt? How can He forgive those who insist that there is nothing for which He needs to forgive them? And would it not be the utmost folly to do so? If in His mercy and grace God simply passed over human rebellion, would that not be condoning evil and even encouraging it? Would that not in itself undermine God’s control of His universe? Philosophy – What Is Hell? To Hell with HellIs Punishment Eternal? Imagine there was a man who went around claiming that he had a special message from God and that part of this man’s message was that he would be killed and come back to life. And then imagine that this man did indeed come back to life. Surely that is the sort of person you’d want to pay attention to. We have seen that there is good historical evidence that Jesus is that sort of person – that he claimed to have a special message from God and that he died and came back to life. So we would want to pay attention to what Jesus said about the Bible. Now for the purposes of this essay we are using the gospels as historical sources, not yet as scripture (otherwise our argument would be circular). But this does not prevent us drawing some conclusions about Jesus’ view of the Bible. For instance, as a first century Jew it would expect Jesus to believe that the Old Testament was inspired by God (just as Jews do today). And the gospels corroborate this. For example, when Jesus says “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44), he is referring to the three sections into which the Jews divided their scriptures. It is also clear that Jesus regarded the Old Testament books as messages from God. For example, he refers to the Psalms being written by the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36). But what about the New Testament? None of the books of the New Testament were written during Jesus’ lifetime on the Earth. Most written between twenty and forty years after his crucifixion. This being said, there are indications that Jesus expected there to be these books. We know that Jesus was a teacher, that he appointed disciples and that after his resurrection it was these disciples that started telling everyone about Jesus. The gospels say that Jesus selected the disciples for this role; for example, “you are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48). And those who wrote the NT recognised that they were specially selected as witnesses (e.g. 1 Pet 1:12; Heb 2:3-4). In effect, Jesus says “there are going be witnesses” and the NT writers claim to be those witnesses. So Jesus accepted the Old Testament as scripture, and it seems likely that the New Testament was written to fulfil Jesus’ instructions. Therefore the testimony of Jesus is gives us good reason for thinking the Bible is a special book and should encourage us to look for further evidence. Obviously not all predictions are going to be as convincing as others. There seem to be three criteria: (1) that prediction is made before the event it predicts (otherwise its not a prediction), (2) that predicted event can be verified with reasonable certainty (otherwise how would you know if the prediction was successful), and (3) that the predicted events is sufficiently unlikely to make the prediction significant (predicting rain in England is hardly surprising). The Bible contains numerous prophecies. Some are short term prophecies so aren’t easy to verify historically, but there are plenty of long term prophecies to look at it. Here we’ll just look at one group of prophesies to make the point. These are the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus, which accurately predict many of the events of Jesus’ life. These include being a descendant of King David (2 Sam 7:12-13), being born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2), being betrayed by a friend (Ps 41:9), being valued at thirty pieces of silver (Zech 11:13), having no bones broken in his execution (Ex 12:46), having hands and feet pierced (Ps 22:16; Zech 12:10), having his clothing divided by lot (Ps 22:18), being buried in the grave of a rich man (Isa 53:9) and being raised from the dead (Ps 16:9-11). What is interesting about these prophecies is these predictions al converge on the person of Jesus. There is one further prophecy worth mentioning. In Daniel 9:24-27 a prophecy is made about set period of time in the history of the Jewish people. It is described in terms of weeks but all scholars agree that these weeks are periods of seven years. The interpretation of the prophecy can be technical because of some unusual Hebrew words and the fact that Daniel was using 360 day years (as opposed to the 365 ¼ day years that we use). But in essence what the prophecy says is that from command to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah would be 69 “weeks”. And if you do that maths, the time between the Persian command that the wall of Jerusalem should be rebuilt to the time of Jesus is exactly the period specified by Daniel 9. Even if you wanted to quibble about the exact year of the command or the exact year of Jesus’ ministry, the timing is still so accurate that it cannot be ignored. Most antiquities scholars think that the New Testament gospels are “mythologized history.” In other words, they think that around the start of the first century a controversial Jewish rabbi named Yeshua ben Yosef gathered a following and his life and teachings provided the seed that grew into Christianity.At the same time, these scholars acknowledge that many Bible stories like the virgin birth, miracles, resurrection, and women at the tomb borrow and rework mythic themes that were common in the Ancient Near East, much the way that screenwriters base new movies on old familiar tropes or plot elements. In this view, a “historical Jesus” became mythologized. While much of the New Testament prophecy points to a distant future, many of the claims of Jesus can be assessed now. Jesus’ accuracy is so compelling, many skeptics have altered their dating of the New Testament in response. Acknowledging the accuracy of the prophecy related to the Temple destruction, skeptics typically date Luke and Matthew after 70AD to account for the inclusion of this statement. In doing so, these skeptics recognize the power of Jesus’ prophetic ability. They would rather deny the evidence for early dating than accept Jesus’ accuracy. Critics and skeptics of the New Testament recognize the power accurate prophecy has to demonstrate the Divinity of the New Testament. The only religion in the whole world, that believes in Jesus [ʿĪsā] (Upon Whom Be Peace) and testifies to Christianity is Islām. Muslims believe, that Jesus (Upon Whom Be Peace) was one of the mightiest Messengers of Allāh; that he was born miraculously ― without any male intervention; that he gave life to the dead by Allāh’s permission, and that he healed the born blind and the lepers by Allāh’s permission. A person is not considered a Muslim, unless, he or she believes in Jesus (Upon Whom Be Peace). Muslims believe, that Allāh delivered the Gospel ― Injeel to Jesus (Upon Whom Be Peace), just as He did Torah ― Taurāt to Moses [Mūsā] (Upon Whom Be Peace), the Old Testament ― Zabūr to David [Dāwūd] (Upon Whom Be Peace) and The Mighty Qur’ān to Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). During the years of Christ and His death and resurrection a great transition was made between the Old and New Covenants. The Holy Scriptures at that time were Old Testament records and were used as a basis for Israel’s faith. During the first century the Four Gospel’s and the New Testament Epistles were being written and were not published until the 3rd century and after. The Old Testament records (the Holy Scriptures) were Israel’s primary written words of God. Both the Old Testament and New Testament books were immediately recognized and treated as scripture, though we have no formal statement about the New Testament until the fourth century. How did the early church judge which books were scripture and which were not? The test of authority: Who penned the book? The test of internal evidence: Does the book penned or authorized by a genuine prophet or apostle bear the internal evidence of being God breathed? The test of God’s people: Did genuine believers from the penning of these books to the present recognize them as scripture? Oftentimes when we study end times bible prophecy, we tend to focus on the Old Testament prophets like Joel, Isaiah, Zechariah, and on our apostle Paul in the New Testament. But Peter has a treasure trove of scripture for us to consider as well. The more frequently you read and study the Bible, more of it will get into your mind and you won’t have to memorize it. It will just be there waiting to be used. It will also give you a greater understanding of God and His ways to “search the scriptures” because in doing so, you will be learning about God more and more. With one-fourth of the Bible prophetically future when it was written, the interpretation of prophecy is one of the most challenging areas of biblical study. Too often preconceptions have led interpreters to draw from the biblical text doctrines that were quite removed from what the text actually states. Because prophecy is scattered from the early chapters of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation and deals with so many different situations and subjects, interpreters of prophecy have too often abandoned any detailed interpretation and reached only general conclusions. The central event of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus stayed dead then his own predictions proved false – he was nothing more than a good man with some interesting teaching. But if Jesus rose from the dead then he is someone really special – someone worth believing. What’s more if Jesus rose from the dead then perhaps death isn’t the end – perhaps there is a way for others to overcome death too. Firstly, Jesus died on the cross. This is not particularly controversial. It was accepted by non-Christians like Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian and the writers of the Talmud. It is, of course, also the unanimous testimony of Christian sources, like the gospels and the letters. Modern medical appraisals of crucifixion have concluded that Jesus could not have survived what he suffered and, in any case, the Romans had ways of ensuring their victims died. 14th century Byzantine Icon of the Descent from the Cross from the Church of Saint Marina in Kalopanagiotis, Cyprus. St. Joseph of Arimathea is the figure standing in the center, in blue-green robes holding the Body of Christ.Secondly, Jesus was buried in a tomb. This is also not particularly controversial. The earliest Christian preachers described Jesus being laid in a tomb (Acts 13:28-29). The gospels record how Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus and laid it in his tomb (Mark 15:46; Matt 27:59-60; Luke 23:53; John 19:41-42). The early reverence of a tomb in Jerusalem (whether or not this is actually the tomb of Jesus) is another witness of the type of burial given to Jesus. And no ancient critic of Christianity – whether Jewish or pagan – ever suggested that Jesus was buried somewhere else. Thirdly, three days later the tomb of Jesus was empty. This is important because for both Jews and pagans “resurrection” (anastasis) meant bodily resurrection – if Jesus was alive again, his tomb must be empty. Again this is a feature of the earliest Christian preaching (cf. Acts 2:29-32) and the gospel records (Mark 16:1-8; Matt 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10). But it is also a feature of the early Jewish accounts of Jesus – from the first century onwards they claimed that the disciple stole the body (Matt 28:11-15; Justin, Dialogue 108; Tertullian, De Spectaculis 30; Toledoth Yeshu 9-10). This story presupposes that they thought the tomb was empty (they would hardly tell such a story if Jesus was still in the tomb). The fact that Caesar issued a decree against moving bodies from sealed tombs and had it inscribed on a stone in Nazareth probably indicates that he too had heard the story that the tomb of Jesus was empty (this decree is known as The Nazareth Inscription). Fourthly, the early Christians claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. When writing a letter to the church at Corinth in the mid-50s, Paul lists those who saw Jesus after his resurrection, including the twelve disciples and Jesus’ brother James. He even says there are over five hundred other witnesses, many of whom were still alive when he wrote (1 Cor 15:5-8). These claims are also a feature of the earliest Christian preaching (Acts 2:32, 3:15, 10:39-40), the gospels (John 20:11-18; Luke 24:34; Matt 28:15-17, etc.), other New Testament texts (e.g. 1 Pet 1:3; Rom 1:4; Phil 3:10; Heb 13:20; Rev 1:18) and other first century Christian texts (Didache 10:2; 1 Clement 24:1; Barnabas 5:7). This evidence is early, based upon eyewitness testimony and has a consistent core – that Jesus died, was buried and rose again. The resurrection of Jesus is, by far, the simplest explanation of the historical evidence. What about the alternatives? Well, a number of alternative theories have been suggested to explain the evidence but none has managed to convince the majority of scholars. Those scholars who deny the resurrection generally tend to not give a verdict on the evidence. But, for completeness, let us consider briefly just one oft-repeated alternative. It goes something like this: the disciples stole the body and then pretended Jesus was alive again to promote their new religion. After all, the first century Jews claimed that the disciples stole the body. However, this alternative theory just does not work for a number of reasons. Firstly, if this was a conspiracy then it was a huge conspiracy (over 500 witnesses). Secondly, the disciples had no motivation for the deception – when other Jewish cult leaders and “messiahs” had met gruesome ends their followers had just disbanded. The early disciples gained neither money, status or fame from their preaching. Thirdly, the disciples had everything to lose from such a deception. They were persecuted, imprisoned and executed by both Jewish and Roman authorities. Early witnesses, like Peter and Paul, met their deaths refusing to renounce their faith. Would you die for a lie? The simple fact is that the historical evidence is clear and consistent. And if the event in question wasn’t so controversial then I don’t think anybody would doubt it. Unfortunately it is controversial. Because if the resurrection is false then Christianity is false. And if the resurrection is true then Christianity (or at least its core claims) are also true. So a lot hangs on this question. And at the end of the day you’re going to have to make up your own mind for yourself. But if you think that resurrection is possible and if, like me, you think the historical evidence is strong, then you have good reason for thinking that Jesus rose from the dead. Moving from historical data to the best explanation of that data Crossan and Ehrman robustly rejects resurrections hypothesis. Their rejection is not based on historical data, but on what best explain these data. It is not a historical based rejection but a philosophical one, the impossibility of miracles. Gerd Ludemann is actually an atheist new Testament historian, and he has even debated Dr. Craig on the resurrection – not once, but twice. That’s the kind of evidence Dr. Craig uses in his case. Not just what your pastor will give you, but what atheists will give you. We need to learn to debate like that. The religious leaders would certainly have had enough reason for doing so. They had heard that Jesus had talked of resurrection, and were afraid of hanky-panky. So the argument runs, in order to forestall trickery, they took the precaution of confiscating the corpse. But when this is put into scrutiny, this conjecture also falls into pieces.Having placed the guards at the tomb, what would be their reason for moving the body of Jesus? If the authorities moved the body of Jesus, why didn’t they bring it when the apostles were boldly preaching about the resurrection in Jerusalem? The religious leaders did everything in their power to suppress the preaching on the resurrection. They even arrested Peter and John (Acts 4) and beat them, and threatened them in an effort to silence them.A few weeks of Jesus’ death, the disciples were boldly proclaiming the resurrection. The news spread rapidly. The new Christian movement threatened to undermine the stronghold of Judaism and disturb the peace of Jerusalem. The Jews feared conversion and the Romans detested riots. The authorities had before them one course of action. The Religious leaders could have produced the remains of the corpse of Jesus and published a statement of what they had done. They could have paraded the body of Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem, if indeed, they had it, and that would have smothered Christianity in its cradle. Why would Matthew fabricate a Jewish cover-story and falsely suggest that it “has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day” (Matt 28:15 NIV)? He wouldn’t. Clearly his Jewish audience would have already heard the cover-story. This is probably why Matthew seeks to rebut it. It is wholly implausible that Jesus’ disciples stole his body. They were broken and confused. Their Messiah was dead and they had nothing to gain from stealing his body and then claiming he rose from the dead. Indeed, they suffered greatly for this claim.No amount of cognitive dissonance could possibly motivate every disciple to claim their Messiah was alive when they knew he wasn’t. We might at most expect them to find a new Messiah, but they didn’t.The second suspects are grave robbers hoping to make a profit. However, the Gospels of Luke and John record that Jesus’ grave clothes remaining in the tomb. Why would any grave robbers leave the clothes behind? Moving a body by itself would be incredibly messy. Those looking for burial spices would almost certainly simply have carried off the wrapped body and removed the spices in a safe place. Even the clothes themselves could have been sold later on.Perhaps instead the robbers wanted body parts for magic practices. This is unlikely since there is no evidence that stealing bodies for magical purposes was much of a problem in first-century Palestine.

2019-04-21T13:15:54Z

https://steppingtoes.wordpress.com/author/taanathshiloh/

How do we know Haven In is a legitimate company? We are a U.S.-based company, in business since 2006. You can read reviews written by clients who have stayed with us before. We are also happy to speak with you over the phone! I've only ever stayed in hotels while traveling, but think I want to try renting an apartment this time around. What are the main differences? We at Haven In think that staying in a furnished apartment is the best way to travel! Renting your own vacation apartment in Paris is a wonderful alternative to staying in a hotel. But it's true that renting a holiday flat isn't for everyone. If you think that it just isn’t a vacation without daily maid service, a concierge downstairs, and room service meals, then you might want to take a moment to think about whether a vacation apartment is for you. However, if you look forward to getting an insider’s view to the city, having a larger space and the comforts of home to return to at the end of the day, and the privacy afforded in your own apartment, then a holiday flat can be the ideal home base for your vacation. If you like the idea of renting an apartment, but would still like luxury concierge services during your stay in Paris, you can contact Haven In and we will direct you to a personal concierge for à la carte services. They will be able to help you with restaurant recommendations & reservations, day trips, Paris sightseeing and walking tours, shopping, market tours, and more. We can also put you directly in contact with certain luxury service providers who we have tested and who have the Haven In seal of approval. What do your apartments have to offer that we might miss out on by staying in a hotel? We like to think of our Paris apartments as your home away from home. To this end, we ensure that all of our apartments are outfitted with fully equipped kitchens, allowing you to cook your own meals from fresh food bought at Paris' amazing markets, boulangeries, fromageries, boucheries, and more. We provide unlimited high speed wireless internet and unlimited phone service** to many foreign countries, so you can keep in touch with friends and family at home. In most apartments, there is also a computer for your use during your Parisian vacation. We will even provide a crib, in most apartments, free of charge for your baby! For larger groups, our holiday flats allow you to share a space, rather than having to pay for and split up into separate hotel rooms. For couples, they provide privacy, intimacy, and the ideal setting for a romantic vacation in Paris. ** Please inquire if there is a specific country that you need to call - we can let you know whether it is included in a given apartment. Most of the free countries are outlined in the individual apartment descriptions. How is Haven In unique? We at Haven In pride ourselves on our top-notch customer service. Our aim is to provide the best vacation possible to you, our guests in Paris. All of us at Haven In have lived in Paris and speak fluent French as well as English, so we are well prepared to answer any questions you have before, during, and after your stay. Who are the Haven In people? Haven In was started by Erica, a native of Massachusetts. Erica divides her time between Maine, Massachusetts, Italy and Paris! As the business grew, she took on Elise, Meghan, and Natasha, all of whom work in the U.S. with sporadic visits to Paris to check up on things! When you rent a vacation apartment from Haven In, you may end up corresponding with any one or even all of us. You can also now see photos and bios of the Haven In team. You can find our full terms and conditions here: https://havenin.com/rental-terms These are the terms you will agree to on our rental contract. We have a weekly rental rate that is posted on the apartment pages, but in many cases, we are able to come down from that weekly rate for shorter stays. Feel free to reach out to us about any shorter stays you might be interested in and we would be happy to confirm pricing. For any stays longer than a week, we do pro-rate for additional days; i.e., if you want to rent an apartment for 10 days, we won’t charge you for 2 full weeks. Please inquire about longer term rental discounts. You say sometimes you can rent for less than a week. Do you have a nightly rate for those cases? When we are able to rent for less than a week, we calculate the pro-rated price for your dates based on our normal weekly rate. However, for these shorter rentals, we also have to add a supplement onto the pro-rated price to help cover the extra greeting, cleaning, and laundry costs we incur on a shorter rental. In Paris and London, your rental can start and end on any day of the week – it's up to you! In Provence and Tuscany, rentals normally go from Saturday to Saturday. Please note: We may not be able to accommodate arrivals and departures on December 25 and January 1, but we are happy to confirm this on a case-by-case basis. Arrivals and departures on December 24, 25, 31, and January 1 may incur a special fee. We require a 50% deposit to reserve the apartment, and the remaining 50% two months before your arrival date. Our system will remind you automatically a few days before your balance payment is due. If you reserve within two months of your arrival, then we ask that you make the full payment at that time. Unfortunately, we can not accept money orders or bank drafts, as they are extremely difficult to recover or reissue if lost. How far in advance do I have to reserve my apartment? It depends. Sometimes, an apartment is rented 6 months ahead of time – or even over a year! In other cases, we have last minute availability. It is hard to gauge, which is why we recommend planning as far ahead as possible. This way, you are likely to be able to rent the apartment you prefer for the dates you want. Dates around Christmas, New Years, Easter, and Fashion Week tend to be booked well ahead of time. Will you hold an apartment for my dates while I confirm other details? Haven In has a first come, first serve reservations policy. This means that, until you tell us you want to book and ask us to send our rental agreement, we can't hold your dates. Once we have sent you the rental agreement, we will hold the apartment for 48 hours to give you time complete it and arrange for payment. If we haven't heard from you after 48 hours, we reserve the right to remove the hold we had placed. We will however notify you before doing so. Because of this policy, we at Haven In will do our very best to keep all parties up to date if there is overlapping interest for an apartment. The prices on our site are all inclusive – you do not have to pay extra for any utilities. This is vacation! Please note: Rental prices are all inclusive and, when applicable, the Taxe de Séjour has been added into final prices (€0.83 per adult per night). * Unlimited free high speed WiFi (wireless Internet) in all our properties. Most rentals also include telephone service. 1. We charge $75 to $200 per week (depending on the apartment) for each additional person over the standard occupancy rate, which varies by property. This is clearly stated on the web site. This fee is meant to cover the extra cleaning and laundry costs. 2. We also add on a portion of the extra greeting, cleaning, and laundry costs whenever we accept a rental of less than a week. These fees vary per apartment. 3. We are normally unable to accommodate arrivals or departures on Christmas Day (December 25) or New Year's Day. (January 1). All arrivals and departures on Christmas Eve (December 24) and New Year's Eve (December 31) should occur within the hours of 9am-5pm; all arrivals or departures after 5pm or before 9am on these days will incur a fee of 100 Euros/80 Pounds to be paid in cash to the greeter. Do you ever run discounted rates? We often run special prices when we have last minute availability in an apartment. While it varies by property, we also try to run introductory rates when we have just taken on a new property. If you are a returning client, we are happy, when possible, to give you a small discount as a thank you for returning to Haven in! We have a strict no cancellation policy. In the event that you do need to cancel, all sums paid to Haven in as of the date of your cancellation will be forfeited UNLESS we are able to re-rent the property for your dates. If we are able to re-rent the flat, we refund the amount paid, less a 20% administrative fee. Cancellation insurance is your personal responsibility, and we strongly recommend that you take out insurance for your trip. We cannot be held responsible for a cancellation for any reason, whatever it may be. It’s hard to believe it will happen to you, but sometimes life has a way of changing our plans for us. Please protect yourself! If you would like to take out insurance for your trip, typically done after travel and accommodations are booked, we recommend that you take a look at the options available on sites like ADAR, Insure My Trip, or Travelers Med. Some other insurance companies that you can investigate are: CSA, Travelex, and AIG Travel Guard. Haven In is in no way affiliated with any of these companies and these are merely suggestions. We suggest you shop around and compare until you find a product that best suits your needs. So if I decide I want to reserve an apartment with Haven in, what do I need to do? Reserving a holiday rental with Haven in is simple! If you decide you want to rent an apartment with us and your dates are available, we will confirm the price, the dates of your stay, and the number in your party. We will then send you an email with a link to our rental agreement, which you can fill out online. Once you have submitted this agreement, our system generates a PDF of the rental contract that is emailed to both you, the client, and us, Haven in. Finally, you are taken to our payment page, where you can choose to pay by credit card through our secure server, or by check or wire transfer to Haven in in Maine. Is there a security deposit? How much is it and how do I pay it? We do require a security deposit for all of our properties. You can elect to fill out a credit card authorization form, which authorizes us to charge your card for specific damages caused by you during your stay in Paris. These damages will be documented with bills and your card will never be randomly charged. If there are no damages, we destroy your credit card information without charging your card. If there is any damage, we notify you before running any charges on your credit card*. If you would rather not fill out the credit card authorization, you can send a check to Haven in. We cash the check and, after your departure, refund either the entire amount by check, or deduct accordingly for damages and refund the balance. The amount for the security deposit varies by property – please ask about your specific rental. *In some of our properties the credit card and check process are the same: your card would be charged and then refunded after departure. Details about this can be found in the description of the apartment on its individual page on our site. How early can we check in and how late can we check out? What should we do with our luggage in the meantime? Our official check-in is at 4 pm, and check-out is at 10 am. This gives our cleaners time to fully prepare the apartment between the departure of one party and the arrival of the next. However, we do understand that you may come in on an early flight, or want to leave the apartment a little later, and we do everything possible to accommodate all parties as best we can. If you would like to guarantee that an early check-in /late check-out will be possible, you must book an additional night at the beginning/end of your stay. This is the only way to ensure that there is no same-day turnover between guests, thus allowing the cleaners and greeters to have enough time to fully prepare the property. Your greeter will be able to confirm an exact check-in time with you when they contact you to coordinate your meeting you at the property, approximately two weeks before your arrival. As they manage the arrivals and departures, as well as the cleaner's schedule, they will be in the best position to advise you on what time you may be able to drop off luggage, and when you will be able to check in. If you will be arriving on an early flight, you should be able to drop your luggage off in the property starting at approximately 10am, after the previous guests have left. You will be able to return to settle in as soon as the apartment has been cleaned for you. Please be aware that the cleaning crew can not do their work effectively when there are people in the property, and we appreciate your cooperation in helping the process run smoothly. Your greeter or the cleaner will let you know when you will be able to return to the property to settle in. You may also be able to leave your luggage in the property a little bit past your check-out time on your departure day, depending on the cleaning schedule, and on the incoming guests' itinerary. * Please note: We may not be able to accommodate arrivals and departures on December 25 and January 1, but we are happy to confirm this on a case-by-case basis. Arrivals and departures on December 24, 25, 31, and January 1 may incur a special fee. I've paid for my apartment and finished the reservation process. Now what? We will send you a link to a page where you can download all the practical details about your apartment including address, arrival and entry instructions, door code, contact person, and other important information. Please take a moment to print this out and don’t forget to bring it with you! A Haven in representative will meet you at the property. PLEASE make sure that we have your arrival information as far in advance as possible. If we do not know when and how you are arriving, we cannot ensure that you will be met at the proper time. If you do not yet have the details when you complete your rental agreement, please think to email us as soon as your arrival plans are finalized. We need to be able to schedule as far as possible in advance to ensure that you are met at your desired time. If you are delayed, give us a call to let us know. Please be aware that someone will be physically waiting for you in the apartment and be as considerate of his or her time as you hope one would be of yours. Are your apartments located in safe neighborhoods? All of our apartments are located in central Paris and are very secure. Paris is a safe city, and we are confident that you will feel at ease in your neighborhood. We do! How good is the public transportation in Paris? Will I be near a metro station? The Paris metro and bus system (RATP) is amazingly efficient. Our apartments are all within a 5 minute walk of the closest metro station. Metro service begins around 5 am and continues until 1 am on week nights, and about an hour later on Friday and Saturday nights. You can also take the bus with the same tickets you use for the metro – not only is it a good way to get around, but you also get an above-ground view of your route. For tickets, you've got a few options. If you plan on using public transportation some but not a lot, a carnet (10 tickets) offers a price break off of the single ticket price, and is easy to get at a ticket window or vending machine. If you plan to use the metro a bit more, they have come out with an option called "Paris Visite," which is a travel pass you can purchase for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days. There is much more information online (and in several languages) at RATP - you can click the little British flag on the top right-hand corner for English. Do your apartments all have elevators and air conditioning? While many of our apartments are located in elevator buildings and some are air conditioned, it is not the case in all of them. As so many buildings in Paris are old, they have not always been retro-fitted with elevators and air conditioning. This information is displayed on each apartment page. Otherwise, please inquire about your specific apartment and we will let you know. We do provide fans in apartments that do not have air conditioning, and generally, Paris does not get too hot in the summer. When it does, the old stone of the buildings helps to keep the indoors cool and comfortable. * Please be aware that when apartments do have air-conditioning this will cool the flat down, but is often not the sub-zero temperature you will find in many US buildings. I'm choosing an apartment as an alternative to a hotel because I want to be able to cook with the wonderful ingredients you can find in Paris' markets and food shops. How well equipped are your kitchens? Our kitchens are all fully equipped with a refrigerator/freezer, stove, oven, dishes & cutlery, pots & pans, and a coffee maker. Most of our apartments also have a dishwasher and microwave. And, of course, a dining table where you can enjoy it all. How conveniently located are the apartments to shops and restaurants? We have chosen to represent apartments in neighborhoods that we personally feel are interesting. They are all within walking distance of a number of good eating options, and one-of-a-kind shops and boutiques are scattered throughout the different neighborhoods of Paris. Nothing of the sort! We provide more than enough clean sheets and towels – no need to lug them along. Your bed will be freshly made for your arrival. Do you provide any toiletries, shampoo or soap? We provide hand soap, dish-washing soap, dish-washing detergent when there is a dishwasher and laundry soap. Because everyone has their favorite brands, we leave it up to our guests to bring their favorite shower soap, shampoo and conditioner. Unfortunately, we don't provide q-tips or cotton balls, so remember to pack those as well! Hair dryers*, telephone, computer, crib (but no linens), high chair (available in some apartments upon request). Most of our apartments also include a small library of various books and guidebooks which you are welcome to read and enjoy during your stay. *Note: If you are coming from North America where the voltage is different, your hair dryer won't work in Europe, even with a voltage adapter. For this reason, we provide them in each apartment. Do you provide electronic converters in your apartments? We try to have a couple of extra converters in each of our apartments. However, we can not guarantee this as sometimes people accidentally take them home with them. You can buy basic converters at many electronics or hardware stores or at the airport; they are not very expensive. However, you can not use a foreign hair dryer in France (even with a converter), and so we provide them in each apartment for that reason. Unfortunatley, flat-irons and curling-irons will also not work in France, so if you will need to use one, we suggest buying one when you arrive at the local Monoprix. If you plan on bringing a computer or cell phone, it should be able to plug in fine with a basic socket converter. Unfortunately, you're going to have to leave dear Fido at home. Even if you have the most well-behaved, cleanest dog or a cat that never sheds, we unfortunately can’t accommodate them. This is out of consideration both to the owners, who don’t want to deal with the potential messes pets can make, and to other guests – while we know you love your pet, the next people to stay in the flat might be horribly allergic. Are all of your apartments non-smoking? Our apartments are all strictly non-smoking. However, it's fine to smoke outside on the balcony if you have one, or downstairs in the courtyard. Are all of your flats child-friendly? With the exception of a few apartments, children are welcome in all of our Paris, London, Provence, and Tuscan homes. If there is an age limitation for a property, it will be noted on the property page. Feel free to ask us as well. Please note that several of the apartments do contain delicate artwork and fragile materials, so do make sure children are very careful. At this time, most of our apartments do not have safes. Can I rent strollers or car seats for my children in Paris? Yes! There are two wonderful websites, Kidelio and Babytems, where you can rent gear for your children. They have convenient pick-up points throughout Paris. We suggest you visit the sites to see all they have to offer. Is there an easy way to book a taxi or driver in Paris? There are several taxi services in Paris that offer call-ahead bookings. Normally, they charge a small fee for this, about 5 Euros. We offer some suggestions for reputable taxi companies in Paris. We also know of a few private drivers in Paris. You can read about each one, view their rates, and contact them directly through our site. Is there an easy way to book a taxi or driver in London? There are several taxi services in London that offer call-ahead bookings. Here are some suggestions of reputable taxi companies in London. What do Paris' different neighborhoods have to offer? What's the best way to get to the apartment from the airport or train station? From any of Paris' airports, we recommend reserving a car service to take you to the apartment. There is often a long wait for taxis at the airport, and some drivers may charge extra for luggage. We've partnered with several trusted drivers whom we recommend and you can book directly through our site. From the train stations we recommend taking a taxi to the apartment. When I arrive, will someone be there to meet me? How do I get the keys so I can get into the apartment? There will be a greeter waiting for you at the apartment upon your arrival in Paris. He or she will let you in, give you keys, and show you what you need to know so that you can best enjoy your vacation apartment. You will also be checked out at the end of your stay. What if (gulp) I lose a key? Please guard your keys very carefully!! A lost key may cost anywhere from 500€ to 3000€ as we must change all locks if a key is lost to ensure your safety and the safety of future renters. Please do NOT carry the key and the address in the same pocket. Also remember to never leave the key in the lock inside the apartment; if someone tries to open the lock from the outside while a key is in the lock on the inside, both keys will break off inside the lock and the entire lock will need to be replaced. Lock and key replacements can be very expensive in Paris, and you will be held liable for all costs associated with the replacement of the lock and keys, including any expenses associated with coordinating the locksmith, even if this cost exceeds the security deposit amount for the property. So the greeter will let us in and show us around the flat. What else can they help us with? Your greeter is your contact and support in Paris. If you have any questions or issues during your stay, feel free to call or email your greeter. Generally, they are also happy to give a few restaurant recommendations or even make a reservation or two if you are shy about calling. For more services please inquire about a personal concierge. Here are some of our restaurant recommendations and where you can book a personal concierge directly through our site. What if it turns out there is construction going on in the apartment or building I've rented? At Haven in it is our promise that, if we learn of any work going on in the building where you will be staying, we will let you know as soon as we find out. Unfortunately, there are times when we have no advance notice about work going on in a building. Since we rent out single units in residential buildings, and, unlike hotels, do not own entire buildings, we do not have control over what other owners may decide to do. As you can imagine, this is very frustrating for us, and we do our best to stay as informed as possible. If it does happen that there is work going on in the building where you are staying, please let us know immediately so that we can work with you to find the best solution possible for your particular situation. We are committed to making our guests' stays as comfortable, relaxing, and easy as possible. What do I need to pack – does it get very cold or hot in Paris? Paris is fairly temperate – warm but not often extremely hot in the summer, chilly but rarely bitter cold in the winter. It does get a lot of drizzle – but we provide umbrellas in our apartments for that reason. Other good things to know are that Parisians very rarely wear shorts, white tube socks or sneakers, so if you are traveling in the summer and don't want to stand out as a tourist, keep this in mind. Do you have some sort of luxury concierge service if we want more than what the greeter generally provides? While Haven in does not provide concierge-type services, if you think you will be needing assistance during your stay, we would be happy to point you towards some trustworthy contacts and experience providers to help make your Paris experience as carefree and enjoyable as possible. Can anyone recommend restaurants for us to try? We have a long list of restaurant recommendations on our website. Your greeter can also recommend places in your neighborhood, or for more personalized service, you can get in touch with our luxury concierge. What sort of luxury à la carte services can the concierge provide? You can review all of our trusted experience providers on our site. Where can I get information on museums, exhibitions, and tickets? The Paris Museum Pass is a great way to gain access to most of Paris' museums (including the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, & Centre Pompidou) and many sites. In many cases, this pass will allow you to bypass lines. If you plan well enough ahead of time, there is option to purchase the pass online and have it delivered to your home. The Museum Pass can also be purchased at all participating museums & monuments, as well as at a few other locations in Paris. You can also purchase the pass at a few terminals in the Charles de Gaulle airport. What else can Haven In help me with? We are not a travel agency! While we are delighted to help you find the right apartment for your stay & see you through the booking process, we are unfortunately not able to assist with specifics such as day trips, tickets, reservations, and the like. As much as we would love to help out, this really is not our field of expertise. To remain efficient and give all of our guests the best service possible, we have decided to keep to the rental side of the business. For good resources, we would suggest searching the Internet, or for a more directed search, you can start by looking at a travel forum such as TripAdvisor, Slow Travel, or Slow Europe. On the Haven in website we have collected many useful links for the benefit of our clients for guides, trips, classes and more. There are also links to useful blogs with tons of information, which should help guide you in the right direction. Finally, there is our fabulous HiP Paris blog. And again, we are happy to put you in touch our recommended experience providers. If in your research you come across any sites you feel would be helpful for future clients, please do not hesitate to send them along and we will add them to our site. We are always on the lookout for new & helpful information about things to do! What kind of fun and enriching activities are available for my family in Paris? In general, you wouldn't need a car to get around Paris. However, If you would like to rent a car to take day trips outside Paris then we recommend booking one from Auto Europe. Auto Europe works with the top car rental agencies in Paris. They offer competitive rates and excellent customer service. They are open 24/7 and they have a free number to call the US from France. The headquarters are located in Portland, Maine. How can I gain free entry, without queuing, to over 60 museums and monuments in and around Paris? What should we know about tipping in Paris? * If you order a drink, leaving a little extra change on the table (15-20c) is perfectly acceptable. * After a simple, but pleasant, meal, a couple of €1 coins are greatly appreciated. At a nice restaurant, it is customary to leave about 5% of the final bill. * For taxis, depending on the length and cost of your trip, it is standard to tip 10%. * If you go to the theater, it is standard to tip €1 to the person showing you to your seat. * For hairdressers, a 10% tip is appropriate. * 20-30c for a washroom attendant is fine (although a sum is often indicated). * You will usually want to tip tour guides €1-€3 (if it is a group/museum tour) or 5% (for a private tour). * A weekly cleaning is included in your rental price. If you are extremely pleased with the cleanliness of the flat, a tip of 5-20€ (depending on the size of the apartment)is always appreciated but never necessary. * Tipping your greeter: If you would like to recognize your greeter’s service, it is entirely up to you. Your greeter is required to make sure that you are settled comfortably into your apartment and that you know how everything works. If you feel that he or she has gone above and beyond and has been incredibly responsive, they would surely appreciate a recognition of their efforts and this amount we will leave to your discretion. Please note: If you ask them to make numerous reservations, purchases for your arrival and any other services that go above and beyond, it is appropriate to either tip them or pay them for their time depending on the service rendered. Most of our greeters have standard fees they attach to concierge-type services, but a reasonable tip for an unpaid service would be €5 to €20, depending on the amount of time and energy they devoted to the task. We hope that these guidelines are helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to email us directly if you have any questions. How does public transportation work in Paris? Although any foreign public transportation system is intimidating at first, the Paris system is a simple, efficient, and reliable way to get around. Here is a short introduction to the Paris system. Metro * There are 14 metro lines. Each line has a set number and color (ex: Line 1 is yellow). The final stops of each line are also listed so that you can figure out which direction you need to be going. * Metros do not run all night! The first and last metros are displayed in each station. In general, the last metro Monday to Thursday and on Sunday is around 12:15am. On Fridays and Saturdays, they run until about 1:45 am. The first metro is generally around 5:30am. * Metro stops in Paris are closely spaced - you should never be more than about a 5-minute walk from a station. Trains come at regular intervals (every 3-5 minutes during the day, 4-8 minutes at night) so it is rare to be left standing on a platform for long. In most stations, they also display how many minutes it will be until the next train arrives. Tickets * You can buy tickets at the automatic vending machines (which accept cards,** bills, and coins) or at the agent-operated booths. As of Summer 2009, the price for a single ticket is €1.70. A booklet of 10 tickets (a “carnet”) is €13.70. Each ticket is valid for one ride. With one ticket, you can transfer between lines within the metro, but unfortunately not between a bus and the metro. **Note: Some machines don’t accept all American cards. If you are having trouble, you can go to the ticket window and the agent will be able to take your card. * You can also purchase a daily “Paris Visite” pass, which affords you unlimited rides on the Metro, Bus, Tram and RER services. The tickets can be purchased by the day for up to 5 consecutive days. Visit RATP for more detailed information & current pricing. Buses * The bus system is also fairly straightforward, although a little bit more confusing than the metro as stops are not always announced by the conductor. Each bus line is identified by a number (ex: 95), and bus stops also often feature screens with the waiting time for the next bus and maps of all the stops. It can be a great, economical way to see the city from above ground! * There is a nighttime bus system called “Noctilien.” If you think you will be taking night buses, you may want to pick up map of Noctilien bus stops at your local metro station. You can also find all these maps online at the RATP website. How easy is it to catch taxis in Paris? Generally speaking, taxis are easy to find and are an easy way to get around Paris, provided you don't get stuck in a "bouchon" (traffic jam). A few points to note... * You may not always be able to hail a cab in the street. There are laws forbidding taxis to pick up passengers within 200m of a designated taxi stand, so if you are unable to get a taxi’s attention standing in the street, your best bet will be to find a stand and get one there. * The minimum fare for any ride is €5, even if you are only going two blocks. * A 10% tip is standard and appropriate. Taxis can be hard to come by between 2am and 5am on weekends, once the metro has stopped running. If you find yourself stranded, there are some private taxi companies that you can call to pick you up at a designated address. Please note, however, that if you call a taxi to come pick you up, the driver will start the meter once he starts his journey to come to where you are, so it is not unusual to find €5-10 already on the meter when you get in the cab. Taxis Bleus (08 91 70 10 10, 23c/min) and Taxis G7 (01 47 39 47 39) are reliable agencies used by most Parisians. Is there any way to get around on bicycle? Another wonderful way to get around the city is on Paris’ “Vélib’” system. These bikes are available for public use and are sponsored by the city of Paris. You will likely see Parisians of all ages riding around on them, and they are a practical, economical and green way to get around the city. Vélib’ stands can be identified by their rows of identical gray bicycles attached to small posts with green or red lights (a red light indicating the bicycle needs repair). If you have a credit card with a magnetic chip on the front (instead of just the standard magnetic strip), you can use it to rent a bicycle from the automated machine located at the Vélib station. Unfortunately these machines do not accept American-style cards without magnetic chips**. You can return your rented bike to any other Vélib’ stand throughout the city. If you return it within a ½ hr, you are not charged for the rental. The first additional ½ hour is €1 and the second additional ½ hr €2. Beyond that, it is €4 for every additional ½ hr. You must have the equivalent of €150 in your bank account for your card to be approved for the rental of a Vélib’. **Please note: While most American cards won’t work, some people have been able to use the Vélibs with their American Express charge cards.

2019-04-22T18:32:50Z

https://havenin.com/faq

To manage occasion allocation letters carefully you have to track down some on line samples or templates. An event sponsorship template is a ready-made record which could be utilised to function the exact same purpose as any investment document that is normal. There are respective sorts of property request templates. Sponsorship proposal arrangement will assist to make the request correspondence at a manner. When a goal is owned by you, it needs to be easy that you consider the important steps to be ahead of the bunch. First, you must possess a intelligent goals. After it really is very important to stay in mind for why you need a sponsorship, your principal aim is always to supply decent explanations. The procedure can be quite daunting. In truth, it is one of the toughest percentage of the sponsorship clinic. Choose a subject which you have heard with your affirmation prep. After establishing a sponsorship suggestion, you’ve must be sure you realize very well what it is you’re searching for. There’s one alternative option, however, which is to write a sponsorship proposal. Your allocation proposition should provide prospective corporate and private patrons exemptions amounts, therefore they can pick sponsorship’s degree which suits their funds and level of interestrates. Developing a premium content predicated sponsorship proposition could be tricky job. During sporting occasions and business suggestion the sponsorship proposals that are usual are. Be aware the simplest rule Whenever you are intending to make the ideal sponsorship suggestion. The letter would be your only means by that you are able to outwit the remaining portion of the applicants. Be constantly reminded that the average person that will read your covering letter may or may not have experienced you in person. Sponsorship proposal letters need to be well crafted. Event sponsorship proposal letter must incorporate a few important things that you need to understand. You have to compile the necessary files, such as an eventplanner type before you commence drafting the proposal. Composing a proposal may be an essential job. A business event proposal might be created by different stuff predicated the form of occasion you have on the job. Wait for gifts to manually enter. The host needs to have the choice to give money directly to the bride or contribute services like catering or photography. Your patrons are going to get their demands met in addition take into account their company targets and performance indicators. To be able to compose celebration sponsorship proposals, you want to become cautious using correspondence writing approach for your own sponsors. Event diversification is sort of market place strategy accomplished by commercial companies. Explain you are getting are currently seeking sponsorship therefore as to pay for the costs and married. Getting private on your small business proposition letters can be also a method. Events planned and are desired. This occasion is really actually a milestone and ought. If we are lower on our finances holding a tremendous event might be described as a tad too much for several us. Events such as sport and charity desire a great deal of money to become utilised in lots of methods. Where your providers are required Gauge the kind of function and align the services which you may perform. If you wish to get your enterprise sponsored, then developing a cookbook suggestion ought to be unquestionably the main facet. It is nonetheless a prerogative to compose an appealing suggestion although generally in many cases, a portion of the business’s marketing program will be to host an event. Make certain you’re finding the ideal company for the own event. Estimate the value of their networking vulnerability your brand receives as a effect of the sponsorship. Estimate the array of that time period people will be exposed to a own brand for a result of the exemptions and also gauge how far you would usually pay to accomplish numbers using your standard advertisements and marketing methods. You’re able to create changes init in accordance with your function, once it’s going to be downloaded. Limit the complete amount of money you are needing of whether or not it truly is regarded. Explain clearly the form of sponsorship you’re needing of. Trying to find a sponsor might be a competition one of event hosts. Attempting to come across an event or company sponsor is a lot like looking for employment. One of the ways that are maximum to pay the charges of the marriage will be to get it sponsored by associates as well as family members. Look at our Sample Event Forms that you’ll get yourself a belief of what statements should be comprised to please the patrons. You will find several different types of phrases. Additionally, it might be very helpful to clarify the provisions for costs even when you’re not anticipating any. If you’re a company proprietor, you must grow the conditions you prefer to work with for your own customers. Realize that in the event that you don’t stick to the states of this correspondence, the landlord could make use of the correspondence against you. You have to add the terms in the own debt foundation letter that makes it clear to all events. Consequently there isn’t any confusion within the terminology at this correspondence you might opt to take into account studying the correspondence. You also should complete it for a number of reasons, although it’s not compulsory that you simply introduce your landlord a letter on paper informing him that the rent will soon be late. Payment announcements may also be referred to as check ups. They are an equally important part of handling payroll. Maintain a record of the sum you paid with your bank card invoice. You will undoubtedly be told into this fee card repayment site. Many Visa bill payment websites provide you with the stability an option to pay the minimum amount due or a sum, that you simply find it possible to manually input. Deliver the payment during the system, Whenever you have installed your account data. Provide put guidelines for the manner in which you’ll deal with control cards and checks. In the event the credit score test makes the customer appear to be risky, ask to go paid upfront in cash. Produce a check at the sum you’re very likely to cover or purchase a money purchase to pay for the amount. To shield finances, a day pick when cost has to be manufactured. Input the knowledge, such as credit card into the most suitable fields and press . When an statement is legal is dependent on several elements, so it’s crucial they each windup at the proper location. No cost could be created out of a check. Describe how the debtor is likely to create payments and the sum of every repayment. To stop problems from the location, establish ground rules for payment must be built and also adhere with them. Don’t confine the kinds of cost you take in to the conventional ones. Should you’d like to file your payment on line by email 16, select the electronic check choice. It could be extremely seductive if you wind up missing your statement to earn a partial payment, without a payment whatsoever or without a stamp when it’s the moment to mail your own bill. Banks, lenders along with payment internet web sites that are online help it become feasible for you to cover your invoices utilising the choice. If you’re ready to suppose the other’s loan, then you’re saying you are prepared to maintain payments on this mortgage until it really is paid in full. A no cosigner unsecured loan is likewise an option whenever you have poor credit, you can get even score. The lending company needs to notify the debtor that the premise has happened, and also normally the terms are precisely the exact same. It’s looking to see that you just started to struggle to your mortgage repayment all about the time that your earnings was reduced. Collectors offer you a confirmation number that indicates a payment that is thriving, after building an internet cost. Take your credit card ready as you must give the info from the card to the automated system. Fortunately, for those who have a Gap creditcard you have a good deal of choices open to one personally to help to generate your payments punctually. Make your cost via check or cash and you will need to establish that your armed forces identification card. Visit the client , if you should be self explanatory. In the event the customer is one you prefer to maintain, the very best method to defuse the situation would be to take the personal part out of it. Most customers pay to products and services and the goods you buy, but if you stay in business long enough you’ll come . Not all clients want to become in touch beside you in the same way, therefore of accomplishing their company, that the more options you provide people you will possess. The customer is just one you can be well worth retaining, using this sort of intermediary will permit it to become simpler to keep up a working partnership with the client soon after the bills become paid and would like to keep . Customers who have to pay their Macy’s credit card expenses possess an outstanding deal about how precisely you can make the charge card of options. Verizon phone service is present in many areas of the nation. Look to get what you are searching for. Payment Options This really is the place you are in a position to outline the manner you would like to just accept cost (for example, checks or income ) so when payment needs to be done. You might want to start looking into alternatives to pay for your lease, such as, for instance, a credit , a cash loan or a no charge personal loan. There really are a handful of distinct options. You might have to eliminate painful and sensitive information. Next time you take place which you just simply enjoy the design, you are able to store it like the HTML file, then utilize it because the template to receive your domain name. The method of finding a blog is always to ask family and friends about this. Choose the kind of line you desire and then manually draw on it to the webpage. You have to add extra pages after the one. Adding pages together with text messages on every webpage each will help save you a great deal of time out of including the writing box to each page . If you would really want to discover more, use links under. The PDF file type has been a format for putting up material. The fdf data file is made. It will be likely to double some other place from the document to set the cursor. As you may not replicate a formal record in manner, it should stay glued into a specific regular. Perhaps not only is it that the ability certificate an vitally important document after it worries that the final measures of an individual with a particular company, it conveys the work integrity and advantages of the person to his prospective companies. If you own Adobe software and a pdf file, you may make a fdf file. PDFs allow the transformation of a collection of document formats which would last to maintain the font mode, colour and images, no matter the software employed to generate it. There really are plenty of things to consider when deciding upon a template to generate an aura such as size (range of webpages, margins, headings, subheadings, and so on ) and just how much area you’d like for graphics and images. Extra templates are offered throughout any office Community web internet site. You might find an acceptable group of invitation templates atdo-it-yourself-invitations. Opt for the kind of file file that you wish to save as the template. You own a sample template and also a idea of it, you’ll be in a position to make one in accordance with your own requirements. It really is far better to create the template initially and then it will be possible to reuse the template. Among these websites you will take a posture to track down Inkscape BusinessCard templates that may help you create the image you will need to encourage your own goods, your own business, and yourself as well as solutions. In any event, the procedure may work the same. It is important that you simply use it so that your tasks are all finished punctually. It will be potential to rely on her behalf in order to complete the activities delegated to her well in a deadline, also with solutions that are advanced also. You have the ability additionally to classify the tasks that have to be performed on the grounds of these rooms of one’s residence. You’d take a position to accomplish tasks within the established period limit. The application permits you to insert images and shapes that will improve the look of one’s kind. The operation of word will be able to assist you to create materials like advertisements, and extends beyond that, however. You are able to match one’s PDF’s background color , for instance, whitened, or you select a colour to deserve that the redaction standout, such as for example shameful. Leave any of these images you want to use. The film will show up from the template. A dialog box appears asking for the sort of information the signer must leave in order to complete the digital signature, such as name and their current email address. If you would enjoy insert one text on every page, then just click on on every web page within the little circle at the front of Insert a text box. Publish any logos or clip art that you do not need to show up on the table tent’s inside. This can assist you to sail by way of a complicated period tide. It has a great deal more applications, while lots of folks utilize Word to get simple activities like composing letters. Remember which you’re supposed to compose a letter, maybe not an essay. The identical arrangement is followed by an adventure correspondence for a certificate and also serves the same function. Be certain to clearly define the most important reason so this letter’s receiver knows your position. There is An example letter provided within the content under. Additionally, it is beneficial in the event somebody who has known the suspect to get some time writes the correspondence. If you want to apply there, you need to compose a program letter into your university. Certificate samples could be found around the internet and with openly available info, it’d not be quite tricky to make” this kind of certification. Consider purchasing one on still another internet site or e bay selling photos, In the event that you would like a photo. Magazines always possess this matter. In case the gift has an validity then don’t forget to mention so. Recognition program and A booming benefit does not have to be complicated or expensive to get the job done. Todayas achievement may look like nothing end. Sharing your knowledge can be actually just a wonderful matter. Perhaps not all people possess the talent of templates out of scratch. It needs just a tiny creativity. Developing a gift certificate is actually really just a trying undertaking. The above mentioned template is both appropriate and is ideal to be used in the appropriate environment. Not only is it that the ability certificate that an extremely essential document when it comes the closing measures of an person with a specific company, it conveys the simplest work integrity and strengths of this man to his future companies. This certification features a proforma that may be molded according to the convention of the specific organization. Also make certain the proper level was entered on the certificate. It is likely to personalize the aforementioned certificates based on needs and your requirements. Because they have moved many instances TVI communicate has lots of issues using identity, and so they appear to conduct business underneath names that are particular. It far have no comment on this particular issue. After you get an autograph during the mail, take some time and energy for you to do a bit easy search as I’ve explained in a department. Make certain you’re sending your request to a deal with. Gift notes are now common so a certificate are a fun together with concept. It functions as a reminder for your client. In all honesty, even in case you have kept your promise and provided price it could be complicated to really have people to rekindle. This really is life for almost all of people in everyday life. I haven’t had kiddies. Whatever rules you decide on for kid or your son, make sure to write them down! My son, as an example, really loves football, also it has performed for any variety of decades, however there’s never a moment if he would obtain football boots that are new or the following football. You could show your friend using a certification together with a gift you have acquired on him or her. Make sure that you have place the identify of the specific that is right. 1 wall inside the business gets got the photos of all employees who’ve worked over five years. Make it simple to devote your subscription application and once you have a subscription foundation that is excellent, pay attention to strengthening your loved ones to keep them at your program. Thinking about the aim of both of these systems, you already understand what is led to things. Simply take the evaluation and see if your organization demands a subscription application. Maybe not just about every membership app must be multipurpose like individuals in the cases but they need to deliver a distinctive collection of rewards that are available to clients that are routine. The handicap savings strategy is your idea where the government offers a pension to you, it is the the 1st of its’ kind in the full world. 1st things to begin with you wish to pick a spending budget. No matter if you’ve just begun your company or are seeking to strengthen the amount of clientele, the notions discussed in the article will assist you. Even the Sony Corporation is known for its potential to make and fabricate products. Organizations are created with the only intention to support organizations that were distinctive to keep a high renewal rate . I have known many scam organizations in my private time, and also such form of businesses respond to each of forum accusations to alleviate buyer concerns in place of appearing to become on together with their business, together with providing valid causes for people to question the business in the exact original site. Every business may gain and should set some type of subscription advertising. As your customer was prepared to obtain the first phase, they’ll often think about numerous yearsif. Offering a credit history card additionally makes it much easier on your members to obtain your goods by giving installation payments. In the event you’re asked to post the correspondence to help a person demonstrate together side reestablish residency correspondence of recommendation, then adhere to plenty of guidelines. Thus dependent on the rationale an individual needs to compose the correspondence. Should you refuse to compose a letter that may be an matter as well. A letter of suggestion ought to be among the simplest sections of correspondence. A character reference correspondence (also often referred to as a correspondence of private reference or individual advice ) is utilised to recommend somebody for a situation within an business or for some capacity within an company. When a person who you’re uneasy with asks you to write them a character reference correspondence or whether you can’t think of enough amazing things to say about the individual, then it goes to be better in case it’s possible to find a method to flee writing it. Stick to the 6steps and you’re able to compose a winning character reference letter in no moment! Third, the individual has to be more prepared to set the challenging work and time in to the correspondence to generate an exemplary outcome. Then he must be eager to put the work and time into the letter to create a quality result. Maybe perhaps not out of 5 or 10 years past so comprise the date and the reading the correspondence may want to bear in mind that the reference is current. When looking to obtain a job to get a teacher, then find strategies to highlight exactly the characteristics and qualifications which will assist the primary in fulfilling their aims. Additionally, and most importantly, principals today must serve as their building’s leader. Furthermore school attorneys face stress to increase graduation rates and school admissions, and maintain extracurricular interests and fantastic sports clubs. From the first instance, the letter may even be called a personal reference correspondence. It’s far more advisable to obtain a person who is not related to one personally to write the letter. The better part of the instant, producing that correspondence includes nominal risk. So, to continue to continue to keep your letter credible, you need to give proof your impression of the individual is valid. Unfortunately it isn’t possible to understand whether there is a given letter going to become the difference in becoming right to a faculty or not. An excellent correspondence will probably possess relevant information about the applicant. Be certain to tailor to fulfill your requirements, when you search for sample individual letters of recommendation. You’re going to be astonished how people are hungry for advice there’s always somebody who wants your information, or who’d reap the benefits of your own experience. According to these experts’ advice, the information plays an essential part in the job decision treatment. You have to get information out of the person who has asked one to write the letter. Thank heavens there’s the web now where information isn’t difficult to discover! Be sure to verify you have got each one of the appropriate contact info. It will be likely to utilize an example reference page for helpful tips. Customers who rave about your product or agency are all ought and effective to become in every letter. To get a great deal of business owners, even to picking the very most effective ways of advertising and advertising their 19, in regards it could be challenging to comprehend what the techniques are. For instance, with all the large portion of their marketing techniques, it could on occasion be debatable to get a business to track the growth of their efforts to find out what exact impact they’d in sales or increasing inquiries for that company. If your employer may expect a wellness system, inquire whether the main reason is as it employed women and many men who have lifestyles. Since you entertain businesses the better prospects will probably function to obtain an comprehension of what exactly is essential to you personally and things you need you are given a return on the investment you have made on your pc. The shape will be adhered to by Nearly all suggestion writers. For your reason pro CV authors are currently delivering their services that are professional. Letter-writing is just actually a approach complete organization or to locate closure. You’re called to do the challenging job of determining what type of your project that you want and exhibit your skills and resume which goals what you’ll really like to do. Should is currently trying to find a job, sample letters of advice might be what you’ve got to help them succeed. After you receive employed for a particular project As soon as it’s correct that sometimes, you might discover that the work is a bit different than the task description. Discovering a occupation that is good is an excessively hard endeavor. Folks assume a personality certifying correspondence to procure a position in a particular organization or, even to get a scholarship or admission in a college that is trustworthy. It’s potential that you explain his character by providing examples as this will create a personal touch within your own view. In literature, after a statement that comes with an inherent significance in contrast with the literal significance of the paragraph is created by a character, the author is supposed to own employed irony. He needs to be witty to make comedy and unpredictable. So your video clip is watched by them with interest in developing a mockumentary the characters that you employ, should interest the audiences. The paragraph to reveal also a request that is soft and also your view to show up positive on the person. Writing it really isn’t as challenging since it’s made out to become, however you will need to make sure that you never go overboard understanding the person who you’re advocating, but offer a personality evaluation. Therefore who you’re the duration of time you understand the person, what type of romance you are experiencing with that individual, how long you have spent together, etc.. From the manner in which and the first paragraph set your own debut just the individual is known by you and from if. You’re uneasy writing the advice if you actually don’t think you’re able to notify the individual. There are a great deal of explanations why your friend could be required to supply personality reference. That you don’t need to stop getting friends once you are at a partnership. You might be able to use a friend for a mention for job. Then that’s your pick if you chosen to stick with friends with this individual, but nevertheless, it won’t be a easy road to hoe if you anticipate staying with your own partner. These good buddies are not necessarily great to Ziggy and at times may gain out of his kindness. Friends are an outlet for emotions that there is a youngster experiencing trouble expressing. If you have any questions, then don’t hesitate to acquire in contact. In case you might have further questions, please don’t hesitate to acquire in contact with me personally by cell telephone or electronic mail . Once from the dream of the youngster, you then are able to ask concerns regarding their pal. A character reference is actually really a reference in the person that you understand in host to an former employer. Sporadically, personality references are additionally utilized by persons should they fear that their managers aren’t likely to compose positive references. What’s more, you may well be requested to submit some other membership in an expert group or a personality references one of your school application records. It’s far more advisable to find yourself a character reference that’s on letterhead in a venture. Be confident it is a responsibility which should be fulfilled in a suitable technique, if you were requested to write a reference correspondence with someone. Character reference letters might be helpful in acquiring. Whenever you’re asked to write a character reference letter depends on the letter’s use. The correspondence shouldn’t be from an individual who’s’crucial’ per se nonetheless it needs to be from some one who is a character watch and has something constructive to state regarding the defendant. Some characters could also be joined to the reference letters or cover letters. A character reference letter needs to be clear and most importantly, plausible. It needs to be prepared attentively. This really is but one of the most important letters that you need when you are asking for work, that loan, college entrance, etc.. Generally speaking, character significance letters are generally used by employment goals, and also are intended for endorsing the issues with somebody. You will take a position to write a personality reference letter to get purposes. If you are delivering the correspondence for the exact first time, then then the launch is going to be properly used to introduce the sender. The correspondence needs to contain duration details regarding who you’re what is your connection with the individual and also your comprehension of the personality of the individual. Where as, a reference letter is about the subject of the information regarding the person A recommendation letter will be written to recommend an individual for a specific option . Generally, it’s been found that women and men become puzzled between correspondence and a mention correspondence of suggestion, and sometimes look at them of the identical. Individual benchmark letters of recommendation would be a mirror of one’s naturel and techniques since you may see. This correspondence can be a superior case of the recommendation letter for a scenario when an reference letter must be composed by you for somebody who is employing to your work. It is imperative to compose an convincing and extremely nice letter to aid your buddies, coworkers, deputies, along with superiors. An expert reference letter needs to be clearly created and precise. In the event you’ve surely got to write a letter with reference with this particular intention, then it is possible to split up the letter 3 parts. Focus just on a single idea a card so that you don’t get tempted to will include a whole lot of advice on this. The remaining portion of the info must be involved on your other promotion and promotion and marketing pieces. Anyways here are significant strategies for start ups who attempt to get yourself a productive website. In where you are ready to find the reality of their neighborhood consumer security division to know that your individual consumer security office of one’s nation, you may go to consumer actions website. In addition, you will need to send a quarterly newsletter. Besides the above mentioned communications you’re also going to be sending out of reminders of the benefits of conducting business along with your organization and you and your usual promotional postings. You ought to change this content in line with the pursuits. The letter’s content ought to be very well looked out and then ought to be exhibited very nicely. Advertising in set of advertisements else like a means to generate visitors to their own site is your solution that web site developers use who would want to market a mobile website. The conventional may vary with unique types of scenarios. Since it comprises the extensive data of any undertaking perfect structure and layout are incredibly important aspects in a report. Then you’re considered bloated if you should be aware the records you’re facing have been forged and it is still true that you simply just produce an effort to work with that. In case you create fake documents or writing of defrauding someone or organization, for the reason, you are going to be presented as guilty also it is considered as a felony. To give it a personal touch, make sure that you compose the letter on your words. Be sure that the letter consists of your own enterprise letter head. If the correspondence is required by you earlier and also haven’t been in an position to build that kind of rapport, don’t stress. You’ll find just two types of query letters. Technology and the web’s usage has shifted the way my business is promoted. The exact very same thing is true for any industry too. The bloodstream game industry is very catchy for regulation enforcers and is closed to discontinue. Truly, businesses are established to assist unique organizations to keep up a higher renewal price. If you are inexperienced, then go for an excellent company providing website design that is very great for little business. They’ll have the inclination look at yearsif the offer is perfect because your customer was prepared to purchase the very first period. Offering an credit score score card additionally causes it to be much easier for your members by giving obligations to obtain your product. The main function of the program is to allow the manager to schedule function to be achieved, according to the time of deliverables. A number of decisions preserved the value of exculpatory proof throughout trial. Among the other facet of the restart where women and men turn into stuck would be the relevant skills. The second thing is to inform the man about the purpose behind the interview. Whether an individual, as an instance, alleges you are afflicted by a certain ailment, you may provide records which refute his allegation. The next thing you ought to have in your outline is precisely everything you intend to sell. 4 webpages is believed to become the ideal span, to start with, the outline should not be overly long. If you aren’t convinced about creating a proposition yourself, it is suggested that you simply search for an expert’s expert services. The outline provides principles about the business version Nevertheless a business plan extends to you the details regarding the procedure by the provider will be run and the inflow of profits. Simply take the test and determine whether your business would like a membership application. For instance, a student submits a mission in time, and contains some extra advice she gathered on the discipline. Teachers can be sure that students understand the need for behavior, and owing to this, behave properly, rather than imposing it on them through regulations and rules. The speech functions to present an individual you will have to incorporate advice into this address and promise that you simply refer to just how the individual’s knowledge in his particular capacities is appropriate, towards case he is invisibly around. It should be heartfelt and drafting it is not difficult at all, provided that you include the essential and key pointers that you feel will bring the nature of everything you wish to say . Generally, an award approval address needs to be given from one’s center. The speech utilized in CV or restart composing is ordinarily appropriate also it’s really intelligent to keep it that method.

2019-04-19T02:33:35Z

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Social Security number 580-52-5749 was issued to NORA W FIGUEROA, who was born 21 May 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 02 January 2001. Search Archives for NORA FIGUEROA. Social Security number 580-52-5754 was issued to ANGEL RODRIGUEZ, who was born 02 August 1937 and, Death Master File says, died February 1962. Social Security number 580-52-5757 was issued to JULIAN ALVAREZ JESU, who was born 01 June 1889 and, Death Master File says, died December 1972. Search Archives for JULIAN ALVAREZ JESU. Social Security number 580-52-5761 was issued to NELSON J ORTIZ, who was born 21 February 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 15 December 1999. Social Security number 580-52-5763 was issued to LUIS F COLON SOTO, who was born 12 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 22 November 2004. Search Archives for LUIS COLON SOTO. Social Security number 580-52-5765 was issued to JOSE M TORRES, who was born 01 May 1915 and, Death Master File says, died 25 February 1994. Social Security number 580-52-5769 was issued to CARMEN M CRESPO, who was born 05 September 1916 and, Death Master File says, died 12 December 2007. Social Security number 580-52-5772 was issued to NORBERTO LOPEZ, who was born 27 February 1914 and, Death Master File says, died 18 February 1988. Social Security number 580-52-5773 was issued to MARCIAL LOPEZ, who was born 26 October 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 19 January 2014. Social Security number 580-52-5779 was issued to JAIME RODRIGUEZ, who was born 10 May 1937 and, Death Master File says, died April 1968. Social Security number 580-52-5784 was issued to C PEREZ, who was born 14 December 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 15 August 1990. Social Security number 580-52-5785 was issued to ANIBAL GARCIA, who was born 08 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 09 April 1995. Search Archives for ANIBAL GARCIA. Social Security number 580-52-5786 was issued to FRANCISCO GRACIA SALGA, who was born 28 September 1900 and, Death Master File says, died July 1978. Search Archives for FRANCISCO GRACIA SALGA. Social Security number 580-52-5787 was issued to ULPIANO GARCIA PACHE, who was born 03 April 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 27 January 2010. Search Archives for ULPIANO GARCIA PACHE. Social Security number 580-52-5788 was issued to JUAN MARTINEZMOLI, who was born 28 January 1907 and, Death Master File says, died September 1968. Search Archives for JUAN MARTINEZMOLI. Social Security number 580-52-5790 was issued to FELIPE COLON, who was born 09 May 1918 and, Death Master File says, died 23 March 2004. Social Security number 580-52-5792 was issued to MANUEL VELEZ-CRUZ, who was born 04 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 13 October 2008. Search Archives for MANUEL VELEZ-CRUZ. Social Security number 580-52-5793 was issued to AURELIO MEDINA, who was born 03 February 1923 and, Death Master File says, died 28 April 2008. Social Security number 580-52-5795 was issued to LUIS LOURIDO, who was born 04 October 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 18 October 2007. Search Archives for LUIS LOURIDO. Social Security number 580-52-5797 was issued to FILOMENA MUNOZ, who was born 29 January 1922 and, Death Master File says, died 11 January 2014. Search Archives for FILOMENA MUNOZ. Social Security number 580-52-5799 was issued to GILBERTO MELENDEZ, who was born 02 October 1937 and, Death Master File says, died July 1978. Social Security number 580-52-5801 was issued to JUAN LOPEZ LOPEZ, who was born 03 August 1880 and, Death Master File says, died October 1970. Search Archives for JUAN LOPEZ LOPEZ. Social Security number 580-52-5807 was issued to EFRAIN PEREZ FRANQU, who was born 17 July 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 17 January 2005. Search Archives for EFRAIN PEREZ FRANQU. Social Security number 580-52-5812 was issued to GABRIELA COLON, who was born 04 April 1919 and, Death Master File says, died 21 June 2002. Social Security number 580-52-5813 was issued to BELIER SANCHEZ, who was born 06 April 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 26 October 2002. Search Archives for BELIER SANCHEZ. Social Security number 580-52-5817 was issued to E SOTO MENDEZ, who was born 05 June 1936 and, Death Master File says, died July 1995. Search Archives for E SOTO MENDEZ. Social Security number 580-52-5819 was issued to RAMON GALINDO, who was born 23 September 1886 and, Death Master File says, died August 1974. Search Archives for RAMON GALINDO. Social Security number 580-52-5821 was issued to RAFAEL C CAMPOS, who was born 30 August 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 15 September 1998. Social Security number 580-52-5823 was issued to PETRA GERENA BAEZ, who was born 30 November 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 03 August 2013. Search Archives for PETRA GERENA BAEZ. Social Security number 580-52-5826 was issued to ANGEL L GOMEZ-SOTO, who was born 09 June 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 13 November 1999. Search Archives for ANGEL GOMEZ-SOTO. Social Security number 580-52-5835 was issued to EVELYN D CARRASQUILLO, who was born 27 September 1921 and, Death Master File says, died 10 December 2007. Search Archives for EVELYN CARRASQUILLO. Social Security number 580-52-5837 was issued to IVES C THILLET, who was born 21 December 1928 and, Death Master File says, died 05 February 1994. Search Archives for IVES THILLET. Social Security number 580-52-5838 was issued to MANUEL TORRES, who was born 05 February 1929 and, Death Master File says, died 04 December 2004. Social Security number 580-52-5839 was issued to FELIX TORRES, who was born 20 November 1919 and, Death Master File says, died 10 January 1994. Social Security number 580-52-5840 was issued to TOMAS TORRES-CINTR, who was born 09 April 1910 and, Death Master File says, died March 1973. Search Archives for TOMAS TORRES-CINTR. Social Security number 580-52-5841 was issued to ELIAS TORRES, who was born 04 November 1912 and, Death Master File says, died 08 June 2003. Social Security number 580-52-5842 was issued to MARIA C TORRES-APONT, who was born 14 November 1923 and, Death Master File says, died 30 November 2009. Search Archives for MARIA TORRES-APONT. Social Security number 580-52-5844 was issued to MODESTO GUZMAN, who was born 14 June 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 29 July 2006. Search Archives for MODESTO GUZMAN. Social Security number 580-52-5845 was issued to GILBERTO TORRES, who was born 22 May 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 04 May 1995. Social Security number 580-52-5847 was issued to MARIA TORRES, who was born 23 August 1891 and, Death Master File says, died July 1977. Social Security number 580-52-5848 was issued to GILBERTO TORRES CORDO, who was born 08 September 1900 and, Death Master File says, died July 1973. Search Archives for GILBERTO TORRES CORDO. Social Security number 580-52-5852 was issued to JUAN VELAZQUES, who was born 01 October 1895 and, Death Master File says, died 19 April 1989. Search Archives for JUAN VELAZQUES. Social Security number 580-52-5855 was issued to ANTONIO VELEZ SOTOMA, who was born 30 April 1891 and, Death Master File says, died April 1979. Search Archives for ANTONIO VELEZ SOTOMA. Social Security number 580-52-5856 was issued to ISABEL VARGAS SANCH, who was born 12 April 1894 and, Death Master File says, died April 1978. Search Archives for ISABEL VARGAS SANCH. Social Security number 580-52-5859 was issued to OBDULIO DIAZ-RIOS, who was born 05 April 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 05 April 1995. Search Archives for OBDULIO DIAZ-RIOS. Social Security number 580-52-5861 was issued to IVAN DEJESUS, who was born 18 July 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 30 September 2010. Search Archives for IVAN DEJESUS. Social Security number 580-52-5866 was issued to HILDA F DE-OCHOA, who was born 10 August 1924 and, Death Master File says, died 15 August 2008. Search Archives for HILDA DE-OCHOA. Social Security number 580-52-5868 was issued to LUIS RIVERA, who was born 18 November 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 02 December 2001. Social Security number 580-52-5869 was issued to RAMONA CARABALLO, who was born 08 November 1902 and, Death Master File says, died March 1969. Social Security number 580-52-5870 was issued to HIGINIO RUIZ DELVALL, who was born 11 January 1885 and, Death Master File says, died February 1968. Search Archives for HIGINIO RUIZ DELVALL. Social Security number 580-52-5872 was issued to JUAN R DELGADO, who was born 17 March 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 18 May 2009. Social Security number 580-52-5881 was issued to LUIS TORRES SANTI, who was born 01 December 1892 and, Death Master File says, died July 1977. Search Archives for LUIS TORRES SANTI. Social Security number 580-52-5883 was issued to ROSA M DE RAMOS, who was born 23 January 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 10 January 2000. Search Archives for ROSA DE RAMOS. Social Security number 580-52-5884 was issued to B MIRANDA RODR, who was born 01 April 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 07 November 2000. Search Archives for B MIRANDA RODR. Social Security number 580-52-5889 was issued to JOSE CABALLERO-BA, who was born 15 April 1920 and, Death Master File says, died 14 August 1990. Search Archives for JOSE CABALLERO-BA. Social Security number 580-52-5895 was issued to ANIBAL MORALES-ORTI, who was born 28 February 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 23 July 1998. Search Archives for ANIBAL MORALES-ORTI. Social Security number 580-52-5896 was issued to CARMEN D COSME, who was born 01 January 1922 and, Death Master File says, died 11 December 2004. Social Security number 580-52-5901 was issued to DELIA ROJAS MORALE, who was born 22 July 1940 and, Death Master File says, died 24 July 2001. Search Archives for DELIA ROJAS MORALE. Social Security number 580-52-5902 was issued to DOLORES ROSADO, who was born 25 March 1927 and, Death Master File says, died 10 July 2005. Social Security number 580-52-5905 was issued to PETRA M SANCHEZ, who was born 04 December 1907 and, Death Master File says, died 13 January 2003. Social Security number 580-52-5906 was issued to JOSE CABALLERO, who was born 18 March 1931 and, Death Master File says, died November 1980. Social Security number 580-52-5907 was issued to NILDA F DE LEON ANAY, who was born 03 December 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 27 August 2006. Search Archives for NILDA DE LEON ANAY. Social Security number 580-52-5909 was issued to M ARROYO, who was born 27 January 1939 and, Death Master File says, died 15 December 2000. Social Security number 580-52-5910 was issued to MARIA C DIAZ, who was born 19 April 1907 and, Death Master File says, died 09 May 1998. Social Security number 580-52-5914 was issued to JORGE AYALA-PARIS, who was born 07 July 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 15 January 1987. Search Archives for JORGE AYALA-PARIS. Social Security number 580-52-5920 was issued to ROSA J RAMOS, who was born 27 February 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 29 December 2005. Social Security number 580-52-5924 was issued to ASUNCION A LABOY, who was born 16 May 1912 and, Death Master File says, died 20 February 1991. Search Archives for ASUNCION LABOY. Social Security number 580-52-5925 was issued to MIGUEL VEGA RIVAS, who was born 07 July 1935 and, Death Master File says, died October 1973. Search Archives for MIGUEL VEGA RIVAS. Social Security number 580-52-5926 was issued to CARMEN DE CARRON, who was born 11 April 1908 and, Death Master File says, died November 1973. Search Archives for CARMEN DE CARRON. Social Security number 580-52-5927 was issued to BENEDICTO ROBLES SIERR, who was born 26 November 1909 and, Death Master File says, died 01 February 2006. Search Archives for BENEDICTO ROBLES SIERR. Social Security number 580-52-5929 was issued to VIRGINIA MELENDEZ, who was born 15 March 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 26 January 2007. Social Security number 580-52-5932 was issued to EFRAINA PABON, who was born 12 January 1920 and, Death Master File says, died 26 September 1996. Search Archives for EFRAINA PABON. Social Security number 580-52-5936 was issued to FELIX FONT, who was born 22 November 1935 and, Death Master File says, died April 1975. Social Security number 580-52-5938 was issued to JULIO GARCIA-JUSIN, who was born 07 February 1931 and, Death Master File says, died December 1985. Search Archives for JULIO GARCIA-JUSIN. Social Security number 580-52-5939 was issued to ELIZABETH ROMERO, who was born 16 September 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 02 March 1999. Search Archives for ELIZABETH ROMERO. Social Security number 580-52-5940 was issued to RAFAEL RIVERA-COLON, who was born 26 May 1936 and, Death Master File says, died March 1984. Social Security number 580-52-5941 was issued to MONSERRATE CARO MORALES, who was born 10 March 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 04 November 2008. Search Archives for MONSERRATE CARO MORALES. Social Security number 580-52-5947 was issued to MIGUEL HERNANDEZ-AP, who was born 13 January 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 26 November 1994. Search Archives for MIGUEL HERNANDEZ-AP. Social Security number 580-52-5949 was issued to PORTALATIN SANTIAGO ROS, who was born 06 May 1898 and, Death Master File says, died March 1985. Search Archives for PORTALATIN SANTIAGO ROS. Social Security number 580-52-5952 was issued to ROSA M GARCIA, who was born 30 August 1919 and, Death Master File says, died 29 October 2002. Social Security number 580-52-5954 was issued to CARMEN SANTIAGO, who was born 18 December 1894 and, Death Master File says, died May 1984. Social Security number 580-52-5956 was issued to LIBRADA GUERRA, who was born 12 July 1935 and, Death Master File says, died April 1983. Search Archives for LIBRADA GUERRA. Social Security number 580-52-5957 was issued to JUAN GUERRA-RODRI, who was born 20 May 1910 and, Death Master File says, died May 1985. Search Archives for JUAN GUERRA-RODRI. Social Security number 580-52-5962 was issued to JUAN GAUD, who was born 28 March 1929 and, Death Master File says, died 11 April 2007. Search Archives for JUAN GAUD. Social Security number 580-52-5965 was issued to ELADIO FONSECA ANDI, who was born 23 June 1929 and, Death Master File says, died October 1958. Search Archives for ELADIO FONSECA ANDI. Social Security number 580-52-5969 was issued to ANA M ROSARIO, who was born 02 May 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 04 January 2011. Social Security number 580-52-5972 was issued to SERGIO SANCHEZ-DE-J, who was born 08 October 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 02 February 2001. Search Archives for SERGIO SANCHEZ-DE-J. Social Security number 580-52-5974 was issued to MARIA I CASTRO, who was born 20 April 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 22 August 2010. Social Security number 580-52-5977 was issued to ALMIDA FALCON, who was born 29 May 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 12 April 2008. Search Archives for ALMIDA FALCON. Social Security number 580-52-5980 was issued to S BERRIOS, who was born 30 March 1934 and, Death Master File says, died February 1992. Search Archives for S BERRIOS. Social Security number 580-52-5981 was issued to A CRUZ, who was born 06 July 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 15 March 1994. Social Security number 580-52-5990 was issued to INOCENCIA RIOS-OSORIO, who was born 28 December 1912 and, Death Master File says, died November 1977. Search Archives for INOCENCIA RIOS-OSORIO. Social Security number 580-52-5991 was issued to JUAN GARCIA RIVER, who was born 17 June 1888 and, Death Master File says, died December 1973. Search Archives for JUAN GARCIA RIVER. Social Security number 580-52-5994 was issued to MANUEL RIOS, who was born 01 July 1894 and, Death Master File says, died February 1986. Social Security number 580-52-5995 was issued to JUAN CRUZ-GARCIA, who was born 07 June 1916 and, Death Master File says, died June 1975. Social Security number 580-52-6000 was issued to AUREA RODRIQUEZ-AL, who was born 08 June 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 04 July 1991. Search Archives for AUREA RODRIQUEZ-AL. Social Security number 580-52-6001 was issued to AGUSTIN RIVERA-ROMER, who was born 06 April 1937 and, Death Master File says, died April 1975. Social Security number 580-52-6006 was issued to GRACIANO COLON PEREZ, who was born 15 December 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 15 August 2003. Search Archives for GRACIANO COLON PEREZ. Social Security number 580-52-6010 was issued to CARMELO MARTINEZ, who was born 08 January 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 07 September 2007. Social Security number 580-52-6011 was issued to CARMEN PRATS-DEASTO, who was born 23 August 1939 and, Death Master File says, died February 1973. Search Archives for CARMEN PRATS-DEASTO. Social Security number 580-52-6013 was issued to ANTONIO F FERNANDEZ VA, who was born 04 June 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 12 October 2009. Search Archives for ANTONIO FERNANDEZ VA. Social Security number 580-52-6014 was issued to JOSE R SOTO, who was born 10 December 1904 and, Death Master File says, died 16 February 1998. Social Security number 580-52-6018 was issued to JOSEFINA OSORIO, who was born 19 March 1883 and, Death Master File says, died November 1983. Social Security number 580-52-6023 was issued to MIGUEL A BONILLA, who was born 06 November 1922 and, Death Master File says, died 30 May 1992. Social Security number 580-52-6026 was issued to TERESA D RESTO, who was born 11 November 1927 and, Death Master File says, died 09 August 2004. Search Archives for TERESA RESTO. Social Security number 580-52-6030 was issued to ENEIDA GARCIA, who was born 07 March 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 01 September 1996. Search Archives for ENEIDA GARCIA. Social Security number 580-52-6032 was issued to AGNES BROOKES, who was born 17 November 1899 and, Death Master File says, died November 1981. Search Archives for AGNES BROOKES. Social Security number 580-52-6034 was issued to RAMON SANTIAGO RIV, who was born 26 March 1881 and, Death Master File says, died March 1972. Social Security number 580-52-6035 was issued to EDUARDO CINTRON RIVE, who was born 13 October 1900 and, Death Master File says, died 12 January 1993. Search Archives for EDUARDO CINTRON RIVE. Social Security number 580-52-6041 was issued to MARIA M PEREZ, who was born 21 June 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 02 April 1999. Social Security number 580-52-6042 was issued to MERCEDES ROSA-DE-LA-R, who was born 25 May 1931 and, Death Master File says, died 20 February 2000. Search Archives for MERCEDES ROSA-DE-LA-R. Social Security number 580-52-6044 was issued to CELIA TORRES RIOS, who was born 13 September 1907 and, Death Master File says, died May 1987. Search Archives for CELIA TORRES RIOS. Social Security number 580-52-6046 was issued to ARTURO SOLA, who was born 16 July 1895 and, Death Master File says, died March 1970. Search Archives for ARTURO SOLA. Social Security number 580-52-6052 was issued to RAMON LA SANTA LOP, who was born 18 September 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 12 October 1998. Search Archives for RAMON LA SANTA LOP. Social Security number 580-52-6055 was issued to RAFAEL FERNANDEZ CO, who was born 02 March 1891 and, Death Master File says, died April 1975. Social Security number 580-52-6061 was issued to ISABELINO GARCED-NIEVE, who was born 13 July 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 19 April 1992. Search Archives for ISABELINO GARCED-NIEVE. Social Security number 580-52-6063 was issued to VICTOR M CAMACHO, who was born 16 October 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 21 September 2004. Social Security number 580-52-6064 was issued to ROBERTO SANTANA, who was born 29 March 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 21 November 2011. Social Security number 580-52-6067 was issued to PEDRO MACHADO, who was born 12 April 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 11 February 2000. Social Security number 580-52-6072 was issued to JOSEFINA RIVERA, who was born 04 April 1921 and, Death Master File says, died June 1986. Social Security number 580-52-6074 was issued to PEDRO CARMONA LOPE, who was born 29 April 1905 and, Death Master File says, died 28 November 1990. Search Archives for PEDRO CARMONA LOPE. Social Security number 580-52-6081 was issued to JUANA VILLALOBOS, who was born 10 September 1932 and, Death Master File says, died 21 August 2009. Search Archives for JUANA VILLALOBOS. Social Security number 580-52-6085 was issued to DALISDAD GARCIA, who was born 27 June 1936 and, Death Master File says, died March 1977. Search Archives for DALISDAD GARCIA. Social Security number 580-52-6086 was issued to ANGEL AGOSTO, who was born 16 August 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 15 November 2008. Search Archives for ANGEL AGOSTO. Social Security number 580-52-6087 was issued to JOSE CANALES GUER, who was born 17 November 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 07 July 2009. Search Archives for JOSE CANALES GUER. Social Security number 580-52-6089 was issued to EMILIO MONGE RIOS, who was born 28 May 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 22 November 2003. Search Archives for EMILIO MONGE RIOS. Social Security number 580-52-6094 was issued to JULIA RODRIGUEZ-CO, who was born 15 January 1909 and, Death Master File says, died 17 October 1992. Search Archives for JULIA RODRIGUEZ-CO. Social Security number 580-52-6099 was issued to OTILES RODRIGUEZ, who was born 11 July 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 05 November 1992. Search Archives for OTILES RODRIGUEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6101 was issued to PABLO RIOS-MOLINA, who was born 22 July 1922 and, Death Master File says, died September 1985. Search Archives for PABLO RIOS-MOLINA. Social Security number 580-52-6105 was issued to ARMANDO ORTIZ, who was born 08 June 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 24 November 1996. Social Security number 580-52-6107 was issued to MIGUEL REYES-NUNEZ, who was born 19 November 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 01 January 1987. Search Archives for MIGUEL REYES-NUNEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6111 was issued to SAMUEL BERMUDEZ, who was born 24 September 1932 and, Death Master File says, died 11 July 2003. Search Archives for SAMUEL BERMUDEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6113 was issued to CEFERINO CORRALIZA-RI, who was born 16 February 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 11 January 2001. Search Archives for CEFERINO CORRALIZA-RI. Social Security number 580-52-6115 was issued to JOSE M BERRIOS CRUZ, who was born 30 December 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 27 June 2010. Search Archives for JOSE BERRIOS CRUZ. Social Security number 580-52-6116 was issued to J L PANIAGUA, who was born 02 January 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 15 October 1990. Social Security number 580-52-6117 was issued to RICARDO QUIXANO, who was born 04 June 1886 and, Death Master File says, died August 1968. Search Archives for RICARDO QUIXANO. Social Security number 580-52-6119 was issued to GILBERTO PIZARRO, who was born 04 February 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 02 May 2008. Search Archives for GILBERTO PIZARRO. Social Security number 580-52-6120 was issued to JUAN PAGAN, who was born 05 November 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 15 May 2000. Social Security number 580-52-6121 was issued to PABLO ORTIZ, who was born 22 June 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 21 May 2005. Social Security number 580-52-6125 was issued to EMILIANO DE-JESUS-ROB, who was born 15 July 1920 and, Death Master File says, died 15 August 1994. Search Archives for EMILIANO DE-JESUS-ROB. Social Security number 580-52-6127 was issued to DOMINGO OPIO, who was born 04 August 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 13 November 1993. Search Archives for DOMINGO OPIO. Social Security number 580-52-6129 was issued to VICTOR M SANCHEZ, who was born 27 August 1939 and, Death Master File says, died 05 April 2008. Social Security number 580-52-6130 was issued to FERNANDO C PEREZ, who was born 01 July 1923 and, Death Master File says, died 12 March 2004. Social Security number 580-52-6131 was issued to FRANCISCA VAZQUEZ, who was born 17 February 1913 and, Death Master File says, died 06 January 1996. Social Security number 580-52-6135 was issued to MERIDA MAYSONET SEP, who was born 25 April 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 14 February 2001. Search Archives for MERIDA MAYSONET SEP. Social Security number 580-52-6138 was issued to MIGUEL AYALA, who was born 16 January 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 24 December 2009. Social Security number 580-52-6139 was issued to FELICITA ACEVEDO, who was born 20 November 1929 and, Death Master File says, died 16 January 2009. Social Security number 580-52-6140 was issued to JORGE CRESPO-TORRE, who was born 25 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died July 1984. Search Archives for JORGE CRESPO-TORRE. Social Security number 580-52-6145 was issued to PAQUITA RODRIGUEZ, who was born 04 October 1893 and, Death Master File says, died November 1968. Social Security number 580-52-6147 was issued to JOSE SALDANA, who was born 03 November 1939 and, Death Master File says, died June 1974. Social Security number 580-52-6149 was issued to ENCARNACIO N RODRIGUEZ, who was born 17 June 1916 and, Death Master File says, died 05 February 1990. Social Security number 580-52-6156 was issued to ISAAC NARANJO, who was born 04 June 1939 and, Death Master File says, died 30 July 1992. Search Archives for ISAAC NARANJO. Social Security number 580-52-6160 was issued to WILLIAM VILLEGAS, who was born 23 December 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 05 February 1997. Search Archives for WILLIAM VILLEGAS. Social Security number 580-52-6161 was issued to PEDRO TORRES, who was born 19 November 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 26 January 2007. Social Security number 580-52-6164 was issued to VICTOR RIVERA MEDIN, who was born 09 September 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 14 October 2001. Search Archives for VICTOR RIVERA MEDIN. Social Security number 580-52-6170 was issued to JUAN PAGAN ROSARI, who was born 20 December 1902 and, Death Master File says, died April 1965. Search Archives for JUAN PAGAN ROSARI. Social Security number 580-52-6171 was issued to LUIS A SALDANA-COLO, who was born 20 September 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 31 January 1993. Search Archives for LUIS SALDANA-COLO. Social Security number 580-52-6172 was issued to MIGUEL A FIGUEROA, who was born 10 October 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 11 December 2002. Social Security number 580-52-6175 was issued to JUAN SANTANA, who was born 13 December 1937 and, Death Master File says, died December 1977. Social Security number 580-52-6176 was issued to ANDREA GONZALEZ, who was born 04 February 1922 and, Death Master File says, died August 1977. Social Security number 580-52-6180 was issued to LUCIA TORRES-COLON, who was born 25 September 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 27 August 1999. Search Archives for LUCIA TORRES-COLON. Social Security number 580-52-6183 was issued to BLANCA Z DIAZ DIAZ, who was born 28 August 1939 and, Death Master File says, died 23 January 2011. Search Archives for BLANCA DIAZ DIAZ. Social Security number 580-52-6186 was issued to CLARIVEL RODRIGUEZ, who was born 08 July 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 29 September 2008. Search Archives for CLARIVEL RODRIGUEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6192 was issued to FELIX A MONSERRATE, who was born 04 March 1939 and, Death Master File says, died 24 September 2006. Social Security number 580-52-6206 was issued to MATILDE SERRANO, who was born 15 January 1908 and, Death Master File says, died 08 July 2004. Search Archives for MATILDE SERRANO. Social Security number 580-52-6208 was issued to RUBEN ALVEZ RODRIG, who was born 30 July 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 26 February 1999. Search Archives for RUBEN ALVEZ RODRIG. Social Security number 580-52-6213 was issued to JOSE M BORGOS, who was born 04 October 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 12 July 2002. Search Archives for JOSE BORGOS. Social Security number 580-52-6215 was issued to JOSEFINA RIVERA, who was born 06 February 1916 and, Death Master File says, died 09 December 1992. Social Security number 580-52-6216 was issued to PETRA GUADALUPE, who was born 13 June 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 20 January 2003. Social Security number 580-52-6218 was issued to PAULINO CANALES, who was born 18 December 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 01 January 1991. Search Archives for PAULINO CANALES. Social Security number 580-52-6220 was issued to DOMINGO SANCHEZ, who was born 15 January 1929 and, Death Master File says, died 17 August 1996. Social Security number 580-52-6222 was issued to FIDEL ALVAREZ ALVA, who was born 02 June 1882 and, Death Master File says, died April 1969. Search Archives for FIDEL ALVAREZ ALVA. Social Security number 580-52-6224 was issued to AQUILINO ORTIZ-DONES, who was born 26 March 1935 and, Death Master File says, died February 1980. Search Archives for AQUILINO ORTIZ-DONES. Social Security number 580-52-6231 was issued to MIGUEL A RIVERA, who was born 28 December 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 30 November 2006. Social Security number 580-52-6239 was issued to RAFAEL A LIZARDI LIZA, who was born 03 April 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 30 October 2011. Search Archives for RAFAEL LIZARDI LIZA. Social Security number 580-52-6241 was issued to FELIPE PAGAN CANCEL, who was born 01 July 1899 and, Death Master File says, died August 1983. Search Archives for FELIPE PAGAN CANCEL. Social Security number 580-52-6251 was issued to JUAN TIRADO, who was born 28 July 1896 and, Death Master File says, died June 1987. Social Security number 580-52-6254 was issued to JOSE ARROYO SANCH, who was born 25 July 1897 and, Death Master File says, died September 1986. Social Security number 580-52-6258 was issued to VICTORINO PEREZ-VEGA, who was born 06 March 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 09 October 1988. Search Archives for VICTORINO PEREZ-VEGA. Social Security number 580-52-6259 was issued to DIGNA E CARMONA, who was born 27 June 1924 and, Death Master File says, died 17 March 2006. Search Archives for DIGNA CARMONA. Social Security number 580-52-6261 was issued to MERCIADER MONTALBAN, who was born 18 June 1936 and, Death Master File says, died November 1992. Search Archives for MERCIADER MONTALBAN. Social Security number 580-52-6263 was issued to GENOVEVA PINERO, who was born 03 January 1931 and, Death Master File says, died 17 March 2005. Search Archives for GENOVEVA PINERO. Social Security number 580-52-6265 was issued to LUZ M SANTIAGO-DE-, who was born 04 April 1920 and, Death Master File says, died 29 December 2002. Search Archives for LUZ SANTIAGO-DE-. Social Security number 580-52-6268 was issued to LAZARO ESCRIBANO, who was born 10 July 1909 and, Death Master File says, died April 1986. Search Archives for LAZARO ESCRIBANO. Social Security number 580-52-6269 was issued to AGUSTIN GOMEZ-ORTIZ, who was born 05 May 1908 and, Death Master File says, died 21 December 2003. Search Archives for AGUSTIN GOMEZ-ORTIZ. Social Security number 580-52-6272 was issued to RAMON BERRIOS CRUZ, who was born 04 March 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 29 July 2011. Search Archives for RAMON BERRIOS CRUZ. Social Security number 580-52-6273 was issued to CESAR A RIOS MELLADO, who was born 08 June 1928 and, Death Master File says, died 03 August 2005. Search Archives for CESAR RIOS MELLADO. Social Security number 580-52-6276 was issued to LEONARDO SANTANA, who was born 02 December 1895 and, Death Master File says, died May 1963. Search Archives for LEONARDO SANTANA. Social Security number 580-52-6277 was issued to VICENTE ROMAN VELAZQ, who was born 12 August 1902 and, Death Master File says, died December 1968. Search Archives for VICENTE ROMAN VELAZQ. Social Security number 580-52-6281 was issued to ANGELINA GUZMAN, who was born 09 August 1907 and, Death Master File says, died July 1985. Search Archives for ANGELINA GUZMAN. Social Security number 580-52-6282 was issued to HECTOR RAMIREZ SANT, who was born 13 April 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 27 April 2010. Search Archives for HECTOR RAMIREZ SANT. Social Security number 580-52-6283 was issued to JOSE AGUILAR CEBA, who was born 27 July 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 04 April 2010. Search Archives for JOSE AGUILAR CEBA. Social Security number 580-52-6287 was issued to GUADALUPE OTERO VEGA, who was born 12 December 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 14 June 2009. Search Archives for GUADALUPE OTERO VEGA. Social Security number 580-52-6289 was issued to ROQUE MUNOZ TIRADO, who was born 18 August 1881 and, Death Master File says, died February 1978. Search Archives for ROQUE MUNOZ TIRADO. Social Security number 580-52-6290 was issued to EFRAIN DIAZ, who was born 14 February 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 06 April 1997. Social Security number 580-52-6295 was issued to CARMEN PEREZ, who was born 19 May 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 19 April 2010. Social Security number 580-52-6301 was issued to MANUEL RIVERA-MARRE, who was born 16 May 1925 and, Death Master File says, died 17 May 2002. Search Archives for MANUEL RIVERA-MARRE. Social Security number 580-52-6304 was issued to JUAN MONTALVO PAS, who was born 26 August 1903 and, Death Master File says, died June 1977. Search Archives for JUAN MONTALVO PAS. Social Security number 580-52-6308 was issued to CARMEN SANTOS-PRADO, who was born 24 February 1932 and, Death Master File says, died May 1987. Search Archives for CARMEN SANTOS-PRADO. Social Security number 580-52-6315 was issued to RAMONA CORTES-RIVER, who was born 11 April 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 25 March 2007. Search Archives for RAMONA CORTES-RIVER. Social Security number 580-52-6317 was issued to MARIA V TORRES-MARRE, who was born 06 July 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 14 October 2000. Search Archives for MARIA TORRES-MARRE. Social Security number 580-52-6324 was issued to CONCEPCIO FARIA, who was born 27 December 1911 and, Death Master File says, died 18 August 1999. Search Archives for CONCEPCIO FARIA. Social Security number 580-52-6333 was issued to GRACILIANO LAGUERRA, who was born 13 August 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 29 August 2008. Search Archives for GRACILIANO LAGUERRA. Social Security number 580-52-6335 was issued to SANTA NUNEZ, who was born 15 February 1920 and, Death Master File says, died 28 February 1996. Search Archives for SANTA NUNEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6340 was issued to MANUEL SANCHEZ, who was born 25 November 1937 and, Death Master File says, died December 1979. Social Security number 580-52-6341 was issued to I VEGA, who was born 07 August 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 15 September 1982. Search Archives for I VEGA. Social Security number 580-52-6344 was issued to EMILIO NARVAEZ, who was born 06 September 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 18 June 1997. Social Security number 580-52-6347 was issued to RAMON GARCIA, who was born 17 June 1886 and, Death Master File says, died June 1964. Social Security number 580-52-6350 was issued to LYDIA ROMAN-GONZAL, who was born 05 June 1915 and, Death Master File says, died 12 October 2003. Search Archives for LYDIA ROMAN-GONZAL. Social Security number 580-52-6351 was issued to ISAAC RIVERA ANDUJ, who was born 13 November 1897 and, Death Master File says, died January 1970. Search Archives for ISAAC RIVERA ANDUJ. Social Security number 580-52-6353 was issued to VICTORIANO RIVERA, who was born 03 May 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 29 January 2009. Search Archives for VICTORIANO RIVERA. Social Security number 580-52-6356 was issued to JOSE A DEARMAS, who was born 09 May 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 13 October 1994. Search Archives for JOSE DEARMAS. Social Security number 580-52-6357 was issued to PABLO GARCIA, who was born 18 March 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 26 October 2013. Social Security number 580-52-6364 was issued to HIPOLITO ORTIZ, who was born 03 February 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 28 April 2011. Social Security number 580-52-6365 was issued to ANTONIA GONZALEZ-DAV, who was born 20 January 1936 and, Death Master File says, died July 1977. Search Archives for ANTONIA GONZALEZ-DAV. Social Security number 580-52-6368 was issued to ANGEL GONZALEZ, who was born 16 January 1928 and, Death Master File says, died September 1985. Social Security number 580-52-6371 was issued to SAMUEL CRUZ-RODRIGU, who was born 28 March 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 19 March 2004. Search Archives for SAMUEL CRUZ-RODRIGU. Social Security number 580-52-6373 was issued to FELIX LAMELA, who was born 24 December 1903 and, Death Master File says, died January 1978. Search Archives for FELIX LAMELA. Social Security number 580-52-6380 was issued to HOMERO ALFARO, who was born 28 May 1911 and, Death Master File says, died June 1979. Search Archives for HOMERO ALFARO. Social Security number 580-52-6381 was issued to JUDITH ACOSTA ORTIZ, who was born 06 January 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 05 March 2010. Search Archives for JUDITH ACOSTA ORTIZ. Social Security number 580-52-6382 was issued to BALDOMERO ADAMES, who was born 05 March 1929 and, Death Master File says, died 08 January 1997. Search Archives for BALDOMERO ADAMES. Social Security number 580-52-6388 was issued to JOSE MONTESINO, who was born 01 July 1890 and, Death Master File says, died April 1981. Search Archives for JOSE MONTESINO. Social Security number 580-52-6394 was issued to EUGENIO DIAZ-RIVERA, who was born 11 January 1915 and, Death Master File says, died 07 September 1993. Search Archives for EUGENIO DIAZ-RIVERA. Social Security number 580-52-6400 was issued to FELICIANA ORTEGA-PABON, who was born 20 January 1919 and, Death Master File says, died 09 July 1995. Search Archives for FELICIANA ORTEGA-PABON. Social Security number 580-52-6401 was issued to PORFIRIA OLMEDA, who was born 01 July 1905 and, Death Master File says, died 07 May 1997. Search Archives for PORFIRIA OLMEDA. Social Security number 580-52-6403 was issued to CANDIDO BONILLA-VAZQ, who was born 20 February 1931 and, Death Master File says, died May 1983. Search Archives for CANDIDO BONILLA-VAZQ. Social Security number 580-52-6405 was issued to GUILLERMO ENCARNACION, who was born 27 March 1913 and, Death Master File says, died July 1972. Social Security number 580-52-6411 was issued to RAFAEL A NIEVES, who was born 05 October 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 16 March 1999. Social Security number 580-52-6412 was issued to CARMEN I CANABAL-LOPE, who was born 03 August 1931 and, Death Master File says, died 16 April 2005. Search Archives for CARMEN CANABAL-LOPE. Social Security number 580-52-6413 was issued to FUNDADORA ARZUAGA-SIER, who was born 15 June 1906 and, Death Master File says, died December 1985. Search Archives for FUNDADORA ARZUAGA-SIER. Social Security number 580-52-6417 was issued to PEDRO G DE LEON-ROME, who was born 04 March 1911 and, Death Master File says, died 27 June 1996. Search Archives for PEDRO DE LEON-ROME. Social Security number 580-52-6419 was issued to SABINO MALDONADO LO, who was born 0000 and, Death Master File says, died March 1966. Search Archives for SABINO MALDONADO LO. Social Security number 580-52-6428 was issued to MANUEL MORGADO ORTI, who was born 09 December 1932 and, Death Master File says, died 25 July 2011. Search Archives for MANUEL MORGADO ORTI. Social Security number 580-52-6431 was issued to JOSE A PLA, who was born 19 February 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 15 November 1992. Social Security number 580-52-6438 was issued to JULIAN QUINONES, who was born 0000 and, Death Master File says, died April 1963. Search Archives for JULIAN QUINONES. Social Security number 580-52-6440 was issued to JUANITA MEDINA-OLIVO, who was born 27 May 1912 and, Death Master File says, died 19 January 1990. Search Archives for JUANITA MEDINA-OLIVO. Social Security number 580-52-6442 was issued to HECTOR GONZALEZ, who was born 12 September 1907 and, Death Master File says, died October 1970. Social Security number 580-52-6444 was issued to ALEXO DELGADO CLAU, who was born 27 September 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 03 August 2006. Search Archives for ALEXO DELGADO CLAU. Social Security number 580-52-6449 was issued to ERADIN REYES-OTERO, who was born 21 July 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 11 April 2009. Search Archives for ERADIN REYES-OTERO. Social Security number 580-52-6450 was issued to RAMON RIVERA-ARCE, who was born 13 November 1912 and, Death Master File says, died November 1986. Search Archives for RAMON RIVERA-ARCE. Social Security number 580-52-6456 was issued to BASILIO RODRIGUEZ, who was born 02 December 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 11 February 2004. Social Security number 580-52-6457 was issued to CATALINO RODRIGUEZ, who was born 24 July 1904 and, Death Master File says, died 08 July 1995. Social Security number 580-52-6458 was issued to TEOFILA BERRIOS, who was born 02 November 1908 and, Death Master File says, died 16 January 2004. Search Archives for TEOFILA BERRIOS. Social Security number 580-52-6460 was issued to PEDRO ROMERO-VAZQU, who was born 01 October 1914 and, Death Master File says, died May 1980. Search Archives for PEDRO ROMERO-VAZQU. Social Security number 580-52-6462 was issued to JOSE MARTINEZ, who was born 06 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died November 1980. Social Security number 580-52-6464 was issued to TOMAS RODRIGUEZ-TO, who was born 29 December 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 11 January 2008. Social Security number 580-52-6465 was issued to FELIPE ROSARIO, who was born 17 September 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 23 October 1998. Social Security number 580-52-6469 was issued to VIDAL RODRIGUEZ-SA, who was born 23 May 1914 and, Death Master File says, died July 1974. Search Archives for VIDAL RODRIGUEZ-SA. Social Security number 580-52-6470 was issued to DOLORES RIVERA, who was born 07 August 1916 and, Death Master File says, died August 1976. Social Security number 580-52-6471 was issued to HIGINIO COLON, who was born 15 June 1903 and, Death Master File says, died July 1979. Social Security number 580-52-6472 was issued to RODULFO ROMAN COSME, who was born 27 June 1895 and, Death Master File says, died 26 December 1990. Search Archives for RODULFO ROMAN COSME. Social Security number 580-52-6474 was issued to EDUARDO PEREZ PARRIL, who was born 14 October 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 26 January 2010. Search Archives for EDUARDO PEREZ PARRIL. Social Security number 580-52-6475 was issued to PABLO SAEZ, who was born 01 November 1907 and, Death Master File says, died December 1982. Search Archives for PABLO SAEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6479 was issued to SILVESTRE NAZARIO PAGA, who was born 31 December 1892 and, Death Master File says, died December 1984. Search Archives for SILVESTRE NAZARIO PAGA. Social Security number 580-52-6482 was issued to ANTONIO ROSA ANDINO, who was born 17 January 1896 and, Death Master File says, died August 1982. Search Archives for ANTONIO ROSA ANDINO. Social Security number 580-52-6486 was issued to TEODORO GONZALEZ-MAL, who was born 09 December 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 30 December 2009. Search Archives for TEODORO GONZALEZ-MAL. Social Security number 580-52-6490 was issued to LEONOR RIVERA VELEZ, who was born 30 June 1919 and, Death Master File says, died 02 October 2006. Search Archives for LEONOR RIVERA VELEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6493 was issued to JOSE APONTE, who was born 03 October 1898 and, Death Master File says, died April 1969. Social Security number 580-52-6494 was issued to FRANCISCO REYES-ROSADO, who was born 09 November 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 19 January 1999. Search Archives for FRANCISCO REYES-ROSADO. Social Security number 580-52-6497 was issued to A RUIZ-GALARZA, who was born 04 May 1935 and, Death Master File says, died December 1989. Search Archives for A RUIZ-GALARZA. Social Security number 580-52-6498 was issued to GILBERTO ROMAN, who was born 01 October 1915 and, Death Master File says, died June 1985. Social Security number 580-52-6500 was issued to CANDELARIO RODRIGUEZ, who was born 02 February 1921 and, Death Master File says, died June 1986. Social Security number 580-52-6503 was issued to SANTOS CALDERO, who was born 10 November 1914 and, Death Master File says, died 25 July 2008. Search Archives for SANTOS CALDERO. Social Security number 580-52-6504 was issued to PEDRO RIVERA-RIVER, who was born 16 November 1906 and, Death Master File says, died June 1975. Social Security number 580-52-6511 was issued to NEMESIO VILLA, who was born 18 April 1912 and, Death Master File says, died January 1981. Search Archives for NEMESIO VILLA. Social Security number 580-52-6512 was issued to JUAN M RAMOS-NIEVES, who was born 29 September 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 02 January 2005. Search Archives for JUAN RAMOS-NIEVES. Social Security number 580-52-6513 was issued to LUIS TORRES RIVER, who was born 01 July 1890 and, Death Master File says, died January 1966. Social Security number 580-52-6515 was issued to SIXTO MERCADO, who was born 06 August 1924 and, Death Master File says, died 03 January 1997. Social Security number 580-52-6516 was issued to PEDRO GONZALEZ, who was born 19 October 1936 and, Death Master File says, died September 1975. Social Security number 580-52-6517 was issued to VICTOR RIVERA, who was born 02 August 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 23 October 1987. Social Security number 580-52-6518 was issued to VENTURA FIGUEROA, who was born 14 July 1923 and, Death Master File says, died October 1987. Social Security number 580-52-6519 was issued to JUANN GALARZA, who was born 30 October 1921 and, Death Master File says, died March 1986. Search Archives for JUANN GALARZA. Social Security number 580-52-6521 was issued to DIEGO A CUEVAS, who was born 04 August 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 11 November 2006. Search Archives for DIEGO CUEVAS. Social Security number 580-52-6523 was issued to INOCENCIO QUINTERO ORT, who was born 28 December 1879 and, Death Master File says, died January 1966. Search Archives for INOCENCIO QUINTERO ORT. Social Security number 580-52-6524 was issued to ANTONIO RAMIREZ SOTO, who was born 13 June 1907 and, Death Master File says, died June 1966. Search Archives for ANTONIO RAMIREZ SOTO. Social Security number 580-52-6528 was issued to GREGORIO SOTO-REYES, who was born 25 May 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 19 May 2001. Search Archives for GREGORIO SOTO-REYES. Social Security number 580-52-6532 was issued to RAMIRO MORALES, who was born 17 September 1936 and, Death Master File says, died June 1977. Social Security number 580-52-6533 was issued to PABLO MARIN, who was born 18 January 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 26 September 1998. Search Archives for PABLO MARIN. Social Security number 580-52-6540 was issued to PEDRO DIAZ CORA, who was born 08 February 1898 and, Death Master File says, died June 1980. Search Archives for PEDRO DIAZ CORA. Social Security number 580-52-6543 was issued to JUAN LUGO OJEDA, who was born 05 June 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 12 August 2006. Search Archives for JUAN LUGO OJEDA. Social Security number 580-52-6545 was issued to MARCOS DEJESUS-CRUZ, who was born 18 June 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 16 December 2005. Search Archives for MARCOS DEJESUS-CRUZ. Social Security number 580-52-6549 was issued to RAFAELA MIRANDA, who was born 16 January 1891 and, Death Master File says, died August 1975. Search Archives for RAFAELA MIRANDA. Social Security number 580-52-6558 was issued to ANGEL L RIVERA, who was born 02 August 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 27 April 2000. Social Security number 580-52-6559 was issued to ANTONIA ORTIZ-VAZQUE, who was born 13 June 1932 and, Death Master File says, died 13 November 1998. Search Archives for ANTONIA ORTIZ-VAZQUE. Social Security number 580-52-6561 was issued to MATILDE COLON, who was born 14 March 1923 and, Death Master File says, died 09 July 2006. Social Security number 580-52-6567 was issued to JUAN DIAZ HUERTAS, who was born 05 February 1903 and, Death Master File says, died May 1966. Search Archives for JUAN DIAZ HUERTAS. Social Security number 580-52-6569 was issued to ANGEL LOPEZ-DIAZ, who was born 10 December 1929 and, Death Master File says, died 24 September 1992. Search Archives for ANGEL LOPEZ-DIAZ. Social Security number 580-52-6572 was issued to GUADALUPE NORAT-PEREZ, who was born 12 December 1909 and, Death Master File says, died June 1985. Search Archives for GUADALUPE NORAT-PEREZ. Social Security number 580-52-6573 was issued to JOSE N ORTIZ, who was born 06 December 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 19 November 2004. Social Security number 580-52-6574 was issued to JULIO OQUENDO, who was born 13 October 1928 and, Death Master File says, died 11 November 2010. Social Security number 580-52-6581 was issued to LUCIANO GONZALEZ NEG, who was born 07 January 1903 and, Death Master File says, died December 1981. Search Archives for LUCIANO GONZALEZ NEG. Social Security number 580-52-6583 was issued to ANTONIO SOTO ACEVEDO, who was born 12 May 1912 and, Death Master File says, died November 1974. Search Archives for ANTONIO SOTO ACEVEDO. Social Security number 580-52-6584 was issued to MANUEL RODRIGUEZ, who was born 08 November 1906 and, Death Master File says, died October 1974. Social Security number 580-52-6585 was issued to PABLO A NEGRON-SANTI, who was born 26 January 1910 and, Death Master File says, died 21 November 1995. Search Archives for PABLO NEGRON-SANTI. Social Security number 580-52-6587 was issued to CARMEN A RIVERA, who was born 23 November 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 30 August 2007. Social Security number 580-52-6589 was issued to ANTONIO ARRIAGA, who was born 18 April 1923 and, Death Master File says, died 08 March 1999. Search Archives for ANTONIO ARRIAGA. Social Security number 580-52-6590 was issued to JULIO MARZAN, who was born 25 September 1923 and, Death Master File says, died 01 August 1993. Search Archives for JULIO MARZAN. Social Security number 580-52-6591 was issued to MILAGROS MELENDEZ, who was born 10 April 1928 and, Death Master File says, died 09 June 2007. Search Archives for MILAGROS MELENDEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6597 was issued to PEDRO RODRIGUEZ AP, who was born 13 May 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 28 April 1996. Search Archives for PEDRO RODRIGUEZ AP. Social Security number 580-52-6602 was issued to ANGEL L CRUZ, who was born 20 January 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 17 March 2005. Social Security number 580-52-6605 was issued to DOMINGA CRUZ-MELENDE, who was born 08 March 1918 and, Death Master File says, died 29 July 2008. Search Archives for DOMINGA CRUZ-MELENDE. Social Security number 580-52-6606 was issued to CATALINO COLON-RODRIG, who was born 16 September 1918 and, Death Master File says, died 29 March 2010. Search Archives for CATALINO COLON-RODRIG. Social Security number 580-52-6607 was issued to DOMINGO COLON, who was born July 1927 and, Death Master File says, died September 1972. Social Security number 580-52-6608 was issued to MARIO DAVILA-RIOS, who was born 28 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died December 1975. Search Archives for MARIO DAVILA-RIOS. Social Security number 580-52-6611 was issued to ILDEFONSO MARRERO-CRUZ, who was born 28 November 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 15 May 1994. Search Archives for ILDEFONSO MARRERO-CRUZ. Social Security number 580-52-6617 was issued to JUAN PACHECO JESU, who was born 01 January 1884 and, Death Master File says, died September 1967. Search Archives for JUAN PACHECO JESU. Social Security number 580-52-6619 was issued to NARCISO RIVERA, who was born 15 May 1895 and, Death Master File says, died August 1984. Social Security number 580-52-6620 was issued to RAMON A SANTOS, who was born 13 April 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 30 September 2002. Social Security number 580-52-6621 was issued to C VASQUEZ, who was born 08 December 1939 and, Death Master File says, died 15 September 1989. Search Archives for C VASQUEZ. Social Security number 580-52-6625 was issued to JORGE E AMIEIRO-RAMI, who was born 22 February 1938 and, Death Master File says, died 08 July 2013. Search Archives for JORGE AMIEIRO-RAMI. Social Security number 580-52-6626 was issued to JUANITA ARCE-VDA REN, who was born 01 October 1909 and, Death Master File says, died 30 June 1990. Search Archives for JUANITA ARCE-VDA REN. Social Security number 580-52-6628 was issued to ANTONIO ACEVEDO-GARC, who was born 20 April 1936 and, Death Master File says, died January 1979. Search Archives for ANTONIO ACEVEDO-GARC. Social Security number 580-52-6629 was issued to J J RODRIGUEZ, who was born 28 August 1935 and, Death Master File says, died 15 April 1997. Social Security number 580-52-6636 was issued to ANTONIO ROSARIO-SANT, who was born 10 July 1910 and, Death Master File says, died November 1978. Search Archives for ANTONIO ROSARIO-SANT. Social Security number 580-52-6638 was issued to SANTOS SANTIAGO, who was born 03 March 1924 and, Death Master File says, died 08 March 2008. Social Security number 580-52-6639 was issued to PEDRO SANTOS-RODRI, who was born 13 October 1907 and, Death Master File says, died 16 June 1990. Search Archives for PEDRO SANTOS-RODRI. Social Security number 580-52-6640 was issued to ENRIQUE RIVERA-RIVER, who was born 06 February 1928 and, Death Master File says, died November 1980. Search Archives for ENRIQUE RIVERA-RIVER. Social Security number 580-52-6644 was issued to REYA DELGADO-GONZ, who was born 06 January 1919 and, Death Master File says, died February 1979. Search Archives for REYA DELGADO-GONZ. Social Security number 580-52-6646 was issued to RAMON DESPIAU, who was born 12 June 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 11 August 2010. Search Archives for RAMON DESPIAU. Social Security number 580-52-6647 was issued to JOSE DE JESUS RIV, who was born 15 July 1907 and, Death Master File says, died 18 May 1993. Search Archives for JOSE DE JESUS RIV. Social Security number 580-52-6654 was issued to PEDRO AFANADOR, who was born 27 April 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 05 July 1993. Search Archives for PEDRO AFANADOR. Social Security number 580-52-6657 was issued to ANTONIO S ORTIZ-DIAZ, who was born 30 July 1916 and, Death Master File says, died 21 January 2011. Social Security number 580-52-6664 was issued to CASIANO MOLINA ARROY, who was born 10 December 1902 and, Death Master File says, died 16 October 1993. Search Archives for CASIANO MOLINA ARROY. Social Security number 580-52-6667 was issued to SABINA PAGANPENA, who was born 01 March 1906 and, Death Master File says, died January 1982. Search Archives for SABINA PAGANPENA. Social Security number 580-52-6668 was issued to ANGEL L ANDREU, who was born 09 December 1934 and, Death Master File says, died 24 November 2002. Search Archives for ANGEL ANDREU. Social Security number 580-52-6670 was issued to GONZALEZ ADDARICH-POM, who was born June 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 24 April 1984. Search Archives for GONZALEZ ADDARICH-POM. Social Security number 580-52-6677 was issued to DOMINGO LOPEZ NEIVES, who was born 07 October 1937 and, Death Master File says, died 22 June 2011. Search Archives for DOMINGO LOPEZ NEIVES. Social Security number 580-52-6683 was issued to EMILIO HERNANDEZ, who was born 20 February 1924 and, Death Master File says, died October 1984. Social Security number 580-52-6684 was issued to WENCESLAO HERNANDEZ VE, who was born 18 April 1897 and, Death Master File says, died August 1983. Search Archives for WENCESLAO HERNANDEZ VE. Social Security number 580-52-6685 was issued to JUAN IRIZARRY PAG, who was born 24 June 1905 and, Death Master File says, died January 1971. Search Archives for JUAN IRIZARRY PAG. Social Security number 580-52-6686 was issued to CARMEN H GONZALEZ, who was born 30 August 1931 and, Death Master File says, died 30 April 2004. Social Security number 580-52-6690 was issued to ERNESTO LOPEZ, who was born 30 June 1915 and, Death Master File says, died June 1981. Social Security number 580-52-6692 was issued to MIGUEL SANCHEZ-LOPE, who was born 09 September 1935 and, Death Master File says, died September 1975. Search Archives for MIGUEL SANCHEZ-LOPE. Social Security number 580-52-6696 was issued to M A ALVIRA, who was born 23 September 1938 and, Death Master File says, died August 1990. Search Archives for M ALVIRA. Social Security number 580-52-6698 was issued to ETANISLAO DIAZ, who was born 07 May 1907 and, Death Master File says, died 14 August 1988. Social Security number 580-52-6699 was issued to JOSE BORRERO PERE, who was born 19 March 1879 and, Death Master File says, died August 1968. Search Archives for JOSE BORRERO PERE. Social Security number 580-52-6702 was issued to VICTOR SERRANO, who was born 19 June 1895 and, Death Master File says, died February 1986. Social Security number 580-52-6703 was issued to RAUL SUAREZ ALFON, who was born 10 June 1926 and, Death Master File says, died 04 October 2001. Search Archives for RAUL SUAREZ ALFON. Social Security number 580-52-6704 was issued to HORTENSIA SANTIAGO, who was born 10 August 1919 and, Death Master File says, died 27 October 2008. Search Archives for HORTENSIA SANTIAGO. Social Security number 580-52-6707 was issued to FELIX RODRIGUEZ, who was born 16 May 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 06 August 2004. Social Security number 580-52-6713 was issued to MARIA M FELICIANO, who was born 10 June 1894 and, Death Master File says, died 15 March 1989. Social Security number 580-52-6714 was issued to DANIEL PEREZ-SERRAN, who was born 0000 and, Death Master File says, died November 1965. Search Archives for DANIEL PEREZ-SERRAN. Social Security number 580-52-6718 was issued to ANGEL TORRES, who was born 15 August 1916 and, Death Master File says, died 06 April 1991. Social Security number 580-52-6719 was issued to AURELIO GARCIA, who was born 02 April 1925 and, Death Master File says, died May 1970. Search Archives for AURELIO GARCIA. Social Security number 580-52-6726 was issued to JUAN RIVERA-PAGAN, who was born 0000 and, Death Master File says, died October 1971. Search Archives for JUAN RIVERA-PAGAN. Social Security number 580-52-6734 was issued to FAUSTINA R BORGES, who was born 13 October 1917 and, Death Master File says, died 06 May 1998. Search Archives for FAUSTINA BORGES. Social Security number 580-52-6735 was issued to S PIZARRO, who was born 06 April 1938 and, Death Master File says, died June 1992. Search Archives for S PIZARRO. Social Security number 580-52-6738 was issued to MARCELO SANTIAGO RAM, who was born 16 January 1876 and, Death Master File says, died May 1963. Search Archives for MARCELO SANTIAGO RAM. Social Security number 580-52-6740 was issued to JUAN SANCHEZ, who was born 08 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 31 August 2013. Social Security number 580-52-6742 was issued to LUIS DIAZ, who was born 01 October 1890 and, Death Master File says, died February 1965. Social Security number 580-52-6743 was issued to ROMAN CRUZ, who was born 15 March 1919 and, Death Master File says, died 13 August 1996. Search Archives for ROMAN CRUZ. Social Security number 580-52-6744 was issued to PAULA RIVERA, who was born 20 July 1920 and, Death Master File says, died 01 November 1992. Social Security number 580-52-6745 was issued to MIGUEL ALICK, who was born 29 September 1899 and, Death Master File says, died June 1968. Search Archives for MIGUEL ALICK. Social Security number 580-52-6747 was issued to JOSE FELICIANO-ME, who was born 11 May 1930 and, Death Master File says, died 03 September 1997. Search Archives for JOSE FELICIANO-ME. Social Security number 580-52-6751 was issued to MARGARITA SAENZ, who was born 22 February 1920 and, Death Master File says, died 14 December 2004. Search Archives for MARGARITA SAENZ. Social Security number 580-52-6752 was issued to LUIS A SANTIAGO COL, who was born 17 December 1925 and, Death Master File says, died 13 September 2013. Search Archives for LUIS SANTIAGO COL. Social Security number 580-52-6753 was issued to PABLO SALVAT-MONRO, who was born 16 November 1937 and, Death Master File says, died August 1977. Search Archives for PABLO SALVAT-MONRO. Social Security number 580-52-6757 was issued to VIDAL CUEVAS, who was born 28 April 1902 and, Death Master File says, died October 1984. Search Archives for VIDAL CUEVAS. Social Security number 580-52-6759 was issued to LUCAS TORRES, who was born 02 July 1897 and, Death Master File says, died March 1984. Social Security number 580-52-6762 was issued to MANUEL ABREU RODRIG, who was born 06 September 1884 and, Death Master File says, died April 1981. Search Archives for MANUEL ABREU RODRIG. Social Security number 580-52-6766 was issued to FELIX VAZQUEZ, who was born 19 October 1903 and, Death Master File says, died May 1989. Social Security number 580-52-6767 was issued to PABLO VALLEJO LOPE, who was born 15 June 1892 and, Death Master File says, died May 1966. Search Archives for PABLO VALLEJO LOPE. Social Security number 580-52-6768 was issued to FIDEL A TORRES, who was born 21 March 1933 and, Death Master File says, died 15 December 1997. Social Security number 580-52-6769 was issued to CATALINO VELAZQUEZ MO, who was born 13 February 1936 and, Death Master File says, died 12 August 2013. Search Archives for CATALINO VELAZQUEZ MO. 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2019-04-20T03:27:34Z

http://ssdmf.info/by_number/pages/188236.html

There are about eighteen years in the life of Jesus that the Bible does not tell of. That leaves room for fantasy and speculation. Claims are many. Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) says that Jesus spent many formative years in India, made visits there to the wise men who had followed a “wandering star”, and speaks of hidden records that are unavailable to the public and to scholars too. Respectable proof of such claims is missing to this day. What then? Being eaten by worms and believing marring tales without sound evidence could both work harm in a life. Regardless of that, many authors have claimed to have found proof that there are manuscripts in India and Tibet that support the belief that Christ was in India. And there are preposterous makers of hearsay around. And others cite them! However, without solid and publily available proofs, stories of Jesus in India get no substantial backing among scholars. All who believe vagaries and claims without sound proof may not be fooled completely by it, but many will probably be made fools that way. To escape falling victim to blunt assertions, try to get facts first, ask for needed evidence, and remain tentative for the lack of evidence, so as to preserve mental clarity at least. To study the evidence fairly could be productive. After all, it is fit for good living and science alike that the burden of proof lies with the asserting claimers. Alluring claims do not make one proof. Study the evidence first, if you find any worth inspecting, and sort and weigh that also. Such procedures should lead to less ill-founded and even more professional-like assertions or opinions. Looking for facts to build on, albeit tentatively, see what Wikipedia writes on the subject. Also consider that stories may have a loose foundation, but there could be truth in them, somewhere, somehow. However, many claims do not make one solid proof, and I for one am weary of the gross cavalcade of claims and what this and that fellow have thought up – for different versions do not all agree – far from it. Instead of building castles in Spain, some story-tellers build Buddhist monasteries in Tibet long before Buddhism was establised there. In 1887 the Russian Nicolas Notovitch published The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ in Russian. An American translation followed in 1890. [The book] The book tells of Buddhist monasteries in Tibet from a time when there were none there (Berzin 1996). Should we dismiss the rest of the book or get consumed by errors? Where facts are not found, it helps long-range soundness to refrain from believing, for the duped may become sheep-like. An antidote to tough falls and blind submission to airy and faulty beliefs “up there in the clouds” should be watchful, even-handed and rational inquiry, which includes sound skills in handling information. There is much to gain from it, and much to lose for the lack of it. Rational inquiry is fit in Buddhism and proper research and is considered good for sound mind-development. There are some basics of such mental skills interspersed below, adapted to the topic “Jesus visited India and we say so”. Eighteen years in the life of Jesus go unmentioned in the Bible, and this opens up for many claims. Legend-mongers have sent the young man Jesus to Egypt, to Britain, and to India, Persia and Tibet. Such modern Jesus legends have gained quite a readership. But the Bible does not say that Jesus had been in India. And the Jewish leaders never accused him of teaching anything he had assimilated in the East either. When good evidence is missing, we should agree it is possible that Jesus was in India during parts of those eighteen unreckoned for years, but is it likely? There were trade routes. This fact lies at the bottom of several claims that Jesus visited India and Tibet in his day. For example, Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) and Swami Satyananda both tell that Jesus spent fifteen years in India and Tibet. But what evidence did they show for their case? Why should we not believe in this? It is a question of whether the emperor wears any clothes (it is a theme of a fairy tale made known by Hans Christian Andersen). Do the Yogananda claims wear any good documentation (clothes) at all? Are they bluffs? The Notovitch book says Jesus spent time in Buddhist settings in Tibet – but there were no such things as Buddhist monasteries there at the time of Jesus. Buddhism came to Tibet only many centuries later. A quack tale accepted brings faith in humbug. In this case faultily promoted by several profiteers, as we may call those who find themselves served by swindles too. The “wise” men in the first chapters of Matthew, appear in what may be merely a folk-tale, says the Bible scholar Geza Vermes (2010) further down. Yogananda brings no good evidence, only “It is said” and “They say”, which are known to have started many a lie. Yogananda – once a rumour spreader to teach others not to do as he did – wanted others not to spread rumours, he clarified. The three points above will be elaborated on in the following, and evidence of many sorts are given. “It is said” – by whom? Either the teller (Yogananda) furnishes the evidence, or you have to seek other sources if the issue matters greatly to you. Yogananda does not. His publishers have later sought to prop him up by selective and biased information – but see whether their information counts, really counts, and is fair enough for the grey matter of the brain. In science and among able scholars it is the one who makes claims who is to furnish the fit evidence. As a matter of fact, the Bible scholar Geza Vermes thinks the first to chapters of Matthew are based on a Hebrew folktale. Bluffs are many in “Bible-land”, and cynical exploiters are many, many. It should help to get rid of the bluffs and stand firm. Matthew’s account of the Nativity – the basis of all Christmas celebrations – appears in a quite different light when it is considered as the product of a particular Jewish linguistic, literary and religious context (Vermes 2010:87). Try not to get burdened in such matters, but handle things well: You are not obliged to furnish the evidence if you do not claim something. Where no good evidence is given, try to keep the claims or issues in suspense (at bay) at the very least. That is, do not settle on conclusions or gulp up opinions of others based on “presentation farting” or worse, for such a nasty road leads into folly faith, sheepish adjustments and worse in some cases. The Bible does not say there were three wise men or where they came from. Moreover, there is no mention in the Bible of such a return visit that Yogananda speaks of. Also, the teachings of Jesus do not give any particular evidence of influence from outside the Jewish faith – from such a mental universe. The New Testament was written much closer in time to the events, so it is part of the “game” to check it, too. Neither Jesus nor Acts nor letter-writing apostles said anything at all about him going further abroad than to Egypt with his parents, although the gospels do not agree fully with each other on that one. Jesus in Buddhist Tibet at a time when Buddhism had not arrived there, is it really more credible than Jesus walking on water? There is something wrong with a tale that purports to be true when the facts do not follow suit: Consider, for example, that Tibetans at the time of Jesus were no Buddhists. Buddhism arrived in Tibet only hundreds of years later, and the story which Yogananda draws on, tells of documents about Jesus visiting Buddhist monasteries in Tibet when there were none. Are we facing a tragic soup? ❋ Duping for gains is not much to boast of, and not classy. When other Hindu swamis tell about the same tale as Yogananda in the matter, do many similar claims without fit evidence make one proof? I think not. It does not matter who claim it, so long as they do not furnish promising evidence. And it is foolish to make drivel a matter of faith. Believe as little as you can, and you will be taken in less in the long run. That could be good for mankind. And you should be allowed to inspect and think your own thoughts. Everybody should be allowed that. In the work Early Teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, there are recordings from a satsanga (gathering, class) [Satyananda 1988:100-110] he held with prospective teachers of his line of yoga. Satyananda renders among other things that “in India some people say that the story of Christ is actually the story of Krishna which must have emigrated from India to the Middle East.” Note that “some people” is too loose to count as any valid reference if nothing more is added. “Christ was crucified on the cross, but he did not die … The soldiers came and put a spear into his body. In the Bible it is written, “. . . and the water flowed out.” … It means to say Christ was not dead, because water or blood does not flow from a dead body. So, Christ was not dead when they took him off the cross. Since traditional Christianity is due to those disciples and the Holy Spirit working through them, it seems a bit off the mark to say Jesus wasted his time on them. But who knows? And if he travelled away from there only to die from his wounds and strenuous travels another place, his purported travel to Kashmir was worse than a waste of time, for that matter. So far, apart from unfounded claims and stands at odds with the New Testament’s message in such matters, the stories of Satyananda and many others suffer from lack of fit documentation. The Japanese story has there was authentic documentation until the last World War, and that what is left now, after the bombing of Tokyo, are the copied documents. Be that as it may, some people get problems from being told a lot to accept by blind believing, and what if Satyananda and Yogananda work to make Jesus “their own” somehow by putting the Bible’s Jesus into some Hindu frames of reference? An counter-demagogy tale – such as a Jesus-visited-Svalbard tale, could come in handy here, and why not a Japanese twist to things too, for balance? It surely is not wise to get many to believe a tell-tale without evidence, you have a following, and so much the worse for them – and probably for yourself in the long, long run, in a karmic perspective. Opinions are many and may differ a lot; facts may be few and far between; and what is presented as “facts of yesterday” often gets disputed and gradually abandoned among scholars and scientists as well. It should naturally be reckoned with. We have two references to Christ in Indian books. One is in the ancient records of Nalanda University … The university had an enormous library containing hundreds of thousands of texts which was destroyed once … and again by the Hindus. Twice it was burned to the ground and thousands of ancient texts were lost. In the quotation above, Satyananda gets towards being specific, but he is not quite there. A fit reference makes it possible for others to look up in the referred-to sources and look for themselves. Satyananda goes on to tell that Jesus went back to Jerusalem and preached what he had learnt in India, but that the people there did not understand him and crucified him. [Satyananda 1988:108] Now scholars tell that Jesus did not teach anything that lies outside the Jewish culture. And maybe he got crucified because the Jewish leaders did understand him, and dealt with him according to a Law of Moses for Jews. That’s in the Bible. Nalanda – Ancient texts tell that on his travels Buddha often halted at this place. Nalanda in time became an international Buddhist centre of education and learning equivalent to modern universities, and with a very rich library. Located in in Bihar, India, it flourished between 427 and 1197 CE, long after the birth of Jesus. So how Jesus came across Buddhist ethics in Nalanda, must remain one more undisclosed “fluffy claim” for now. Nalanda, at any rate, was one of the world’s first centres of learning that had dormitories for students. And its library, known as Dharma Gunj (Mountain of Truth) or Dharmaganja (Treasury of Truth), was renowned. A vast amount of what came to comprise Tibetan Buddhism, both its Mahayana sutras traditions and its Vajrayana traditions, stems from the late (800s-1100s) Nalanda teachers and traditions. Ruins remain, and the place is a World Heritage site. Singapore, China, India, Japan, and other nations have announced a proposed plan to restore and revive the ancient site as Nalanda International University. Again, there is no place in the Bible where Jesus teaches outside of the Jewish faith, so look on the “strong support” that Yogananda speaks about, with much calm. Do the records of belief that Yogananda speaks of exist? The stand of most scholars in the matter seems to be this: There is no generally accepted evidence around that Jesus spent eighteen years in India and Tibet. ❋ It is recognised to be widely better to refrain from blind belief than to submit to “claim authority” and blunderbuss sayings. Now ask for evidence for Yogananda’s claims. Note how he props up his tale-telling by “authoritatively known”, “high metaphysicians”, “great sages”, and such means. If unsubstantiated, they form part of demagogy. One of Yogananda’s durable errors in America was going for impressing audiences without sticking to tenable evidence, and here is an example. Did they and do they? And where is the evidence? There is more about that crucial issue further down. Unsubstantiated claims does not solve the matter well. Besides, it is all right to ask for facts and go for facts without getting swollen, and warm talk of India can be in its place too. But there are limits to many things. ❋ Stick to rational handling instead of getting caught by credibility play at any rate. Yogananda’s book The Yoga of Jesus contains extracted parts of his massive two-volumed The Second Coming of Christ. In it we are told in a note that “India’s spiritual influence extended not only west, but east.” Strictly speaking, Buddhism spread far and wide into Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, China Korea and Japan, for example, while and Hinduism expanded eastward as far as Java. The publishers also cite a professor Singhal who claims that ancient American cultures were of Asian origin, and that this is seen from the monuments, hieroglyphs, and institutions of America. “The traces of Hindu-Buddhist influence in Mexico . . . correspond in kind precisely to those cultural elements which were introduced by Buddhist monks and Hindu priests in Southeast Asia,” Dr Singhal thinks. And much depends on the seeing eye (read: mind). COMMENT. Buddhism spread throughout central Asia and East Asia. The said connection to ancient American culture is embraced by Dr. Gauri Mahulikar in his Effects of Ramayana on Various Cultures and Civilizations, but I find substantial evidence to be meagre if it is there at all. All will probably not be well with mankind if we refrain from speculation, massive speculation, and unfounded dogmatism, but some things may get better, actually. [◦Link]. There have also been efforts to support a thesis that the Chinese discovered and explored the western United States hundreds of years before Norsemen came to its eastern parts around 1000 AD – at a time when Buddhism influence was growing in China. COMMENT. Speaking of Gnosticism, “it now seems clear that traces of Gnostic systems can be discerned some centuries before the Christian Era. [Wikipedia]” Predating Jesus Christ, Gnosticism existed in the Mediterranean and Middle East in the Second and Third Centuries. There was a Syrian-Egyptian school of Gnosticism and a Persian Gnostic school. The Hebrew Cabbalists took many core Gnostic ideas and used them to reinterpret earlier Jewish sources according to this new foreign influence. I have not found any claims of Indian influences on Gnosticism in other academic sources than Dr Potter’s claims. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example, informs that Gnosticism drew from and influenced in turn many traditional religions. It was diverse as to theology, ethics, and ritual, and thus defies strict classification. “The origins of the Gnostic world view have been sought by scholars in the dualism of Iranian religion, the allegorical Idealism of the Middle Platonic philosophers, and the apocalypticism of certain Jewish mystics. There are analogies also with Egyptian and Mesopotamian thought.” Thus, the alleged Indian influences on Gnosticism that SRF cherishes, is not part of current, main thinking about it. In conclusion so far, it appears that the SRF editors have chosen to quote persons with a definitive bias for the sake of propping up Yogananda’s sayings on this and that, citing a lot when convenient, but without being well in line with mainstream scholarship in the fields in question, and far from furnishing ample and good evidence. It may mount up to a prop-up kind of biased plot, I feel. I think we get a truer presentation of Gnosticism in the two encyclopaedias Wikipedia and Britannica, for one thing. ❋ A fit informational presentation is not greatly biased, and does not have the bottom attitude of defending any cherished leader’s views without considering evidence and materials that go against his or her dictums. Now, what do you prefer, have someone pinch your nose or be misguided? In any case you should know how to defend yourself for your own thriving. Against being misguided by imposing figures that become authority figures in cults and the like, we must learn to “believe not, but make sure”. Asking for top-notch evidence is a fine way towards making sure. For the lack of these few mental self-defence stands, many succumb to tall tales and demagogy. We will look into the evidence that Jesus was in India from his puberty till about three years before the crucifixion. What proper and fit evidence do we have? The source of much novel rumour that Jesus went to India is a book by the Russian Nicolas Notovitch, who in his time was exposed as a fraud. He published ◦The Unknown Life of Christ, which is said to be a travelogue of a trip through India, into Kashmir, eventually reaching Ladakh in Tibet. At Ladakh a lama allegedly informs him that Jesus, under the name Issa, is known to some Tibetan Buddhists. Notovitch goes on to tell that an ancient manuscript was read to him about Issa-Jesus going to India to study the Vedas and Buddhism. Jesus stirred up a caste war and had to leave India. he left and preached against Zoroastrianism in Persia – all according to Notovitch. The orientalist Max Müller sent a letter to the monastery where Notovitch had claimed to have made the discovery, and they disavowed any knowledge of such a manuscript. The head of the Hemis community at Ladakh even signed a document that denounced Notovitch as an outright liar. No authentic Hindu or Buddhist text from that period references Jesus or any of the events described in Notovitch. Jesus is placed by Notovitch in circumstances or settings that plainly were not there. For one thing, Tibetans were not converted to Buddhism till many hundreds of years later. For a manuscript about Jesus in India to be convincing, it would have to have at least the same quality as the New Testament scrolls, and be written close to the events they report on. For the lack of such a document, is it wise to base one’s faith on something that has as little evidential support as Notovitch’s? The name Issa is Islamic for Jesus, and as such was not used before the 700s CE. Dare to think that Notovitch’s Unknown Life of Jesus was a hoax. ❋ To study all the most weighty evidence before you conclude in a matter, reveals proficiency, which is needed for handling life too. Hefty and repeated claims that Jesus travelled through India in his youth has appeared in many books and websites. The story took off after the Russian scholar and orientalist Nicolai Notovitch in 1894 published a book where he claimed to have discovered monastery texts showing that Jesus had travelled through India and Tibet during his teens and early twenties. This view has recently been taken up by the German Holger Kersten in Jesus Lived in India [which I don’t consider worth reading on the basis of “Many “if’s” don’t make proofs”]. In 1887 Notovitch came to Kashmir during one of several journeys to the Orient. At the Zoji-la pass Notovitch was a guest in a Buddhist monastery, where a monk told him of the bodhisattva saint called “Issa”, who died and was buried in a tomb in Kashmir itself. However, the monastery Jesus allegedly is to have studied at in India, was not built until the 1500s, and there is no independent evidence confirming the story. Maybe Notovitch’s Unknown Life of Jesus was fictional: Intimidated by a refutation by the highly esteemed F. Max Müller, Notovitch backed down and changed his story, he began to back-pedal. Not only Max Muller, but also J. Archibald Douglas, and ◦Edgar J. Goodspeed have all refuted the legend. Below are details. ❋ Tales and legends that are repeated in a culture, may or may not have a historical basis. Tales in themselves offer little proof – for they need to be substantiated. And this pertains to the said tomb of Jesus in Kashmir too. As long as good documentation or evidence is lacking, duck! (Keep such a faith item well away from yourself even if it is played, as not all play is fair play). In October 1894 the great Orientalist Max Müller, editor of the epoch-making Sacred Books of the East, published a refutation of Notovitch in The Nineteenth Century, a scholarly review. He shared a letter (June 29, 1894) from an English woman who had visited Leh in Ladakh, including the Hemis lamasery, where she checked out Notovitch’s story. She reported that, according to the abbot, “There is not a single word of truth in the whole story! There has been no Russian here. No one has been taken into the Seminary for the past fifty years with a broken leg! There is no life of Christ there at all!” [Goodspeed, p. 11]. Among other things Muller also questioned the great liberty Notovitch took in editing and arranging the alleged verses. Muller said this is something no reputable scholar would have done. J. Archibald Douglas, Professor at Government College in Agra, India, took a three-month vacation from the college and retraced Notovitch’s steps at the Himis monastery. He published an account of his journey in The Nineteenth Century (June 1895), the bulk of which reproduced an interview with the chief lama of the monastery. The lama said he had been chief lama for 15 years, which means he would have been the chief lama during Notovitch’s alleged visit. The lama asserted that during these 15 years, no European with a broken leg had ever sought refuge at the monastery. The interview was written down and witnessed by the lama, Douglas, and the interpreter, and on June 3, 1895, was stamped with the official seal of the lama. However, several people have gone to Hemis, where several monks purportedly have confirmed that the documents alleged by Notovitch existed. Such takes are far from official, though, compared to the attested or verified ones. WELL. . . The credibility of The Life of Saint Issa by Notovitch was damaged by Douglas’s investigation. Yet Notovitch’s book was printed again in 1926 by an American publisher. And it was discredited once again by ◦Goodspeed’s book of 1931, called Strange New Gospels. In it, he describes the rise and fall of Notovitch’s claims in the decade following the publication of his book. He outlines how it was rejected by the academic community at the time too. Did Jesus visit Tibet? Well, as said above, it is possible, assertions are many, but there is little significant evidence that has come down to us. “Anything is possible, but what is probable?” – F.C. Baur. In Yogananda’s society, members greatly believe in him, so when the Leader and his later management teach that Jesus went to India or that the book “The Life of Issa” is a true story, they believe it, and may refuse to think otherwise and twice. That could perhaps be expected of cult lowers. At last he reached the pass, and in the Ladak city, Leh, he was received with favour by the monks, the merchants, and the men of low estate. Buddhism did not take hold in Tibet until the reign of Srong Tsen Gampo, middle of the seventh century. There was no Buddhist temple in Lhasa when Jesus was alive. The first Buddhist monastery in Tibet, Leh, was built in 637-647 AD. Yogananda did not disprove Notovitch’s story, which was disproved even when Notovitch was alive … The guru is biased, out of key with scholars, and definitely keen on allying Jesus with gurus. He was surrounded by very gullible people. ❋ Ladakh Buddhist temples did not exist at the time of Jesus, no matter what tales Notovitch and his champions tell about them. There are Tibetan treasures about Mantrayanic meditation and aligned tantra practices and so on, but Notovitch-stories are not among them, I figure. ❋ When an authority figure like the guru of Self-Realization Fellowship vouches for a hoax, many followers succumb to authoritarian-based indoctrination with its possible “cult-enhancing dumbening”. Yogananda recounts made-up stories, presenting them as true. Such doings are not marks of a gentleman, and seldom good enough. How wrong can it be when his fellowship adds to the misery by an attitude that comes to the fore in a recently notarised letter, that they find no fault with his guidelines and that his wisdom flawless? Such a pitiful stand is a hallmark of a cult, and not proper among scientists. Yogananda definitely vouches for a hoax book of Notovitch, and draws on it. But we should not, for the sake of fairness. ❋ Yogananda – monastic leaders of his cult regrettably claim his guidelines are infallible. That makes matters much worse. Groggy ones are easily mislead. And you cannot afford to be made groggy, can you? Weighing evidence is rather easy, once you get to know how and get used to it. Try to deal with each key issue first, and as even-handedly as you are up to. First, assemble the points that you find worth considering, and try to be fair when you choose them. Include both pros and cons. Formulate each of the points as an assertive statement. Consider what proof you have gathered. Keep proof-gathering open-ended; you may include more later. Master the common, initial mental scanning of sources. Go for sources where authors have great credentials. They are often found among doctors, Ph.D.s, and professors. Their works are published in reputable books and journals, for example university publishers. There are lots of others. See what critics have said about the books too. The “good guys” seek to be unbiased, gather relevant and valid information, and may also (try to) keep it interesting. Go toward the key sources if that is possible, and discern among them. That is helpful too, in some circumstances, if you can afford it. To weigh the points you come up with and select above all the rest, you can mark such statements on a Likert scale (by a set of responses, for example five). It is far better than the emotionally meagre “yes or no” alternatives. You can easily use five alternative ways of responding, and number them. You may help the weighing by looking at the palm of your hand and think “5 for thumb up”, “4 for the index finger”, “3 for the middle finger”, and so on. Note that “3” (middle finger) is what is called AHEM, HUM, OF TWO MINDS, NEUTRAL, UNSETTLED, AMBIVALENT TOO PERHAPS, and that the forefinger (index finger) means “YES”, and the thumb means “OH YES, INDEED!” (a strong affirmative response). Here is an example. Form the statements so that the “yes” side is consistently either of pros or cons in any of them; such structuring makes the weighing easier. By studying the information available to you where you are, you may then set up weighing lists too. There are no old texts of “Jesus in Tibet” available. UNSETTLED – THERE ARE RUMOURS. The following example shows the same weighing by bars. Figure 1. Bar chart of five tentatively weighed points. If you get proficient in “using your fingers” to refine your responses to a lot of things from the somewhat crude “yes-no” to a five-partitioned way of responding, the chances are you may handle life better, eventually. The five points or statements are thus responded to by marking off the most appropriate stands you muster along the vertical lines. It should work far better than just wincing from the delicate problems involved for cult members, for example. I think my total score – suming up the allotted weights of the five grouped statements – is about 22 points, but not (5 x 5 = 25) points. Whether I keep my judgement (evaluation) to myself as a private matter or speak of it, is my own business, through freedom of thought and so on. If I have settled on a conclusion, I prefer to remain open to forthcoming evidence that goes against what I have settled on so far. If I get 20 points, I am affirmative – in this case I think it is a fraud and a hoax, but I don’t swear it is. I do not have to conclude things in public, but I tend towards debunking Yogananda’s claims in this matter. If my total score is 15 points – five middle fingers in average – I am unsettled, and do well in refraining from concluding in any way, for such as health reasons. The lesson of keeping issues in suspense, unsettled, is ofter underrated. It is much valuable. It is better than being made a victim of odd beliefs also. And bear in mind: The burden of proof is on the one who claims a thing – Yogananda and his publishing fellowship in the example. Satyananda’s publishers in the quite similar case further above. If you get 10 or 5 points, you may dislike rational handling. Try to relax and think twice to improve on your future. Be sincere with yourself and the data, as “Sincerity will save you,” said Yogananda. “Honesty may help you further” is another pretty-looking saying, but learn to take care and handle things well also. I have tried to show how to make up your own mind about a certain book – a hoax book, I figure. Add your points and divide by five (in this case), to see your average. If you get more than 20 points, on the whole you affirm that in your judgement the book is not reliable. Also, take a deeper look into the scores that deviate much from your had average, and see if there is anything you can do in such matters, and try to find out whether such activity is called for. Maybe it is, maybe it is not. The next step is to compare your sincere, personal evaluation with such as Yogananda’s assertions on top of the Notovitch book and other poorly substantiated or wholly undocumented claims. Note what his documentation is, and be just. Unlike a lama and various experts, he does not debunk the Notovitch book. Nor does he comment on the unhistorical, untrue Buddhist monasteries in the book. Nor is he alarmed that Notovitch changed his story. Instead Yogananda makes use of it to support dangerous claims – dangerous because they are so very inadequately substantiated, and his publishing fellowship wants others to belive his teachings are gospel truth, if not above it. But the Notovitch book and claims based on it are hardly good evidence among scholars. What else goes into it when a guru that is claimed to be an avatar (divine incarnation) and the like, states that his good source of information is his intuition? Intuition may be right or wrong – it shows up if you check the intuitions. For example, much of Yogananda’s claimed, intuitive understanding of the Rubaiyat looks clownish and more than suspect. The evidence that he “swims in dangerous and deep water” about his claims there, is in the little collection just referred to. ❋ Reclaim your rationality if the guru or his cult has violated it, since much is at stake for your future fare if you renounce a rational mind far and wide and get subjected to gross lies or hearsay. Further, if you are not helped by such pinpointing as on this site, you can seek other things that assist you on and up, since “There are many roads to Rome”. Berzin, Alexander. The History of the Early Period of Buddhism and Bon in Tibet. The Berzin Archives, 1996. Online. Satyananda Saraswati, Swami. Early Teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Paperback ed. Munger, Bihar: Bihar School of Yoga, 1988. Vermes, Geza.The Authentic Gospel of Jesus. London: Penguin, 2005. Yogananda, Paramahansa. Man’s Eternal Quest. New ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1982. Yogananda, Paramahansa. Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda. 4th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1980. Yogananda, Paramahansa. The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You. 2 Vols. 1st ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2004. Yogananda, Paramahansa. The Yoga of Jesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2007. Yogananda, Paramhansa. The Master Said. Los Angeles, CA: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1952. Edwards, William D., MD; Wesley J. Gabel, MDiv; Floyd E. Hosmer, MS, AMI. “Study On The Physical Death of Jesus: Section 7: “Death of Jesus.” JAMA 1986;255:1455-1463). Online. Dr Tom J. Chalko PhD. Tomb of Jesus in Shingo Village (Herai) in Japan: The Song reveals the Truth. 1997-98. Online. You like it? Click it! Good gracious! What assumptions we make and later realise rather late that other possibilities existed even then but our pre-experience assumption delayed our understanding. While scrolling in one of those FB account that I chanced upon a post which elicited a sense of revolt at post facto misuse of one’s image! I wanted to like it. That was an urine urge, a need to express but can’t be done openly, unless that post was on my ‘friends’ wall! The wall owner was not known to me. Would that be ok? Or would be it like an uninvited barge? A guest tolerated out of the civil magnanimity which sets in as one social climbs! Click! I saw MUTUAL FRIENDS! I liked it! I made that the pretext to click ‘like’. The deed was done? But something was rankling, how could that person be ‘mutual’ when I do not know that person? FB suggests that the friend is a friend of both the watcher and the watched! Wow! What a way to flatter an unknown person to be packaged as a ‘friend’! I am still reeling under the linguistic opportunism grabbed by the ever vigilant business sense of the FB TEAM. Thank you SJ, seen, read and illusioned! There was no such word till I contacted and meaninged it! That was six years since I quit virtual poker! The game was introduced to me by my son, who had by then run up a healthy 50,000$ to his credit. Having a greater credit of those virtual dollars allowed one an access to rooms where the stakes were high. David’s preference of FUNCTIONS OVER STRUCTURES! And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. The excerpted verses above are from I Samuel chapter 17 verses 38-40. The nascent greatness of King David comes out in these three verses. He was forced to shepherding the few sheep of his father and relegated to a job not to his liking. That he did an exemplary job of it, is more because he undertook the role as a protector of the ‘few sheep’ quite seriously, and in the process acquired skills which made him battle-worthy. His courage was not the offspring of his skills, but vice versa! I believe that to sustain his COURAGE, he has to stand alone and defend. Therefore he acquired those skills. Skills of slinging and fighting with wild animals. Neither his father nor his brothers knew or recognised his skills. When the need arose none, mind you, NONE OTHER, could convince Abner or Saul of his skill to match the might of Goliath , except DAVID. David proves that he could sling, with accuracy, intensity and without loss of time. THE THREE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS TO DEFEAT GOLIATH. David saw in Goliath what the veterans like Saul and Abner couldn’t see. Goliath’s missile based weapon was a heavy spear. The rest were all dog-fight weapons. But David himself had a sling, which was missile based. He could strike from a distance and if accurate and intense, the results would be imminent. He got it right. David’s greatest challenge was to REFUSE THE SWORD, THE BRASS HELMET AND THE COAT OF MAIL OF SAUL! To be recognised by the King itself is a great challenge, with his brothers belittling him, his challenge was aggravated. In these circumstances he succeeds in convincing the Army chief and the King. Saul after testing his skills, makes David wear his own armour- a man of lesser mettle, to please the King would have ACQUIESCED! The armour, helmet and the sword ENCUMBERED HIS SKILLS! That recognition coupled with a courage to REFUSE the accoutrements of the rank holders in the army was his greatness. It was not a refusal to show that he was great with a sling , but a realisation that HE SHOULD NOT ENCUMBER HIMSELF WITH STRUCTURES WHICH WOULD HAMPER HIS SKILLS! David gently and tactfully rejects the armour of Saul, not an easy task! David says : I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. The result was of epic proportions. David made Goliath, in the English language a symbol of enormity. David proved that SKILL BASED FUNCTIONS should not be hampered by UNSUITED STRUCTURES! The bamboo was wondering why God made it so different? God said, “Stop questioning me. Do you know what the banyans go through? Do you know how many survive to rise to that level as the one you know? Talk not of things you CANNOT UNDERSTAND! Live and ask for fulfilment of your legitimate aspirations, not comparitive possibilities which arise out of your opportunities! Hector’s true tragedy was that he visualised his own defeat and Andromache being enslaved. As a warrior he never had a role to be a prophet. He reconciled to his lost cause much before he took up the challenge. May be there was a justification to his death, but he had no business to foresee that eventuality. Eventualities are to be gone through, but not to be pondered upon! Hector had embedded the app of DEATH & DEFEAT into his consciousness and that beckoned him to a cause for which he was neither prepared in resources or belief!

2019-04-18T17:17:13Z

https://movid.wordpress.com/2015/11/

Methods and apparatus are described for detecting social relationships across multiple networks and/or communication channels. These social relationships may then be utilized in a wide variety of ways to support and enhance a broad range of user services. The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/019,215 filed Jan. 4, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. The present invention relates to social networks on the Web and, in particular, to techniques for aggregating social network data from multiple disparate sources. Many users of the World Wide Web are members of multiple networks of users, each of which is typically controlled by a service provider which exercises exclusive control over its data, including data representing connections between its members. Examples of such networks include, for example, Yahoo!®, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Given this state of affairs, there is typically a considerable amount of data representing the social network of a given user that is not apparent or available to each of the different service providers. As a result, neither the user nor the service providers are able to leverage the full potential of the user's social connections. According to the present invention, techniques are provided by which social relationships of individuals are identified and leveraged to support a broad range of functionality. According to a specific embodiment, methods and apparatus are provided for identifying social relationships for a first user operating in a first network context controlled by a first entity. An identity of the first user is generated with reference to a first data source associated with the first network context and under control of the first entity, and at least one external data source outside of the first network context and not under control of the first entity. A plurality of contacts having a relationship with the first user are identified with reference to the first data source, the at least one external data source, and the identity of the first user. First ones of the contacts are not identifiable from the first data source. A relevancy measure is determined for each of the contacts which represents a relevance of the relationship between the first user and the contact. The relevancy measure for each contact is determined with reference to one or more of the first data source or the at least one external data source. According to another specific embodiment, methods and apparatus are provided for identifying social relationships for a first user operating in a first network context controlled by a first entity. A plurality of contacts having a relationship with the first user is presented to the first user. The plurality of contacts were determined with reference to a first data source associated with the first network context and under control of the first entity, at least one external data source outside of the first network context and not under control of the first entity, and an identity of the first user. The identity was determined with reference to the first data source and the at least one external data source. First ones of the contacts are not identifiable from the first data source. The plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with a relevancy measure associated with each of the contacts which represents a relevance of the relationship between the first user and the associated contact. The relevancy measure for each contact was determined with reference to one or more of the first data source or the at least one external data source. According to some embodiments, aggregation of vitality across multiple contexts is enabled. According to further embodiments, each external data source employs a permissioning model for controlling access to information associated with the external data source. The permissioning models for the various external data sources are aggregated thereby enabling access to the information associated with each external data source according to its corresponding permissioning model. FIGS. 1-3 are screen shots illustrating a process flow in accordance with a specific embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a simplified network diagram illustrating a computing context in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented. FIGS. 5-18 are screen shots illustrating a process flow in accordance with a specific embodiment of the invention. FIGS. 19 and 20 are representations of interfaces which may be employed with embodiments of the invention. FIGS. 21-25 are mobile screen shots illustrating a process flow in accordance with another specific embodiment of the invention. According to various embodiments of the invention, methods and apparatus are provided which are operable to detect both manifest and latent social relationships for a given user across multiple networks or communication channels, e.g., social networks, portals, communication or messaging systems, etc. These social relationships may then be utilized in a wide variety of ways to support and/or enhance a broad range of user services. Manifest relationships may be represented, for example, by explicit connections between the user and identities or identity tokens associated with other users (e.g., in address books, contacts lists, buddy lists, etc.). Latent relationship are, in general, less explicit and may be represented, for example, by communications patterns or mutual friend connections. Embodiments of the invention leverage both latent and manifest social relationships, and represent a shift away from a “network-centric” or “channel-centric” model of connection to a “person-centric” model that works across multiple social networks, and communication and vitality channels. As will be discussed, the various types of latent and manifest social relationships may be detected in a variety of ways. In addition, embodiments of the invention enable the aggregation of vitality from a wide variety of sources. Vitality refers to events or actions (e.g., publication of content, changes in status, installation and use of applications, etc.) corresponding to a particular individual or group of individuals, e.g., what a user's contacts are doing on the Web. Vitality may be distinguished from messaging-type connections in that, for example, an email explicitly defines a group of recipients who have permission to read the email. By contrast, vitality is a broadcast form of communication based on user actions which has an implicit set of recipients defined by a graph of social relations. This graph of social relations may be labeled and/or subdivided according to categorical labels such as “friends”, “family”, “school”, “work”, and/or many other group or organization-based affiliation. So, the “recipients” of an individual's vitality are defined a priori, and typically receive notifications of the publication of content as it occurs for which the recipients already have implicit permission to consume the content. Embodiments of the invention which enable the aggregation of vitality allow users to see vitality events (e.g., status text updates, photo uploads, application installs, etc.) associated with their contacts across networks and/or communication channels by leveraging existing permissions and privacy models of the various networks and/or channels to access, aggregate, and display the vitality. An example may be instructive. Two users might be explicitly connected in the Yahoo!® network in that they email each other using Yahoo!® mail. The same two users might also have several other connections, e.g., Flickr contacts, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections, etc., some of which may be characterized as manifest, and some of which may be characterized as latent. When one of the users initiates the Connections Activator (e.g., using the “Simplify Your Inbox!” button in FIG. 1), the Connections Activator first determines who the initiating user is. According to one set of embodiments, this is done by searching the current network context, e.g., the Yahoo!® network (and in particular utilizing the logged-in identity of the user on the Yahoo! network), as well as potentially leveraging the broader Web context (possibly some specified set of networks or properties on the Web), and gathering data by which the user may be identified, e.g., user profiles, pages and vitality produced on the current and other networks, etc.; any token of information which can be used to identify the user. The identity of the user may also be determined, at least in part, by requesting input from the user himself. This may include asking the user to specifically identify other networks, other properties in the current network, or other systems to which the user belongs or on which the user is represented in some way. The various data are then consolidated into a representation of the user. This may be presented to the user as shown, for example, in the Yahoo!® Mail interface of FIG. 2. Once the user has been identified, the next phase of activation may be initiated (e.g., using the “Activate your network” button in FIG. 2) during which the Connections Activator searches for and gathers data relating to others with whom the user interacts (on the current network, other properties on the current network, other networks or systems on the Web, etc.). These other individuals may be identified, for example, from communication patterns of the user, relationships with the user in the current context and other networks, address books, contact lists, vitality consumed by the user, etc. These data are then consolidated into representations of the people with whom the user has relationships. In some cases, a determination may need to be made as to whether identities or identity tokens in different networks correspond to the same person and, if so, whether those identities should be consolidated into a representation of a single person or “de-duplicated.” This might occur, for example, in situations in which a person uses different names in different networks. Consolidation may be automatic, manual (e.g., with input from the user), or semiautomatic in which the system and the user can interleave actions in the de-duplication process leveraging feedback from each other in the process. This de-duplication may be done by comparing identity tokens such as, for example, names, email addresses, phone numbers, etc. According to various embodiments, the gathering of data may be accomplished using a variety of techniques. For example, a data repository in the current network may have user profile data about the user, while another has a first name, last name, and email address of a contact. A repository in another network might have the first name and last name of that contact with other information, e.g., a phone number or a web page URL. Yet another repository in that other network might have additional information relating to the user himself. Each additional piece of information or token relating to the user can be added to the user's identity and used to identify other relevant information about the user and his relations to others. Similarly, each additional piece of information or token relating to other users may be used to augment their respective identities and to inform the construction of the social graph connecting them with the user. The manner in which in which such information is extracted may also vary considerably depending on a variety of factors. For example, the operator of the current network context obviously has direct and consistent access to the data repositories associated with that network. However, the nature of access to information on other networks may vary significantly depending on the relationships between the networks and/or the openness of the operators of the other networks. In some cases, a commercial relationship with an operator of another network may provide direct access to that network's data, or some more restricted level of access to the network, e.g., API level access. In other circumstances, e.g., where no relationship exists, techniques such as screen scraping, image recognition, and reverse optical character recognition may need to be used. Combinations of these approaches may also be employed. According to some embodiments, the individuals having relationships with a given user are prioritized, ranked, or sorted with reference to the relevance of the contact to the user, e.g., the closeness or intensity of the relationship, the type of relationship, or a group to which the individuals belong. These may be determined with reference to a wide variety of information including, for example, the recency, frequency, volume, and/or periodicity of communications between the individuals, the number of connections in different networks or properties, the type of networks in which the users are connected, the type of relationship (see below), etc. Once a relationship is detected (and possibly classified and/or consolidated), the relationship may also be confirmed. This may involve an explicit invitation to confirm the relationship sent to the user and/or the other person in the relationship. In one example, this may take the form of a list of people with whom the user has relationships (possibly sorted as described above) returned to the user for confirmation of each (see FIG. 3). According to some embodiments, the knowledge of the relationships may be utilized without confirmation. According to some embodiments, the Connections Activator utilizes a variety of information about the people corresponding to detected relationships and their interactions to determine that they have a relationship of a given type. Such information might include, for example, the nature and content of communications between the people, relationships they have with each other and other users on other networks (e.g., MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn), demographic information, etc. For example, a detected relationship may be classified as family, friend, acquaintance, business associate, etc., based on inferences from both the static data (e.g., contact information) as well as dynamic data (e.g., communication patterns). According to various embodiments, the Connections Activator builds a model of an implicit community of relations between human beings by mining the data about their extant relationships and communication patterns in other networks. This model, which in some embodiments is represented by a stack rank or grouping of human beings in relation to a given user, may then be used for a wide variety of purposes. For example, knowledge of such relationships may be used to aggregate vitality. That is, by identifying relationships in other networks, and by determining that multiple identities correspond to the same individual, embodiments of the present invention may be used to aggregate vitality produced by a particular individual across multiple networks. This is to be contrasted with the current state of affairs in which, in order to consume vitality produced by their friends in different networks, users must traverse all of the different networks. According to specific embodiments, aggregation of vitality is enabled by the aggregation of the permissioning models associated with the various sources of vitality. That is, sources of vitality such as social networks employ different models for enabling or restricting access to their users' content and information. Some employ relatively open models in which all or most members have access to some or all of the content and information of other network members. Some employ more restrictive models in which a member may limit access to specifically identified individuals, groups, or types of relations. When a user provides the Connections Activator with the requisite information for each of the networks or systems with which the user interacts, the Connections Activator is able to gain access to those networks and systems, and the content and information in those networks and systems, according to the permissioning model associated with each. By then recognizing that an individual with whom the user has contact in one context is the same person as an identity in another context, the Connections Activator is able to aggregate the vitality of that individual for the user regardless of the fact that the permissioning models in the different contexts may be radically different. Thus, according to specific embodiments, the Connections Activator enabled by the present invention effectively provides a single access control to content and information in a number of different contexts while preserving the permissioning models of each. According to some embodiments, information relating to social connections and relationships may be used to weight other types of behaviors on a network. That is, understanding to whom a user is related, and possibly the nature and intensity of the relationship as well, can enable a wide variety of functionality. For example, such information might be used to order, filter, or emphasize messages in an inbox, e.g., presenting emails or other communications types (e.g., voice mail, SMS, IM messages, etc.) in order from people with whom the user communicates most to people with whom the user communicates least. In another example, incoming messages could be assigned various levels of priority based on the closeness and/or type of the similar updating occurs with reference to Flickr (FIGS. 12 and 13), and then Twitter (FIGS. 14 and 15). In this way, the source user “declares” membership in the various networks and/or communication channels and the system links these various identity tokens of the source user together, thereby enabling the aggregation and/or consolidating of the source user's contacts from various contexts, the grouping and/or ranking of those contacts, as well as the aggregation of vitality and other forms of communications. FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 show the effects of the source user imposing different levels of filtering on the contacts list (i.e., from “none” to “low” to “medium” to “high”) which has the effect of reducing the number of contacts in the list. As discussed elsewhere herein, such filtering may be done with reference to the degree of closeness or the intensity of the relationship and/or communication activity between the source user and each of the contacts. Connections activation may occur in a variety of contexts according to various embodiments of the invention. One example is discussed above in which a user initiates the Connections Activator in the context of Yahoo!® Mail. However, it should be understood that this is merely one context in which connections activation may be useful. Other examples include virtually any messaging context, e.g., email, voice messaging, instant messaging, SMS, etc. According to a specific embodiment, it can be determined for any given communication channel whether a user has taken advantage of the Connections Activator to identify social relationships which might be used to enhance services in that channel. Further, relationships identified in other communication channels and/or network contexts may be leveraged to “activate” a new channel or context given the high probability of substantial overlap in the relationships between the different contexts. So, for example, if a user joins a new social networking site, the process of identifying people on the site with whom the user might want to connect can be facilitated using the present invention to identify relationships from other contexts which could be established in the new context. In addition, the consolidated identities of the people with whom a user is associated can be leveraged to “fill the holes” in the contact information or address books of the user. For example, if the user's email address book has only the email address of a particular contact, additional identity tokens from that contact's consolidated identity (e.g., phone numbers, addresses, screen names, etc.) could be used to fill out other fields in the address book entry. According to various embodiments, the Connections Activator creates an articulated graph of connections between people with weights and types connected to user actions in relation to content objects that are trackable. This connections graph can then be used as a filter in a variety of contexts including, for example, vitality generation and consumption, messaging, content consumption, content forwarding, etc. From a set of latent and manifest relationships, the Connections Activator creates a manifest graph of relationships, and iteratively refines and improves it over time to evolve a model of who the user is, who the user is connected to, how the user relates to those connections, and the types of transactions associated with those relationships. Embodiments of the present invention may be employed to identify and exploit social relationships and related data in any of a wide variety of computing contexts. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, implementations are contemplated in which the relevant population of users interact with a diverse network environment via any type of computer (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.) 402, media computing platforms 403 (e.g., cable and satellite set top boxes and digital video recorders), handheld computing devices (e.g., PDAs) 404, cell phones 406, or any other type of computing or communication platform. And according to various embodiments, user data processed in accordance with the invention may be collected using a wide variety of techniques. For example, collection of data representing a user's interaction with a web site or web-based application or service (e.g., the number of page views) may be accomplished using any of a variety of well known mechanisms for recording a user's online behavior. User data may be mined directly or indirectly, or inferred from data sets associated with any network or communication system on the Internet. And notwithstanding these examples, it should be understood that such methods of data collection are merely exemplary and that user data may be collected in many ways. Once collected, the user data may be processed in some centralized manner. This is represented in FIG. 4 by server 408 and data store 410 which, as will be understood, may correspond to multiple distributed devices and data stores. The invention may also be practiced in a wide variety of network environments including, for example, TCP/IP-based networks, telecommunications networks, wireless networks, etc. These networks, as well as the various social networking sites and communication systems from which connection data may be aggregated according to the invention are represented by network 412. Some of the characteristics of an example implementation in the context of the Yahoo!® network will now be described. At least some of the features and functionalities described below may be understood with reference to FIGS. 5-18 mentioned above, as well as FIGS. 19 and 20. According to this implementation, the user's data on the Yahoo!® network are mined to provide related services such as, for example, making recommendations on other users with which the user may be interested in connecting, or providing an easy way to populate the user's address book based on his aggregated contact list. This implementation takes advantage of the rich data that the user has in multiple places at Yahoo!® as well as outside the Yahoo!® network. As discussed above, the Connections Activator of this implementation is operable to de-duplicate data around a contact even if it is from different sources. Examples of unique identifiers that indicate the same person are email address, cell phone number, home phone number, and first name+last name. Since the list for most users is relatively small, the risk of mistakes is acceptable and can be easily corrected by the user. In determining a ranking for each relationship, various aspects of each relationship may be given different weights. For example, two-way relationships may be given a higher weight than one-way relationships. Contacts with similar attributes, e.g., same last name, university name, etc., may also be weighted more heavily. In addition, if an identity token (e.g., an email id or cell phone number) in the user's address book belongs to a known user in the network, then the known user's data may be leveraged to consolidate other identifiers for that user. The goal is to generate a list of contacts—where possible getting the contacts directly (e.g., from the user's address book, Yahoo!® Messenger buddy list, etc.), but also mining other sources to augment the contact list, e.g., the user's email store as well as external sources. These aggregated data are normalized by giving rarer data higher weight. For example, if someone is using an address book they will likely have all the mobile number fields for all their contacts, so the weight associated with a mobile number may go down for that user. Weights may be defined at a global level, but in some cases it may be advisable to allow different emphases for different sets of users to reflect their specific needs. For instance, in some emerging markets, mobile phones are more popular than land lines so the weights for mobile numbers in such markets may be deemphasized. According to a specific embodiment, the attributes which are weighted are presented to the user on a slider control (or the equivalent) along with the default weights. The user can then move the slider around and change the weights and the contact list refreshes with the new weights. When the user is done, these weights may be saved as specific to the user. Machine learning may be incorporated at either or both of the user level and the system level. For example, the system may be configured to learn based on the contacts that a user accepts or rejects, and the categories that the user accepts, renames or changes. Each contact recommended may include summary info (e.g., consolidated from all sources) and controls for taking action with respect to each (e.g., “Invite,” “Reject,” or “Later” buttons). The user may be enabled to accept all, reject all, and customize in between. The “Invite” button triggers an invite flow. The “Reject” button results in the contact being excluded from being shown as a recommendation in the future. The “Later” button allows the contact to be recommended again (assuming it meets the standard relevancy criteria). This implementation of the Connections Activator may run periodically (with a configurable period), refreshing information from on and off Yahoo!® sites, and updating the relevance. Communication feeds (e.g., from mail providers and Messenger logs) may be employed to improve accuracy. On either a user activated import, or a behind-the-scenes periodic import, this implementation of the Connections Activator retrieves data from the set of internal and/or external networks and/or systems identified or associated with the user. The Connections Activator then requests from an authentication system the appropriate set of third party credentials, which may or may not be persistently stored. For a source user, i.e., the user initiating the import, who is identified from a globally unique identifier (GUID), the Yahoo!® internal contact lists is imported, as well as the authenticated third party contact lists that the user has approved for import. After import, certain lists can be made available to the user's address book if the user has selected that option. The Global Contact List is an ordered list of contacts for a given source user identified via GUID. The targets in the contact list are not necessarily GUID-based, each entry including a set of identifiers that are guessed and/or confirmed to be the same entity if multiple identifiers exists for that entry. Best guesses are applied to non-registered users in order to de-duplicate them from information offered only in the source user's data, e.g., two imported entries having the same email addresses. The GUID database may be consulted to support de-duplication by identifying relationships that may not be inferable from best guess analysis (e.g., matching email address, cell phone number, first name, last name, etc.). The import operation may be rerun to refresh the contact list. If at some point, the source user decides to opt out of a particular network or system, references to that integration source are removed from the global contact list on a subsequent import. As discussed above, a set of weights is associated with each contact, and a total weight for the contact is calculated. Each integration source has a positive or negative weight associated with it. A high positive indicates a strong relationship, and negative indicates a weak relationship. The total weight is computed by summing all of the contributing weights for each entry. Weights are higher for entries that come from multiple integration sources, but each integration source might contribute to the weight differently. A suggested contact list based on the de-duped and ranked global contact list is returned to the user for activation. The suggested contact list might be derived, for example, by subtracting entries from the global contact list for which the source user has already taken action, e.g., entries which are already in a two-way connection set, entries which were previously invited but either were denied or are still pending, etc. From the suggested contact list, the source user generates a mesh of a set of targets which may or may not be registered in the Yahoo!® network. This may be accomplished, for example, by the source user marking a checkbox associated with each entry to indicate the desire to send an invitation for connection to the associated contact (e.g., an email which includes a link). A mechanism may also be provided by which the source user can indicate a desire to ignore the suggested connection, in which case that entry would no longer appear in the list. Another form of connections activation is “mesh” activation in which a single user can activate social connections for an interconnected set of contacts. A mesh activation database stores the set of targets as well as the source user who is simply considered as one of the contacts in the group. Each entry includes 3 fields, a mesh group id, a user identifier (a GUID or some other identity token, e.g., an email address), and an action state indicating “accepted,” “denied,” or “pending.” Another table associates the mesh group id with the mesh group creation time. On creation of the mesh, the source user is in the “accepted” state by default. All other contacts or users in the mesh group are initially in the “pending” state. When other users in the mesh group accept the invitation, they are connected to everyone in the group that has already accepted and placed in the “accepted” state. An accepting user is placed in the same state as a user that has accepted the invitation from everyone in the mesh group that has also accepted, and sends out an invitation to the remaining members of the group. When users in the mesh group deny the invitation, they are placed in the “denied” state. When all users in the mesh are either in the “accepted” or “denied” state, the mesh invitation is complete, and the non-accepting entries can then be removed. For contacts in the pending state, invitations are resent when those contacts have been in the “pending” state for some configurable period of time, e.g., 15 days. The mesh invitation is considered completed if all users are either in the “accepted” or “denied” state, or in the “pending” state longer than another configurable period of time, e.g., 30 days. The non-accepting entries can then be removed. As will be understood, a wide variety of user interface features may be employed in conjunction with various embodiments of the present invention (see, for example, the interfaces of FIGS. 1-3 and 5-18). According to the implementation described in the immediately preceding paragraphs, and as shown in FIG. 19, each of the proposed connections in the suggested contacts list is represented with an image, a first name, and a last name. A detailed view of each proposed connection may also be presented which includes other available information such as, for example, an email address, phone number, category, network affiliation, connection to connection, etc. Icons may also be presented which indicate whether the contact is already in a particular social network. This information is particularly relevant when the source user is inviting friends to sign up for a new social network. Icons indicating the source of the data for a given contact may also be included, as well as mechanisms for adding or removing sources. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5-18, a drop down menu may be provided from which the source user can select from among available sources. Alternatively, a page devoted to adding or removing sources may be presented as shown in FIG. 20. The sources include the Yahoo!® network and possibly specific properties within the Yahoo!® network, external sources (e.g., other networks, social networking sites, communication systems, etc.), as well as any address book or contact information which may be resident on the user's device or remotely stored. Each may be presented in with an associated logo and source name. Detailed views for each source may be presented which include input fields by which the source user may provide any necessary login or password information so that the Connections Activator may gain access to the sources of additional data. According to one embodiment, a control is associated with the contact list which allows the user to affect the number of contacts displayed. An example is shown in FIG. 19 in which a slider is provided which represents the range of closeness of relationships that moves from “Closest” to “All” which has the effect of filtering the number of contacts displayed based on the normalized weight scale. Initially, a default number of contacts (e.g., 50) are displayed with the default being reflected in the position of the slider. It should be noted that the source user can enter the Connections Activator flow from various points and contexts. For example, the source user may not be a member of the Yahoo!® network. In such a case, the Connections Activator will not be able to mine existing data about the user (e.g., identity tokens) from Yahoo!® databases until the user registers. Alternatively, an existing Yahoo!® member may enter the flow for the first time or as a repeat user via a supplemental registration process. In addition, the source user can enter the flow from a variety of contexts. For example, the flow can begin in Yahoo!® Mail. Alternatively, the flow can be initiated from the user's Yahoo!® 360 page. Another alternative is the flow may be entered from the Yahoo! oneConnect mobile service. The flow may even be entered from an external network or system. According to one embodiment, a connections activation flow may even be initiated by the system itself. For example, if a pattern of communication is detected between a particular user and a fixed group, the user can be offered the ability to use the Connections Activator to activate her connections in the typical “hub and spokes” topology (user is the hub, spokes connect the user to her connections). Alternatively, the user may create a mesh group as described above. This mesh group activation process provides an easy way for the user to communicate with this group of users, but will also send out invitations to each of the members of the group to connect with every other member of the group (if they are not already connected). By accepting membership into this group, the user agrees to be connected to every other member of that group. According to various embodiments, the relevance of a connection may not only be based on its social nature (i.e., the “Who”), but on various other characteristics as well, e.g., its spatial aspect (i.e., the “Where”), its temporal aspect (the “When”), and/or its topical (i.e., the “What”) aspect. The relevance of these additional spatial, temporal, and topical aspects may be determined by analyzing the similarity of these aspects among contacts as well as patterns of these similarities within and among the respective social, spatial, temporal, and topical aspects. For example, embodiments are contemplated which are operable to group contacts by spatial and temporal proximity, i.e., contacts which are currently near the user's location. Spatial information may be readily determined with reference to, for example, location and/or proximity data associated with mobile devices, GPS systems, etc. Temporal information is also widely available in the various systems which may be aggregated in accordance with the invention. Topical information related to a contact is available from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, the content of the communications among contacts as well as explicit profile data (such as declared interests) expressed on a contact's profile on one or more social network services. Moreover, given the dynamic nature of the various types of metadata associated with individuals and relationships, the relevance algorithm employed to group or rank contacts may recompute the relevance measures periodically and/or in response to changes in metadata. This may result in information which is more contextually relevant to the user. An example of an implementation embodying such concepts will now be described with reference to FIGS. 21-25. This example, referred to in the drawings as Yahoo! oneConnect, is implemented in the context of a mobile device, and is operable to aggregate not only vitality, but various forms of direct communication, e.g., instant messaging, SMS, email, voice, etc., using the contact information associated with each contact. The screens of FIG. 21 show a flow by which contacts associated with the user's Facebook account can be aggregated along with those from other networks and communications channels using the user's login information for Facebook (screen 2102). And once the user's networks and/or channels are aggregated, a variety of different views of the available information may be presented according to various schema. For example, conversations with the user's contacts in various communication channels may be presented as shown in FIG. 22(A). In another example, the current status of the user's contacts in various networks may be presented as shown in FIG. 22(B). The information presented may also be filtered with reference to a single contact. That is, the vitality and/or events relating to a single contact aggregated from some or all of the networks and/or communication channels may be presented in a single view as shown in FIG. 22(C) by selecting that contact. The user may also be enabled to modify his current status in some or all of the networks or communication channels with which he is associated via the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 22(D). The screens of FIG. 23 illustrate a flow by which a user may select the grouping by which he filters and/or views his contacts. As illustrated in screen 2302, options might include groups defined by the user himself, as well as “Smart Groups” which correspond to a grouping inferred by the system from any of the various data available to the system. User-defined groups might include, for example, Friends and Work groups. Smart Groups might include, for example, a group including all of the user's contacts as identified and aggregated by the system, the most recent contacts with whom the user has been communicating, contacts currently online, contacts which are nearby from a geographic perspective, etc. By selecting Nearby contacts, the user may view aggregated vitality from his contacts sorted by distance and/or within some programmable threshold distance as illustrated in screen 2304. The user may also be presented with information regarding other people in proximity to the user but which may not yet be identified as a contact for that user. Such individuals may be identified, for example, because they also use the oneConnect service. The nearby contacts may then be viewed by the user in a variety of ways such as, for example, in terms of ongoing conversations (2306), or current status in various networks (2308). According to some embodiments, the user may view his contacts and their vitality in terms of their most recent activity in any of the various networks and/or communication channels which have been aggregated, e.g., the “Pulse” view shown in screen 2310. The Pulse view may indicate the nature and/or content of the activity, as well as the context and the time at which it occurred. In the example of screen 2310, the nature of the activity is a change to the contact's status in Facebook. FIG. 24 shows some additional examples of contacts presented in a Pulse view. The screen of FIG. 24(A) includes events relating to any of the user's contacts and is sorted by time. The screen of FIG. 24(B) includes events which are further filtered by geographic proximity to the user's current location. As indicated, such events might include the posting of content (e.g., photos in Flickr, social network posts), actions taken (e.g., tagging a photo, rating a song, installing an application), updating profiles (e.g., adding a job title or new contact information), etc. Virtually any activity within any of the networks or communication channels may be represented. And because embodiments of the present invention aggregate permissioning models as described above, implementations are contemplated by which users can interact with the various networks of which they are members, as well as communicate via the various channels they employ in a single interface. An example of this is illustrated by the flow in FIG. 25 in which a user is engaging in an online messaging session with a contact in one network and is able to change mid-conversation by selecting another network. In addition, activity inferred from data associated with a particular network or communication channel may be presented. For example, because the location of a contact's mobile device can be known (if appropriate permissions are granted), the movements of that contact in the physical world may be represented (e.g., the contact traveling from Hamburg to Barcelona). While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in the form and details of the disclosed embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, the contexts and data sources to which the descriptions of various embodiments herein refer should not be considered to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, any context in which social relationships may be detected and used, and any data source which can support the basic functionality described herein is within the scope of the present invention. wherein the vitality events indicate the nature and/or content of online activities inside the first network and the one or more other networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts. identifying and aggregating a plurality of identity tokens from the first data source and the at least one external data source. 3. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the first data source and the at least one external data source corresponds to one of a social networking system, a messaging system, a content sharing system, or a member network. 4. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the plurality of contacts comprises referring to one or more of an address book, a contact list, a message sender, a message recipient, a publisher of content, a subscription to content, or social network data. wherein the relevancy measure is further determined with reference to one or more of a frequency of communication, a recency of communication, a volume of communication, a periodicity of communication, a number of connections, a group membership, a demographic characteristic, a name, a relationship category, or a geographic location. 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising ranking the plurality of contacts with reference to the relevancy measures. 7. The method of claim 5 further comprising grouping the plurality of contacts with reference to the relevancy measures. 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting first invitations to connect with the first user to a subset of the contacts selected by the first user. 9. The method of claim 5 further comprising repeating identifying the plurality of contacts and determining the relevancy measures with reference to an additional external data source identified by the first user. wherein aggregating vitality events from inside multiple social networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts includes aggregating the vitality events from inside the first network and inside the one or more other networks for the one person, thereby aggregating the vitality events for the one person across the multiple social networks. processing messages received by the first user with reference to the relevancy measures, wherein the messages include messages from the one person. 15. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the first data source and the at least one external data source corresponds to one of a social networking system, a messaging system, a content sharing system, or a member network. 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the relevancy measure is representative of one or more of a frequency of communication, a recency of communication, a volume of communication, a periodicity of communication, a number of connections, a group membership, a demographic characteristic, a name, a relationship category, or a geographic location. 17. The method of claim 14 further comprising enabling the first user to select a subset of the contacts to which the first user would like to extend an invitation to connect with the first user. 18. The method of claim 14 further comprising enabling the first user to identify an additional external data source, and presenting a revised version of the plurality of contacts, wherein the revised version of plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with a revised relevancy measure associated with each of the contacts determined with reference to the additional external data source. 19. The method of claim 14 further comprising presenting messages directed to the first user in accordance with the relevancy measures. 20. The method of claim 14 wherein a ranking of the plurality of contacts was conducted with reference to the relevancy measures, and wherein the plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with the ranking. 21. The method of claim 14 wherein a grouping of the plurality of contacts was conducted with reference to the relevancy measures, and wherein the plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with the grouping. 22. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the vitality events indicates a corresponding network, and a time at which the vitality event occurred. 23. The method of claim 14 wherein at least some of the vitality events comprise text updates that indicate changes to a status of a corresponding one of the plurality of contacts. 24. The method of claim 14 wherein the vitality events include posting of content, actions taken, updating profiles, or a combination thereof. 25. The method of claim 14 wherein the vitality events from inside the first network and inside the one or more other networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts are filtered by geographic proximity with reference to a location associated with the first user. comparing a first set of identity tokens or identifiers of a first one of the plurality of contacts with a second set of identity tokens or identifiers of a second one of the plurality of contacts. aggregating the vitality events for the individual across the second network and the third network. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the relationship or interaction in the third network is with the first user. 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the relationship or interaction in the third network is not with the first user. aggregating the vitality events for the individual across the second network and the first network. ascertaining that a first contact in the first subset of the contacts and a second contact in the second subset of the contacts correspond to one person. ascertaining that a first contact in the first subset of the contacts and a second contact in the first subset of the contacts correspond to one person. determining that an identity of an individual in one of the relationships or interactions in a second network corresponds to the same individual in a relationship or interaction in a third network, wherein the second network is one of the other networks, and wherein the third network is the first network or another one of the other networks. wherein the first user is a member of the first social network and the other social networks, thereby aggregating the vitality events for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts across the multiple social networks. 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the at least one external data source or corresponding social network can be selected or identified by the first user, wherein login information pertaining to the at least one external data source or corresponding social network is provided by the first user, and wherein accessing the information associated with the at least one external data source is performed using the login information pertaining to the at least one external data source or corresponding social network. 36. The system of claim 34, wherein the first social network and the other social networks are each associated with a different web site. 37. The system of claim 34, wherein the first social network is a social networking site and the one or more other social networks include one or more social networking sites. consolidating the two or more contacts into a single contact for the one person. comparing a name or phone number of the first one of the plurality of contacts with a name or phone number of the second one of the plurality of contacts. comparing profile data of the first one of the plurality of contacts with profile data of the second one of the plurality of contacts. 41. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple social networks is controlled by a service provider. 42. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple social networks is associated with a corresponding web site. 43. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple social networks is a physical network. 44. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more other networks is controlled by a corresponding entity. 6748402 June 8, 2004 Reeves et al. 20030167324 September 4, 2003 Farnham et al. 20040122855 June 24, 2004 Ruvolo et al. 20050159970 July 21, 2005 Buyukkokten et al. 20050171799 August 4, 2005 Hull et al. 20060026298 February 2, 2006 Zeng et al. 20060036692 February 16, 2006 Morinigo et al. 20070192299 August 16, 2007 Zuckerberg et al. 20070266097 November 15, 2007 Harik et al. 20080040673 February 14, 2008 Zuckerberg et al. 20080189122 August 7, 2008 Coletrane et al. 20080288596 November 20, 2008 Smith et al. 20090003662 January 1, 2009 Joseph et al. 20090030932 January 29, 2009 Harik et al. 20090043844 February 12, 2009 Zimmet et al. Notification of Transmittal of the International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, or the Declaration. About Spock, http://www.spock.com/about, 2 pages, printed on Jan. 3, 2008. 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2019-04-23T14:06:48Z

https://patents.justia.com/patent/8954500

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2019-04-18T18:16:46Z

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2019-04-20T03:01:02Z

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Disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for providing markings upon objects, including the read side of an optical information media, where the markings do not substantially interfere with object, including the use of the optical information media. This invention discloses use of a coating, marking schemes, printing of markings with UV light, as well as methods and apparatus for reading and deciphering said marking. Included is an authentication scheme, where the marking may be used as a lock to limit access to information contained in an optical information media. This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/296,308, filed Jun. 6, 2001; United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/310,914, filed Aug. 8, 2001; and, United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/311,160, filed Aug. 9, 2001. Aspects of the invention include application of the coating and the marking upon the read side of the optical media, without loss of the functionality of the media. Furthermore, said invention allows the utilization of the read side of the optical media for advertising, branding, and other markings normally associated with the label side of the media. FIGS. 7A-B, collectively referred to as FIG. 7, are schematic diagrams of a coating and fluorescent material applied over a substrate. FIG. 15 is an example of a readout mechanism used to detect markings and authenticate marked optical media. FIG. 1 shows an article 420, such as an optical information medium. The article 420 includes a coating 450 with an information bearing marking 432. The information bearing marking 432 includes a digital watermark 435. The information bearing marking 432 may be, but is not necessarily, unique in form and/or information content for each article 420 so marked. For example, in one embodiment, the information bearing marking 432 encodes, at least in part, a unique serial number. In another embodiment, the information bearing marking 432 may encode only the manufacturer's name, place of manufacture and date of manufacture. The coating 450 does not interfere, or substantially interfere, with the functionality of the article 420. That is, in the case of the preferred embodiment, the coating 450 does not appreciably absorb or scatter light at the readout wavelength of the optical media readout laser. Likewise, the thickness of the coating 450 does not interfere with the readout mechanism. The coating 450 may be applied to the “play” or “non-play” side of the optical information media 420. Although material used for retention of a marking 432 is referred to as a coating 450, some articles 420 may inherently include materials that are suited for practice of this invention. Where these materials are present, and it is desirable to imbed a marking into the inherently included materials, these materials are likewise referred to herein as a “coating,” for convenience. Techniques for applying the coating 450 may include, but are not limited to, printing, spraying, rolling, spin coating, painting or any other technique suitable for applying a coating, such as the coating 450 described herein. The coating 450 preferably contains at least one material that is sensitive to NV light. Upon irradiation to appropriate levels of UV light, the photosensitive materials are modified and undergo changes in optical characteristics. Thus, the reflection and/or absorption wavelengths of the materials can be modified. The coating 450 may include, but is not limited to, compounds such as photoacid or photobase generators, acid or base sensitive dyes, leucodyes, metal chelates, fluorescent dyes, or laser dyes. In other embodiments, the coating 450 may include organic phosphors or inorganic phosphors. In the case where the coating 450 includes an inorganic phosphor, the coating 450 may contain silver doped zinc sulfide (Ag:ZnS). The coating 450 may be colored or colorless to the eye, and may be fluorescent under certain electromagnetic radiation. Fluorescent emission wavelengths may include, but are not limited to, a wavelength in the visible region. Commonly used readout light wavelengths for the optical information media 420 include 400 nm, 440 nm, 630 nm, 650 nm, and 780 nm, while other readout wavelengths are possible. The coating produced or selected for use does not appreciably absorb light at the wavelength used by the readout system. As an example of one technique for application of the coating 450, the coating 450 was applied to a series of optical media 420. The coatings 450 were applied by spin-coating, and a Xenon RC-747 UV flash-lamp unit running at 10 pulses per second was used to cure the samples. In order to avoid photoinduced color formation during the curing, the lamp output was filtered through a long pass filter with the cut-off wavelength of approximately 380 nm. The spectrum of the curing lamp is shown in FIG. 2. The total power density in the spectral region below 400 nm delivered to the samples with the filter in place was approximately 100 mW/cm2. The coating 450 hardened after a minimum exposure time of two seconds, however, complete curing required an exposure time of approximately five to six seconds at this power density. No visibly noticeable color formation took place for exposure times of up to ten seconds. An information bearing marking 432 is formed using a convention that may include, but is not limited to, incorporation of text information, such as alphanumeric characters, symbols, graphic information, such as a logo, a barcode, or any other information or symbols that may be suitable for including in the marking 432. The marking 432 may further include embedded information and authentication signatures, and can be a digital watermark 435. The information bearing marking 432 may convey any desired information. For example, the information bearing marking 432 may present content that includes identification information (such as a serial number), authentication information, and/or instructional information. The content may also include advertising, branding, or promotional information, referred to collectively herein as “promotional information.” The information included in the information bearing marking may include, but is not limited to, any of the foregoing types of information, or combinations. For convenience, the term “content” as used herein refers to content of the information bearing marking 432, and can be an image, alphanumeric text and other symbols, graphics, and combinations of images and symbols. This invention may be used in any optical information media 420 where a coating may be applied. In one embodiment, a datacode symbology is applied so as to include the digital watermark 435. FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a datacode symbology where the digital watermark 435 is incorporated into a bar code 437. The datacode symbology may be implemented using any suitable symbology including, without limitation, 3 of 9, I 2 of 5, Code 128, UPC, 2-D and 3-D symbologies. The digital watermark 435 may be incorporated as a digitally embedded imprint in the bit pattern or noise of a digital image of the datacode 437. The digital watermark 435 may be applied such that it is recoverable using software, or other automated or manual techniques. The digital watermark 435, and the other information which may be embedded in the digital watermark 435, is robust to image deformations, rotations, copying, multiple renderings, conversions, and other manipulations. The information included in the digital watermark 435 is dependent upon, among other things, the needs of the user. For example, the features of CD and DVD optical information media 420 provide opportunities for manufacturers to include diverse information such as described below. Although the information is described in terms of CD and DVD media, it is considered illustrative only, and not limiting of the invention. In one embodiment, the invention provides for the use of one or more physical characteristics or attributes of the article 420 as at least one input for creating the digital watermark 435. For example, the digital watermark 435 may include information regarding the size of data files, or the date recorded. The physical characteristics may be directly or indirectly observable. In another embodiment, the digital watermark 435 contains distribution chain information. For example, the digital watermark 435 may include attributes of the information recorded on the article 420, including but not limited to, date of manufacture, country of origin, authorized distribution channel. In a further embodiment, the digital watermark 435 contains information regarding the attributes of the optical information media 420. For example, the digital watermark 435 may include attributes of the information recorded on the article 420, including but not limited to, the number of recorded titles, the author, the playtime of the CD or DVD, copyright dates, a serial number, an indication of the content owner, etc. In another embodiment, the digital watermark 435 may also carry additional information that may not be discemable without knowledge of the digital watermark 435 and the ability to read the information included therein. This indiscernible information, may be useful for various applications, for instance, to impede the diversion of branded products. In a further embodiment, generation of the digital watermark 435 includes use of an algorithm where information, such as, but not limited to, information derived from media attributes is entered. The algorithm may include, but is not limited to, a discrete cosine transform, a seed for a pseudo-random number generator, where the random number is used as a hash, or some other one-way function for generating the digital watermark 435. In one embodiment, the digital watermark 435 appears as one unified image. In other embodiments, the digital watermark 435 appears as multiple unified images. In further embodiments, the digital watermark 435 appears in fragments scattered over the article 420. In other embodiments, the digital watermark 435 is effectively layered, through use of varied materials in the coating 450, and through appropriate control of the marking process. In this embodiment, it is possible to make use of distinct wavelengths associated with the various layers of the marking 432 during the readout process. U.S. patent application “Authentication Using a Digital Watermark” , Ser. No. 09/801,445, filed Mar. 8, 2001 by Lawandy, Nabil M., and commonly assigned, is herein incorporated by reference. Application Ser. No. 09/801,445 discloses, among other things, use of a digital watermark 435 for authentication purposes. Application Ser. No. 09/801,445 discloses methods that include the use of security features, or taggants, such as, but not limited to, fibers or particles, disposed on the article 420 upon which the digital watermark 435 appears. FIG. 4 provides an example of an optical media 420 that includes taggants 470 as an additional security feature. The use of the taggants 470 is a further aid to the authentication of an article 420. Specifically, certain physical attributes of the taggants 470 disposed upon an article 420 offered for authentication may be evaluated, and compared against the same physical attributes for taggants 470 associated with an authentic article 420. Taggants 470 may appear in a variety of forms, including but not limited to, fibers, particles or deposits of ink. Material used for formation of a taggant 470 is selected on the basis of, but not limited to, durability, detectability, cost and limitations of the application process. For example, suitable material for formation of a taggant 470 may include, but is not limited to, metal, plastic, ink, and fiber. The taggants 470 do not interfere, or substantially interfere, with the functionality of the optical media 420. Physical attributes of the taggants 470 that may be evaluated include, but are not limited to, magnetic properties, radio frequency properties, size and shape, loading factor, color and wavelength emission, and positioning on the article 420. Information derived from evaluation of the taggants is used to further establish the unique character of the digital watermark 435. The technique for forming a marking 432 disclosed herein is based on the property that some materials become substantially absorbing of UV light due to prior exposure to UV light. This property is referred to as photoabsorption, and is applied in a manner consistent with the teachings herein to create a latent contrast in the coating 450. Methods for exposure of the coating 450 of the optical information media 420, also referred to as “substrate” 420 to UV light include, but are not limited to, use of a UV laser, or use of a UV source in combination with a positive or negative photomask. In one embodiment, a UV laser is controlled by a preprogrammed system, which has the ability to control positioning, power levels, and other factors. In other embodiments, selective irradiation of the coating 450 involves use of a photomask that includes features to provide for special effects, such as those needed to create the perception of shading. In practice, various factors will determine the degree of absorption, and characteristics of the UV sources used to expose the substrate 420. Such factors include, but are not limited to, contrast requirements, response of the material in the coating 450, characteristics of the lighting fixture and application constraints such as character and detail of the image being inscribed. Various embodiments are disclosed herein for UV based inscription of optical information media 420. In FIG. 5, the transmission spectrum of a polycarbonate coating 450 before and after exposure to UV light is shown. The light was produced by a Xenon RC-747™ pulsed lamp, which has a peak power of 1,811 watts per cm . FIG. 5 reveals that the transmission spectrum for the exposed polycarbonate coating 450 is distinct from the transmission spectrum for the unexposed coating 450. The distinction is most apparent in the upper portion of the UV spectrum, between about 300 nm and about 400 nm. This property is exhibited by a number of glasses and polymers, where photogeneration of defects contribute to the absorption in the UV region. In other embodiments, glasses, other polymers, or other materials are used as a substrate material. FIG. 6 is an example of a second arrangement where polymerization of a monomeric coating 450 is used to modify the photoabsorption by the coating 450 of UV light. In this arrangement, a UV curable polymer is subjected to UV exposure. FIG. 6 shows the transmission spectrum of a 19-μm-thick layer 450 of Sony Chemicals adhesive SK640™ designed for use in DVD format optical media. The adhesive is UV curable, and is characterized by being a clear, spin-coatable, free radical, acrylic adhesive designed to offer fast cure speed, low shrinkage, excellent bond integrity, dimensional stability, and high optical clarity. In other embodiments involving UV curable polymers, other polymers are used, including but not limited to, other adhesives and specialty coatings suited for use in manufacture of other formats of optical media 420. Further embodiments use polymers suited for inscription of information bearing markings in items such as, but not limited to, automobile windshield glass, safety equipment, driver's licenses, passports, immigration cards, smart cards, credit cards, and other valuable items and documents. In the two arrangements above, the selective exposure of some areas of the coating 450 results in the formation of a latent contrast between the exposed and less exposed or unexposed regions of the coating 450S. FIG. 7A-B, collectively referred to as FIG. 7, provides a schematic diagram of embodiments of invention. These embodiments are considered illustrative, and are not intended to be limiting of this invention. In FIG. 7A the coating 450 is shown applied over the substrate 420. Sandwiched between the coating 450 and the substrate 420 is a fluorescent layer 414, which collectively create a sandwich 501. Wavelengths of UV light directed to the sandwich 501 are absorbed in the previously exposed regions 451 of the coating 450. The wavelengths of light that are not absorbed in the coating 450 excite materials in the fluorescent layer 414, which emits light at a characteristic wavelength. FIG. 7B shows an alternate embodiment, where fluorescent material is incorporated into the coating 450. A third embodiment is shown in FIG. 8, where fluorescent material is foreign to the assembly, and introduced to the substrate 420 for viewing. FIG. 8 is an illustration of an embodiment where information has been transferred onto an optical media 420. In FIG. 8, the optical media 420 is a CD or DVD, which has a central clamping area 422 that is not used for the storage of data. The central clamping area 422 is substantially transparent. In this embodiment, an information bearing marking 432 is transferred in the clamping area 422 through use of a photomask. The information bearing marking 432 was previously transferred in a predetermined pattern according to the needs of the user. In this embodiment, viewing of the information bearing marking 432 involves placing the optical media 420 over a fluorescent background 414. The fluorescent background 414 is independent of the optical media 420, and is supplied to provide contrast when exposed to low intensity UV light. Low intensity UV light is supplied by a low intensity UV light supply 415. Once the optical media 420 is placed over the fluorescent background 414 and exposed to UV light from the low intensity UV light supply 415, the latent contrast from the UV transfer becomes apparent and the information bearing marking 432 becomes visible. In a third arrangement, known as photobleaching, irradiation with UV light induces modification of the coating 450. In one embodiment, this includes molecules of a fluorescent additive dispersed in a polymeric matrix. In this embodiment, the fluorescent additive dispersed in the polymeric matrix is susceptible to UV radiation, while the polymeric matrix may or may not be susceptible to UV. An information bearing marking 432 is imprinted into the matrix using an adequate exposure of UV, through use of a photomask, a UV laser, or other suitable means. Once exposed to adequate quantities of UV, the additive molecules are modified by the UV photons and no longer produce fluorescence with the same intensity as before exposure to UV radiation. The information bearing marking 432 in this embodiment may also be viewed by illuminating the substrate 420 with low intensity UV light. In each of the arrangements, the selective irradiation of substrate 420 with UV is used to inscribe images or information bearing markings 423 into the substrate 420. The selective irradiation may be used to provide for varying degrees of contrast with the unexposed, or lesser exposed, regions of the substrate. That is, varying shades within an image may be created. For example, increased UV exposure and therefore increased polymerization in one part of a coating 450 will cause greater absorption than exhibited in another part of the coating 450. Shading effects may be achieved with a positive or negative photomask, through laser writing techniques or other techniques. The shading effects may, among other things, be incorporated into information bearing markings containing a digital watermark. An example of a technique for varying the contrast in a transferred image includes engaging the same techniques used in grayscale printing. That is, using a collection of properly sized colored shapes or patterns, on uncolored background, or alternatively, uncolored shapes or patterns on fully colored background. Regulating the size and density of the shapes or patterns provides for control over the visual perception of color intensity in any specific region of the marking 432. The covert and overt marking of materials with UV light inscribed information bearing markings 432 may be realized in various embodiments. The following are examples where the invention is employed, however, these embodiments should not be considered limiting of the invention. These embodiments are considered illustrative of aspects of the invention. In one embodiment of covert marking, a fluorescent material is applied between the layers of a media 420, including, but not limited to, a DVD. In a version of this embodiment, the fluorescent material is a polymeric material. The fluorescent material is applied on the readout side, the non-readout side or both sides. The fluorescent material may be applied through means including but not limited to, spin coating. The DVD 420 is then exposed to intense UV light. The UV exposure is adequate to create the desired quantity of photoabsorption of UV in a layer of material in the DVD 420. The UV exposure may be completed by methods that include, but are not limited to, use of a photomask or a laser. Subsequent illumination with low intensity UV light generates a visible contrast fluorescence pattern. In this embodiment, the fluorescent material used as a contrasting background is integrated into the DVD 420, and subsequent introduction of an independent fluorescent background is not necessary for viewing of the otherwise invisible pattern, image, or information bearing marking 432. In the embodiment where the image is imprinted on the readout side of the DVD 420, the UV wavelengths associated with the imprinted image do not substantially interfere with the readout mechanism, and data contained in the DVD 420 may be retrieved with substantial reliability. In another embodiment, a CD is used as an optical media 420. In a further embodiment, a layer of a polymeric material containing a fluorescent dye is applied to the media 420. The polymeric material is applied to the read-out surface, the non-readout surface, or both sides. The polymeric material may be applied by spin-coating or other suitable methods, and subsequently cured. The coating 450 is uniform and transparent in the visible and near-IR regions of spectrum and therefore does not produce interference with the read-out laser beam. That is, the interference does not have a substantial effect on the operation of the readout system. Uniform fluorescence can be observed over the coated area at this point in the manufacturing process. An information bearing marking 432 is then transferred into the coating 450 by exposure to UV. The UV may be used to imprint an image through a mechanism that includes, but is not limited to, photogeneration of defects in the polymeric material containing fluorescent materials, or modification of the fluorescent pigment through photobleaching. The UV exposure may be completed by methods that include, but are not limited to, use of a photomask or direct writing with a laser. Subsequent illumination with low intensity UV light generates a visible contrast fluorescence pattern. In a further embodiment of an overt marking, a layer of UV curable material containing a photoacid generator, an acid sensitive color former, was applied to the media 420 via spin coating. The coating was subsequently cured through use of a long pass UV filter that excluded wavelengths less than about 350 nm. The coating 450 used was a suitable combination of the Quinoline Yellow and Europium (III) tris(napthyltrifluromethyl acetonate) formulation, containing 1.5% Copikem 16 Red, 1.5% (tert-butoxycarbonyl methoxynapthyl) diphenyl sulfonium triflate, 0.5% Quinoline Yellow, 0.5% Europium (III) tris(napthyltrifluromethyl acetonate), and 96% SR-238 with 10% KTO/46. To produce a visible image in the cured coating 450, first a black-and-white negative of the image was laser printed onto a 60-μm-thick plastic transparency sheet. The transmission spectrum of the transparency sheet is shown in FIG. 10. In order to transfer the image onto the cured coating 450 on the CD 420, the transparency sheet was placed on top of the CD and illuminated with light from Xenon RC-747 flashlamp. This exposure caused the areas of the coating 450 below clear parts of the transparency to undergo color formation, while the areas of the coating 450 covered by black parts of the transparency remained uncolored. Total power density in the spectral region between about 300 nm and 400 nm delivered to the sample with transparency in place was approximately 240 mW/cm2. In this example, the exposed portion of the coating 450 became red colored by the reaction of the color former with the photogenerated acid, thus producing a CD 420 characterized by a yellow background with red information bearing markings 432 when properly illuminated. Under UV illumination, the red markings appear dark over a bright red fluorescent background. For demonstration purposes, the information bearing markings 432 included text, a bar code, a logo, and a digital watermark 435. The markings 432 recorded in the coating 450 are preferably visible to the unaided human eye when illuminated with suitable light. Therefore, the marking 432 can provide for clear identification of the article 420 by means of display of information that may be interpreted by a user, such as a logo. In another embodiment, such as in the case of optical media 420, a marking 432 provided on the read side can be used to display identity information, such as a digital watermark 435, wherein other necessary information, such as an instruction for a user, may remain intact on the non-read side of the optical media 420. Although in some embodiments, the markings 432 may be viewed by the unaided human eye, detection systems may be used as an aid, for among other things, to detect subtle features of the markings 432, and to decipher the marking 432 information. For example, in the case of a marking 432 that appears as a bar code, a bar code reader may be used to decode the information contained within the marking 432. An example of a detection system 400 in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, a source of radiation 410 is directed on the article 420 to be examined, such as a CD ROM, a DVD, or another suitable type of optically encoded medium 420. The source 410 preferably generates UV radiation, but may generate any type of radiation that is suitable for detecting the coating 450 included on the article 420 and/or the marking 432, such as the digital watermark 435, or any appropriate attributes of the article 420. The article 420 may be mounted on a positioning device 425 in order to locate the article 420 for irradiation. The positioning device 425 may include a conveyor or any other type of device suitable for transporting or locating the article for irradiation. A detector array 430, such as a CCD, a camera that may be fixed, moveable or handheld, or any other suitable detection device, with appropriate support circuitry 440 detects an image of the article 420, the taggants as may be present, and the digital watermark 435. The source 410 and detector array 430 may also comprise positioning devices (not shown) for locating these devices for optimum performance. The detector array 430 is preferably capable of detecting the spectral content of any emissions, in addition to any other physical characteristics of the digital watermark 435, the taggants 470, or the article 420 for identification and authentication of the article 420. Control circuitry 460 directs the activity of the overall system 400, and in particular controls the source 410, positioning device 425, detector array 430 and support circuitry 440. Alternatively, the marking 432 of the article 420 may be read and decoded when inserted into the detection system 400, and only if the article 420 is authenticated is the readout process started or completed. As shown in FIG. 12, the detector array 430 is preferably comprised of an optical section 475 for focusing received emissions within the detector array 430, an array of sensors 480 for detecting the emissions, and a filter section 490 for allowing only the frequencies of interest to impinge on the sensors 480. The optical section 475 may include a microscope system or any other system suitable for magnifying or otherwise focusing the image of the article 420 and/or any emissions from the item 420 within the detector array 430. The sensor array 480 may comprise any array of sensors suitable for detecting the emissions and/or physical characteristics of the article 420, for example, a diode array, a CCD array, etc. Using this technique the output of the detector array 430 is analyzed to detect the characteristics of the digital watermark 435 and/or the coating 450 so as to identify and authenticate the article 420, such as by obtaining plural bit data. It is also within the scope of the invention to use a handheld reader, such as a handheld reader with a self contained UV source, such as a xenon flash source. The reader may also include a CCD pixel array and a display. One suitable type of hand-held reader 600 is known as a VERICAM , available from Spectra Systems Corporation of Providence, R.I., as shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 provides an overview of the hand-held reader 600. Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the hand-held reader 600 includes a CPU 10, such as an embedded microprocessor, an internal read/write memory 15 and optional, preferably non-volatile mass storage 18. Also included is a digital camera lens/CCD system 20, at least one illumination source 30 and a user interface 45 that includes a display (LCD) 40 and a keypad or keyboard 50. The illumination source 30 can be a variable intensity source controlled by an operator, and it can also include a flash source. However, in some embodiments the illumination source 30 may not be necessary, depending on the ambient illumination conditions. The lens/CCD system 20 and illumination source 30 can be located on a surface opposite that of the display and keyboard 50, enabling the operator to view the image being captured on the display 40, and to manipulate the keys of the keyboard 50 such as to make appropriate adjustments, initiate readout operations, and perform other functions, such as initiating a transfer of data to a remote location via a wireless network link 60 having, for an RF embodiment, an antenna 60A. The lens/CCD system 20 includes a digital camera of adequate resolution (e.g., 1.45 mega pixels or greater), with appropriate support circuitry providing auto-focus and other typically found features. An optional microphone 25 can be provided for use with the presently preferred embodiment that includes a wireless transceiver. In another embodiment, a global positioning system locator (GPS) 70 can be used to identify the location of the hand-held reader 600. The hand-held reader 600 may be battery powered, or powered by an external power supply. The hand-held reader 600 is sized so that the operator can readily manipulate it with one hand, in much the same manner that a user can manipulate a digital camera or a wireless communications device. For the purposes of this invention, the CPU 10 and memory 15, 18 are assumed to be suitably programmed and operated so as to image and decode the marking or markings 432, such as the digital watermark 435, appearing on the optical information media 420. It is within the scope of these teachings for the hand-held reader 600 to also ascertain the presence and characteristics of the other subsidiary information that may be present in or on the coating 450, such as embedded particles 470, or other structures, as was discussed above. To this end, the hand-held reader 600 may include magnification optics, as was discussed above. Information contained in the marking 432 may be obtained through a variety of means. A first method for obtaining information contained in the marking 432 is through visual interpretation, such as in the case of a logo. In other embodiments, detection systems, such as the foregoing exemplary systems are used to interpret the marking 432. In one embodiment, one or more of the various inputs to the digital watermarking algorithm may be used as a “key” to “unlock” or otherwise obtain information included in the digital watermark 435. For example, data file size information could be used as a key, wherein file size information is compared to a known component of the digital watermark 435, providing the correct key enables a readout mechanism to obtain remaining information contained in the digital watermark 435. In other embodiments, input information is used to unlock other information contained in various forms. For example, a key is used to unlock, a second digital watermark 435, or other information such as the data contained in the optical media 420. In one embodiment, a second digital watermark 435 is readout at a different wavelength. In this embodiment, the second digital watermark 435 could be included as a visible marking 432, or an invisible marking 432, applied through means other than described herein. In a further embodiment, a second digital watermark 435, or other marking 432, could be applied as an overlay over the first digital watermark 435. As a further embodiment, if a properly designed readout system does not detect a genuine digital watermark 435, the optical information media 420 will not be read. In a further embodiment, the taggants 470 are used as a security feature. For example, in one embodiment, special fibers may be disposed upon the optical information media 420 as taggants 470. These fibers may be substantially transparent at the readout wavelength, or located on a portion of the optical information media so as not to interfere with the readout process, such as the backside of a CD or in the clamping area 422. In this instance, the color and/or width and/or shape and/or emission wavelength of the fibers are evaluated against the known color, width, shape and/or emission wavelength of fibers appearing in an authentic article 420. In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, precise quantities of specifically sized micro-particles 470 that do not interfere with the readout process are disposed upon or in the coating 450 of the optical information media 420. In this embodiment, the authentication process may evaluate the quantity of micro-particles 470 per unit area and/or by particle size, or some other distinct physical attribute of the micro particles 470, prior to proceeding with the deciphering of the digital watermark 435. Another embodiment contemplates the use of magnetic materials in the coating 450, which are characterized by a known magnetic signature. A further embodiment comprises use of materials, including but not limited to, micro-particles 470 that emit characteristics wavelengths when illuminated. An additional embodiment contemplates distribution of the taggants in a pattern, such as, but not limited to, a visible logo. In these embodiments, one or more characteristics of the coating 450 are employed to read and decode the marking 432. Additional embodiments of the invention disclosed herein may be realized in accordance with U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/801,445. These embodiments may be used, among other things, as keys, described above, and to provide for authentication of the optical information media 420. FIG. 15 provides an overview of another embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 15, the marking 432 is read by an appropriate detection system to obtain a decryption key. In one example of this embodiment, the optical information media 420 is introduced into a reader 550, that contains a marking detection system 580. The marking detection system 580 is devised to detect markings, which may exhibit, but are not limited to, magnetic, optical, or radio frequency properties. The marking detection system 580 is used to verify the authenticity or some other characteristic of the media 420, thereby enabling the optical information media 420 to be read (ENABLE READ signal is asserted). In another embodiment, the marking detection system 580 is used to compare physical attributes of the taggants (if present) to the known physical attributes of an authentic copy of the optical information media 420. Once the taggants indicate an authentic copy of the optical information media 420, the marking 432, such as the digital watermark 435, is read. Likewise, the once the digital watermark 435 has been used to authenticate the optical information media 420, a decryption key can be obtained from the digital watermark 435. The decryption key is loaded into the reader 550, which is then equipped to decipher the encrypted data contained in the optical information media 420. The process of authentication and/or decryption may occur, but is not limited to, automatically as the media 420 is inserted into a reader 550, it may be initiated manually after the media 420 is inserted into the reader 550, or through remote control with an external computer system 590. exposing a surface of said optical media to UV light in a pattern derived from said image; and, modifying an exposed area of said optical media with the UV light to reproduce said information bearing marking upon said optical media. 2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said optical media comprises said information bearing marking on a readout side. 3. A method as in claim 1, wherein said optical media comprises said information bearing marking on a non-readout side. 4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said exposing comprises use of at least one of a laser, a positive photomask, and a negative photomask. 5. A method as in claim 1, wherein said optical media comprises at least one of a compact disc and a digital versatile disc. 6. A method as in claim 1, wherein readout wavelengths for said optical media comprise wavelengths of at least one of about 400 nm, about 440 nm, about 630 nm, about 650 nm and about 780 nm. 7. A method as in claim 1, wherein said surface comprises a coating comprised of a material having radiation induced UV absorptive properties. 8. A method as in claim 7, wherein said coating comprises at least one of a laser dye, a fluorescent dye, a metal chelate, an organic phosphor, and an inorganic phosphor. 9. A method as in claim 7, wherein said coating comprises a color former, a photo-acid generator, a diacrylate, and a photoinitiator. 10. A method as in claim 7, wherein said coating is applied through means comprising at least one of printing, spraying, rolling, spin coating and painting. 11. A method as in claim 1, wherein said modifying comprises photobleaching of at least one of a laser dye, a fluorescent dye, a metal chelate, an organic phosphor, and an inorganic phosphor. 12. A method as in claim 1, wherein said convention comprises at least one of text, alphanumeric characters, graphic information, a logo, a data code symbology, and a digital watermark. 13. A method as in claim 1, wherein the content of said information bearing marking comprises content relating to at least one of identification, authentication, instruction, advertising, branding and promotion. a readout area comprising an optically modified portion having a UV responsive information bearing marking disposed in said optically modified portion. 15. An optical media as in claim 14, wherein said optically modified portion is more absorptive of UV light than a non-optically modified portion of said readout area. 16. An optical media as in claim 14, further comprising at least one fluorescent material. 17. An optical media as in claim 16, wherein said fluorescent materials have been modified by photobleaching with UV light. 18. An optical media as in claim 14, wherein said information bearing marking comprises at least one of text, alphanumeric characters, graphic information, a logo, a data code symbology, and a digital watermark. 19. An optical media as in claim 14, comprising a UV responsive coating disposed upon said readout area. 20. An optical media as in claim 19, wherein said UV responsive coating comprises at least one of a laser dye, a fluorescent dye, a metal chelate, an organic phosphor, and an inorganic phosphor. 21. An optical media as in claim 19, wherein said UV responsive coating comprises a color former, a photo-acid generator, a diacrylate, and a photoinitiator. 22. An optical media as in claim 19, wherein said UV responsive coating is applied through means comprising at least one of printing, spraying, rolling, spin coating and painting. deciphering said information bearing marking. 24. The method as in claim 23, wherein said information bearing marking comprises at least one of text, alphanumeric characters, graphic information, a logo, a data code symbology further comprising a bar code, and a digital watermark. 25. The method as in claim 23, wherein said detecting comprises viewing of said information bearing marking relative to a fluorescent background. verifying authenticity of said optical media. 27. The method as in claim 26, further comprising the enabling of readout of information contained in said optical media for an authentic optical media. a monolithic spectrometer, a CCD array, and a hand held detection system comprising a CCD camera. using information deciphered from said information bearing marking to enable access to further information, wherein said further information is included in at least one of another information bearing marking and said article. using information deciphered from said information bearing marking as a decryption key. a coating thereon, said coating comprising an optically modified portion having a ultraviolet responsive information bearing marking disposed in said optically modified portion. 32. An object as in claim 31, wherein said coating comprises at least one of a laser dye, a fluorescent dye, a metal chelate, an organic phosphor, and an inorganic phosphor. 33. An object as in claim 31, wherein said coating comprises a color former, a photo-acid generator, a diacrylate, and a photoinitiator. 34. An object as in claim 31, wherein said information bearing marking comprises at least one of text, alphanumeric characters, graphic information, a logo, a data code symbology, and a digital watermark. 35. An object as in claim 31, wherein said coating comprises taggants. a readout area comprising an optically modified portion having a UV responsive information bearing marking disposed in said optically modified portion, said information bearing marking comprising promotional information.

2019-04-26T06:25:29Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030012562A1/en

I believe it is important to share who I was at the beginning, why I left the program in 2005 and how my journey affected me as a person before rejoining the doctoral program in 2008. In 2002, one of my mentors was in the process of completing a doctoral degree. My mentor spoke highly of the experience and new knowledge. I had never thought about continuing my education; yet, the prospect of developing myself outweighed the time and effort I would have to put into coursework. I often dreamt of being a dean of students or a vice president for student affairs and a degree would open additional opportunities for me professionally. I applied and was accepted into the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral program at Iowa State University. Before starting my doctoral program I was recruited for a position at my alma mater, Grand Valley State University. I chose to put my Ph.D. coursework on hold to pursue the job. This opportunity was one I always wanted and I interviewed for the position. Although I did not get the offer, it was good to go through the process. I began coursework in spring 2003. I started the doctoral program with Dr. Schuh’s ELPS 664 Organization and Administration. At this point in my career, I was an over-involved student affairs professional. I was the assistant director of student activities at Iowa State University and serving on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA). I did more than my position description required, and took on multiples roles. I loved working with students, solving problems, coordinating events and troubleshooting various challenges. I was good at my job and well-respected in the field of student activities. I thought nothing could stop me from becoming a dean of students or vice president of student affairs one day. In 2004, much of my professional life was turned upside down because of a student disturbance, my supervisor leaving, my department being absorbed into another, a position realignment, and new supervisors. Following the student disturbance, President Geoffroy appointed me to serve as a co-chair for the President’s Commission on Improving Relations Among ISU Students, the University, the City of Ames, and the Ames Community. At the same time, my professional position required that I maintain all the Student Activities Center programs seamlessly without students being aware of these major logistical changes. Although I was stretched beyond limits, I continued to take courses, and the required doctoral seminars. After a full year of trying to balance my professional life and academics, I chose to withdraw from the doctoral program. It was a difficult decision; however, my job was becoming a priority. The strain and stress of having my job as my primary identity took a toll on my emotional well-being. In May 2006, I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. I appreciated knowing the reasons behind my personal challenges, but my work began to infringe on my physical health. I was ordered by my therapist and psychiatrist to take personal leave for most of the summer. I attempted to return in the fall with the intention to only work 40 hours a week. Upon my return, my supervisor stated, “You know it will be impossible for you to do this job in 40 hours a week.” This statement hurt me; however, I know it was not the intent. I was adamant and unwilling to go through what happened the previous spring. I was not taught in graduate school how to work 60-70 hours a week and maintain my well-being. I did not want to experience another breakdown while working with students. I chose to resign my position after almost 10 years of dedicating my life to the students at Iowa State University. A year and a half of soul-searching led me back to the doctoral program in January 2008. During my time away from campus the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies Studies added the concentration in Social Justice. I found the program to be more appealing because of my previous experience with social justice issues on campus. The following sections of my self-narrative will highlight my learning and give scope to my new found knowledge after my return to the doctoral program. This self-assessment narrative will speak to experiences I have had within the nine components addressed in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) rubrics that existed when I entered the doctoral program: evaluation and assessment; foundations; interpersonal, intrapersonal, and oral communication; research; leadership; technology; and written communication. To demonstrate this learning, I hope to paint a picture of what I believe I have accomplished as a student in the ELPS doctoral program. I chose to use three colors to represent where my learning was and is within each of the areas included in the rubrics. While my growth as a student may have remained unchanged within some of the rubrics, my personal growth since beginning the program in 2004 has been extraordinary. The following sections include my rubrics, my accompanying self-narrative with my original 2004 self-narrative for a comparison (with no grammatical corrections). Each of these rubrics show areas of improvement and challenges, as well as a more realistic look at who I am as a doctoral student. The artifacts included are either my original work or work with a professor’s comments. Either way, I hope you are able to see my growth as a person. Familiarity with Evaluation and Assessment exists through my career in student affairs and the program courses. Based on what I have learned, I can discuss evaluation models, professional standards and current assessment issues. Although these areas are not proficient, I will learn as my coursework continues. In HGED 597, I had the opportunity to develop a comprehensive plan for the Iowa State University Student Activities Center Self-Study Evaluation Plan for the Dean of Students Office seven-year program review. The purpose of this evaluation was to complete a Self-Study of the Student Activities Center for the Dean of Students Office Five-Year Program Review by utilizing the Iowa State University Review of Non-Academic Programs and Services (May 2003). This did the following: described the challenges and opportunities that the services and programs provided for the Iowa State University community; reviewed the resources (financial, staff, equipment, etc.) available; determined the quality of the work environment; demonstrated the working relationship within the University community and community partners; and indicated ways in which any improvements could be made within the programs, services, and resources available to the Iowa State University community. To complete this process, I personally gathered the information for the actual seven-year program review. I recognized how vital it was for me to continually collect information on our student programs. This included leadership program evaluations, tracking officer grade point averages, event attendance, and statistics (number of organizations registered, events authorized, etc.). I utilized the Council for the Advancement of Standards: Book of Standards for Higher Education to compare and contrast our current structure. Based on this information we recommended our needs within the program review. In HGED 665, I utilized the National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Institutional Characteristics Survey. This system allowed me to track residence hall room and board costs, capacity and overall enrollment for three categories: State of Iowa Regent Schools, Big 12 Institutions, and Land Grant Institutions. I recognized that I could download the data easily; conversely, my experience in writing a quantitative research paper was minute. My primary experience with evaluation and assessment occurred when I was working full-time in student activities. Since then, my experience with developing an evaluation from beginning to end is limited to my experience as a graduate assistant for the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center (MSWC) while I was serving as a graduate assistant in spring 2008. The primary focus was to determine which of the MSWC’s programs and services were of value to the University community. There were two different versions of the assessment: one for faculty, and another for students. While creating the assessment, Dr. Penny Rice and I decided it was important to not have the traditional demographic checkboxes. Instead, the participants could mark their identity and complete a short response indicating how they would describe themselves. It was important for us to be inclusive and sensitive to all community members. The Institutional Review Board asked us to make a number of modifications to the informed consent, while the original evaluation tool remained unchanged and was successfully administered in 2009. Since joining higher education as a student in 1987, I have gained an understanding of what education is as an institution. My ability to acknowledge the importance of higher education continually inspires me professionally. During my coursework I discuss the challenges and successes of systems surrounding education. It is a good experience to understand the various issues. Whether it is finance, organizations, assessments, politics, history, government, diversity, ethics or another aspect of education, each one provides me with an opportunity to learn more. I demonstrate critical thinking during discussions and writing. I communicate and role model professional ethics. I am actively engaged in class and in my profession. I may not have all the knowledge to articulate the patterns in educational foundations and theories. Starting somewhere. My master’s program did not offer student development theory. The program was primarily for educational administrators for PK-12 institutions. My understanding of students was based only upon my experience and not what was written in textbooks or journal articles. Until I took Dr. Nancy Evans’s HgEd 576 Student Development Theory I and HgEd 676 Student Development Theory II courses, I had no formal knowledge of foundational student development theories. I remember reading articles and talking with my friend Dr. Penny Rice about how I had been experiencing many of these theories on a daily basis. Each social identity or theory was part of who I was already and now I was officially learning about it. It was as if it was all under the surface of my learning waiting to be revealed by new knowledge. The challenge of new knowledge is determining what you believe and if it is real. My social identity project was to research transgender students. This was my first opportunity to learn more about an underrepresented population through an academic lens. Although transgender students at this time were not well known on campus, I was able to interview an Iowa State University alumnus, three members of the transgender community in Des Moines, Iowa, and one from out of state. I took the time to get to know these persons and learn from their stories. I then connected my research to the social identity theories, while remaining true to what I learned, and respecting the new knowledge. Knowledge struggle. As I stated before, I was an over-involved student affairs professional with a total of 12 years of experience. Upon returning to the program, the courses in which I was enrolled for the Social Justice Concentration challenged me beyond my own knowledge base. I would leave each class increasingly perplexed about who I was as a student affairs professional, wondering if I perpetuated the privilege cycle that exists. I struggled with who I was as a person. I questioned my decisions and my self-worth. Yet, these dilemmas helped me change my perspectives. The first instance of this dilemma was in Dr. Lori Patton’s Critical Race Theory course When I was a student affairs professional, I really thought that I was progressive and supportive of our African American population. I really began to question my intentions as a professional as I read more about colorblindness (Bonilla-Silva, 2006), White privilege (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001) and interest convergence (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001), especially when I deconstructed VEISHEA (student-run spring festival) through a Critical Race Theory lens for one of my assignments. I excel within the rubric of Interpersonal Communication. I am an optimist, who pursues goals with great vigor. I work cooperatively and do this by demonstrating sensitivity to the diverse needs of others. I am unafraid of expressing myself; however, I am in tune to listening to others and their concerns. I am compassionate to the needs of all people, and represent the underrepresented during discussions and program planning. During class discussions or meetings with my peers, I spend a lot of time listening. It is important to understand the dynamics of the people before I bring up a topic or comment. I recognize that my enthusiastic style sometimes is overbearing to others therefore I curb my enthusiasm. These descriptions alone help to describe my true interpersonal skills. I continually want to facilitate group discussions, and not necessarily participate in the discussion itself. I prefer to lead and not follow. Over the past few years I challenge myself to grow in this area, and so far, I believe that I have accomplished quite a bit. Finding my voice. The Concentration in Social Justice requires a Pro-Seminar. My second semester in the program we added a book to read and discuss during our biweekly meetings. We selected bell hooks (2003) Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope. I had a heated discussion with another doctoral student while we were discussing the chapter, “Teaching with Love.” I was discussing my belief that when you are loved you are in a good place. My colleague went into a rant about how not everyone can be loved, especially when there is a gun pointed at one’s head. I lost it. Comparing my statement to a gun. Comparing love to violence and cops. Using my words and twisting them to make their point. I just could not comprehend how this person was making the leap from one place to another. I swore. I was inappropriate. After I had this experience I realized I needed to relearn how to express myself. I had been using my laptop computer as a way to stay engaged by taking notes or looking up facts, but I was unwilling to voice my opinions. I hesitated to share my positionality with my peers. As I think back, I recognize this fear was connected to my vocalizing a differing stance on a campus policy. I didn’t know who I was then. Since my abrupt Pro-Seminar commentary, my goal has been to find my voice. I have begun to acknowledge who I am at the present and how I relate to my peers. I also formed a strong relationship with the colleague with whom I had the argument on that day. I believe while we both had our moment of terror, we grew and learned from one another’s stories. One of the many cliché sayings that I utilize is that I do “walk the talk.” It is important for me to be a part of an organization or association that believes in the same things I do. I belong to various associations and political activist groups. I am able to communicate my thoughts without forcing others to believe in them as well. It is important to note, I am unafraid to discuss sensitive topics. I am a lifelong learner. In 2001, I was a member of the Iowa State University Center for Teaching Excellence Service Learning Teaching Circle. The opportunity to talk with faculty and staff about service learning was an inspirational one. Discussing assessment and strategies motivated me to become a doctoral student. The following spring I was admitted into the ELPS program. One of the reasons I know my intrapersonal skills are exemplary is because I was unafraid to leave my full-time position in student affairs. When my personal ethics were being pulled in a direction with which I was uncomfortable, I knew it was time to move on to something else. I was not okay with the decision to put a policy in place that discriminated, in my eyes, against underrepresented students. I understood the direction the University took, but I did not agree with it. I spent two years speaking with upper administrators about my concerns, and still had to appear that I agreed with the policy in front of the students and organization advisers. Ethically, this was and continues to be one of the most difficult periods I have experienced professionally. When your identity becomes your work and you have to compromise your own ethics, you know moving on is most important to your personal survival. As I stated before, I like to be in front of the crowd and not within it. Oral Communication rubric is one area of my learning to which I am most comfortable. I value speaking in front of others in order to facilitate discussion or present information to a group. I have learned through my coursework experiences. In HGED 664, I took an in depth look at the Student Union as an organizational structure. During my presentation, I recognized that I might not have been as comfortable as I had thought. I read directly from my notes and did not always make eye contact with the audience. I found this to be unusual for me considering that since I was four years old, I have been performing on stage. Because I was in front of my peers, and being critiqued, my comfort level was lacking. Since then, I work harder at knowing the information and communicate it appropriately to the audience. This fall in HGED 665, I researched residence hall room and board costs, along with the capacity and overall enrollment for three categories: State of Iowa Regent Schools, Big 12 Institutions, and Land Grant Institutions. I utilized Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Institutional Characteristics Survey to gather the information. Mind you, my understanding of the system itself, along with the costs of living on campus was limited. Yet, during my presentation, because I had worked very at understanding the information, I was able to communicate my findings with ease. I have spent most of my life on stage. Yes, I speak well to others. Yes, I can communicate my thoughts orally to an audience. Yes, I am fully capable of answering questions. Interestingly enough, one of the challenges of Borderline Personality Disorder is not knowing who you really are as a person and having to act your way through everything. I think this challenge is one I still have difficulty with today. Not knowing which role I am in at the moment and grappling to find the right words when I speak in front of my colleagues are challenges for me. If I am able to find the right words I am able to express myself. I sometimes lose focus even if I have talking points. The only way I can speak coherently is if I memorize what I am trying to share with a group. Perhaps this is another reason why I choose to hide behind my laptop computer. Presenting my thoughts. One of our tasks for 615H-1 Research Designs in Higher Education was to write a program proposal for a conference or convention. I took it a step further and decided to submit my proposal for the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. My paper was accepted, and I had the opportunity to present the paper to my peers. I informed my discussant, Dr. Heather Rowan-Kenyon from Boston College, that the paper was merely a draft of my dissertation prospectus. She was very supportive of my effort and said, “You are brave to share a draft of your dissertation with your peers.” I presented my paper to almost 20 of my colleagues. I shared my story and preliminary findings. I answered questions and addressed concerns. Following my presentation, Dr. Heather Rowan-Kenyon gave constructive comments on how to enhance my paper (Bestler, 2010b). In regards to the Research rubric, I believe I am learning the various aspects of “scholarly inquiry” (ELPS Rubric, 2000). My experience in this area is rudimentary; nevertheless, with every opportunity to gain knowledge I strengthen my skills. Prior to my doctoral coursework, I had researched programming ideas, information for work or read publications to gain a comprehension of a current issue. My need for understanding the components of Service-Learning sparked my interest in research. I read article after article in order to see if there was a correlation between students’ success and participation in Service-Learning. During the Service-Learning Teaching Circle, we decided to write a Miller Grant in order to research on student success and Service–Learning at Iowa State University. The information gathered enriched me professionally, and needless to say we were awarded the fellowship. This experience helped me recognize that I need professional growth and development to become an exemplary researcher. I recognize I still have much to learn about how to conduct research and write in a scholarly fashion. I believe I have developed my exploration skills and strengthened my ethical research practices. However, I still must learn how to create fluid connections between my research question, literature review, and findings. Because of my creative background I tend to have a more abstract way of showing these findings; whereas, academia wants a concrete writing style. Convergence of technology. I researched and collected content data on how technology is transforming the educational landscape for Did You Know 4.0. This project was in collaboration with XPLANE, Dr. Karl Fisch, Dr. Scott McLeod, and our partners at The Economist. This version opened on YouTube in September 2009 and presented the convergence of technology in society. Recently, the Did You Know 4.0 video was featured in Saenz’s (2010) Singularity Hub blog “12 videos that will help you love the future.” While this work project developed an unconventional end product, the process of gathering data for it was extensive. Exploring hate on YouTube. I am proud of my growth as a student while working on a course research project, “Towards discovering hate on YouTube” for ResEv 554. The central question of this study was how users intermittently engage about Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Questioning (LGTBQQ) topics represented on YouTube. I spent many hours learning about virtual ethnography and online research ethics. Exploring the YouTube videos related to Chris Crocker’s (2008) YouTube video titled, “Gay HATE on YouTube!” was a transformational learning experience for me. It was enlightening and painful to read or view video responses in reaction to Crocker’s (2008) video. My role in a group setting is a cheerleader and motivator. I believe that my style has a tendency to come across as not serious and the clown of a group. I am adaptable; I can change my leadership approach according to the group. When in class, I have a tendency to be an excellent listener, and multi-tasker. When I am working with a group of students, I work hard at helping with the direction of the organization when necessary; otherwise, I am quiet and let the organization’s leader lead the way. When I attend the Dean of Students Office Directors’ Meeting, I have the tendency to be reserved. When I am leading organizations, I am direct, and supportive. I am caring and forthright. I am a planner and coordinator. I am an encourager and above all someone who celebrates successes with the organizations. When a group fails, it is hard for me to deal with the stress. I work hard at determining how the event or program can be reconstructed for the future. I love being a part of organizations. “These types [ENFJ] can be exceptionally inventive and insightful as group leaders. They seem to have a sixth sense about how a group can operate as a crucible for individual growth and development” (Thomson, 1998, p. 359). I appreciate change. I am someone who likes order. I wish that everything could always be harmonious; yet, it cannot always be this way. This past fall change created stress in my professional life. Because of the new direction of the Iowa State Memorial Union, the Student Activities Center (at some point) will be merged into the Memorial Union Programming area. This is an opportunity for the Student Activities Center. Professionally, I don’t know if I want to continue with programming or if I would like to become more of a generalist. As a generalist, I could gain the skills necessary to be a Dean of Students one day. I have been concerned about the impact this change would create within the Dean of Students Office (because of my roles there). Knowing my limitations. In 2004, I was named the Mid-Level Student Affairs Professional of the Year by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). It was, and still is, an honor to be recognized by my peers for my hard work. I remember, when I was being honored, all I thought about was the amount of stress it took to receive something so cherished by my profession. My skill set and past experiences provide me with the foundation to naturally be a leader. My challenge is that after being out of the field, it is difficult for me to find comfort in being an out-front leader. I prefer the behind the scenes role where I do not have to talk or advocate for one thing or another. Instead, I provide the support to the team leaders and members to build or promote something impressive to their audience. I think, now more than ever, I know who I am. I know what I have done in the past to make experiences better for new professionals. I believe what keeps me going is that even if I know who I am, I am still incomplete in this life. I am willing to keep learning and growing. Once, I graduate I am not done. I am merely on the next stage of my journey. I intentionally have taken a role behind the scenes. I have had my days of recognition and acknowledgement in higher education. I do not need to continue learning just to receive awards or notoriety. If I do one last thing in this field it will be to share my personal story. My story will hopefully help guide current and new professionals to live a more balanced life than I did as a student affairs professional. This goal is my personal commitment. Teaching assistant. I served as a teaching assistant and helped create the first Arts-Based Research course for graduate students with Dr. Nana Osei-Kofi. I designed an online resource and blogging social network for graduate students to supplement their learning experience. I facilitated two course discussions: Collage as Research, and Blogs as a Self-Expressive Art Form. The Technology rubric is another in which I believe I excel. I am constantly upgrading myself in what is available in order to perform better in the classroom and professionally. Technology holds the key to communication. It allows me to create web pages, utilize Web CT, word process, collect data and facilitate presentation. During my classes, in small groups, I am able to quickly put information down and create a presentation that highlights our discussion. I can present information in a timely manner, and understand the capability that technology holds for us as professionals. I have been learning about technology in one aspect or another since I was in elementary school. Currently, I oversee the technical services of the Dean of Students Office, and I am the web coordinator for most of the units. My website is available online at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~bestler/homepage.html. One of my strengths at the beginning of this program was technology. During my time in the program I did not become complacent with technology; instead, I took my learning to a new level. I am proud of what I have accomplished when it comes to technology. Deconstructing technology. One of the areas about which I am most passionate is how technology affects education. I have spent many semesters deconstructing technology and how it helps or hinders underrepresented students in an educational setting. I wrote a few course papers on technology including: “Is there a correlation between the digital divide and college access?” and “A social movement in progress: History of the digital divide.” Both of these course papers helped me to learn more about technology and its relationship to social change. CASTLE. In May 2008, I joined Dr. Scott McLeod’s team as the technology coordinator for University Council for Educational Administration’s (UCEA) Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) at Iowa State University. One of the many things that attracted me to CASTLE is the drive to support school administrators in their endeavors to develop technology programs unique to their institutions. To achieve this goal, I develop, design, and maintain multiple forms of online communication through blogs, websites, and 2.0 web technologies. I assist the team with technology bootcamps for school administrators to learn about online web tools. Online learning environment. I collaborated with Dr. Ryan Evely Gildersleeve to develop and implement a 3-credit online qualitative research course for graduate students, ResEv 580. I designed the WebCT by using streaming media, web-based learning modules, virtual classroom environments, audio podcasts, and course web resources. I facilitated an e-learning experience during the course orientation for 20 graduate students. The original template for this course has been enhancing ResEv 580 since summer semester 2009 and is being used for Dr. Penny Rice’s ResEv 580 course during the 2010 fall semester. One area that I need improvement is the Writing Communication rubric. I can write my thoughts; I lack knowledge and practice of utilizing the American Psychological Association (APA) Style. My collegiate experiences allowed me to be a creative writer. I could let information flow freely from my thoughts and onto paper. APA Style, although intricately important to format information, seems like a restriction. I get frustrated because it is to comprehend the information in order to follow the appropriate guidelines to get my information. I am working on improving this skill through the utilization of the book Mastering APA Style: Student’s Workbook and Training Guide. While taking HGED 665, I recognized I was having difficulty writing my last research paper. I acknowledged the fact that I did not know how to write about statistics and appendices. It was exhausting. When I received the paper back from Dr. Schuh, my heart sunk, I had received a “B.” The main errors in my paper came from my writing and usage of APA Style. I did value that I was not given an “A” for “B” work. It made me strive to become a better student. The HGED 665 final exam gave me an opportunity to spend quality time understanding how to write in APA Style, and needless to say, Dr. Schuh let me know I had improved. I recognize the written communication rubric is one with which I continue to struggle, even at the end of my program. I think it is a challenge to write according to the concrete academic format due to my occasional lack of attention to details and impatience for the expected perfection in my writing. I continue to write as if I am a student affairs professional writing a quick report for an upper administrator. I use short sentences to describe things. I use my own words and my style. Instead, I should be taking time to check and recheck all the information according to academic structures. I should not assume I can write a research paper in just a day. It takes time to find facts, write comprehensive sentences, and compose a paper. When I do take the time, I know I have the ability to communicate well through my writing. If I am able to be creative with my writing, I believe my skill is outstanding. Over the next four years, I will grow and develop within all of the areas of the ELPS Rubrics. I look forward to my next self-assessment narrative to see how far I come. As I come closer to the end of my doctoral program, many people ask me, “What do you want to do after you receive your doctorate?” or “What job do you think you will want to have following graduation?” I take a big breath and say, “I want to be happy.” People seem to expect you to want to have a better position or want to be a faculty member. I intend to be happy. I intend to do something worthwhile with what I have learned about myself and those around me. I have learned so many different things from my faculty, colleagues, peers, and friends. If there is one thing I know, it is I am myself. I am finally found. I am no longer someone I do not want to be in my life. I am receptive to learning about differences; yet, I am grounded in my own beliefs. I can honestly say I do not know what role I will take on next after I am done with the doctoral program. I hope to continue my work with the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). Although it is unclear what this role may be, as long as I am using technology and my intuitive abilities to help create positive change, I know I will be making a difference. Achieving this goal will make me happy. Myers, K.D. (1998). Introduction to type. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc. Thomson, L. (1998). Personality type: an owner’s manual. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. Bonilla-Silva, E. (2006). Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Delgado, R. & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical Race Theory: An introduction. New York, NY: New York University Press. hooks, b. (2003). Heart to heart: Teaching with love. Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope (pp. 127-138). New York, NY : Routledge. Edudemic: What Does Gamification Look Like In Classrooms?

2019-04-24T00:32:52Z

http://www.laurabestler.org/doctoral-work/self-assessment-narrative/

During submaximal cycling, the neuromuscular system has the freedom to select different intermuscular coordination strategies. From both a basic science and an applied perspective, it is important to understand how the central nervous system adjusts pedaling mechanics in response to changes in pedaling conditions. Purpose To determine the effect of changes in pedal speed (a marker of muscle shortening velocity) and crank length (a marker of muscle length) on pedaling mechanics during submaximal cycling. Methods Fifteen trained cyclists performed submaximal isokinetic cycling trials (90 rpm, 240 W) using pedal speeds of 1.41 to 1.61 m·s−1 and crank lengths of 150 to 190 mm. Joint powers were calculated using inverse dynamics. Results Increases in pedal speed and crank length caused large increases knee and hip angular excursions and velocities (P < 0.05), whereas ankle angular kinematics stayed relatively constant (P > 0.05). Joint moments and joint powers were less affected by changes in the independent variables, but some interesting effects and trends were observed. Most noteworthy, knee extension moments and powers tended to decrease, whereas hip extension power tended to increase with an increase in crank length. Conclusions The distribution of joint moments and powers is largely maintained across a range of pedaling conditions. The crank length induced differences in knee extension moments, and powers may represent a trade-off between the central nervous system’s attempts to simultaneously minimize muscle metabolic and mechanical stresses. These results increase our understanding of the neural and mechanical mechanisms underlying multi-joint task performance, and they have practical relevance to coaches, athletes, and clinicians. Address for correspondence: Thomas Korff, Ph.D., Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance Brunel University Uxbridge UB8 3PH United Kingdom. E mail: [email protected]. Accepted for publication October 2015. During cycling, power delivered to the pedals is produced by muscles that span the ankle, knee, and hip and by power produced in the upper body that is transferred across the hip joint (6,25). The investigation of the power contributions of the various muscle groups (i.e., joint action powers) to total mechanical power gives us invaluable insights into mechanical and physiological processes underlying exercise and cycling performance. For example, the analysis of joint action powers has increased our understanding of intermuscular coordination strategies as a function of cycling intensity (9,10), pedaling rates (9,30), or cycling duration (26). During submaximal cycling, the neuromuscular system has the freedom to selectively use combinations of the various power producing joint actions to meet the task requirement. This selection may represent some optimization such as minimizing muscle activation (30), muscle stress (15), or overall metabolic cost (20). This notion is supported by analyses of preferred pedaling rates. Cyclists freely choose pedaling rates that are associated with minimized values for joint moments (13,16,22), muscle stress (15), negative muscle work (29), and muscle activation (30). Although metabolic cost is not minimized at the preferred pedaling rate (23), it is likely that the minimization of metabolic cost contributes to the intermuscular coordination strategy in terms of joint power distribution. In support of this notion, Korff et al. (20) demonstrated that metabolic cost is minimized when cyclists use their preferred pedaling technique. Thus, it is likely that the movement strategy adopted during submaximal cycling may represent an optimization based on some combination of metabolic and neural demand as well as muscular stress. However, their interaction within the context of intermuscular coordination has not been fully elucidated. In submaximal cycling, a thorough understanding of these factors is important from both a mechanistic and an applied perspective. Regarding the former, cycling is a repetitive movement with generally constrained joint and muscle kinematics, and so, it is an ideal task to gain mechanistic insights into the interacting roles of mechanical muscle actions and intermuscular coordination. Regarding the latter, knowledge of the mechanical muscle properties, which govern the movement strategy adopted during submaximal cycling, increases our understanding of endurance cycling performance (18,19) and could give insights into more effective training and intervention strategies for cyclists as well as intervention strategies for clinical applications. From a theoretical point of view, three variables are of particular importance within this context: pedal speed, cycle frequency, and crank length. Pedal speed (the mathematical product of crank length and crank angular velocity) is indicative of muscle shortening velocities of monoarticular muscles (24,34). Cycle frequency is indicative of activation-deactivation dynamics (7,24). Crank length is indicative of muscle excursions of monoarticular muscles (14). Thus, each of these variables represents a different physiological phenomenon. Pedal speed is of particular importance because of the dependency of muscular force (2) and muscular efficiency (4) on muscle shortening velocity. The primary purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of pedal speed on joint angular excursions, velocities, moments, and powers. Pedal speed can be altered by varying pedaling rate at a constant crank length, varying crank length at a constant pedaling rate, or a combination of the two. However, it is challenging to isolate the effect of pedal speed using either of these experimental paradigms. When pedaling rate is altered with a constant crank length (e.g., 3,10), both pedal speed (muscle shortening velocities) and pedaling rate (activation deactivation dynamics) are altered concomitantly. Here, we chose to vary crank length and hold pedaling rate constant to ensure that any effects of pedal speed would not be confounded by concomitant changes in pedaling rate. In particular, we sought to isolate the effect of muscle shortening velocities on joint powers independent of activation-deactivation dynamics. However, changing crank length results in altered muscle excursions, which could lead to different joint moments because of the muscles working on different regions of their respective force–length relationships. If this was the case, joint powers could also be different across crank lengths. Previous research has shown that joint action powers are unaffected by changes in pedaling rate when crank length is held constant (3,10), meaning that in these studies, pedal speed and pedaling rate were changed concomitantly. Within the context of the primary purpose of this study, it was also important to ensure that crank length (i.e., muscle excursions)—independent of pedal speed—would not be a confounding factor. Thus, the second purpose was to investigate the effect of crank length (independent of pedal speed) on joint angular velocities, joint moments, and joint powers. Fifteen trained cyclists (12 men [76 ± 7 kg], 3 women [66 ± 7 kg]) age 19 to 44 yr, all regularly competing in regional cycling races, volunteered to take part in the study. Experimental procedures were approved by the institutional review board of the University of Utah and the Research Ethics Committee of Brunel University. Participants received a verbal and written explanation of all procedures and gave their written informed consent. Participants visited the laboratory on 4 separate occasions. During the first two visits, they practiced cycling with the nonstandard crank lengths (150 and 190 mm). Practice was not provided for the standard crank lengths (165, 170, and 175 mm), as participants regularly cycled on cranks within this range. On each familiarization day, participants performed two 10-min trials of submaximal cycling (one on the shortest crank [150 mm] and one on the longest crank [190 mm]). Each trial consisted of 8-min cycling at a self-selected power output (e.g., ~75–150 W), followed by 2-min cycling at a power output of 240 W. All practice sessions were performed on the same isokinetic cycling ergometer as used for the experimental data collection. During the third and fourth visits, participants performed the experimental submaximal cycling protocol, with two or three crank lengths tested on each visit. The order of the crank lengths was randomized, as was the number of crank lengths tested on each experimental day (three crank lengths on the first day and two on the second or vice versa). Data collection took place on two separate days to minimize fatigue across the experimental trials. For each participant, data collection began at the same time on both experimental days. On the first day, body mass, thigh length (greater trochanter to lateral femoral condyle), leg length (lateral femoral condyle to lateral malleolus), foot length (heel to toe), and “kinematic foot length” (pedal spindle to lateral malleolus) were measured. All anthropometric measures were collected by the same investigator. The experimental trials consisted of two 30-s trials of isokinetic cycling at each crank length (150, 165, 170, 175, and 190 mm). One trial was performed at a pedaling rate of 90 rpm, and the other trial was performed at a constant pedal speed of 1.60 m·s−1 (equivalent to the middle condition of 170-mm crank length and 90 rpm). Table 1 details the crank lengths, pedaling rates, and pedal speeds used in both experimental conditions. The order of the two experimental trials was randomized, and a minimum of 3-min recovery was given between them. Participants were asked to maintain a target power output of 240 W against the isokinetic resistance (10); feedback regarding their instantaneous crank power was provided by means of a calibrated SRM power measurement system (Schoberer Rad Messtechnik, Jülich, Germany). To verify that the subjects cycled at the required power output, the average power that was delivered to the right pedal was obtained (see methodological details below). Assuming bilateral symmetry, this value should be approximately 120 W. Across all trials, subjects produced an average power output of 118.4 W (±6.8 W). All cycling trials were performed on an isokinetic ergometer, constructed from a Monark cycle ergometer frame and flywheel (Monark Exercise AB, Vansbro, Sweden). The ergometer flywheel was coupled to a 3.75-kW direct current motor (Baldor Electric Company model CDP3605, FortSmith, AR) and controlled by a speed controller equipped with regenerative braking (Minarik model RG5500U, Glendale, CA). Two reference measurements were recorded on each participant’s training bicycle and used to set the ergometer position; “seat height,” as defined by the distance between the top of the saddle and the pedal spindle when the crank was positioned to allow maximum displacement between these two points, and “handlebar drop,” as defined by the vertical drop from the top of the saddle and the top of the handlebars. When crank length was changed on the ergometer (SRM multilength crank; Schoberer Rad Messtechnik, Jülich, Germany), the height of the seat and the handlebars were both altered to maintain these two reference measurements (seat height, handlebar drop) across all crank lengths. “Handlebar reach,” as defined by the horizontal distance between the saddle and the handlebars, remained constant across all crank lengths. Participants wore cycling shoes with cleats that locked onto the pedal interface (Speedplay Inc., San Diego, CA). The instrumentation and procedures used to obtain cycling kinematic and kinetic data have been described in several previous studies from our laboratory (3,10,25). Normal and tangential pedal forces were recorded on the right pedal using two three-component piezoelectric force transducers (Kistler 9251; Kistler USA, Amherst, NY). The right pedal and crank were equipped with digital position encoders (S5S-1024-IB, US Digital, Vancouver, WA), and the pedal and crank angles were used to resolve the normal and tangential pedal forces into absolute vertical and horizontal components. The position of the right iliac crest was recorded with a two-segment instrumented spatial linkage (26). Pedal forces, pedal position, crank position, and instrumented spatial linkage position were all sampled at 240 Hz using Bioware software (Kistler USA) and filtered with a fourth-order zero-lag Butterworth low-pass filter at a cutoff frequency of 8 Hz. The position of the hip joint was calculated from the position of the iliac crest, assuming a constant offset, measured in a static condition (31). The location of the ankle joint was determined using the angular positions of the crank and pedal and the distance from the pedal spindle to the lateral malleolus, assuming that the position of the lateral malleolus relative to the pedal surface was fixed throughout the pedal cycle (17). The position of the knee joint center was calculated by means of the law of cosines, using the locations of the hip and ankle joints as well as thigh and leg lengths. Joint angles were calculated from joint positions and segment lengths. Linear and angular velocities and accelerations of the limb segments were determined by finite differentiation of position data with respect to time. Segmental masses, moments of inertia, and segmental center of mass locations were estimated using the regression equations reported by de Leva (21). Sagittal plane joint intersegmental forces and net muscle moments about the joint (joint moments) were derived at the ankle, knee, and hip using standard inverse dynamics techniques (9), as previously described (3). Joint powers were defined as the product of joint moments and joint angular velocities. Power delivered to the right pedal was defined as the product of the component of pedal force acting normal to the crank and the linear velocity of the pedal. All complete pedal cycles during the 30-s trial were analyzed. Joint angular velocities and joint powers were determined over extension and flexion phases and calculated as average values over these pedal cycles. Extension and flexion phases were defined based on the numerical sign of the corresponding joint angular velocity. In addition, we determined peak joint action powers during extension and flexion phases. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with repeated measures were performed to determine the effects of pedal speed on all dependent variables. Here, pedal speed was the independent variable (see Table 1 for details). Similarly, to examine the effect of crank length (independent of pedal speed) on the dependent variables, 1-way ANOVAs with repeated measures were performed for each dependent variable. Here, crank length was the independent variable, and data at the five crank lengths were analyzed (Table 1). If an ANOVA indicated a significant main effect, post hoc pairwise comparisons (Bonferroni) were performed to locate where those differences occurred. In addition, effect sizes to describe pairwise differences were calculated. Effect sizes were interpreted on the basis of Cohen (8) classification scheme: effect sizes less than 0.5 were considered to be small, effect sizes between 0.5 and 0.8 were considered to be moderate, and effect sizes greater than 0.8 were considered to be large. The alpha level was set at 0.05, and all statistical procedures were performed using SPSS 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). The main effect of pedal speed on knee and hip angular excursions was significant (P < 0.001). Post hoc t tests revealed that angular excursions increased with increasing pedal speed. All pairwise comparisons were significant (P < 0.05) for both joint angular excursions. The main effect of pedal speed on ankle angular excursion was nonsignificant. The main effects of pedal speed on extension and flexion velocities at the knee and hip were significant (P < 0.001) (see Table 2 for details of statistical tests). The main effects of pedal speed on ankle extension and flexion velocities were nonsignificant (P > 0.05). Post hoc pairwise comparisons revealed that extension and flexion velocities at the knee and hip increased with increases in pedal speed (Table 2). The analysis of effect sizes revealed that the largest effect sizes (ES > 0.8) were observed for the most extreme pedal speed comparisons (Fig. 1B). Figure 1 illustrates the changes in joint angular velocities across pedal speeds. Changes in pedal speed affected knee extension moment (P < 0.001). Post hoc pairwise comparisons revealed a greater knee extension moment at 1.41 m·s−1 compared with 1.65 and 1.79 m·s−1 and at 1.56 m·s−1 compared with 1.79 m·s−1 (Table 2). The magnitudes of the effects describing these pairwise comparisons were moderate (0.5 < ES < 0.8) and small (ES, < 0.5) (Fig. 1C). Although the ANOVA indicated a significant main effect for pedal speed on ankle extension moment (P = 0.019), post hoc pairwise comparisons did not reveal any significantly different pedal speed pairs (Table 2). Pedal speed did not affect flexion moment at the ankle, knee, or hip (P > 0.05). The effect of pedal speed on hip extension moment was also nonsignificant (P > 0.05). Pedal speed did not affect joint powers at the ankle knee or hip (P > 0.05) (Table 1). All effect sizes describing the difference between pairs of joint powers across pedal speeds were small (Fig. 1D). Figure 1 illustrates relationship between knee extension velocity, knee extensor moment, and knee extension power across pedal speeds. Pedal speed had a significant effect on peak knee extension power (P = 0.01). However, all follow-up pairwise comparisons were nonsignificant. With pedal speed held constant, the main effect of crank length on ankle, knee, and hip angular excursions was significant (P < 0.001). Post hoc t tests revealed that at a crank length of 190 mm, ankle angular excursions were greater than that at 170 and 150 mm (P < 0.05). At the hip and knee joints, angular excursions increased with increasing crank length. All pairwise comparisons were significant (P < 0.05) for both joint angular excursions. The effect of crank length on extension velocities at the ankle, knee, and hip was nonsignificant (P > 0.05) (Table 2). Crank length significantly affected flexion velocities at the ankle, knee, and hip (P < 0.05) (Table 2). Post hoc pairwise comparisons between crank length pairs revealed that ankle flexion velocity was greater at a crank length of 175 mm compared with 150 mm. Furthermore, knee flexion velocity was greater at a crank length of 190 mm compared with 150 mm, and hip flexion velocity was greater at a crank length of 190 mm compared with 150, 165, and 170 mm (Fig. 2B). The magnitude of each of these effects was small (ES, <0.5) (Fig. 2B). At a constant pedal speed, the effect of crank length on flexion power at the ankle and knee joints were nonsignificant (P > 0.05). With pedal speed held constant, crank length did not affect extension or flexion moments at the ankle, knee, or hip (P > 0.05) (Table 2 and Fig. 2C). Changes in crank length did not affect extension power at the ankle, knee, and hip (P > 0.05). Crank length significantly affected hip flexion power (P < 0.05), with post hoc pairwise comparisons revealing that hip flexion power was greater at a crank length of 190 mm compared with 165 mm. However, the analysis of the effect sizes revealed that the magnitude of this effect was small (ES, 0.39) (Fig. 2D). Crank length significantly affected peak ankle extension power (P = 0.033), peak hip extension power (P = 0.001), and peak hip flexion power (P = 0.008). Post hoc t tests revealed that at a crank length of 150 mm, peak hip extension power was significantly smaller than at crank lengths of 170, 175, and 190 mm. Peak hip flexion power was greater at a crank length of 190 mm compared with 165 and 150 mm. For peak ankle extension power, none of the follow-up tests were significant. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pedal speed on joint angular excursions, velocities, moments, and powers in submaximal cycling. In this study, pedal speed was altered by changing crank length and keeping pedaling rate constant. To ensure that our results would not be confounded by changes in muscle excursions, we also determined the effect of crank length on these variables. Both manipulations had similar effects on joint excursions, which indicates that muscle length changes were similar for both manipulations. Interestingly, the greater leg excursion required to accommodate larger crank lengths was achieved by greater knee and hip joint excursions (signified by moderate and large effect sizes between conditions). Conversely, crank length–dependent changes in ankle joint excursions were smaller (Figs. 1A and 2A). Consistent with this finding, changes in ankle angular velocities across pedal speeds and crank lengths were negligible (signified by small effect sizes; Figs. 1B and 2B). It has previously been shown that the plantarflexors stiffen the ankle joint to allow for energy transfer from the proximal to distal segments (12). Our results suggest that this requirement to stiffen the ankle joint is accomplished by relatively constant ankle kinematics across crank lengths (Figs. 1A, B, 2A, and B). In addition, we found significant differences in extension and flexion velocities of both the knee and hip joints across pedal speeds, which is consistent with previous findings (23). Our results thereby confirm that pedal speed is related to the shortening velocities of the muscles spanning the knee and hip but not the ankle joint. Our results also indicate significant effects of pedal speed on ankle and knee extension moments (Figs. 1C and 2C). Specifically, knee extension moment decreased with an increase in pedal speed. This effect was not observed when crank length was manipulated independent of pedal speed; it can therefore be attributed to changes in pedal speed per se. For all other actions, pedal speed or crank length did not affect the corresponding joint moments. The overall small pedal speed and crank length–dependent changes in joint moments suggest that during submaximal cycling, the CNS may attempt to minimize muscular mechanical stress across conditions. Support for this conjecture comes from (22,30,32) who found that joint moments and muscle forces are minimized at a cyclists preferred cadence. However, the significant effect of pedal speed on knee extension moment warrants further discussion. One possible explanation for the pedal speed–dependent change of knee extension moment is the conjecture that the central nervous system would also seek to preserve joint powers across pedaling conditions. Bearing in mind that knee extension velocity increased with increasing pedal speed and that joint power is the mathematical product of joint moment and joint angular velocity, the opposing effects of pedal speed on knee extension moment and angular velocity could have canceled each other out to produce constant knee extensor power across pedal speeds. Indeed, neither pedal speed nor crank length significantly affected average joint powers. However, there was a tendency for knee extensor power to decrease in response to both pedal speed and crank length (ES, 0.33 and 0.37 for the most extreme comparisons). Conversely, there was a tendency for hip extensor power to increase in response to both increases in pedal speed and crank length. This was likely due to the large crank length–dependent increases in hip extension velocity, which were accompanied by small decreases in joint moments. The nonsignificant trends for changes in knee and hip extension power were similar across both manipulations. Thus, they can be attributed to crank length rather than pedal speed manipulations. It is therefore possible that the changes in operating muscle length across extremely different crank lengths may indeed require intermuscular coordination to be altered to achieve the goal of the task effectively. One could speculate that even more extreme changes in crank length or pedal speed would make this effect more apparent. Future research should explore this possibility explicitly. In addition to the nonsignificant trends in average joint powers, we found significant effects of crank length on peak joint action powers. Specifically, increases in crank length resulted in increased peak hip extension and flexion powers. This effect was more pronounced when crank length (as opposed to pedal speed) was manipulated; it can therefore be attributed to changes in crank length. Although nonsignificant, peak knee extension power tended to decrease with increases in pedal speed and crank length. Thus, while the averaged joint action powers did not differ substantially, the way in which those actions were performed differed considerably. To further explore the meaningfulness of the relationship between crank length and joint powers, we performed additional regression analyses to determine the relationships between joint action powers and crank lengths. These analyses revealed that crank length was not significantly related to joint action powers. Specifically, the coefficients of determination were 1.7% (P = 0.83) for knee extension power and 2.1% (P = 0.34) for hip extension power. Thus, although the pairwise comparisons might seem noteworthy, these regression analyses failed to discover any influence of crank length on joint power production for these actions. The present results in combination with previous findings suggest that within the limits tested in this investigation, the distribution of joint moments and joint action powers are somewhat robust neuromechanical properties, which may govern the CNS’s control strategies. The maintenance of joint powers might be due to localized muscle metabolism and metabolic stress or might reflect synergistic multi-joint extension and flexion actions. Muscle metabolic stress is related to muscle power (rate of energy release (33)). Increasing muscle power will likely increase rates of metabolic by-product production (5) that influences the central nervous system via afferent feedback (1). This feedback may, thereby, influence reliance on various muscles and joint actions during submaximal cycling. If localized metabolic stress is an important criterion in the selection of activation patterns, maintenance of relative muscle or joint action powers might be expected across a range of conditions just as we and others (6,10,11) have observed. Furthermore, the maintenance of joint moments may reflect the CNS’s strategy to keep muscular mechanical stress constant across conditions possibly to avoid fatigue (22,30,32). The somewhat conflicting requirements of maintaining metabolic and muscular stress may explain our observed effects of crank length on knee extension moment powers. One can speculate that the joint-specific differences in joint moments and powers are a result of the various constraints imposed on the system. In particular, they may represent a trade-off between minimizing muscular mechanical as well as metabolic stress while keeping the external power output constant. Further research is warranted to specifically test this hypothesis. There are a number of limitations that need to be considered. When changing crank length, we elected to maintain the maximum leg extension as others have done (3,27,28). This maintained joint angles at the leg’s most extended position but altered joint angles throughout the rest of cycle where most power is produced. Also, we chose to maintain the anterior–posterior position of the saddle (except for small differences associated with sliding the seat post up and down at the angle imposed by the ergometer frame). Consequently, our peak values during extension occurred with the foot closer to the hip joint with shorter cranks and further away with longer cranks. The resulting differences in joint angles may have played a role in the leg extension action and may be partially responsible for the differences in peak joint power values. One alternative approach could have been to maintain the seat height relative to the crank axle. This would have helped to maintain joint angles during the middle portion of the leg extension phase. However, it would have resulted in 2-cm increases in leg extension with the 190-mm cranks, which we sought to avoid. Another approach would have been to move the saddle anteriorly when increasing crank length and posteriorly when decreasing crank length. This approach would also have helped to maintain joint angles during leg extension but would have increased differences during the flexion phase. These alterations of joint angles may have influenced joint power within each cycle. Nonetheless, the average joint powers for the four main power producing actions did not differ across the range of crank lengths evaluated. Together, with previous studies of metabolic cost (28) and maximal power (3,24,27), our results have implications for athletes, clinicians, and researchers. The 27% range of crank lengths evaluated in this investigation is substantially larger than the 6% range (165–175 mm) typically available for adult bicycles, indicating that cyclists can change crank lengths without concern of changing their power production strategies. Furthermore, cyclists and triathletes wishing to adopt a more horizontal torso position to reduce aerodynamic drag could use shorter cranks to eliminate thigh to torso contact, which might compromise ventilation and/or power production. Cycling enthusiasts who have musculoskeletal impairments such as femoral-acetabular impingement or knee osteoarthritis might use shorter cranks to reduce maximum hip and knee flexion and thereby reduce the risk of symptomatic flare-ups triggered by larger joint angular excursions. Similarly, in rehabilitation settings, individuals recovering from injury or surgery might benefit from using a progression of shorter to longer cranks to gradually improve range of motion over time. Finally, our results suggest that biomechanical evaluation in laboratory settings may be performed on a single “lab standard” crank length. That is, biomechanical results obtained using one length (e.g., 170 mm) will provide results that are valid for cyclists who use other crank lengths on their own bicycles. From a basic sciences perspective, our data lay the groundwork for further research investigating the potentially conflicting requirements of minimizing metabolic and muscular stresses during submaximal cycling (35). This work was supported by funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Doctoral Training Grant scheme. In line with the EPSRC’s requirements, the data presented here are also publicly available from the Brunel University London data archive, figshare, at http://dx.doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.2005926. The results of the present study do not constitute endorsement by the American College of Sports Medicine. The authors report no conflict of interest. 1. Amann M, Sidhu SK, Weavil JC, et al. Autonomic responses to exercise: group III/IV muscle afferents and fatigue. Auton Neurosci. 2015; 188: 19–23. 2. Anderson DE, Madigan ML, Nussbaum MA. Maximum voluntary joint torque as a function of joint angle and angular velocity: model development and application to the lower limb. J Biomech. 2007; 40: 3105–13. 3. Barratt PR, Korff T, Elmer SJ, et al. Effect of crank length on joint-specific power during maximal cycling. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011; 43(9): 1689–97. 4. Bell MP, Ferguson RA. Interaction between muscle temperature and contraction velocity affects mechanical efficiency during moderate-intensity cycling exercise in young and older women. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2009; 107: 763–9. 5. Bergström J, Guarnieri G, Hultman E. Carbohydrate metabolism and electrolyte changes in human muscle tissue during heavy work. J Appl Physiol. 1971; 30: 122–5. 6. Broker JP, Gregor RJ. Mechanical energy management in cycling: source relations and energy expenditure. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994; 26(26): 64–74. 7. Caiozzo VJ, Baldwin KM. Determinants of work produced by skeletal muscle: potential limitations of activation and relaxation. Am J Physiol. 1997; 273: 1049–56. 8. Cohen J. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2nd eds. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988. 9. Elftman H. Forces and energy changes in the leg during walking. Am J Physiol. 1939; 125(2): 339–56. 10. Elmer SJ, Barratt PR, Korff T, et al. Joint-specific power production during submaximal and maximal cycling. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011; 43(10): 1940–7. 11. Ericson MO. Mechanical muscular power output and work during ergometer cycling at different work loads and speeds. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1988; 57: 382–7. 12. Fregly BJ, Zajac FE. A state-space analysis of mechanical energy generation, absorption, and transfer during pedaling. J Biomech. 1996; 29: 81–90. 13. Gonzalez H, Hull ML. Multivariable optimization of cycling biomechanics. J Biomech. 1989; 22: 1151–61. 14. Hawkins DA, Hull ML. A computer simulation of muscle-tendon mechanics. Comput Biol Med. 1991; 21(6): 369–82. 15. Hull ML, Gonzalez H, Redfield R. Optimization of pedaling rate in cycling using a muscle stress-based objective function. Int J Sport Biomech. 1988; 4: 1–20. 16. Hull ML, Gonzalez H. Bivariate optimization of pedalling rate and crank arm length in cycling. J Biomech. 1988; 21(10): 839–49. 17. Hull ML, Jorge M. A method for biomechanical analysis of bicycle pedalling. J Biomech. 1985; 18(9): 631–44. 18. Jeukendrup AE, Martin J. Improving cycling performance: how should we spend our time and money. Sports Med. 2001; 31(7): 559–69. 19. Joyner MJ, Coyle EF. Endurance exercise performance: the physiology of champions. J Physiol. 2008; 1: 35–44. 20. Korff T, Romer LM, Mayhew I. Effect of pedaling technique on mechanical effectiveness and efficiency in cyclists. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007; 39(6): 991–5. 21. De Leva P. Adjustments to Zatsiorsky-Seluyanov’s segment inertia parameters. J Biomech. 1996; 29(9): 1223–30. 22. Marsh AP, Martin PE, Sanderson DJ. Is a joint moment-based cost function associated with preferred cycling cadence? J Biomech. 2000; 33: 173–80. 23. Marsh AP, Martin PE. The association between cycling experience and preferred and most economical cadences. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993; 25(11): 1269–74. 24. Martin JC, Brown NA, Anderson FC, et al. A governing relationship for repetitive muscular contraction. J Biomech. 2000; 33: 969–74. 25. Martin JC, Brown NA. Joint-specific power production and fatigue during maximal cycling. J Biomech. 2009; 42: 474–9. 26. Martin JC, Elmer SJ, Horscroft RD, et al. A low-cost instrumented spatial linkage accurately determines ASIS position during cycle ergometry. J Appl Biomech. 2007; 23: 224–9. 27. Martin JC, Malina RM, Spirduso WW. Effects of crank length on maximal cycling power and optimal pedaling rate of boys aged 8–11 years. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002; 86: 215–7. 28. McDaniel J, Durstine JL, Hand GA. Determinants of metabolic cost during submaximal cycling. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2002; 93(3): 823–8. 29. Neptune RR, Herzog W. The association between negative muscle work and pedaling rate. J Biomech. 1999; 32: 1021–6. 30. Neptune RR, Hull ML. A theoretical analysis of preferred pedaling rate selection in endurance cycling. J Biomech. 1999; 32: 409–15. 31. Neptune RR, Hull ML. Accuracy assessment of methods for determining hip movement in seated cycling. J Biomech. 1995; 28(4): 423–37. 32. Redfield R, Hull ML. On the relation between joint moments and pedalling rates at constant power in bicycling. J Biomech. 1986; 19(4): 317–29. 33. Umberger BR, Gerritsen KG, Martin PE. A model of human muscle energy expenditure. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2003; 6(2): 99–111. 34. Yoshihuku Y, Herzog W. Optimal design parameters of the bicycle-rider system for maximal muscle power output. J Biomech. 1990; 23(10): 1069–79. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise48(4):705-713, April 2016. Slower V˙O2 Kinetics in Older Individuals: Is It Inevitable?

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https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2016/04000/Effects_of_Pedal_Speed_and_Crank_Length_on.16.aspx

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NASM Premier Global offers any learner who disagrees with the outcome of their online and/or practical assessments the option to appeal the initial determination. Please reference the attached Appeal form to gather additional information about this process. Please reference the attached Appeal form to gather additional information about this process. Can I attend my Live workshop before I have successfully completed my certification course? Completion of Level 2 & 3 NASM Premier Global course is strongly recommended, but not required. How long is the live workshop? The live workshop is a total of 8 hours with a 1 hour lunch break. Will the live workshop certify me as a Level 2 or Level 3 Personal Trainer? The workshop is designed to help you gain practical application skills in the areas of assessment, integrated training, program design, and exercise technique and how this is applied to the OPT model. 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The Premier Live Workshop is designed to help you gain practical application skills in the areas of assessment, integrated training, program design, and exercise technique and how this is applied to the OPT model. We recommend for you to bring your downloadable PDF, a water bottle, and lunch. Remember to wear comfortable fitness clothing for your participation. Is there anything else I need to do before and/or after my scheduled workshop date? Prior to your scheduled workshop: You will be provided a Student manual and Workshop Presentation PDF document that can be accessed by logging into your student portal at nasm.org. We recommend you access your online and downloadable materials prior to your live workshop date. While this is recommended, it is not mandatory but rather a way to enhance the overall 8-hour workshop experience. After you have attended your workshop: You need to complete your end of workshop survey and end or workshop quiz in the online course. Can I bring a friend or family member with me to my live workshop? Will I be provided proof of my successful completion/participation? Upon successful completion of your live workshop, and within 5 business days, you will have access to a Record of Completion with your student portal at nasm.org. Where can I find more information regarding workshop dates and locations? If you have already booked a workshop, please contact Member Services to get more information on upcoming workshop dates and locations. Please contact Member Services with any additional questions by email: [email protected] or by phone 0333 400 0353. If you wish to book a workshop, please contact a Course Advisor for further assistance at 020 3930 4050. Is the NASM CPT endorsed in the UK? The NASM CPT is professionally endorsed by both CIMSPA and Active IQ. As the programme utilises a science based training system and methodology, and contains specialist learning involving detailed analysis of a high level of information, it can be viewed as a Level 4 equivalent qualification in the UK. Our recommendation is that the NASM CPT should be undertaken by a Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training graduate, after they have worked in the field for at least 6-12 months, gaining relevant practical experience training clients. Premier Global NASM refers to trainers who have completed both the Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training + the NASM CPT as “Elite Trainers” – opening up progression pathways to more elite, advanced specialisms such as Corrective Exercise and Sports Performance. Yes, the NASM CPT Premium Self Study purchased through Premier Global NASM offers you a practice exam available to you for the duration of your enrollment period. You can locate the practice exam via your NASM Student Portal. Is there a breakdown of the exam domains and subjects? The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) contracted with Professional Examination Service (ProExam) to conduct a practice analysis of Certified Personal Trainers (CPTs) in 2015. This practice analysis study defines the current knowledge, skills and abilities that must be demonstrated by entry-level credential holders to safely and successfully practice. This study also serves as the “blueprint” for determining the content (performance domains) for the certification exam(s). The NASM CPT exam blueprint can be found here. What is the NASM Candidate handbook and where can I find it? The Candidate Handbook is a comprehensive overview of the NASM-CPT certification program and is required reading before The Candidate Handbook is a comprehensive overview of the NASM-CPT certification program and is required reading before taking the exam. The Candidate Handbook covers important topic such as eligibility requirements, the exam outline, expectations and recertification. You can find the candidate handbook within your online course, in the CPT Terms and Conditions Module or you can simply click here. What CPR/AED providers does Premier Global NASM accept? Premier Global NASM recommends the following organisations: Red Cross, St John’s Ambulance, Premier Training First Aid, First Aid for Life, Association of First Aiders, Safety First Aid Training and or any other OfQual recognised provider. How do I schedule my CPT exam? Go to https://candidate.psiexams.com to register or by calling PSI Customer Service at + 1 702-939-6797. Please have your Enrollment ID available, as it is needed to complete the registration process. Where can I find my CPT Enrollment ID? Step 1: Access your student portal through nasm.org and click on “Courses”. Step 2: Locate your CPT exam in the list of Courses and click the Action button. A new page will appear and your Enrollment ID will be displayed in the left navigation pane. What is my CPT Enrollment ID? Your Enrollment ID is a unique identification number used to locate your testing record with PSI. Please have your Enrollment ID number ready when contacting PSI to schedule your CPT exam. What do I need to take with me to the testing facility for my CPT Exam? Can anyone see my CPT exam score? No, NASM does not release exam scores. Will I receive my CPT exam score? If you fail the CPT exam, PSI will provide you with a score report providing details of your test results. NASM provides a PASS score for any test result that is 70% or higher. What happens if I miss my PSI CPT exam appointment? Does Premier Global NASM offer any Special Accommodations for the CPT Exam? In order to ensure the opportunity for all qualified persons, Premier Global NASM will make reasonable accommodations for candidates with any disabilities that might affect their NASM-certification exam taking. If you would like to apply for special accomodations please email [email protected] or call 0345 899 2333. How do I keep my CPT qualification up-to-date? Your Premier Global NASM CPT certificate is endorsed by AIQ and CIMPSA in perpituity within the UK. To keep your NCCA accredited CPT qualification, a learner is required to re-certify every two years and complete the required number of CEUs from approved providers. Please see ‘Recertificaton’ section below. Where can I take my CPT exam in the UK? Students can take their exam at one of our test centres across the UK. Please go to https://candidate.psiexams.com to register or by calling PSI Customer Service at + 1 702-939-6797 for further information. What if I want to appeal to the Disciplinary and Appeals Committee? Please download the appeal form and complete the instructions provided within. Click here. How do I get an extension for my CPT course and/or exam? Access to your online materials is aligned with your enrolment duration period. The NASM CPT exam provides you with 180 days from the date of purchase or from the date of enrollment key activation. The CPT content provides 365 days of access from the date of purchase, or from the date of enrollment key activation. You may extend your access for both the exam and content for an additional fee. Please contact the Premier Customer Services team for additional details. I failed my CPT exam, can I purchase a retest? And when can I reschedule? If you missed your deadline or failed your initial exam attempt, a retest for the exam can be purchased. Requirements and limitations for retesting are described in the Candidate Handbook. Please contact Premier Customer Support for additional details regarding pricing and limitations. To support NASM’s commitment to protect health and safety in the USA, the NASM-CPT certification must be recertified every two (2) years if students with to work there. The acronym “CEU” stands for Continuing Education Unit. Continuing education programs are intended to promote continued competence, development of knowledge and skills, and enhancement of professional skills and judgment beyond the levels required for entry-level practice. NASM-CPTs are required to complete 2.0 CEUs (20 contact hours) every two year certification period. This includes 0.1 CEUs from the mandatory CPR/AED certification. What is an NASM approved CEU? Where can I find this information? “To locate NASM-approved CEUs. Visit our Course Providers page by clicking here. What is a petition? How do I petition a course that is not an NASM approved CEU? CEU providers that have not contacted NASM for pre-approval status will require a petition. Petitions allow NASM to review the material covered and make a CEU value determination. This process can be completed in the recertification section found in their NASM Student Portal. To petition a course, please print and submit the application found here. NASM offers a 90-day grace period, beyond your CPT Certificate expiration date, to earn CEUs. If CEUs have been completed within your 90 day grace period, you have one-year to submit your paperwork for recertification. Failure to complete the required CEUs within the grace period will require re-examination. If you allow your certification to expire, it will no longer be NCCA accredited in the United States, however it will still be recognised by AIQ & CIMPSA. I just completed an approved NASM CEU, when can I submit this towards my recertification? An official certificate will be mailed to you within 4 – 6 weeks after passing your CPT Exam. A web copy of your certificate will be made available within 3 business days of passing your CPT Exam. All web certificates can be printed under the Certificates option within your NASM Student Portal. Are there any pre-requisites needed for the NASM Specialisation courses? Each Specialisation may require different entry requirements. Please reference the course information within the Premier Global course information links for further information. All specialisation content and exams are provided an enrollment duration of 365 days from the date of purchase or date of enrollment key activation. How do I take my NASM Specialisation exam? All Specialisation exams are completed online, through your NASM student portal. Each exam provides (3) initial attempts. How many questions are on my Specialisation exam? Each Specialisation exam may vary. You can find the information for your exam by accessing the exam enrollment with your NASM student portal. What is the passing score for the Specialisation exam? All Specialisation exams require a passing score of 70% or higher. What happens if I fail all (3) exam attempts? If you failed your exam, a retest for the exam can be purchased. Please contact Premier Customer Support for additional details regarding pricing and options. You may obtain your exam score by contacting Premier Customer Services by email at [email protected]. Proof of any online NASM course completion can be printed from the NASM Student Portal under the Certificates tab. What software is required to access my NASM eLearning Center? For the best user experience, we recommend you use the most up-to-date version of the following operating systems: Window 7+, Mac 10.10+, iOS 9, Android 4.4+ Adobe Flash Player is required. Download the latest Flash Player here. For the best functionality and user experience, we suggest using a desktop or laptop that includes the above system requirements. Please visit the nasm.org login page and click on the Forgot Password feature. Please note: Password resets may take up to 30 minutes to take effect. Any attempt to login prior to this timeframe may result in an Invalid Password error. You will be required to change the temporary password to a permanent choice. Passwords are not recoverable in the system, so if you lost your password, the only option is to request a new one time use temporary password. NASM recommends using a Windows based laptop or desktop as the NASM Student Portal requires Adobe Flash. Flash does not come pre-installed on any Apple device. The iStore has applications available to enable Flash content. Additionally, Safari web browser is not compatible with the NASM online courses. How many questions are on the NASM-AFAA CGFI exam? How long do I have to complete it? Each one of the exams are 120 test questions, in which 20 are research questions and do not count toward or against the final score. Both exam have a 2-hour time limit and you must pass with a 70% or better. The CGFI content prepares you for the NCCA-accredited exam by providing multiple quizzes throughout the course modules, along with a final practice exam. The Athletics Fitness and Association of America (AFAA) contracted with Professional Examination Service (ProExam) to conduct a practice analysis of Certified Group Fitness Instructor (CGFIs) in 2016. This practice analysis study defines the current knowledge, skills and abilities that must be demonstrated by entry-level credential holders to safely and successfully practice. This study also serves as the “blueprint” for determining the content (performance domains) for the certification exam(s). The AFAA CGFI exam blueprint can be found here. here. What is the NASM/AFAA Candidate handbook and where can I find it? The Candidate Handbook is a comprehensive overview of the NASM/AFAA CGFI and is required reading before taking the exam. The Candidate Handbook covers important topic such as eligibility requirements, the exam outline, expectations and recertification. You can find the candidate handbook within your online course, in the CGFI Terms and Conditions Module or you can simply click here. here. Go to https://candidate.psiexams.com to register or by calling PSI Customer Service at + 1 702-939-6797. You must have your Enrollment ID available, as it is needed to complete the registration process. Your Enrollment ID is a unique identification number used to locate your testing record with PSI. Please have your Enrollment ID number ready when contacting PSI to schedule your CGFI exam. No, NASM/AFAA does not release exam scores. If you fail the CGFI exam, PSI will provide you with a score report providing details of your test results. NASM/AFAA provides a PASS score for any test result that is 70% or higher. In order to ensure the opportunity for all qualified persons, Premier Global NASM will make reasonable accommodations for candidates with any disabilities that might affect their AFAA-certification exam taking. If you would like to apply for special accomodations please email [email protected] or call 0345 899 2333. How do I keep my CGFI qualification up-to-date? Your Premier Global AFAA-CGFI certificate is endorsed by AIQ and CIMPSA in perpituity within the UK. To keep your NCCA accredited CGFI qualification, a learner is required to re-certify every two years and complete the required number of CEUs from approved providers. Please see ‘Recertificaton’ section below. Where can I take my CGFI exam in the UK? How do I get an extension for my course or exam? Access to your online materials is aligned with your enrolment duration period. The AFAA CGFI exam provides you with 180 days from the date of purchase or from the date of enrollment key activation. The CGFI content provides 365 days of access from the date of purchase, or from the date of enrollment key activation. You may extend your access for both the exam and content for an additional fee. Please contact the Premier Customer Services team for additional details. If you failed your exam, a retest for the exam can be purchased. Candidates who do not pass the certification exam on the first attempt will be allowed to retake the exam after a 1-week waiting period. If the candidate is unsuccessful after the second attempt, he/she will be required to wait 30 days before retaking the exam. For each repeated failure after the 3rd attempt, candidates will be required to wait a year before attempting to take the exam again. Please contact Premier Customer Support for additional details regarding pricing and limitations. To support NASM-AFAA’s commitment to protect health and safety in the USA, the AFAA-CGFI certification must be recertified every two (2) years if students wish to work there. To submit for renewal, please print and submit the Recertification application found here. AFAA-CGFI are required to complete 1.5 CEUs (15 contact hours) every two year certification period. At least 0.2 of these CEUS must come from NASM-AFAA courses and 0.1 CEU from the mandatory CPR/AED certification. What is an NASM-AFAA approved CEU? Where can I find this information? An approved CEU is a course that has been submitted to NASM-AFAA through a third-party organization and has been awarded CEU value. These organizations are part of NASM-AFAA's Provider Program and will note their provider number and CEU value on the certificate of completion that you receive. How do I find a list of NASM-AFAA approved providers and CEUs? To locate NASM-AFAA approved CEUs. Visit our Course Providers page by clicking here. CEU providers that have not contacted NASM-AFAA for pre-approval status will require a petition. Petitions allow NASM-AFAA to review the material covered and make a CEU value determination. To petition a course, please print and submit the application found here and instructions found here. What happens if my CGFI certification has expired? NASM-AFAA offers a 90-day grace period, beyond your CGFI Certificate expiration date, to earn CEUs. If CEUs have been completed within your 90 day grace period, you have one-year to submit your paperwork for recertification. Failure to complete the required CEUs within the grace period will require re-examination. If you allow your certification to expire, it will no longer be NCCA accredited in the United States, however it will still be recognised by AIQ & CIMPSA. I just completed an approved NASM-AFAA CEU, when can I submit this towards my recertification? Please save your Continuing Education documentation until you are ready to submit for renewal. You can submit for renewal as early as 6 months prior to your certificate expiration date. Where can I print my temporary certificate? When can I expect to receive my official certificate by mail? All NASM/AFAA records of completion can be viewed and printed through the student portal, via the Certificates menu option. An official certificate will be mailed to you within 4 – 6 weeks after passing your CGFI exam. Please be sure your personal mailing address is up to date for successful delivery. Proof of any online NASM-AFAA course completion can be printed from the NASM Student Portal under the Certificates tab. What is an 0845/0844 number? Both 0845 and 0844 are in a range classed as NTS (number translation services) and designed for businesses, government departments and ‘other entities’ using services like press1 at national level. 0845 are known as ‘local NTS’ because call rates are similar to local rates from a BT line. 0844 are known as ‘fixed rate NTS’ because rates are the same at any time of day or night. What is the cost of calling 0845 or 0844 numbers? How much does 0845 and 0844 cost to call from a mobile? Each mobile operator dictates their own pricing to these number ranges and charges may vary based on your price plan. The costs per minute for 0844/0845 are normally between 20p and 40p per minute if not bundled with free minutes. Often call plan rates are printed on the reverse of your bill. If you are in doubt contact your mobile provider. Can I still use Premier Global NASM's 020 3811 0826 number? Yes you can. The 020 number will still connect you to Premier Global NASM in the normal way. Why have Premier Global NASM decided to use an 0845 number? By using an 0845 number it will allow Premier Global NASM to manage calls in a way that means customers can usually speak to someone faster. Although it is unlikely that the Premier Global NASM offices would need to be closed within its normal working hours, in the event of this type of emergency, 0845 numbers enable us to re-route calls, giving a more consistent service. Many other organisations use 0845 numbers for the same reasons of customer service and manageability. Will Premier Global NASM benefit financially from using 0845 numbers? No, we will not in any way. Premier Global NASM does not use 0845 numbers to make money via ‘revenue sharing’.

2019-04-25T10:52:44Z

https://www.premierglobal.co.uk/faq

The purpose of this chapter is twofold: to get more detailed accounts of the benefits of the NAS (NAS or the Supergrid) and to analyze financing mechanisms for construction. Since the data for the MacDonald publication was gathered in 2009, the price of energy generation, particularly from solar and wind (onshore and offshore), have dramatically decreased, making the NAS even more advantageous than previously projected. We project the price of the infrastructure to be $303 billion and $442 billion. Yet, the savings in electricity generation (the cost of generating electricity from wind and solar sources is much less than traditional sources) offset the cost of building the supergrid under most reasonable scenarios of the price of undergrounding transmission lines and the price of natural gas. Therefore, the total annualized cost of generating and transmitting electricity would be likely be lower because of the NAS. We estimated that between 649,010 to 936,111 constant jobs would be needed for construction of the transmission and generation capacity over a 30-year build time. We analyzed financing options and make conjectures as to how the Supergrid would be financed in each region of the country accounting for projected cost and precedent of how other transmission projects were financed in each region. We do not recommend new taxes or government sponsored financing programs to build the Supergrid. Private financing would fund most of the lines in a majority of regions. We also encourage participation from energy developers that stand to benefit from the Supergrid. Further, the Rural Utilities Services could make loan capital available to developers for the less lucrative lines that may be less attractive to private financiers. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee programs. Secure backing of federal/state governments, DOE, regional transmission organizations (RTOs)/ independent system operators (ISOs). Reduce permitting and regulation burden. Ensure stakeholder interests are aligned in each region. Encourage regional and national collaboration. The primary objectives of this analysis were to explore in more detail the economic benefits of the proposed national overlay high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric grid, and to develop a framework that could be used to update and repeat economic benefit calculations as new cost projections associated with energy generation and transmission technologies become available. This analysis provides a methodology to compute total project cost and create an updated line construction cost estimate. We used the publicly accessible Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) models provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to estimate the NAS’s effect on job creation and regional economies at the national and state levels. Further, we used the results to conduct more detailed analysis with higher resolution data to estimate the economic impact of the NAS at state levels. The model includes a database of cost assumptions for varying types of transmission lines and power plants. Due to major changes (unanticipated steep downward trend in costs of wind and solar energy generation over the last several years), it became necessary to update the input cost assumptions of the NAS compared to those used in the MacDonald et al. study. The total capital cost for the transmission system was estimated by summing the Overnight Capital Cost (ONCC), new HVDC transmission cost, and variable natural gas costs. The renewable generation ONCC figures from 2013 MacDonald et al. figures were compared to 2016 Lazard Levelized Costs of Electricity figures (referred to as LCOE or Lazard figures). The more recent study showed a dramatic decrease in ONCC for building the various renewable generation capacities. Such current LCOE are very close to the most optimistic MacDonald et al. estimates of future costs (projected for 2030, shown in Table 1), leading to an even more favorable forecast for the HVDC supergrid system. Next, total transmission system cost was estimated. Transmission cost is a function of Line Cost ($/MW-mile) and Station Cost ($/MW). A line and station cost comparison of MacDonald et al. figures against JEDI Model figures is shown below in Table 2. While the figures for both categories were comparable, the MacDonald et al. paper used data that indicated lower station costs and higher line costs. Due to unforeseen favorable generating costs, these differences were mitigated, rendering the results very comparable. We then combined the MacDonald et al. system design with the results from the JEDI Model (i.e. front-end stations cost) and the updated cost figures to arrive at a final comparison for the cost of the NAS system (both above and below ground) versus the system cost of the current AC grid. In the first two scenarios, a simulation of a single integrated system that could send electricity across the lower 48 states was used, as prescribed by the NAS. In the last scenario, the lower 48 states were split into district regions where energy generated in those boundaries must be used within the same boundaries (shown in Table 3). The single system was much more efficient since the scenario with the divisions requires natural gas to fill in the gaps that wind and energy cannot supply. Some regions, in the system divided in distinct regions, overproduced renewable energy while others underproduce renewable energy. Simulations of the cost of generation sources with and without the NAS were completed, where the new system favored only the least expensive forms of electricity generation amongst offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, and natural gas. Coal and oil were omitted since they are more expensive electricity generators in either scenario. Our results showed that the onshore wind generation capacity, which has gone down in price recently, will drive changes in nameplate capacity more than anything else under the NAS scenario. Costs would favor solar PV generation and natural gas generation much less, while offshore wind energy generation would remain stable. While both overhead and underground line configurations come at a cost advantage under most natural gas price scenarios, the advantage diminishes as the cost of natural gas lowers since natural gas generation facilities can be built anywhere and would require less transmission cost since they would be located closer to load centers. The breakeven point, where the advantage goes away for the underground HVDC scenario, is $4.43/MMBtu. The breakeven point for overhead lines is $2.50/MMBtu. This is assuming that the “multiplier” for the increased cost of underground lines (assuming siting and capacity are equal to that of an above ground line in the same configuration) is three times that of overhead lines. Breakeven points for other multipliers are shown in Table 4 below. Since the usage of underground lines is not common enough to determine a commonly accepted multiplier, we performed a sensitivity analysis to find out how the breakeven point moves depending on both natural gas prices and the aforementioned multiplier. The results show that the breakeven comes at a higher price of natural gas as the multiplier increases. As mentioned before, the most likely scenario for the multiplier is approximately three, at which point the breakeven is $4.43/MMBtu. When the multiplier is two, the breakeven point of natural gas is well below $4.00/MMBtu. At a multiplier of four, the breakeven point is closer to $6.00/MMBtu. Long-term projections of the cost of natural gas are variable as many influences affect both the demand and supply of fuel costs. Expert analysts, however, predict that the cost of natural gas will be well over the 4.00/MMBtu threshold, meaning that at a three times multiplier, the NAS is projected to be economically viable in the long-term at the aggregate level. Table 5 shows the total projected costs of building the NAS. After consulting with multiple industry experts, a three times multiplier was agreed upon to estimate the costs of transmission lines per mile. JEDI figures were also used to determine the cost of converters and substations per mile with the estimation of total mileage of transmission cables needed to construct the NAS. No consideration was given to price impacts of technology adoption. Jobs created from installing transmission infrastructure are listed above, but only contribute a small amount of jobs compared to the jobs needed for the energy generation. Using the results from the NEWS model, developed by MacDonald et al. in the foundational paper, combined with the JEDI model, we calculated the job generation due to renewable energy infrastructure development (from transmission and generation) for each of the lower 48 states. After we combine the jobs estimates of all states with the jobs from installing the thousands of transmission facilities, we estimate that the NAS would produce the equivalent of 650,000 to 950,000 total constant jobs per year over 30 years. The majority of energy infrastructure projects are developed by private companies that secure financing from financial institutions, institutional investors, and the capital markets. Privately financed transmission projects typically have both a debt and equity component. Projects can be structured to have either corporate financing or project financing. Corporate financing uses existing funds from a company’s operating budget to fund a project which could use revenue from existing assets or funds from a corporate bond issue. In corporate financing, the lenders and investors have recourse to the entire corporation, not just the specific asset. Project financing involves the creation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) whose only assets and debt are related to the specific project. In project financing, the lenders or investors only have recourse to the assets of the project. Much of the NAS construction would likely involve project financing because it is conducive to multiple entities collaborating on a development. Investment by private investors has been increasing as governments struggle to keep up with the demand for new infrastructure projects, including transmission projects. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects $260 billion invested globally in new transmission and distribution lines through 2035. There is private capital available in the market ready to invest in quality infrastructure projects. In the first half of 2016, it was estimated there was $75 billion of capital waiting to be invested in infrastructure. The capital comes from insurance companies, pension funds, private equity, infrastructure funds, and sovereign wealth funds. There are multiple reasons why investing in transmission lines can be attractive to investors. Cost recovery for transmission projects is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) creating an almost certain guaranteed rate of return. Cash flows from the project are typically stable and independent of energy prices or line utilization. Established transmission lines utilize proven technology and require minimal ongoing maintenance. Additionally, transmission investment is often resistant to competing investment along the same corridors. A competing investment would have difficulty obtaining financing unless there was significant load growth driving increased demand. These characteristics allow investors to accurately predict investment performance and help make transmission investment more attractive than other types of infrastructure. Debt typically comprises 70-90% of infrastructure project financing. The primary forms of debt financing are through commercial banks, institutional private placements, and the corporate bond market. Traditional bank financing has long been a key component of infrastructure financing. Bank loans typically have lower interest rates than other types of debt financing. However, due to regulatory changes following the 2008 recession, banks are now required to secure long-term bonds to back longer-term loans and therefore banks prefer shorter loans (typically 7 years or less) due to the lower cost. This can create refinancing risk for borrowers. Bank financing is most likely to be used in the early stages of planning and construction. After completion, bank loans are refinanced by a long-term security which has lower cost as much of the construction, permitting risk, etc. has been removed. Banks tend to be more flexible in the event of unforeseen events during construction and can negotiate loan restructuring or adjust the timeframe of disbursements. Institutional private placements are another form of debt financing that can be arranged by an investment bank. Capital would be secured from select institutional clients through a negotiation process led by a bank acting in an agency capacity. The disclosure and paperwork required is similar to issuing a public bond, but there can be more room for flexibility when creating the contract. Insurance companies, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds are types of investors that could participate in a private placement due to their need for long-term investments. A third form of debt financing for transmission developers is the corporate bond market. Private companies can issue bonds to support general operations or specific projects and that money can be allocated to pay for development costs. Bonds are typically more common in the later operational stages of a project when the asset is producing a steady cash flow. Bonds can be a mechanism used when refinancing bank loans at the conclusion of the construction phase. With all types of debt financing, the credit rating of the borrower is important to secure lower cost financing. Pension funds and insurance companies often have guidelines dictating the required credit quality of their investments. Transmission developers constructing the NAS will likely rely on multiple types of debt financing. Construction of many segments of the NAS will likely be financed by traditional bank loans. Once construction is completed, corporate bonds or private placements could be used to refinance the debt. This structure would align the risks and cash flows of the project with investor expectations for each type of debt. The types of debt ultimately used for each segment will be dependent on the developer that wins the contract and their preferred financing mechanisms. Debt holders usually require an infrastructure project to have an equity component to reduce risk and help protect debt holders from loss. Equity typically only comprises 10-30% of infrastructure financing. Equity holders take on the most risk in the project and therefore demand a higher return. Enlisting quality equity holders is often key to being able to secure debt financing at the lowest cost. Transmission developers often provide a portion of the equity in projects they construct. Aside from having a stake in the project, developers benefit from the tax savings of the depreciation generated. Additionally, private equity funds, insurance companies, infrastructure funds, and sovereign wealth funds can also be a source of equity. In the current low interest rate environment, long-term investors such as insurance companies and pension funds are eager to invest in infrastructure projects that offer a higher return than traditional investments. However, currently only 0.8% of the approximately $50 trillion in investable assets from insurance companies and pension funds are invested in infrastructure. The lack of quality projects is the primary reason investment is not higher. Similarly, private equity funds are currently raising $30.5 billion for 43 new funds to invest in quality North American infrastructure projects in addition to the $68 billion in funds they hold, but have not yet invested. This is evidence that there are willing investors looking for superior projects like the NAS to invest in. The key for the NAS will be securing the backing of stakeholders and making the project attractive to new investors. Private financing will likely be the primary source of funds for constructing the NAS. It will be crucial to partner with transmission developers that have a wealth of experience in securing financing and successfully completing projects. The high cost of the NAS will necessitate using a variety of debt and equity financing mechanisms for each segment of the national grid. A new financing model has developed over the past two decades that could be used for some segments of the NAS. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model can take on many forms, but it involves the collaboration of government and private parties. The PPP model is particularly useful for projects where there is not sufficient private capital financing because it can use government investment to leverage additional private capital. It has become a popular model to finance transmission projects in emerging markets and is beginning to be used more in the United States. The main benefit to the PPP model is spreading risks associated with a large infrastructure project. It is important to structure the deal so that no one party takes on exorbitant amounts of risk. Spreading risk can attract investors that might not otherwise participate in a project. Private firms can provide project expertise and are often able to push projects along faster than the government. The PPP model works best when there is a stream of revenue to ensure an adequate return to investors. FERC regulations allow each Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) and Independent System Operator (ISO) to use an allocation process to dictate how costs are recovered from ratepayers for transmission developments creating a steady revenue stream once the project is complete. There are some challenges in implementing the PPP model for transmission projects. As of January 2017, only 37 states have legislation that allow public-private partnerships. This could prevent using this model for some segments that cross multiple states if not all states allow public-private partnerships. The high regulatory burden of developing transmission projects can slow the process and discourage private investors from joining into a partnership. Projects financed with this model often work best if they have a political champion (governor, senator, etc.) helping to build support for the project. They can also help the project navigate the various federal and state agencies during the permitting process. Historically, the PPP model has been used in the United States for transportation infrastructure projects. But there are some examples of transmission projects using a PPP financing model. The Path 15 project used a public-private partnership structure to finance and build an 83-mile transmission line connecting northern and southern California, helping to eliminate a bottleneck in the grid system. The Western Area Power Administration built and operates the line. The private company Trans-Elect assembled a majority of the project financing. In return, they were granted long-term transmission rights that will help them pay off banks and investors. As a high priority project in California, federal and state agencies expedited environmental studies and the project permitting process. This was one of the first successful PPP projects for a transmission line and it shows the cooperation involved between governments and public and private companies. The PPP model will be used for segments of the NAS that are less lucrative and do not have as much private financing available. As with all segments of the grid, collaboration and support from federal and local governments will be important to successfully structuring PPP deals that are beneficial to all parties. This financing model will be a vital mechanism to construct the less lucrative segments allowing the entire national grid to be completed. Traditionally transmission projects have been privately financed with little assistance from the federal government. However, infrastructure spending has come to the forefront of the national discussion so it is worth examining how a potential infrastructure spending bill at the federal level may impact the NAS. As of July 2017, no infrastructure bill has been proposed in either house of Congress, and it is likely they will focus on other issues before infrastructure. However, the presidential administration has released a framework for what their proposed policy might look like. Their policy would reduce regulations and the time needed to receive federal permits. They also propose using government investment to leverage private sector investment. This could indicate public-private partnerships will be much more common in the future. The policy also hopes to focus federal infrastructure investment on transformative projects that change the way infrastructure is designed, built, and maintained. Many of the proposals from the presidential administration could benefit the NAS. Fewer regulations and a shorter permitting time would help expedite the project and help attract private investment. The NAS could qualify as a transformative project since it is different from the structure of the current electrical grid and promises to have both environmental and national security benefits. Lower direct federal investment in infrastructure likely means the NAS would have trouble securing federal money for construction. Nonetheless, a PPP model used for some segments of the grid could receive federal money to leverage private investment. The uncertainty regarding federal government support for infrastructure development will make private financing a crucial component of funding the NAS. However, there are some government programs available to supplement private financing for the less lucrative grid segments. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issues loan guarantees to promote growth of new clean energy technology through the Loan Program Office (LPO). Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the loan guarantees. The program applies to a wide range of technologies, including renewable energy and transmission projects. As of June 2017, there is up to $4.5 billion in funding available for projects in renewable and efficient energy. The NAS project appears to meet many of the criteria for acceptance into this program. Projects “that will have a catalytic effect on the commercial deployment of future Renewable Energy Projects” will be looked at favorably in the review process. The NAS is likely to promote additional investment in wind and solar generation because more electricity will be able to be transported over long distances to population centers. The program specifies that for transmission projects to be considered efficient, they must lower electricity losses when compared to current commercial processes in the U.S. over an equivalent distance. The HVDC technology used in the NAS would limit losses of electricity through transmission, making the technology more efficient for long distance transmission. However, there are factors that could limit the eligibility for the loan program for certain parts of the national grid. Projects that could be fully financed by commercial banks are viewed unfavorably in the review process. Projects that receive any other assistance from the federal government (grants, loans) may not be eligible. The loan guarantee program is designed to help new technologies prove their financial worthiness so that future investment can be financed by the capital markets. This program will most likely be useful for sections of the NAS that are projected to be less profitable and therefore need government assistance to secure financing. A section of the grid constructed early in the process may also have a better chance of acceptance into the program. Financial, technical, legal, and environmental factors are reviewed in the approval process along with a review of how well the project fits the policy of the program. The DOE is accepting applications through at least September 2019, although additional submission dates may be announced in the future. The One Nevada Line is an example of the loan program being used for a transmission project. The project received a $343 million loan guarantee to finance a 235-mile 500 kV line through Nevada. The use of a new transmission tower design that has a smaller environmental impact was the technological innovation in this project. The new line is also expected to bring wind and solar generated power from Wyoming and Idaho into Nevada. The NAS project has many of the same benefits as the One Nevada Line. This gives confidence to the idea that the loan guarantee program would be a possible financing mechanism for the NAS. More than 20 states have created Clean Energy Funds using state government funds as a way to promote growth in renewable energy. While each state’s fund has their own design, these funds often are used to attract private investment to renewable energy projects. These funds have primarily been used to provide funding for individual renewable generation projects, but there may be potential to access state funding for the NAS because an improved transmission grid will drive private investment in renewable generation. These funds would likely not provide direct investment to build the NAS but would instead help attract and guarantee financing for private capital investors. This would involve collaboration between private investors, utility companies, and state government agencies. The Rural Utilities Service is a program under the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides needed infrastructure development and improvement to rural communities. The program provides direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants to electric projects in transmission, distribution, and generation. The loans are primarily made to state and local government entities and cooperative utilities, although for-profit companies are also eligible. The program made $3.4 billion in loans and loan guarantees in 2015 and the amounts are expected to continue increasing. Most loans are between $20 million and $200 million. General guidelines indicate projects should benefit populations of 20,000 or fewer, although there is some flexibility. Segments of the NAS through rural areas or segments that would improve service to rural areas are likely to be eligible for financing through this program. While this program is not likely to be a large piece of grid financing, it could help secure funding for less lucrative segments in rural areas. This program can be used in partnership with other financing to help attract private investment. It would also provide a source of public investment in a public-private partnership. A potential source of financing for private companies investing in transmission infrastructure are Private Activity Bonds (PABs). These bonds are federally tax exempt and therefore allow borrowing at a lower interest rate. They do require a private company to partner with a government agency that acts as the issuer of the bond. However, the private company pays the debt service on the bond under a contractual agreement. Section 142 of the IRS tax code allows PABs for surface transportation projects. They have not been used for transmission projects in the past and it would take new legislation to allow PABs for electric developments. Allowing these types of bonds to be used for the NAS would incentivize private companies to invest in the project because borrowing would be cheaper for transmission projects using PABs than investing in other types of infrastructure. Historically, the energy sector in the United States had been dominated by vertically integrated organizations that owned and operated the generation, transmission, and distribution services within a geographic area. Beginning in 1978, deregulation allowed some utilities to create power pools to facilitate wholesale transactions over larger geographic areas. By the 1990’s there was a need to have open access to transmission services for all utility companies to create competition among generators. FERC issued orders to encourage the creation of regional organizations that would control the transmission of energy and allow open access to transmission lines. Today there are six RTO or ISO regulated by FERC: ISO New England, New York ISO, PJM, Midcontinent ISO, Southwest Power Pool, and California ISO. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is regulated by state regulators because it is located entirely in the state of Texas. Much of the southeastern and western United States are not currently covered by ISOs. In analyzing the financing options for the NAS, we look at a financing strategy for each ISO region. We will also look at the Southeast U.S. and Western U.S. as separate regions despite not having an organized ISO. One of the primary responsibilities of each RTO is managing the transmission planning process to ensure the grid continues to meet expected future electrical demand. We reviewed the planning process in each region because the NAS will first need to secure the support of RTOs through each individual planning process. We also look at recent regional transmission projects. We review the financing and project details for recent developments to help guide our recommendations for possible financing strategies in each region. The transmission planning process for ISO New England develops a regional plan for future system needs over a ten-year time horizon. The process begins by conducting a Needs Assessment to determine the grid’s adequacy. Where it is determined upgrades to the grid are necessary, either a Solutions Study or a Competitive Solution process will be undertaken to find the most economical upgrade project. A Competitive Solution process will be the most likely entry point for the NAS. In this process, project sponsors submit proposals for projects to address the identified need. Projects are then selected based on the cost, electrical performance, feasibility, and future system expandability. The proposed routing through the New England region is the smallest segment of the NAS with an estimated cost of approximately $7.9 billion. The grid in this section will likely be privately financed. Every state in this region does have a Clean Energy Fund indicating there is government support for renewable energy projects. The Clean Energy Funds also open up the possibility of using state financing to help attract private investors. This funding could be used to leverage private investment through a public-private partnership. Vermont is the only state in the region that does not currently allow the PPP model. NYISO engages in planning for reliability, economic, and public policy upgrades to the transmission grid. The reliability plan is a two-year process that assesses the needs over the next ten years. The economic planning process identifies areas of congestion in the grid and determines specific projects that have a positive benefit to cost ratio. The public policy planning identifies needs driven by new public policy requirements and solicits solutions from member firms. Upgrading transmission infrastructure could be part of either the economic or public policy planning process and could solve congestion problems within the state’s grid identified in the economic planning studies. It could also help the state meet renewable energy goals and would be an appropriate public policy solution. Exceeding the benefit to cost expectations will be the greatest hurdle for the NAS to gain approval in New York. A proposed a 80-mile HVDC transmission line buried under the Hudson River provides insight into a financing model that could work for portions of the NAS. The $1 billion West Point Transmission project is very similar in structure to the NAS. The project was proposed as part of the state’s Energy Highway Blueprint in 2012 and is still in the development phase securing permitting. It is similar to two other completed projects by PowerBridge, Neptune and Hudson. The proposed financing plan includes equity financers Energy Investors Funds, Starwood Energy Group, and NRG Energy. Debt financing would also be secured from either commercial banks or institutional private placements. The developer would enter into a long-term transmission capacity purchase agreement to recover the costs of construction. The NYISO has a history of supporting high voltage transmission projects similar to the NAS and there are development companies that have experience securing the private financing required. The estimated cost of the NAS in the NYISO is $8.6 billion. This cost is reasonable when compared to the $1 billion for the 80-mile West Point Transmission project. A national grid would help upstate New York connect with the large population center in New York City. This connection would allow renewable hydro electricity generated in the northern part of the state to benefit all rate payers in the region. The Energy Highway Blueprint approved in 2012 also shows there is support for transmission projects from the state government. The state’s regulatory bodies have approved similar projects in the past and should be receptive to new proposals as part of a national system. Due to the large population base and government support, it is likely that the NAS will be lucrative to private investment. PJM conducts an annual planning process resulting in the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP). A 15-year time horizon allows the planning to look at how reliability upgrades and expansion will impact the grid in the future. The planning process includes input from all stakeholders as well as changes in public policy. The PJM board ultimately approves recommended system improvements and they are added to the RTEP. Since 1999, the board has approved $29.3 billion of transmission system improvements. A 150-mile 500 kV transmission line upgrade between Pennsylvania and New Jersey was completed in 2015. The $1.4 billion project was a joint venture between two public utility companies, PPL Electric Utilities and PSEG. PPL Electric built 101 miles of the line for $630 million and PSEG built 45 miles for $775 million. The project was intended to improve reliability and reduce congestion. This project was fast-tracked by the Obama administration allowing better coordination of government permitting. However, there was pushback from environmental groups because the line passed through federal park lands. State regulators approved the project in 2010, but the National Park Service did not approve the project until 2012. Despite having backing from the presidential administration, the environmental concerns still caused a delay in permitting. The Susquehanna-Roseland project is an example of two public companies collaborating to complete a needed high voltage transmission expansion. Government support allowed the project to proceed more quickly and successfully satisfy all stakeholders, which illustrates the importance of gaining support from all public and private stakeholders. The NAS in the PJM region is likely to be privately financed. This segment of the grid goes through highly populated regions, and will therefore be lucrative to private investors. The estimated cost of the NAS in this region is approximately $35.7 billion. Each state in this region also has legislation allowing public-private partnerships. The Susquehanna-Roseland Reliability Upgrade shows how two companies can collaborate to complete a large scale project. Encouraging partnerships between public and private parties is a strategy that should be successful in this region. The MISO develops the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan (MTEP) annually. The plan addresses reliability of the grid as well as ensuring compliance with state and federal energy policy requirements. The planning process begins with stakeholders submitting proposed projects for review. MISO’s Board of Directors facilitates the evaluation of projects to determine if they are appropriate for inclusion in the MTEP. The 18-month planning process includes model building, reliability and economic analysis, and resource assessments. There are three types of projects included in the MTEP: Bottom-Up projects, Top-Down projects, and Externally Driven projects. The NAS would likely be considered an interregional Top-Down project because it would have a regional and national impact. These projects have costs shared among beneficiaries. The CapX2020 is a series of five transmission expansion projects across North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The development of 345 kV and 230 kV lines spans 725 miles and will cost $2.1 billion. It is a joint initiative between 11 transmission-owning utilities in the states. The project was designed to bring wind energy to population centers. Lack of transmission capability has been a roadblock to additional development of wind generation facilities in South Dakota and North Dakota. This project will not satisfy all the transmission needs of the region and more development will be necessary to reach the full potential of wind generation development. This expansion illustrates the need for a robust transmission grid to ensure the growth of renewable energy generation, a problem the NAS will help solve. The CapX2020 development shows that companies in this region are willing to collaborate to build a transmission network to benefit the entire region. Most of the financing for that project and for the NAS will come from companies securing private financing. The estimate cost for the NAS in the Midcontinent ISO is $56.2 billion. This is one of the largest section of the NAS with over 8,000 miles of proposed transmission lines. There is potential in this region for collaborations between transmission developers and renewable energy developers. A lack of transmission capacity has delayed some wind energy projects, while transmission developers are hesitant to build transmission until generation plants are built. Partnerships between transmission and generation developers will ensure both get built and could attract investment to the NAS. The Southwest Power Pool conducts an iterative three-year planning process that includes a 20-Year, 10-Year, and Near-Term Assessment in a process they call Integrated Transmission Planning (ITP). These reports identify transmission projects that are needed within both short and long-term time horizons while also identifying potential costs and benefits of each project. The Near-Term Assessment focuses on reliability issues within the grid at current usage levels. The 20-Year and 10-Year Assessments focus on identifying larger transmission projects to benefit the region using a number of different usage scenarios. These scenarios account for growing demand and potential changing regulations requiring more energy to come from renewable sources. The 20-Year Assessment is intended to create a transmission structure of high voltage (300 kV and above) lines that will be able to serve the region in the long-term. Additionally, entities can request a Sponsored Upgrade or perform a high priority study in accordance with the region’s Open Access Transmission Tariff that can lead to a transmission project being approved. The NAS could either request a Sponsored Upgrade study or be included in one of the longer term assessments. The Midwest Transmission Project was a 180-mile 345 kV transmission line between Sibley, Missouri and Nebraska City, Nebraska completed in 2017. The development was a joint venture between Kansas City Power & Light and the Omaha Public Power District. The new line is an additional connection between the east and west sections of the RTO and aims to deliver more renewable energy to the eastern half of the region. The venture cost approximately $400 million and was financed by the participating companies. The project was one of SPP’s Priority Projects, so cost recovery will come from the entire region’s rate payers. Financing in the SPP will likely be similar to MISO. Most of the NAS will be financed by private capital secured by the developing companies. Rural areas may be able to use loans from the Rural Utilities Service. The estimated cost for the NAS in the SPP is $32.5 billion. There is a lot of wind generation in this region so there is also the potential for collaboration with wind energy developers. Renewable energy developers in this region will benefit greatly from the NAS because the energy generated in the SPP will be transmitted to population centers outside of the region. This should entice private developers and government bodies to support the NAS to help drive economic development in these regions. CAISO conducts an annual transmission planning assessment. The plan identifies reliability, public policy, and economic needs of the transmission grid. The reliability planning performs a 10-year analysis of grid performance during projected peak usage. The public policy planning cycle largely attempts to determine needed grid upgrades to meet the state’s renewable energy goal of 50% by 2030. Economic planning determines projects that would provide economic benefits to customers. The NAS could satisfy all three of the planning mechanisms by increasing reliability and reducing grid congestion lowering costs for customers. The grid also would help the state meet the renewable energy goal. The ISO also conducts “special studies” on issues impacted by transformational change in the way electricity is consumed. It might make sense for the NAS to be part of a special study due to its wide ranging interregional impacts. California has one of the most ambitious renewable energy standards, requiring 50% of the state’s electricity to be supplied by renewable sources by 2030. The state’s aggressive approach indicates there is government support for growing renewable energy production. The estimated cost of the NAS in the California ISO is approximately $15.1 billion. Because of the state’s high population, extensive renewable energy generation, and public policy support for renewable energy it is likely that private investment will be lucrative in California. The state also has legislation allowing public-private partnerships, which could be another avenue to attract private investors. ERCOT develops a Regional Transmission Plan annually with their Regional Planning Group and Transmission Service Providers in the region. The plan assesses reliability and economic transmission grid needs within six years. The ISO also conducts a Long-Term System Assessment every two years. This assessment uses scenario analysis to determine the strength of existing projects when considering the long-term transmission needs of the region. Stakeholders can submit projects for evaluation by the Regional Planning Group. A project will be included in the Regional Transmission Plan if the ERCOT Board of Directors determines the project would be a solution to identified grid needs. The Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) is a $6.8 billion project born out of legislation from the Texas Legislature in 2005 that designated geographical areas for potential renewable energy generation. The Public Utility Commission of Texas established a transmission development plan and assigned construction of the proposed lines to transmission service providers. The total development had approximately 3,600 miles of 345 kV transmission lines connecting renewable resources in West Texas to population centers in the eastern part of the state. This project is an example of a government sponsored transmission project that was constructed, developed, and financed primarily by private companies. Because the initiative was backed by government entities there was more collaboration in permitting allowing efficient regulatory approval. The ERCOT region is the most independent of all RTOs because it operates its own interconnection and most transmission lines are within the state. The independence has allowed them to complete projects, such as the CREZ, much more efficiently than other regions. Their state government has shown support for transmission projects similar to the NAS and there are transmission service providers with experience in developing and financing transmission lines. The estimated cost of the NAS in the ERCOT region is $17.1 billion. The cost would likely be financed by private capital. A wealth of renewable wind and solar resources in the western part of the state and large population centers in the eastern part of the state make transmission projects lucrative to private investment. The electric grid in the southeastern United States is not controlled by a RTO and thus the planning and approval process is less formalized than other regions. The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC) and the Southeastern Electric Reliability Council (SERC) are the primary bodies that oversee the bulk power system in the region. The planning process for the FRCC includes an Annual Transmission Planning Process coordinating local utility’s expansion plans into a regional development plan and a Biennial Transmission Planning Process that determines projects to make the grid more efficient. The planning process for SERC involves the collaboration of many transmission providers in the region. Because planning in this region is driven by transmission providers and not a RTO, the NAS will need to gain support from the transmission providers in the region that will ultimately advocate for construction. Gaining support from private transmission providers will be crucial to get the NAS approved for construction, so private financing is likely to be the primary financing mechanism in this region. The estimated cost of the NAS in the southeast United States is approximately $41.5 billion. Each state in this region has legislation allowing public-private partnerships. Along with gaining support from private transmission providers, there is potential for collaboration with government entities. The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) is charged with promoting the reliability of the bulk power system throughout the Western Interconnection. The territory includes the southwest and northwest regions along with California, Alberta and British Columbia. WECC represents a wide spectrum of organizations. WECC coordinates an adequacy planning process to determine transmission needs in the next 10 to 20 years. WECC studies are made available to stakeholders in the region who can then propose projects as solutions to identified needs. The Southwest and Northwest regions have the largest estimated cost for the NAS at approximately $69.4 billion due to covering the largest geographical area. Portions of the grid in this region will be privately financed, but government support will likely be needed for other sections due to the high cost. The Rural Utilities Service loan programs could be a viable option in this region since much of it is comprised of rural areas and the grid will improve service reliability to those regions. Land use and siting for the NAS will be especially important in the western United States because the federal government owns so much of the land. There are likely to be greater environmental issues to clear when determining the exact grid route. Collaboration and support from the federal government will be crucial to approve segments of the grid in this region so they can attract private investment. A possible strategy is creating a structure where proceeds from the more lucrative sections of the grid in highly populated regions can help pay for less lucrative segments. This might involve bidding highly lucrative segments with less lucrative projects as a single project that would still be financially beneficial for transmission providers. This will likely be the most challenging section of the NAS to approve and finance, but it is crucial to creating the national network and allow renewable energy generated in the western United States to reach population centers in the southern and eastern regions of the country. Private investment will be the primary funder for this project, just as private capital currently funds most energy infrastructure projects. The key to successfully financing the NAS is ensuring the project is attractive to private investors. There is private capital available in the marketplace, but that capital can only be accessed if the interests of all stakeholders are properly aligned making the NAS an attractive investment. In addition to private capital, strategic partnerships should be explored with the federal government, state and local governments, and government agencies. Due to the national security and environmental benefits, there should be government interest in this project. Secure backing of federal/state governments, DOE, RTOs/ISOs: Support from the federal government and RTOs in each region will give credence to the importance of this project. This support will help increase the likelihood of getting the NAS approved and included in each RTO planning process opening the door for transmission providers to begin construction. Reduce permitting and regulation burden: The high regulatory environment adds to the cost and time to begin construction. This can make it challenging to secure financing at a rate acceptable to both investors and transmission providers. Legislative action can ensure that permitting for the NAS grid does not get held up by any one stakeholder. A reduced regulatory burden also reduces the overall cost of the grid. Ensure stakeholder interests are aligned in each region: The nation’s electric grid is a large system with a diverse set of stakeholders. Ensuring that the interests of all stakeholders are aligned will make getting approval and support for the NAS easier. Utilizing existing rights-of-way will reduce the number of local stakeholders and make gaining national support more practical. Wide spread support will help attract private investors and making financing the project feasible. Encourage regional and national collaboration: Historically, transmission development was completed on a state level. This has led states to have differing regulations and processes governing transmission project construction. More collaboration between states and direction from the federal government would reduce the time and cost to comply with multiple agencies in interregional transmission developments. Planning is crucial: Environmental studies, transmission line siting, permitting, and eminent domain are all potential hurdles for companies constructing the NAS. The proposal to use existing rights-of-way somewhat reduces this concern. Transmission projects today are focused on increasing grid reliability and efficiency and less on load growth. Improved efficiency of electronics has stabilized the growth of energy demand across the country. Additionally, grid improvements must enable the future transmission grid to be adaptable to changes in load patterns and generation sources. There is wide spread agreement about the need for more investment in transmission. Improved reliability will likely lower costs to rate payers due to fewer congestion charges. The NAS will allow more flexibility for RTOs to manage where electricity is generated, allowing greater access to cheaper energy. Rate payers will ultimately pay for the NAS through transmission charges, but costs for construction will likely be offset by the cheaper cost of energy and reduced congestion fees. Cost allocation often becomes an important issue for interregional transmission projects. FERC mandates that cost allocation procedures for transmission projects must be developed by each RTO and uniformly applied. However, each RTO has slightly different procedures. In general, RTOs have shifted to a regional cost allocation system for large transmission projects. Every rate payer in the region pays for a portion because everyone benefits from a regional transmission project that improves reliability and makes the grid more efficient. Costs are generally allocated based on load usage. If there is wide spread support for constructing the NAS, cost allocation should not create major issues. The NAS has benefits to all ratepayers so it makes sense to use a regional or even national cost allocation system. Due to the increased reliability and efficiency the NAS would create, the overall electric costs to rate payers would remain relatively constant because they will pay less congestion charges and have access to cheaper renewably generated electricity. Our investigation suggests that the NAS is feasible without requiring new public funding schemes or new taxes to garner capital. Instead, rate payers will produce returns through electric bill fees. Moreover, investment in the NAS will enable the creation of millions of jobs nationwide that will not only be generated from the construction of the transmission system, but will also originate from the construction and operation of new (mostly renewable) electricity generation facilities throughout the United States. Overall, this infrastructure package will cost between $303 billion and $442 billion dollars to build the transmission system (depending on the cost of cable burial), as well as an additional $2.2 trillion dollars to construct additional electricity generation facilities. Despite these costs, the average consumer electric bill will not increase as a result. Additionally, although configuring HVDC lines underground often costs three to five times that of above ground lines, this study indicates that this costlier configuration is still an economically viable solution; an underground HVDC system (that is three times more expensive than above ground lines) will cost less than continuing the operation of the nation’s current grid system given that the cost of natural gas remains above $4.43/MMBtu. According to the EIA, the cost of natural gas is set to increase to at least $5/MMBtu by 2030, meaning that the NAS is forecasted to be a viable economic solution by its time of completion. There is a need for new investment in our nation’s transmission infrastructure. The NAS will benefit all rate payers by allowing greater access to cheaper renewable energy while also increasing national security. The estimated $500 billion cost for an underground HVDC system will require a number of different financing mechanisms over a number of years. Private sector interest in infrastructure projects is growing and capital is available in the marketplace. The NAS must build partnerships with experienced transmission developers and gain support from federal and state governments, government agencies, and RTOs to successfully secure financing for this landmark energy transmission project. “Levelized Cost and Levelized Avoided Cost of New Generation Resources in the Annual Energy Outlook 2017.” April 2017. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/electricity_generation.pdf. Rapier, Robert. “The Long-Term Outlook For Natural Gas.” Forbes. October 31, 2016. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2016/10/31/the-long-term-outlook-for-natural-gas/#51567e3657a4. “Financing Clean Infrastructure: Private Activity Bonds.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Webinar attended July 24, 2017.

2019-04-26T14:49:41Z

http://cleanandsecuregrid.org/2017/11/28/economic-advantages-and-financial-feasibility/

The section that has been quoted is part of Jesus’ concluding words of the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the “asking, seeking, and knocking” of the prior paragraph and ends with building on the rock or the sand. Jesus is exhorting his audience to be careful to start things out in the right way; to get started at the right place. His audience must be careful that they go through the gate that leads to life and not to destruction. In terms of the larger audience, and the disciples He is saying: Be sure that your starting point is the correct starting point. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. …that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. … as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. The way to life is constrained, narrow. There is but one gate, Jesus Christ, and there is only one way to enter it, by faith alone in Christ alone. The wide gate with the broad path represents every other “way” to salvation that is not through Christ, through faith in His Name. This would inlude every false religion in the world from animism to humanism; Islam to Buddhism; Hinduism to Judaism, and all others in between. But let us not stop here. The “way that leads to destruction” is also paved with “Christian” doctrines and false “gospels”. It is tiled with sincerity, good intentions; it is cemented with counterfeit prophets and bible teachers. This road attracts a lot of attention with high profile sects, denominations, and doctrinal positions; with radio bible teachers and seminary presidents; with global organizations and social activists. Those that beckon the world to this path proclaim far and wide the doctrines of Rome; the mysticism of Mormonism; the angelology of the JWs; the self-salvation of Arminianism; the costly conversion of Lordship Salvation; and the exclusivism of Traditionalism. One of the problems that people have in finding the correct gate is that there are people who tell them the wrong gate! There are people who profess prophetic ability or profess to be sent by God and they lead them astray. Jesus immediately follows the exhortation to enter into the correct gate by a warning against the false prophets. The way that the false prophets are known is by their fruits. He is not talking generally about professing Christians! He is not talking about being saved or unsaved. He is telling how we can recognize a false prophet. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. The Traditional interpretation of this passage is that men must gain assurance of their salvation by their works. This passage is so obviously not talking about this! How one can extract that meaning from this passage is a testament to the ingenuity and imagination of the eisegetical, presuppositional, and deductionistic advocates of Traditionalism! The false prophets come to the people “in sheep’s clothing”. What is the implication here? -- There is no way to tell the false prophet by their outer appearances! They look, smell, act, and behave like sheep. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing! Every outward appearance is that of a Christian. So “fruit” cannot mean their conduct! Fruit is the doctrine that they preach; the fruit is the message that they bring. If they preach anything but eternal salvation by grace through simple faith in Jesus Christ, they are false prophets. If they bring a message that is contrary to what Jesus taught then they are false prophets. "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods' -- which you have not known -- 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams”. We are not to look at the works of a prophet to determine if he is a true prophet or not. The Lord God poses the idea that false prophets can do signs and wonders that indeed come to pass. This shouldn’t be an indicator of whether or not we should follow their teaching! Truth matters! Obviously we will not want to follow a liscentious man. But there are many prophets out there who do good things, they have great appearances, and are moral. But since truth matters for our eternal destiny, that a prophet has a blameless exterior is of no great consequence. It is his message that we must be extremely wary about. The reason why people are not finding the right gate is because false prophets are leading them to the wrong one with their message, their teachings, and their “gospels”. We must test for the false prophet by his “fruit” which is his words. "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned”. The gospel writer Matthew, within the sphere of the very epistle we meet “you will know them by their fruits,” equates “fruit” here with “speak[ing]” and “words”. Everyone, no matter if they are saved or unsaved, will give an account for every idle word they give in their “day of judgment”. In a very real sense, by their words they will either be justified or condemned. We will see the condemnation that comes to the adherents of false prophets by their words later in this post. It doesn’t matter if they have large Christian radio audiences. It is of no consequence that they preside over mammoth bible colleges and seminaries. It is not even really significant that they turn out people who love the Lord and are zealous for Him, for if it is not in truth, then it is of no value. A false prophet, whether sincere or malicious, points people to the broad road that leads to destruction, and the only way that they can be identified is by their fruit, which is the message that they bring. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit… Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Within the context of the evangelistic model here, the false prophet cannot bring the good message of salvation, he will bear bad fruit. Only the true prophet can bring the truth of the gospel. True prophets point to the correct gate; false prophets can only point to the broad road that leads to destruction. The Traditionalist interprets these verses in the context of recognizing professing vs. genuine Christians, and as test of assurance of one's own salvation. They get into a lot of trouble here, though. They understand it as believers are good trees and therefore can only bring forth good fruit, but as the language shows, this would lead one, if followed through, to believe in sinless perfection; the text does not speak relatively. They would also understand unbelievers as bad trees and therefore can only bring forth bad fruit, but as the language shows, the image of God would not only marred, but totally extinct in the unsaved. The only way the Traditionalist can salvage this interpretation is to add the element of relativity, which is not present in the language, to their interpretal stew. This is the quicksand into which the false interpretation of this passage slides. We must keep in mind that Jesus is talking about false prophets over against true prophets, and not the tests of a believer or professor. By the message of the “prophet” a person will be able to recognize whether the prophet is a true prophet or a false prophet. “The true test for discovering a false prophet or teacher is to compare his or her message with God's. This, after all, has always been the test for discovering who speaks for God and who does not. Not much thought has to be given to see that it makes sense that it should be this way. God cannot possibly contradict Himself (Num 23:19). Furthermore, His Word stands forever (Isa 40:8). If indeed we have something that solid--and we do--we should use it as a touchstone to test everything that is said by anyone claiming to be a messenger of God. For in doing this, we are not only living in obedience to God's Word, but we also will be able to know those who are His spokesmen and those who are not.” (D. Scott Henderson, Looking a Wolf in the Mouth Newsletter of the Grace Evangelical Society). God is going to judge the false prophet. We don’t have to have a knee-jerk reaction to “fire” and talk always about hell. In a general way the fire of God’s judgment is waiting for these people. But obviously if a man who claims to be a prophet of God who is not a prophet of God is unsaved, he will ultimately wind up in the fire of hell, which the following verses will have something to say. What is the lot for those who heed the untrue gospel messages of the false prophets? They will have their “day in court” and by their words they will be condemned! Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many on the day of their judgment will lay the hope of their eternal well-being upon their allegiance to Christ as Lord and their efforts and works for Him. This is the gospel that they have been given by the false prophets. They are told to “Make Jesus your Lord”, “Jesus must be Lord of your life or you can’t be saved!”. The false prophets tell their listeners that they “must follow Jesus in costly discipleship or you can’t be saved.” They confuse discipleship with the call to receive a free gift, therefore lead people down the wide gate and broad road that ends in destruction. Many, “in that day”, will sincerely address Jesus as Lord. Jesus will not quarrel with them on this point. That a person considered Jesus their Lord is not means for entrance into the kingdom. In the gospel of John, the only explicitely written book in the Bible for the purpose of evangelism (John 20:31), we find Jesus explain how one “enters the kingdom”. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. One must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God. To be born into God’s family, born from above, we must receive Jesus Christ by believing in His name. Whoever believes in Jesus will be born from above, becoming a child of God, and immediately possessing eternal life. Only those who do the will of the Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of God. What is the will of the Father in heaven? The Father’s will is to believe on His Son for eternal life. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe [disobeys = apeitho] the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." The Son speaks the words of the Father. The one who believes in Jesus immediately possesses eternal life, for he is heeding “the will of the Father”. The one who disobeys the Son (who does not obey the command to believe in Him for eternal life, which is the message from the Father) is disobeying the will of the Father. In the sphere of the reception of eternal life and entrance into the kingdom of God, the will of the Father is obvious! The will of the Father for the reception of eternal life, to enter the kingdom is to believe in His Son. And this is the will of Him who sent Me [the will of the Father], that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." It is clear that God’s will is to give everlasting life, entrance into the kingdom, and resurrection to those is to resurrect and give eternal life to all who merely believe (and only believe) in His Son! Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? “Jesus in His mercy tells us what many will say to Him in that Day: First, they will acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ, addressing Him as 'Lord.' Not only will they say it once, they will repeat it: 'Lord, Lord.' Recognizing the gravity of the situation, they will plead for their lives. This repetition of 'Lord' may also suggest that they think they are on familiar terms with Jesus. Those who have heeded the message of the false prophets will plead their case with Jesus. They will be all too sincere. They will not be conscious charlatans trying to pull the wool over Jesus’s eyes. They will be all too serious as they point to both to their allegiance to Christ and to their works in His name! These aren’t Buddhists, Hindus, etc. They are “Christians” who are offering their works “in Your [Jesus’] name” (three times!). These are the ones who obeyed the words of the false prophets who led them down the road to perdition. They did not do the will of the Father which was to trust solely in Jesus Christ for their entrance into the kingdom. They will be condemned for their words which betray their trust in their works! And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! “Jesus will describe these people as ‘you who practice lawlessness.’ Now if we had seen these people on earth—and perhaps we have seen some of them—we may not have reached that conclusion. After all, we would have seen these church leaders prophesying, casting out demons, and performing supernatural wonders, all in the name of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Church-State would have declared them saints. The ersatz Evangelicals would have made them best-selling authors and celebrities. But Jesus calls them ‘you who practice lawlessness.’ Why? He has already told us why. All of these extraordinary and wonderful works done in the name of Jesus are lawlessness, because they are done for the purpose of obtaining salvation. These works are lawlessness because they involve an illegal use of the law. The law, Paul tells us, is given for the knowledge of sin. It is not given that we sinners might use it to gain entrance into heaven. Conviction of sin, not salvation, is the purpose of the law. Legalism, because it is an illegal use of the law, is lawlessness. ‘But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,’ Paul told Timothy. But using the law in an effort to obtain heaven is not lawful; it is an illegal use of the law; it is lawlessness. The end of those who obey a false gospel is the lake of fire. We must be wary of those who present a message that differs from Christ’s message of the free gift of eternal life and resurrection received by simple faith alone in Him. We must start out on the right foot by entering the correct gate. Most of Christendom and much of Evangelicalism need to be evangelized! They have listened to false prophets who are wolves in sheep’s clothing! We must not back down from the simple message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. * Lets get some perspective. In the newest edition of “Operation World” (A prayer guide for missions) we find that the world’s population is around 6 billion. Out of those 6 billion, roughly 2.5 billion are considered “Christian”. Christians account for roughly 1/3rd of the world’s population. This does not qualify for a “few”. Christ contrasts the terms “many” and “few”. Only a “few” find the correct gate and enter thereby. I am speculating here, but what percentage out of 100 could we bracket off such a modifier as “few”? When I was a kid, we would say to someone who had candy “give me a couple” and he would give us “two” because a couple is “two”. We learned from that. We would then say give me a “few”, which would mean somewhere between 3-5 in a package of 40 M&Ms. Such an understanding I do not believe is far off from Christ’s use of the term “few”. If I had to make an educated guess on what percentage of 100 is a “few” in Christ’s discourse here, I would say 8-15%. I hope I am not offending anyone with my candy illustration. I am trying to get at how the word “few” is used. In the Bible, “few” is used relatively as to what is being compared; few always means a relatively small number from that which could be termed “many”. I could not see the word “few” being used of a relative percentage of 25% or more in any given illustration. Could you? Argue with me if you like. Few means a relatively small number in comparison to the many. If my crude analysis of “few” meaning 8-15% of the population is correct, than we have a problem. 33% of the world’s population is “Christian”; much too high of a figure to denote a relative “few”. What can we glean of this? That much of “Christianity” is not saved, but needs to be evanglized. Why? The gospel has been corrupted by thousands of false teachers who preach a distorted gospel. This is sad and sobering. Yet this is deadly serious. What are we waiting for? Let us go out and evangelize, and make disciples of grace! The following link is to my first article on the group blog : "Unashamed of Grace". It talks about the "outer darkness" as found in the parable of the wedding feast. Most people have a knee-jerk reaction when they read this phrase and automatically import into it the idea of hell. My normal postings will resume! Keep in Touch! First I want to thank all you who visit here on a regular basis. As the Lord provides for me wisdom, I am glad to pass it along. To Him be the glory! Free Grace Theology (this blog) has been quite a blessing for me. It has given me the opportunity to disseminate this biblical theology. I am pleased of this forum, and I believe that it is reaching people. I get about 115 visits a day average. I have had visitors from Japan, Australia, South America, Canada, the U.K., and most recently, someone in Ireland sent me an email saying that he found this site and was excited to read this perspective on theology. I am dedicated to this blog. And I will remain so as long as the Lord doesn't knock and say its time for quits. I have so many responsibilities: I work all morning (getting up at 3 am), get home and take care of the house; my wife works in the evening, so I have all the bedtime and bath chores for my 3 children; I study the bible, teach at a Bible College, and I run this blog. All of this to say that I will be participating in another blog; a group blog. The name is "Unashamed of Grace". The Participant's are Rose, H.K. Flynn, Dyspraxic Fundamentalist, Nate, and myself. The first official post has already been posted, by our friend Matthew, and gives an overview of our purpose. He did a great job in expressing our vision. I am not such a prolific writer so ya'll should go to our new blog now and check it out. Free Grace Theology stands accused of teaching “easy believism”. We are told by the Traditionalists that it is merely fire-insurance. The straw men fly with their insistence that we do not preach or teach holiness. We are labeled as “cheap gracers”. Accusations of antinomian are common. This may surprise some of you who haven’t been around the block; the Calvinist Traditionalist has thrown a hefty share of pejoratives my way. They have employed every theological cuss-word in the book. These are the weak and spurious claims of ignorance. The Free Gracer is despised, belittled, demeaned, dismissed; but let me tell you one thing: he has yet to be reckoned with. Traditionalists claim that free will is compatible with election, in that the regenerate elect now has the ability to truly choose. If this is the case, could the elect choose not to persevere in holiness and sanctifiation? The God of the Traditionalist must force people to accept Him and love Him. He is not able to win or woo, He must coerce, He must impose. He is not able to command our affections apart from a sovereign decree. I must ask, where on earth are there any relationships that parallel such a case as this? Let me tell you. It lies in dictatorships and tyrannies; with any government that imposes their will against the desires of the people. It is the basis of Islam, fear, terrorism, communism. The Traditionalist states that God cannot woo or win; He must impose. And after this imposition the regenerate man cannot help but be acted upon by the Most High so that he will indeed progress in experiential sanctification and ultimately persevere until the end in faith, deeds, and faithfulness. How is the God of Calvinism/Traditionalism any better than the harshest dictator who imposes his will by decree and force; by obligation, constraint, and necessity? By contrast, have we not seen those leaders in government, society, education, and family who bring out our fidelity by encouragement, love, leading, discipline, and affection? What a little view of God the Traditionalist must have. His God must first impose allegiance, and next force fidelity. When someone fails in his or her Christian life, such a one is damned, for God’s imposition of holiness is guaranteed by regeneration, therefore such a person could not possibly have ever been saved. Yet for the Traditionalist, success is peculiarly subjective. God chooses not to will and to work in them perfectly, for they still succumb to sin. God’s work of regeneration and justification are perfect, but His labor in sanctification is partial. Why aren’t they sinless? Given the view of sovereignty that the Traditionalist has, the only answer is that the sin in the regenerate one is God “willing and working in them His good pleasure”. If regenerate man does not have the ability to spurn the will of God which may result in dying in a state of unfaithfulness then the only other option, seeing the sin of man, is to hold that God’s necessary work in the regenerate, by decree, is partial: resulting in progressive sanctification that is peculiarly attended by daily sin. Imagine that: our Holy God who is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all, has fore-ordained that regenerate man will be a conglomeration of both light and darkness. The better solution is to see that God does not act irresistably on regenerate man (nor on unregenerate man, but that is for another time). If God acted irresistably on regenerate man, we must therefore conclude that God wills our sin, for our sin is ever present (just see the hypocrisy of Traditionalism’s personal attacks against me). They say that the regenerate one will necessarily persevere in faith, faithfulness, and good deeds. Yet at the same time, as per Dort and Westminster, they acknowledge that regenerate man may backslide, with the ability to commit “heinous” sins for an undisclosed period of time. What keeps the regenerate backslider from dying in a state of unfaithfulness, says the Traditionalist? The virtue of their regeneration and the will of God. Yet neither of them stopped the offending regenerate one from falling into “grievous” and “heinous” sins, and from backsliding! What could be the only comeback to this common sense observation of the Christian life? That the reason that the regenerate Christian can totally sin in grievous and heinous ways, backslidding for an unspecified period of time, yet in the end, must repent before death, is the sovereign imposition of their force-His-will God. Yes, even the sin itself was fore-ordained by the all-encompassing decree of their Sovereign Lord. The regenerate one is nothing but a yo-yo in the hands of God. In their unregenerate state, they hate him (by his fore-ordination), so He must impose His acceptance and love on them (by His fore-ordination). After imposing regeneration apart from their will God kills their old nature and gives them a new heart, yet, nonetheless, they still sin. Why? God has foreordained that they would sin in their new creation as well. In some cases, the regenerate one can backslide very far, committing sins like the most depraved reprobate, yet he will come to repentance at sometime before his death, and will go to heaven. Yet in their same theology a professing Christian could live a full-life, doing good works and loving the brethren, yet if he does not persevere until the end, he will end up in hell. Their God will allow them to sin like the unsaved, but in the end, He will make sure of it that they will repent. Excuse me if this sounds fantastic! Why not view the Christian life in the same sense as we do good nuclear families? The father of the household (positively) encourages, teaches, leads, loves, guides, rewards and (negatively) disciplines, chastens, punishes, admonishes, all for the benefit of the loved one. Why must we see the relationship of regenerate man to God as one of necessity? Why can’t we see the Biblical teaching that regenerate man has two opposing natures? Why can’t we see that regenerate man is genuinely responsible to appropriate the grace of God and live according to His commands? Why can’t we therefore see the potential for failure in true Christians? This has been quite an extended introduction to my post. Regenerate man has a free will that is regulated by two opposing capacities within his ontological being. The old man is powered by his pride, selfishness, and wordly passions. The new man MUST BE empowered by the Holy Spirit through active yieldedness. What does this say? That unless regenerate man, by an act of his will, mortifies the old man, and actively yields himself to the indwelling Holy Spirit, he will not have victory nor necessitated progressive and experiential sanctification. God has positive and negative means by which to affect His children apart from coercion, force, necessity, and imposition. The object of this post is not to get into the positive aspects of God’s relationship to the regenerate one. I may in the future outline the glorious nature of God’s encouragement, leading, guiding, teaching, prompting, and acts of love and kindness. The assessment of the Traditionalist against the Free Gracer is folly. The Free Gracer has a sober view of God’s holiness and loathe of sin. God demands holiness. God hates sin. He will not tolerate or wink at the evil machinations of His children. God requires that His servants be holy and abide by His commandments. At His discretion, God will employ His discipline and judgement against the sinful acts of His children. These may take the form of temporal consequences or eternal ones. In either respect, they are serious and sobering. Following is a list of God’s punitive disciplinary actions against believers, whether they be temporal or eternal. 1. Cast out (Mt 5:13). I realize that the readers, even those who ally themselves in proximity to my position, may not agree with some of these disciplinary actions. It must be noted that many, if not most of these disciplinary actions are within the context of parabolic structures, and as such, are not to be taken literally, but the accounts within the metaphorical contructs correspond to spiritual truths. For sake of clarity and argumentation: Any one who would oppose my use of these references of negative consequences in specific relation to the regenerate one, I have a request. If you take issue with any of these references, please give me your observational, exegetical, and contextual exposition of the verse that would cause you to arrive at your interpretation. Just to merely assert and froth is of no benefit. Prove by your exegetical and expositional skills that these references are not with the regenerate one in mind. God does not trifle with sin, not even the sin of His children. "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The points in my last two post are for those who believe that salvation is free. They were constructed in a way to give my perspective on things. They were given to show the logical implications of the understanding that eternal life is absolutely free. If a person preaches a gospel where it is costly to the unsaved, is this the same gospel of the freeness of God's grace and gift? And if this is not the same gospel, what does that imply for the person who believes this different gospel? I have not peered in to anyone's heart. I have not judged any particular man's salvation. I just flatly state my great and heartfelt conviction that any man who believes the Lordship Salvation gospel IS NOT BELIEVING THE SAVING MESSAGE OF CHRIST. I should have just left it at that. Yet what is the implication if they have not believed the only message that saves? That they are unsaved. Calvinists are confusing sometimes. I don't know what they believe in their heart concerning how they figure they will get into heaven or what they have believed in the past (remember, salvation is received the instant that one believes in Christ for eternal life). I can only go on what they preach as their doctrine now. Some LS people I have responded to lately flatly state that obedience is necessary for eternal life. This is not the gospel of grace, but the gospel of obligation. My posts were intended really for those who believe in the gospel of the free grace of God yet do not see the implications that all other forms of the "gospel" are false, and if believed, the person has not believed the simple gospel message that saves. I wanted to have people understand that the free grace/lordship salvation debate has a lot to do with people getting saved, not just with the way they live the Christian life. In my posts I have directly stated the answer to your questions concerning being friends. I would be friends with anyone. I would be friendly and loving. But life is so much more than the blogosphere and coffee and donut relationships. There is a real battle out there and Satan has deceived many within our churches. I don't preach against people. I preach against doctrine. A false prophet is known by his fruit (which is his doctrine, what he says). If someone states that salvation takes faith + obedience+ forsaking sins + whatever, that shows he is a false prophet. That doesn't necessarily mean that he is unsaved. I know that J.I. Packer used to believe in the free grace gospel, for he says so, but then he says later, when he believed the LS gospel he was saved. I do believe that people get saved in spite of the preachers abbherent theology, sometimes. If at anytime during a conversation, listening to the word of God, or reading it, someone is convinced that Jesus has given them eternal life through their faith in Him alone, they are saved. But those who now preach LS, whether or not they are saved, are preaching a false gospel to those who are unsaved. The Lordship gospel is confusing, adds many caveats, includes obedience, and is quite subjective. How is one to know if he submitted enough, committed enough, followed enough, repented enough, obeyed enough? Do you see how the personal contingency that is laid on the unsaved by the LS gospel can effect the psychology? If they are worried that they may have not done enough, they have already been swayed to believe that salvation is somewhat contingent on themselves. That one believes that they must DO these things can be naturally shown that they understand the conditionality for eternal life based upon their repentance, their commitment, their following, their obedience, etc, and not on Christ alone. I have not fingerpointed to any particular person. I am pointing to an abbherent theology. It matter what people believe. Truth matters. It matters so much that without the simple appropriation of the truth of the gospel, no man can enter the kingdom of God. This knowlege breaks me. So much confusion, ignorance, and false teaching is swirling around. Bob Wilkin writes a journal article called The Subtle Danger of an Imprecise Gospel where evangelists are not using the biblical gospel message of believing in Jesus. People are wishy-washy, imprecise, using terms like "give your heart to Jesus", "you must sign up", "ask Jesus to be your Savior", "accept Jesus", etc. What do these things mean? A person could do all of these things and yet not believe that Jesus guarantees for them resurrection and eternal life. The aforementioned was just people preaching confusing gospels, where there is great danger in people not undertanding the truth of the gospel, that it is only by grace through purposeful faith alone in Jesus Christ. Those of the LS are as great of a threat or worse, for they preach "costly gospel". Their gospel places contingency on the unbeliever, making the reception of eternal life "costly" to the recipient. I have not stood in judgement of anyone's trust in Christ. Have I mentioned anyone's names and said they were unsaved? I have merely stated that some people preach a false gospel, and if any unsaved person believes that message, they remain unsaved. The Lordship Salvation crew has said as much about my beliefs, that FG is a false gospel. The people on the Lordship Salvation side and me all conclude that we aren't preaching the same gospel. It is those who are on the fence who cannot see that they are different and not the same. Therefore at least one of them is under the curse of preaching a false gospel. I am not trying to alienate people from me. If someone tells me that they have eternal life by faith alone in Christ alone, apart from obedience, works, etc., I will consider them my brother. Yet if these same people continue to preach that forsaking sins, obedience, repentance, whole-hearted commitment, surrender of everything, perseverance until the end, and all the other strings and caveats, are necessary for eternal life, I will call them on their dissonance, for how can someone say that they have been saved by grace through faith alone in Christ but yet heap all these other conditions upon the unsaved? There is a disconnect somewhere and on many different levels, this is dangerous ground. If people do not see the gospel the same way as I do, how could they consider me their brother? Why would I expect them to, unless it was merely for the benefit of our cordial coffee and doughnut fellowship? "Thanks for your respectful and gracious introduction to such wonderful things." First and foremost Antonio I applaud and thank you for taking me to task on this... I am sorry that I made my post personal...You have my earnest, honest apology for making you the "target" of my post... in hindsight I honestly regret having been so calloused. It is interesting Susan that you had such a gracious response to Daniel's obvious contempt for me in the personal nature of his post, yet, me, who hasn't made any personal accusations, you give me such grief. Please pardon me if I find this a bit of a double-standard, and competely partial. Daniel's post was anything but respectful and gracious. My post doesn't name names but merely talks about my convictions about theology and their ramifications. My last few posts have been on theology and not attacks on people at all. They are targeted on doctrine and truth. If I have sinned against anyone, please bring my sin to my attention in order that I may repent of it. If I have sinned, please convict me of it. I have not looked in anyone's heart nor deemed anyone particular person unsaved, yet so many people seem to have indicated that I have. None of my last 2 posts have been personal, but doctrinal. I have sought to make one point and one point only: the false gospel of Lordship Salvation does not save. I will not comport, I will not back down. Lordship Salvation is not a doctrine that most importantly affects the Christian Life, although it does and to a great extent. The ramifications of Lordship Salvation is that it is a false gospel and people who believe false gospels do not believe the truth, do not believe the saving message of Christ. I have offended many with my doctrines, and now I offend all with the implications of my doctrines. Anyone who believes and has only believed the Lordship Salvation gospel of those Calvinists and Arminians who preach them are lost at this moment. I will not stand idly by and allow the truth to be attacked, especially when men and women's precious eternal destinies are on the line. People may comfort themselves with the thought that all is well in evangelical Christendom; that as long as Jesus is partially trusted one is saved, not matter what other conditions are heaped onto faith, or how faith is defined; no matter how much the conditions of "faith plus gospels" put contingency on self and works. My opinion is that much of evangelical Christendom needs to be evangelized. There was a poll I heard recently from someone like Josh MacDowell who comes to my church often. A huge sample of evanglical Christians were polled. The question had to do with works. The results had something like 80+ percent stating that works had a part in reaching heaven. Just listen to the Calvinist. The honest ones will claim such. They make outrageous claims, that if a person does not work, he will to to hell. "Do not throw away this paradox just because it is difficult. Salvation is both free and costly... That is what Jesus meant when He spoke of one's own cross to follow Him. And that is why He demanded that we count the cost carefully. He was calling for an exchange of all that we are for all that He is. He was demanding implicit obedience -- unconditional surrender to His Lordship" "For you to have salvation, it will be both free and costly. You must count the cost. Jesus in His call and invitation to give you eternal life is demanding obedience, He is calling for us to exchange all that we have for all that He is. You must count the cost or you cannot be saved." How is what I said any different than what MacArthur said? I just put it into words to an unbeliever. This is a false gospel. If someone heeds the message of this gospel, how is it that he can be saved? Is faith mixed with one's implicit obedience, his exchanging everything that he has for all that Jesus has, and all manner of other costly endeavors saving? If one is told that he must count the cost, obey, give up all, etc., is this the same gospel that says "Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely?" The point of this examination of the cost of following Christ is not to discourage anyone from following Him, however. It is rather to encourage you to follow Jesus to the end. To do that we must count the cost, by all means, but then we must pay it joyfully and willingly,knowing that this must be done if a person is to be saved. According to Lordship Salvation there is a price to be paid in order to gain eternal life. While this is impossible to reconcile with the biblical teaching that Jesus paid it all and that He gives eternal life as a free gift, this paradox is central to Lordship Salvation. "The gospel that Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow Him in submissive obedience" As Zane Hodges succinctly states, "The Gospel [is] Under Siege". If I stated "I will babysit for you if you ask only, apart from monetary compensation" but then import the value of "monetary compensation" into the word "ask", could I really be advocating "babysitting by asking only"? Lordship Salvation does much to corrupt and nullify the gospel of grace. They give lip service to "faith alone" but then use the kitchen sink method and import all kinds of works and obedience into that word. Just see Daniel of Doulogos's contentions about that word (faith = obedience). Just see John MacArthur's shameful re-definition of faith where another reformer says that such importation makes MacArthur's gospel one of works-salvation. If one says that salvation is by faith only and then says that faith = obedience, following Jesus commands etc., are they really believing in faith only? I have been to crusades, evangelistic events, many churches, heard many gospel messages, read hundreds of gospel tracts, spent hundreds of hours studying and researching people's gospel messages and beliefs. Do they preach a clear gospel of "faith only"? Hardly even close. Eternal life is received by believing the truth of the gospel. If one is told to believe, repent, commit, surrender, obey, follow, turn from sins, confess, etc., in order to be saved, or any of the other "soteriological buzz conditions" what is they psychological result? The one being told these things understands these as all conditions of heaven. "I have to believe in Jesus, confess Jesus, confess my sins, forsake my sins, repent, commit my life, surrender my possesions, follow Jesus, obey Jesus or else I can't be saved." Believed as a wholistic message, one necessarily is convinced that self and one's works is a huge contingency in the reception of eternal life! Can't we see this? If I believe that repentance and forsaking sins, and giving up all for Jesus are required for eternal life, I necessarily believe that eternal life is contingent on my acts in doing these things! Eternal life is to cost me everything! If they believe that eternal life is truly contingent on these additions to faith, then they necessarily are not believing in Christ alone for eternal life, they are believing that Christ is not enough; that it takes these actions of self IN ADDITION to faith in Christ, therefore faith in Christ is not sufficient; faith alone is not sufficient. If they are told faith alone and then told that faith is obedience, works, following, etc., then they are believing that faith = works and therefore works are necessary for eternal life. I respect many of you who commented on my last thread. I want to thank Matthew, Kris, Jim, Bobby, Rose, Nate, and Jodie. Many of you are new to the world of Lordship Salvation/Free Grace theology. I have studied these doctrines for quite possibly 10 years. I understand the ins and outs, the gospel understandings, the gospel presentations, the requirements, the provisos, the caveats, the strings, the additions, the legalism, the doctrines, the authors, the interpretations, etc. I am glad that I have been a presence in the blogosphere, for these issues are worthy of consideration. I feel that my presence is making Traditionalists a little uncomfortable, and also causing them to re-evaluate their allegiance to "sola fide". I value all your guys opinions and sentiments. Though on this subject, I sadly reject them. I stand here convinced that anyone who has believed a Lordship Salvation "gospel" and has never received eternal life by simple faith in Jesus Christ who guarantees for them resurrection and eternal life, is lost. People who get saved and then fall under the false teachings of Lordship Salvation are now preaching false gospels, different than what they believed to get saved. Anyone who will believe the Lordship Salvation "gospel" that they are now preaching and teaching, never having believed simply in Christ alone for eternal life, is lost. A message of faith plus believed is not faith in Christ alone or salvific. These are my convictions. I am not alone on them either. Many other grace-oriented defenders of the gospel believe as I do as well. How do you preach and understand the gospel? People's eternal destinies are on line. You better have it right for your sake and those you teach. One thing confuses me anyway. Why do Calvinists stress and worry about the gospel, whether or not it is true or false? All truly elect people will be saved no matter what. All who have been reprobated by God's will have no chance, but will most certainly grace the fires of hell. Some grace people who have Calvinistic leanings probably don't have such an emphasis on the urgency of the truth of the gospel as I do, for even though the believe in Free Grace theology, their doctrine of election states that only those who God, in the secret councils of His will, are going to be ultimately saved, all others will be damned. I do not share this doctrine of election. Those of us "grace" people who do not believe in unconditional election have every reason to be concerned with the proper understanding and preaching of gospel truth. God has not chosen, therefore preaching the gospel is urgent. And it being the correct gospel is of grave importance. Sincerity and ignorance are the enemies of truth. Many well-intentioned people have believed the false gospels of John MacArthur, John Piper, James Boice, Kenneth Gentry, John Gerstner, and the like. I would rather be alone preaching and teaching the truth to those in error than be popular, a sociable evangelical, having the truth, but compromising it with those who are in error. What makes the Lordship Salvation gospel false is not its implications on the Christian life primarily, but the ramifications it has to the unsaved who believe it. I value all your guy's friendship. I hope that even though we may disagree on this that we can continue to be friends. But I understand as some have written that I have "drawn a line deep in the sand". Some also have stated that I have shown rage and venting anger in my last few posts. I would ask not to confuse rage with passion. I am frustrated for their are many who assent to my doctrines as they relate to the Christian life but reject their implications on the unsaved. This is frustrating to me, for the unsaved are my heart and concern. Many are willing to state that Lordship Salvatoin and Traditionalism is a false gospel as relating to the Chritian life, but will not see the clear implications and ramifications it necessarily has to the unsaved. I have rambled on too long. I hope I still have readers and friends after this. For a bishop must... hold fast the faithful word as has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers... whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not... Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith. "The message of faith only and the message of faith plus commitment of life cannot both be the gospel; therefore, one of them is a false gospel and comes under the curse of perverting the gospel or preaching another gospel (Gal 1:6-9)" (Charles Ryrie, So Great Salvation). There is a war being fought here. Satan, who has the world under his sway (1 John 5:19), seeks to corrupt truth (John 8:44-45). Truth is being compromised left and right in the pursuit of "unity". Salvific truth! I am not going to stand around idly while false doctrines not only rob Christians of assurance, but worse, they prevent sinners from understanding the simple saving message of Christ, therefore disqualifying them for entrance into the kingdom. Some doctrines are just not to be compromised in the quest for "unity". I am not commanded to consider someone my brother whom I do not believe is in my family. The gospel is the message of reconciliation, eternal life, and adoption into God's family. If someone is preaching a gospel other than by faith only, I am not adjured to consider such a one my brother in Christ, but one (willfully or ignorantly) who has been snared by Satan to do his will in propogating false doctrines that will keep precious men and women out of the kingdom. You all may think, why can't we just get along? I have no qualms with being friends with anyone who doesn't see the gospel as I biblically do. Many of them are charming, intelligent, and sincere. Yet I will not stand idly by while precious truth is being contradicted; while false gospels are being propogated. I will not sacrifice the gospel on the altar of unity. I believe Lordship Salvation, in what ever form it comes in (Calvinism or Arminianism) is a false gospel, that if believed, will preclude such a one from the kingdom of God. Truth matters, folks. The gospel is ultimate truth. Semantics within gospel expressions are the words of propositional assertions that undergird one's understanding of salvific truth. If I were to give you directions to my house and decided to add two or three more left and right turns, you would fail to reach my house. Lordship salvation adds content to the gospel which adds deadly poison to the "Living Water". People can turn their heads, pretending that nothing is wrong, and consider their coffee and donut version of "fellowship" to be much more important than truth and doctrinal unity. Yet, my prerogative is to earnestly contend for the faith. My convictions will not let me stand by and watch people believe a false gospel to their destruction. Is this mindset un-Christian? I think that for those who are disposed to believe so that they should read their bibles, this time with their eyes open. There is a war out there, this is Satan's battleground. The minds of men are being taken captive by the seducing doctrines of demons. By God's Spirit, I will combat these errors with the truth. How can this be a gracious offer that disingenuously bids me to come? Can you notice here that they "by nature" do the things in the law? This is due to the moral image and likeness of God in which they were created in. Man has the constitutional ability to believe. Do you not believe things? Is every belief a conviction imposed by God? Man has the communicable attributes of God! We are fearfully and wonderfully created and endowed by our Maker! The false doctrine of total inability to believe Christ's message is a teaching straight from the pit. Christ died for sinners. He took the barrier of sin out of the way. Why is there such elaborate testimony to how one receives eternal life, by faith in Christ, if this is impossible? There can be no good answers. The majority of humanity will be waiting in vain. God is pleased to desroy them; the have been created to be damned. Yes, the reprobate will be waiting in vain. The Bible conclusively shows that unregenerate man seeks God. I see that noone is willing to pose any arguments against the plain and normal reading of Cornelius and the Bereans. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius! ...Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God." Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. Witnesses do one thing: seek to persuade others of their testimony. Jesus is the true light which gives light to everyone coming into the world. If man is in darkness Christ is the Light. "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." Jesus has been lifted up. He is the light. Men can resist the light. Men can resist the drawing. Jesus went to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is now here and is convicting the WORLD of sin, righteousness, and judgement. The Holy Spirit has a convicting ministry, Jesus is drawing all men to Himself, Jesus is the Light the True Light shining to every man in the world. Oh. What about preaching the gospel and persuasion? Some seem to deny that there is any soul winning or persuading men as to the gospel. Why do it when they are unable to hear and respond apart from sovereign regeneration and Irresistable Grace imposed? If one must be regenerated and then made to believe, then persuading someone as to the truth of the gospel really doesn't have a purpose in evangelism; preaching it seems pointless (men can't understand, are unable to hear and respond). There is no persuading or convincing the unregenerate sinner and it really would be a waste of time to do so. I guess those who believe such doctrine could merely be content to give a short gospel message and see if God is going to do his trick and "effectually call" his elect. Why answer the questions of an unbeliever or seek to persuade them? They can't understand apart from imposed religion! Imagine, a Calvinist trying to persuade an unbeliever. Why would he act contrarily to his most sacred doctrines? What would provoke them to answer the questions of a dead man? Why would they seek to persuade one who does not have ears to hear? If God uses the gospel to effect regeneration in His elect, why do Calvinists waste their time in many extra words trying to convince others of the gospel in their presentations? These synergistic pleas are superfluous and their time could be better spent trying to find God imposing regeneration on His elect, rather than wasting time on the helpless and doomed reprobate! If after a very brief gospel message the person does not respond, well either 1) he is elect and God is not ready to effectually call him with His irresisitable grace imposition at this time or 2) he is unelect, reprobate, bound to glorify God by frying for eternity. Either way, persuasion is meaningless for it is falling on deaf, totally inable ears. Why don't they just go on to the next one to see if they are elect and if God is ready to effectually call them by irresistible grace imposed? Why do they wax eloquent, as if their synergistic pleas could be regarded? It is disingenuous! God... has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Imagine imploring and beseeching a deaf and blind person with your heartfelt speech. What use is it? This goes against all God given reason. The deductionistic doctrines of Traditionalism are not biblical. Their arguments with their many prooftexts are a hodge-podge of special pleading and illegitamate totality and identity transfers. Not one clear scripture bears them out. The Traditionalist first got his doctrine from his theological deduction, then looked to the scriptures for support. There is not a single, clear passage stating that the gospel message, that enjoins the whole world to believe on Christ for eternal life, cannot be believed by humanity apart from God's sovereign forceable imposition. Not ONE PASSAGE states such a thing! But passage after passage shows that not only do we see men being given the legitamate responsibility to believe, we see them seeking after God and being persuaded! How can God make someone responsible for that which he cannot do? That is like throwing an infant in the fires of Molech for not being able to change his own diaper. Paul expended himself for Christ doing exactly this: disputing and persuading in the attempt to win people to Christ. As soon as he was converted, Paul "confounded the Jews...at Damascus proving that this is very Christ..."(Acts 9:22). Everywhere he went Paul "disputed...in the synagogue...and in the market daily..." (Acts 17:17). The last chapter of Acts tells us that even under house arrest in Rome, Paul was still at it: "...there came many to him, ... to whom he expounded... persuading them concerning Jesus..." (Acts 28:23). For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law(not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. The only way that a Traditionalist can emulate Paul here is to spurn the deadly flower of his theology. Jodie Sawyer opened up a can of worms in a comment on VeritasRedux Scroll Down for Jodie’s comments. In her remarks she discussed the minimum content of the gospel, that when believed, receives eternal life. She next wrote a good article on it Content of the Offer of Eternal Life. Having merely read her post once, and not studied it, I would say that I agree with her position. What I want to do here is post some bare bones affirmations of my soteriology. There may be some or many that you do not agree with. I have written extensively on this position, and I would be more than happy to field your questions, clarify, or (less-so) read your obejections, which I could then comment on as well. "...and that believing ye might have life through his name" 1) Christ's "name" is everything who He actually is. This "name" represents everything who He TRULY is. Fill in ALL true Christology here: Everything that the Bible reveals Jesus to truly be and have done and everything that Jesus truly is that is not revealed in the Bible. 2) It is by virtue of His "name" (everything that He truly is and has done) that we can have eternal life. It is who He is and what He has done that has qualified Him as the Guarantor of eternal life to the believer in Him for it. It is His name that gives Him the authority and the ability to dispense eternal life. 3) Jesus is uniquely qualified to dispense eternal life by virtue of His name. On this authority He may dispense it to whomever He wishes. It is through His wisdom and council with God the Father that they have decided to dispense eternal life to those and only those who believe in Jesus for this gift. And in His name Gentiles will trust. 4) To this one condition of appropriating the gift of eternal life (faith in Jesus for it) God has been pleased to add no other. …knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified…. This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness… Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure. 5) Shorthand for faith in Jesus is to believe that Jesus is the Christ (in the Johannine sense) which as to content is that as the Christ Jesus is the Guarantor of eternal life to all who simply believe in Him for it. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." You remember it, don’t you? “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26). Her reply is a declaration that she believes Him to be the Christ. Martha said, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (11:27). Notice here that to believe that Jesus is the Christ means to believe that He guarantees resurrection and eternal life to every believer. But now let us look at John 4. In that famous passage we have the Samaritans saying to the woman who had encountered Jesus, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). Observe that the common denominator to both passages is the term “Christ.” On Martha’s lips He is “the Christ, the Son of God,” and on the lips of the Samaritans He is “the Christ, the Savior of the world.” This is not an accidental or insignificant difference. In Jewish prophecy and theology the promised Christ was also the Son of God—that is, He was to be a divine person. Recall the words of Isaiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6-7). But in Samaritan theology, the Messiah was thought of as a prophet and the woman at the well is led to faith through our Lord’s prophetic ability to know her life. Her words, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet” (4:19) are a first step in the direction of recognizing Him as the Christ. There is no evidence that she or the other Samaritans understood the deity of our Lord. But they did believe that he was the Christ. And John tells us in his first epistle that “whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (5:1)! A full theology of His person is not necessary to salvation. If we believe that Jesus is the One who guarantees our eternal destiny, we have believed all we absolutely have to believe in order to be saved. 6) Believing that Jesus is the Christ (in the Johannine sense) is the only soteriologically necessary condition for eternal life. 7) Most people will not find this bare proposition persuasive. They will require more information and quite possible need some of their questions answered. This would be a logical necessity in order to persuade them that the salvific proposition is true. 8) Most people do not need every question that they may have answered before they are persuaded as to the truth of the salvific proposition. Answers to other questions or other information given may be sufficient to persuade one that the salvific proposition is true. 9) The assent to orthodox theology in general or Christology in specific, as important as this is to the regenerate believer, is no litmus test for assurance of one's soteriological salvation. The only basis for both the reception of eternal life and assurance of eternal life is believing in Jesus, who through His name, has given the promise to Guarantee eternal life to all who believe in Him for it. 10) Misconceptions are a part of life. It is impossible to clear up every misconception concerning theology and should not be attempted. The most spiritual man on earth at the present time without a doubt has some misconceptions concerning the real nature of theology. 11) Children have many misconceptions as well but as the Bible makes clear, only those who receive the kingdom of God as little children will enter. The theif on the cross said, “Lord, remember me”; and Jesus replied, “Today you shall be with Me in paradise.” After a life of crime, one of the three worst criminals in the nation – Barabbas had been released – this thief received assurance of Heaven. 12) Misconceptions about the Person and work of Jesus Christ is peripheral to the salvific proposition as a soteriological necessity. Ignorance about Christological doctrine can prevent one from being persuaded as to the salvific proposition, but it will never prevent one from the reception of eternal life if one is persuaded as to the salvific proposition. 13) Misconceptions about Jesus do not necessitate such a one who may hold to them to be referring to a "different" Jesus. If a test to one's particular reference to an identity be that he not hold any misconceptions about this identity then specific reference to anyone would be made impossible. For what guarantee does one have that his conceptions about the person, that through his reference he intends to identify, are correct? 14) One fact about a reference could be all that is necessary to limit identity, though one fact may not be enough. There seem to be multiple facts in the salvific proposition and not just one. "Believe that Jesus is the Guarantor of eternal life to the believer in Him for it." Limit #1: the name of the reference is Jesus. Limit #2: the referent is a guarantor of something. Limit #3: the referent dispenses eternal life. Limit #4: this eternal life is dispensed on the basis of faith in the referent for the purpose of appropriating said eternal life. There is only one Person in the universe who dispenses and guarantees eternal life to the believer in Him for it; the name of this referent is Jesus. This information satisfactorily identifies and limits reference to the true Jesus Christ. The facts contained in the salvific proposition are of sufficient nature as to specifically limit the identity of its reference to the 2cd Person of the Trinity, God the Son, Jesus Christ. 15) Belief in Jesus Christ for anything else but the intended gift of eternal life will not necessarily be appropriated. The gift that Jesus guarantees in the salvific proposition is "eternal life" and not temporal deliverance, assured positive answer to prayer, or physical blessings. The faith in Jesus is for the purpose of appropriating the intended gift of eternal life. 15) The evangelist's endeavor is to get the potential convert to the point where he will entrust his eternal well-being to Jesus. It is to be used of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God to persuade such a one that Jesus guarantees his eternity. He does this by preaching the gospel message and other facts relating to Jesus, answering questions, etc. Our job in evangelism is to get the potential convert to believe in Jesus, the Guarantor of resurrection and eternal life to the believer in Him. Anything we do or say must point to Jesus and His promise to dispense eternal life to the mere believer in Him for it. Traditionalists are very funny to watch, often funny to read, yet, to use a phrase from Daniel of Doulogos, we must watch in "morbid fascination". Take for instance Jonathan Moorhead's discussion over at his blog. He wants to talk about "certainty" (something those of the Reformed persuasion necessarily can't have with relation to their knowledge of their own election or reprobation) and "boasting" as if someone receiving a free gift can now boast. He seems to not realize that there is a difference between legitamate boasting and absurd boasting. That we receive eternal life through the instrumentality of our faith precludes us from legitamate boasting; faith is not a work, as it is held in Reformed theology, but the intermediate agency, the instrument by which we receive the absolutely free gift of eternal life. In his discussion of certainty, he implies that the word "certain" meant something different to Calvin than it does in "post-enlightenment" thought. The anti-intellectual musings here are repugnant! He asks what certainty is. My dictionaries all say that it is "freedom from doubt" which has resulted from being convinced/persuaded upon consideration of communication and/or evidence. (By the way, being convinced that something is true passively brings faith which IS certainty--freedom from doubts). Of course he is just rehashing the same position of the Traditionalistic religion: that one can have "infallible assurance" yet at the same time cannot be 'certain' (in the post-enlightenment sense, lol) that one has eternal life. If this is not absurd, please tell me what is. In the comment thread I quoted John Calvin, who is at variance with modern Traditional doctrine and thought in these senses: Calvin's definition of faith and his declaration on where assurance comes from is lightyears away from the modern anti-intellectual thoughts on the same. What was Jonathan's response? Certainty ≠ freedom from doubt but = something less than being certain. Click on the link above and view the absurdities. Next we have the newest post by Jon Moorhead concerning boasting (which will quickly turn into a discussion on the nature of what 'faith' is; actually it is already turning out that way) where he says that to believe in the gospel is tantamount to "works-salvation". Along the lines of our beloved Rose~, who has instituted a blogger award for not being pig-headed, I must seriously consider instituting an award for blatant absurdity. The Bible says that we receive the Spirit by "the hearing of faith" (Gal 3:2, 5); that we are in the present state of already having been saved (the Greek perfect-periphrastic participle in Eph 2:8) through faith; that faith is in contradistinction from works (Eph 2:9); that boasting is precluded by "the law of faith" (Rom 3:27). No. But believing the gospel for eternal life is works-salvation where we can legitamately boast that we saved ourselves, so goes Jon's logic. Lastly, we have a chat room, message board thread that I want you to view. I often check where people are linking to my blog from and I found this thread. It is at Derek Webb's message board. Anyone Here a Zane Hodges fan? Many Traditionalists rightly distance themselves with this statement, finding it utterly repulsive and anti-biblical. In this thread the contributers are arguing that salvation is conditioned on works, but these works are non-meritorious. Where does that unbiblical and absurd notion come from? Gerstner, in his book attacking dispensationalists, writes that virtually all dispensationalists do not see the elementary difference between non-meritorious "requirements," "conditions," "necessary obligations," "indispensable duties," and "musts," as the natural outworking of true faith, in distinction from faith in the Savior plus meritorious works as the very basis of salvation (Wrongly Dividing... 226). Guilty as charged! I confess, I do not see this distinction in Scripture. In fact it isn’t there. It exists in Classical Calvinist/Lordship Salvation theology, but not in the Bible. Works are works; they either are or are not necessary for salvation. With the apostle Paul, I say they are not; we are saved "by grace…through faith…not of works" (Eph 2:8-9). If salvation is in any sense conditioned on works then "grace is no longer grace" (Rom 11:6).

2019-04-19T08:22:17Z

http://free-grace.blogspot.com/2006/02/

March 28, 2017 The news has been full of people awakening to an unexpected reality, all the way from the water warriors to the President of the United States. In this issue, we explore a few of the new ways North Americans have suddenly found themselves awake and on unfamiliar ground. But first the news. On Friday, March 25th, the Atlantic Sierra Chapter and Cornell Law School’s Environmental Law Society held a conference on matters regarding water and water law, for the benefit of activists and the general public. The proceedings were videographed and are peresented here. Join us to find out how solar can work for residents of Schuyler County while enjoying beer from Heavily Brewing Company or wine from Damiani Wine Cellars. At both events you will have the opportunity to meet installers, ask questions and learn whether solar is right for you. Our volunteers will be on hand to discuss their experience going solar for anyone interested in hearing how their neighbors have gone solar. At the event you will be able to sign up and get your home assessed FREE of chargethere’s nothing to lose by signing up and there is no commitment once you do. If you want to come to the event and just meet installers before making any decisions that’s okay- this event is free and open to the public. We’ll bring the education, Damiani Heavily have the drinks and atmosphere, we’re just missing you! To Change Everything, We Need Everyone. This was the rallying call of the 2014 People’s Climate March in New York City, and it continues to inspire the climate movement across the United States. In New York State, Governor Cuomo was influenced by tens of thousands of NY residents who spoke out against “fracking” for natural gas, such that he and the Department of Environmental Conservation made it illegal in our state in Dec. 2014. “We need everyone” to speak out for renewable energy and the jobs that it will create, and against the public health hazards and climate crisis created by fossil fuel use, processing and transport. Mark Dunlea is chair of the Green Education and Legal Fund and helps coordinate the statewide campaign to transition to 100% renewables in NYS by 2030. He will provide an update on state efforts around renewable energy, including a new study just announced by the Governor. He will also discuss state legislation for a carbon tax; the Attorney General’s effort to investigate the fossil fuel industry role in promoting climate denial; divesting the state pension funds from fossil fuels; and Governor Cuomo’s $7.6 billion bailout of the nuclear industry. Elizabeth (Betta) Broad is the Outreach Director for the New Yorkers for Clean Power campaign, working to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy in New York State. She will provide information on some of NYCP’s current priorities including on-the-ground organizing and expansion of electric vehicles, community solar, renewable heating and cooling and energy efficiency. She will also give an update on her work with Citizens for Local Power to create a Community Choice Aggregation program in the Mid-Hudson. A resident of Kingston, she serves on the Kingston Conservation Advisory Council, the Kingston Climate Smart Commission and the Ulster Climate Smart Committee. Following the main speakers and Q&A on their presentations, local organizations will provide concrete opportunities for everyone to take action to make a difference at local, state and federal levels. Rochester People’s Climate Coalition (RPCC) is composed of over 100 local business, non-profit, labor, faith, and grassroots and organizations. RPCC unites these local organizations to address the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition to a clean energy economy, and prepare for the impacts of global warming. Through coordinated, collaborative efforts, we will create a more environmentally just and sustainable community. [The Daily Public Editors Note – After a decades old war by certain sectors of the “pay to play” private development community on the State Environmental Quality Review Act SEQRA, it looks like new rules are going to bring this critical environmental and social protection tool to its knees. It is after all, the Age of the anti-regulatory Trump-o-mania, and it is revealing and sad that his home state, New York, which once was a national leader in environmental protection, is now leading the way to the abolishment of environmental safeguards. The proposed new SEQRA rules makes NY way ahead in the game of de-regulating environmental concerns in favor of more unfettered development and profit taking. We know where our leaders stand. These new rules will effect how buildings, infrastructure, and energy pipelines are built. Abolishing protections and environmental and community character are, well, almost vanished. When a government agency talks about “streamlining” environmental regulations, and increasing “speed and efficiency” and “regulatory certainty for applicants and municipalities,” you can be certain that the effect (if not the conscious intent) will be decreased environmental protections and a reduction in the public’s ability to meaningfully participate in the decision-making process. That is precisely what will occur if the current version of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposed amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act’s regulations are adopted without significant changes. The last thing New York should be doing is weakening its environmental review process when – on the national level – the Trump Administration is intent on repealing environmental regulations, weakening environmental enforcement, and allowing more fossil fuel production. [For example, see this and this.] If you agree that NYS should be strengthening, not undermining, its environmental laws, I urge you to analyze the proposed amendments to the SEQR regulations, submit written comments by May 19, 2017 to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Environmental Permits, Attn: James J. Eldred, Environmental Analyst, 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233-1750 or by e-mail to: [email protected], and, if possible, participate at the public hearing to be held on March 31, 2017 at 1:00 pm at 625 Broadway, Albany, New York, Public Assembly Room 129. 1. THE primary motivation behind the proposed amendments appears to be a desire to add categories of projects and activities not subject to review under SEQRA. The DEC’s SEQR rulemaking continues the same trajectory it has been on for decades: substantially increasing the types of actions and projects that do not have to undergo any SEQRA review (“Type II actions”), while identifying no new categories of activities presumed to have a significant adverse environmental impact and require an environmental impact statement (“Type I actions”). Borger Station: What’s Up With That?? Katie Quinn-Jacobs and Elisa Evett drove carefully up and down the roads in the upscale Ellis Hollow community counting the houses. They couldn’t quite believe it when they realized that 330 homes were within a 2 km radius of the Borger Station, a major gas compressor facility. Ellis Hollow, a bedroom community for Cornell University, has been living with a sleeping giant in its midst for decades. The 23,000+ horsepower Borger Station gas compressor, a facility consisting of two older Dresser Clark 5800 hp turbines and one newer Solar Taurus Model 12,126 hp turbine, has been running below capacity for years moving an un-specified volume of gas through the Dominion Pipeline from November to March to meet the demands of National Grid gas customers during the winter months. In fact, this is unassuming looking compressor facility is actually permitted to emit more than 250 tons/year of nitrogen oxides, thus putting it well over the 100 tons/year threshold and categorizing it as a Title V or major facility. But changes are coming to Ellis Hollow due to the recent approval of the Dominion New Market expansion which will allow 100,000,000 cubic feet of additional gas to be pushed through this 50+ year old pipeline each and every day. Some time in the next few months, the slumbering giant will awake belching forth not only many tons of nitrogen oxides, but also greenhouse gases, along with fine particulates, and toxic compounds such as formaldehyde and benzene in levels that have been shown to be a threat to health – especially children’s. A community center that is home to a day care center, swimming pool, and several summer camps, is just down the road from Borger. Ironically, the residents of Ellis Hollow who will be breathing this toxic cocktail, don’t even have access to gas for their own home heating! Because the changes at Borger didn’t require a new permit from the Town of Dryden or from the NY DEC, most residents were unaware of the expansion until a feisty group of mothers and grandmothers got involved. In recent months, Katie and Elisa coordinated a team of women organizing under the banner of the non-profit organization Mothers Out Front. The community organizing team worked to get the word out to local residents and to enlist the cooperation of local authorities to oppose the gas expansion and to help conduct health studies and air quality monitoring in order to establish a pre-expansion baseline. Although they haven’t been able to stop the project, they have made headway in enlisting the help of the Dryden Town Board and local residents in advocating for questions to be answered and data to be collected so the community can be informed. There are two new proposed solar farms in Dryden. They are a small part of a big change—a turn away from fossil fuel burning toward energy from the sun. If you are a Dryden resident and can attend the Board Meeting at the Town Hall on March 30th, 7:00 pm, we would most welcome your presence. Time is short and they need to know that lots of people stand behind this important decision. Without this we have no hope of achieving carbon emission reduction goals set by the town, Tompkins County, or NYS. The decision will be made by the Board on March 30th. Please sign now whether or not you are a Dryden resident If you are a Dryden resident and can attend the Board Meeting at the Town Hall on March 30th, 7:00 pm, we would most welcome your presence. Whether or not you are a resident of Dryden, please go to “Solar Energy Petition ” and add your name to our message to the Dryden Town Board to go forward now . Time is short and they need to know that lots of people stand behind this important decision. Without this we have no hope of achieving carbon emission reduction goals set by the town, Tompkins County, or NYS. The decision will be made by the Board on March 30th. We, the undersigned, ask the Dryden Town Board to continue their support of large scale solar development. With global warming delivering climate change to our doorstep, the need to stop fossil fuel build-out is critical. Because the siting of solar development is contingent on nearby connection to the electric grid, we need to make the available sites work. Homeowners and others are concerned not only about the visual impact of large acreage solar, but also the impact on wildlife and recreation. Therefore we also ask that, while continuing to support this project, the Town Board members consider the concerns of residents and require the developers to mitigate the visual impacts with performance specifications for good screening of the panels along property lines adjacent to houses, roads, and the cemetery. If allowable within the constraints of fencing requirements, access by wildlife would be beneficial. How will Cornell get to a Carbon Neutral goal by 2035? Come and find out. It’s an ambitious plan worth learning about. ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell’s Senior Leaders Climate Action Group (SLCAG) will host a public forum Tuesday, March 28, to discuss its report, “Options for Achieving a Carbon Neutral Campus by 2035,” from 4:30 to 6PM at the Hotel Ithaca, 222 S. Cayuga St. The event is free and open to the public. Released in the fall, the report builds off Cornell University’s existing Climate Action Plan, further outlining solutions to reduce energy demands and increase clean energy supply. Following the presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session for community members. Sarah Zemanick, director of the Campus Sustainability Office. As I have moved about the Southern Tier since Jan. 20, 2017, I have heard several people refer to some kind of listening process as a key in organizing. Then they usually say if it weren’t so atrociously time consuming, they’d be all over it. I would like to address this concern. It is true that the foundation of all organizing is the art of listening. Not just because it shows respect for the people whose interest you require. Not because it flatters them. Listening is not a tactic or a means of manipulating people. It is a means of organizing them. Helping them develop their power. You say you’re worried about ______. What could be changed that would make you feel better about that? Who would make that decision? What would it take to get them to see it your way? Yes, for most people, it’s a stirring experience. They will think thoughts they’ve never thought before, see connections they hadn’t seen before, and surprise themselves by saying things they didn’t know they knew. They will be intellectually excited. “Outside Agitator” is the name of a scapegoat people in power love to accuse whenever constituents challenge their control. They’re not far off, but it’s actually the inside agitator, the person’s own self-organizing, that’s causing all the trouble. There’s not much any politician can do about that—at least, not in a free society. In our culture, the individual citizen’s power lies dormant, like the pale sprout inside an acorn. What makes it start to itch and twitch and push its way to the surface is the realization that citizenship comes with a constitutional right to organize for change. It is the role of the organizer to pose the questions that awaken this power—tell me what you’re up against; why is that; who else feels this way; and what could be done to change it? This probing is the nascent, revolutionary act of organizing: of you challenging another person to organize her/himself. In working over these seemingly simple questions, a person crosses a threshold that cannot be uncrossed; for, once someone sees and feels his or her rightful place in a democracy, things are just different. For good. Wacky Winter Weather: Record Warmth in Buffalo and U.S. – Linked to Global Warming? Save The Date: DISTINGUISHED LECTURE: “Climate Change Denial in the Age of Trump,” Dr. Michael Mann, Climate Scientist and Author of “The Madhouse Effect,” illustrated by cartoonist Tom Toles. Come Earth Day, April 22, the extraordinary story of Standing Rock will hit the big screen at the Tribeca Film Festival. “AWAKE, A Dream from Standing Rock” is a documentary that captures the indigenous-led resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Josh Fox, who shed light on the impacts of fracking in his documentary Gasland and its sequel, Gasland 2, is directing this film alongside James Spione (“Silenced”) and Myron Dewey, who owns Digital Smoke Signals, a social media film company that tells stories through indigenous eyes. Actress Shailene Woodley (“Big Little Lies”) is the film’s executive producer. The documentary’s trailer was released Friday (March 24). “What’s going on here at Standing Rock isn’t just about Standing Rock,” one man says in the trailer. “It’s not just about stopping a pipeline. This is about the survival of humanity.” The trailer revolves primarily around the events of November 2 where militarized police pepper sprayed, deployed tear gas and shot non-lethal ammunition against water protectors along Cantapeta Creek during a water ceremony. CALGARY – President Donald Trump’s administration approved TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, cheering the oil industry and angering environmentalists even as further hurdles for the controversial project loom. “Transcanada will finally be allowed to complete this long-overdue project with efficiency and with speed,” Trump said in the Oval Office before turning to ask TransCanada CEO Russell Girling when construction would start. OSLO, March 27 (Reuters) – Standing Rock Sioux tribe representatives [met] the ethics watchdog for Norway’s $915 billion sovereign wealth fund on Monday over a U.S. oil pipeline, a watchdog official said on Monday. On Sunday, Norway’s largest bank DNB sold its share of loans funding the Dakota Access oil pipeline, ending its involvement in a project that has faced strong opposition from Native Americans and environmental groups. The pipeline will move crude oil from the U.S. Northern Plains to the Midwest and then on to the Gulf of Mexico. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund holds $248 million in bonds of Energy Transfer Partners LP, which is leading the pipeline project. The fund has an ethical profile and is not allowed to invest in companies that breach certain guidelines regarding the environment, human rights and corruption, among other criteria. “We will be meeting them today. They have asked for a meeting and said they would like to meet us,” Eli Ane Lund, head of the secretariat of the fund’s Council on Ethics, told Reuters, declining to give further details. A meeting with the watchdog does not mean the fund is considering excluding a company. Representatives from non-governmental organisations often meet with Council on Ethics officials. The fund invests in close to 9,000 companies worldwide. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A December oil pipeline spill in western North Dakota might have been three times larger than first estimated and among the biggest in state history, a state environmental expert said Friday. About 530,000 gallons of oil is now believed to have spilled from the Belle Fourche Pipeline that was likely ruptured by a slumping hillside about 16 miles northwest of Belfield in Billings County, Health Department environmental scientist Bill Seuss said. The earlier estimate was about 176,000 gallons. No decision has been made on any fines against Wyoming-based True Cos., which operates the pipeline. The company says it is committed to cleaning up the spill and that the job is about 80 percent done. “There’s no timeline for completion, spokeswoman Wendy Owen said. “We will be there until it is” done. A company’s efforts to clean up after an oil spill are a large factor in how much of a fine is levied, according to Seuss. Mattis has long espoused the position that the armed forces, for a host of reasons, need to cut dependence on fossil fuels and explore renewable energy where it makes sense. He had also, as commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command in 2010, signed off on the Joint Operating Environment , which lists climate change as one of the security threats the military expected to confront over the next 25 years. THE DEATH OF EXPERTISE The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters By Tom Nichols 252 pages. Oxford University Press. $24.95. Donald J. Trump’s taste for advisers with little or no government experience; his selection of cabinet members like Scott Pruitt and Rick Perry, who have expressed outright hostility to the agencies they now oversee; and the slow pace of making senior-level appointments in high-profile departments like State, Treasury and Homeland Security — all speak to the new president’s disregard for policy expertise and knowledge, just as his own election victory underscores many voters’ scorn for experience. This is part of a larger wave of anti-rationalism that has been accelerating for years — manifested in the growing ascendance of emotion over reason in public debates, the blurring of lines among fact and opinion and lies, and denialism in the face of scientific findings about climate change and vaccination. “The Death of Expertise” turns out to be an unexceptional book about an important subject. The volume is useful in its way, providing an overview of just how we arrived at this distressing state of affairs. But it’s more of a flat-footed compendium than an original work, pulling together examples from recent news stories while iterating arguments explored in more depth in books like Al Gore’s “The Assault on Reason,” Susan Jacoby’s “The Age of American Unreason,” Robert Hughes’s “Culture of Complaint” and, of course, Richard Hofstadter’s 1963 classic, “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.” Nichols’s source notes are one of the highlights of the volume, pointing the reader to more illuminating books and articles. Further reading: ” …Though not originally written for Americans, “Democracy in America” must always remain a work of engrossing and constantly increasing interest to citizens of the United States as the first philosophic and comprehensive view of our society, institutions, and destiny. No one can rise even from the most cursory perusal without clearer insight and more patriotic appreciation of the blessings of liberty protected by law, nor without encouragement for the stability and perpetuity of the Republic. The causes which appeared to M. de Tocqueville to menace both, have gone. The despotism of public opinion, the tyranny of majorities, the absence of intellectual freedom which seemed to him to degrade administration and bring statesmanship, learning, and literature to the level of the lowest, are no longer considered. The violence of party spirit has been mitigated, and the judgment of the wise is not subordinated to the prejudices of the ignorant. A senior member of the Trump administration’s beachhead team at the EPA unexpectedly resigned over concerns of the “integrity” of political appointees and career employees. David Schnare was expected to take a top post at EPA, but he abruptly resigned March 15th. It wasn’t for personal reasons, but over what he called a “question of integrity.” Schnare resigned with the title of assistant deputy administrator. “This wasn’t about me being angry or upset,” Schnare told The Daily Caller News Foundation, saying his resignation had a “much deeper story” than he was willing to disclose at the time. Schnare didn’t go into detail, but said he would soon write about the events that led to his resignation. His comments, however, suggested infighting at EPA between transition officials, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s inner circle and career employees. Schnare said the White House is looking into the circumstances surrounding his resignation. The EPA did not respond to The DCNF’s request for comment. Reports already suggested tension between President Donald Trump’s political appointees and EPA career staff. Last month, FracTracker Alliance featured a blog entry and map exploring the controversy around National Fuel’s proposed Northern Access Pipeline (NAPL) project, shown in the map below. The proposed project, which has already received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), is still awaiting another decision by April 7, 2017 — Section 401 Water Quality Certification. By that date, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) must give either final approval, or else deny the project. The NAPL project includes the construction of 97-mile-long pipeline to bring fracked Marcellus gas through New York State, and into Canada. The project also involves construction of a variety of related major infrastructure projects, including a gas dehydration facility, and a ten-fold expansion of the capacity of the Porterville Compressor Station located at the northern terminus of the proposed pipeline, in Erie County, NY. On three consecutive days in early February, 2017, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) held hearings in Western New York to gather input about the NAPL project. On February 7th, the day of the first meeting at Saint Bonaventure University in Allegany County, NY, an alarming — and yet to be fully reported — incident widely considered to be a gas leak, occurred at, or near, the Porterville Compressor Station. The incident is thought to be connected to the planned upgrades to the facility, but was not even mentioned as a concern during the public meetings relating to the Northern Access Pipeline in the subsequent hours and days. What follows is a story of poor communication between the utility company, first responders, and local residents, resulting in confusion and even panic, and has yet to be conclusively explained to the general public. We know that a little past 10 AM on February 7th, people in the villages of Elma and East Aurora, within about a mile of the Porterville Compressor Station, reported strong odors of gas. They filed complaints with the local gas utility (National Fuel), and the local 911 center, which referred the calls to the local Elma Fire Department. The fire department went to the Porterville Compressor station to investigate, remembering a similar incident from a few years earlier. At the compressor station, representatives from National Fuel, the operator of the compressor station, assured the fire company that they were conducting a routine flushing of an odorant line, and the situation was under control, so the fire company departed. Residents in the area became more alarmed when they noticed that the odor was stronger outside their buildings than inside them. National Fuel then ordered many residents to evacuate their homes. The East Aurora police facilitated the evacuation and instructed residents to gather in the East Aurora Library not far from those homes. Nearby businesses, such as Fisher Price, headquartered in East Aurora, chose to send their employees home for the day, due to the offensive odor and perceived risks. Around 11:30 in the morning, up to 200 clients at Suburban Adult Services, Inc. (SASi), were evacuated to the Jamison Road Fire Station, where they remained until around 3 PM that afternoon. Over 200 reports were received, some from as far away as Orchard Park, eight miles down-wind of the compressor station. After East Aurora elementary and middle schools placed complaints, National Fuel told them to evacuate students and staff from their buildings. Realizing that the smell was stronger outside than inside the building, school leaders revised their plans, and started to get buses ready to transport student to the high school, where there had not been reports of the odor. Before the buses could load, however, the police department notified the school that the gas leak had been repaired, and that there was no need to evacuate. School officials then activated the school’s air circulation system to rid the building of the fumes. ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland lawmakers voted Monday to ban hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas, a process better known as fracking. The Senate voted 35-10 for a measure that already has been approved by the House. That sends the bill to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who supports the ban. Fracking isn’t being done in Maryland now, but a moratorium on issuing permits ends in October. Fracking opponents cited health and environmental concerns for not allowing the drilling process to ever happen in the state. The drilling technique forces pressurized water and chemicals underground to break up the rock and release the gas. Critics say the process and disposal of tainted wastewater pose risks of water and air pollution, earthquakes and property devaluation. India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its thirty-seventh flight (PSLV-C35), launches the 371 kg SCATSAT-1 for weather related studies and seven co-passenger satellites into polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Co-passenger satellites are ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B, ALSAT-1N from Algeria, NLS-19 from Canada and Pathfinder-1 from USA as well as two satellites PRATHAM from IIT Bombay and PISAT from PES University, Bengaluru. For the first time, under the impetus of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French Space Agency (CNES), space agencies of more than 60 countries agreed to engage their satellites, to coordinate their methods and their data to monitor human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. The COP21 climate conference held in Paris last December acted as a wake-up call in this context. Without satellites, the reality of global warming would not have been recognised and the subsequent historic agreement at the United Nations headquarters in New York on April 22, 2016 would not have been signed. Out of the 50 essential climate variables being monitored today, 26 – including rising sea level, sea ice extent and greenhouse gas concentrations in all layers of the atmosphere – can be measured only from space. The key to effectively implementing the Paris Agreement lies in the ability to verify that nations are fulfilling their commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Only satellites can do that. Invited to New Delhi by ISRO and CNES on April 3, 2016, the world’s space agencies decided to establish “an independent, international system” to centralise data from their Earth-observing satellites through the ‘New Delhi Declaration’ that officially came into effect on May 16, 2016. The goal now will be to inter calibrate these satellite data so that they can be combined and compared over time. In other words, it is to make the transition to closely coordinated and easily accessible ‘big space data’. There are over 7,000 gas-filled bubbles in remote parts of Siberia that are set to explode, scientists have discovered. Following extensive field expeditions and satellite surveys, researchers in Russia have identified thousands of bulging bumps in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas – far more than they had expected. Alexey Titovsky, director of Yamal department for science and innovation, told the Siberian Times that understanding the bubbles is of paramount important to assessing the risk they pose. In July last year, scientists released footage of the ground on Bely Island wobbling underfoot. When they punctured them, methane and carbon dioxide was released. It is thought an abnormally warm summer had caused the permafrost to thaw, leading to the release of methane that had been locked up in the ground. At present, it is thought this process is behind the emergence of the numerous craters that have appeared over recent years – including the ‘gateway to the underworld’ crater near Batagaiin. Titovsky said the 7,000 bulging bumps identified could also collapse into craters: “At first such a bump is a bubble, or ‘bulgunyakh’ in the local Yakut language. With time the bubble explodes, releasing gas. This is how gigantic funnels form. Thawing permafrost as a result of global warming is expected to lead to more methane release in the future, a spokesman from the Ural branch of Russian Academy of Science said. “An abnormally warm summer in 2016 on the Yamal peninsula must have added to the process,” they added. On Bely Island, scientists found methane was 1,000 times above normal, while CO2 was around 25 times higher. “As we took off a layer of grass and soil, a fountain of gas erupted,” one of the scientists working at the site explained. The release of methane from the thawing permafrost is of huge concern to climate scientists. Max Holmes, the deputy director and senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Centre, told IBTimes UK it could lead to the collapse of human infrastructures, like roads and towns, as well as creating a feedback cycle that results in even more warming. While the White House is not expected to explicitly say the United States is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, and people familiar with the White House deliberations say Mr. Trump has not decided whether to do so, the policy reversals would make it virtually impossible to meet the emissions reduction goals set by the Obama administration under the international agreement. In an announcement that could come as soon as Thursday or as late as next month, according to people familiar with the White House’s planning, Mr. Trump will order Mr. Pruitt to withdraw and rewrite a set of Obama-era regulations known as the Clean Power Plan, according to a draft document obtained by The New York Times. The Obama rule was devised to shut down hundreds of heavily polluting coal-fired power plants and freeze construction of new coal plants, while replacing them with vast wind and solar farms. The draft also lays out options for legally blocking or weakening about a half-dozen additional Obama-era executive orders and policies on climate change. Experts in environmental law say it will not be possible for Mr. Trump to quickly or simply roll back the most substantive elements of Mr. Obama’s climate change regulations, noting that the process presents a steep legal challenge that could take many years and is likely to end up before the Supreme Court. Economists are skeptical that a rollback of the rules would restore lost coal jobs because the demand for coal has been steadily shrinking for years. Scientists and climate policy advocates around the world say they are watching the administration’s global warming actions and statements with deep worry. Many reacted with deep concern to Mr. Pruitt’s remarks this month that he did not believe carbon dioxide was a primary driver of climate change, a statement at odds with the global scientific consensus. They also noted the remarks last week by Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, in justifying Mr. Trump’s proposed cuts to climate change research programs. It’s a safe assumption that most Americans have not heard of the US Chemical Safety Board. Donald Trump is certainly banking on that, since he proposed scrapping it in his recent budget proposal. But if the small agency is indeed de-funded, the results could be catastrophic—and we might be left wondering, as the bodies are counted after some large chemical disaster, why nobody was angry when the CSB went away. If Trump succeeds in de-funding the CSB, that’s work that will largely be left undone—in a nation with a creaking chemical-production infrastructure. It’s expensive to shutter old chemical plants because of remediation costs, and many are being extended past their planned lifetimes. The federal government doesn’t track chemical accidents—a small scandal in itself—but best estimates seem to indicate an uptick. The Deepwater Horizon blowout and the large explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, are the most memorable accidents of the past decade; in West, 15 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed in 2013. Forty-six people have died in US chemical plants since then. This is why worker and safety advocates are panicked by the CSB’s potential de-funding. Since 1997, the IEA has produced an annual compilation of its most used statistics in a booklet easily accessible to all – the aptly named Key World Energy Statistics (KWES) – and the hugely successful booklet has become a constant companion of energy analysts and policy makers.

2019-04-22T20:33:31Z

https://www.thebanner.news/2017/05/13/banner-vol-3-no-13-awake/

An ∼135-bp sequence called the A1/A2 repeat was isolated from the transcribed region of the 26-18S rDNA intergenic spacer (IGS) of Nicotiana tomentosiformis. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and Southern blot analysis revealed its occurrence as an independent satellite (termed an A1/A2 satellite) outside of rDNA loci in species of Nicotiana section Tomentosae. The chromosomal location, patterns of genomic dispersion, and copy numbers of its tandemly arranged units varied between the species. In more distantly related Nicotiana species the A1/A2 repeats were found only at the nucleolar organizer regions (NOR). There was a trend toward the elimination of the A1/A2 satellite in N. tabacum (tobacco), an allotetraploid with parents closely related to the diploids N. sylvestris and N. tomentosiformis. This process may have already commenced in an S3 generation of synthetic tobacco. Cytosine residues in the IGS were significantly hypomethylated compared with the A1/A2 satellite. There was no clear separation between the IGS and satellite fractions in sequence analysis of individual clones and we found no evidence for CG suppression. Taken together the data indicate a dynamic nature of the A1/A2 repeats in Nicotiana genomes, with evidence for recurrent integration, copy number expansions, and contractions. PLANT genomes often contain considerable amounts of repetitive sequences. Of these, a few are transcribed, including clusters of ribosomal RNA (rRNA), transfer RNA, and histone genes. The large ribosomal DNA (rDNA) unit cluster (35S rDNA in plants; Hemleben and Zentgraf 1994) encoding 18S, 5.8S, and 26S rRNA occurs in one or more chromosomal loci. Variable numbers of rRNA genes (from 1000 to >30,000), forming multigene families in tandem arrays, have been reported for a variety of plant species (for review see Hemleben and Zentgraf 1994). The highly conserved genic regions are separated by a more diverged intergenic spacer (IGS), which in turn contains several subrepeated regions. While there is enormous variability in IGS sequences between plant genomes there is usually high homogeneity within a genome. Homogeneity of units is maintained by gene conversion and nonhomologous recombination, forces collectively called concerted evolution (Dover 1982). Here we characterize a sequence found in the IGS of some Nicotiana species that is also scattered as a satellite across the genome. Satellite sequences usually do not encode structural RNA or protein. Limited transcription has, however, been recently demonstrated and a role for satellite-specific small interfering RNA molecules (siRNA) has been proposed for the establishment of a heterochromatic state (Volpeet al. 2002). In higher plants, satellites may occupy large chromosomal domains, usually at centromeric and subtelomeric positions (Schmidt and Hes-lop-Harrison 1998). Even closely related plant species may differ substantially in type and abundance of satellite repeats. It is known that some satellites evolve rapidly while others remain unchanged throughout long evolutionary periods (Grebensteinet al. 1995; Kinget al. 1995; Vershininet al. 1996; Ugarkovic and Plohl 2002). Mechanisms leading to the evolution of a novel satellite are not well understood but include integration of exogenous viral DNA (Bejaranoet al. 1996), divergence of endogenous viral elements (Langdonet al. 2000), and nonhomologous recombination (Schwarzacheret al. 1984), processes accompanied by gene conversion, amplification, and translocation (Ugarkovic and Plohl 2002). In this article we explore possible mechanisms for the origin and evolution of a Nicotiana satellite derived from the IGS of rDNA. In Nicotiana several families of repeated sequences have been isolated and characterized by molecular and cytogenetic methods (Koukalovaet al. 1989; Kentonet al. 1993; Gazdovaet al. 1995; Chenet al. 1997; Matyaseket al. 1997; Jakowitschet al. 1998; Limet al. 2000b). Some satellites, e.g., the HRS60 family, are structural features of Nicotiana chromosomes, and others, e.g., NTRS or GRD, occur in a subgroup of species and appeared more recently in evolution (Limet al. 2000b). Lim et al. (2000b) showed that the chromosomal distribution of repetitive sequences could be used to generate a phylogenetic scheme for Nicotiana section Tomentosae. Molecular cytogenetics provides a useful approach that is independent of those based on intragenic transcribed spacer sequences (Chaseet al. 2003) and matK (Aoki and Ito 2000; Chaseet al. 2003) sequencing. In section Tomentosae rDNA clusters occur on homeologous chromosome 3 and in most species also on chromosome 4, indicating a relatively stable chromosomal organization (Limet al. 2000b). However, molecular methods revealed fast evolution of the units at these loci. For example, the length of the IGS varies substantially among Nicotiana species (Borisjuket al. 1997) and there is evidence for rapid evolution of IGS sequences in natural (Kovariket al. 1996; Volkovet al. 1999; Skalickáet al. 2003) and synthetic (Skalickáet al. 2003) tobacco. IGS subrepeats probably represent the fastest “molecular clock” in rDNA (Hemleben and Zentgraf 1994; Falquetet al. 1997). We have isolated a 135-bp subrepeated sequence from the IGS of the rDNA unit of Nicotiana tomentosiformis.We report the molecular characterization of IGS sequences both within and outside of rDNA loci. We also conduct phylogenetic analyses of these sequences from the two genomic domains and show their chromosomal location in several diploid and allotetraploid Nicotiana species. Plant material: Natural diploid and tetraploid species are listed in Table 1. The Th37 synthetic tobacco line was derived from one plant generated from ♀N. sylvestris (2n = 24) × ♂N. tomentosiformis (2n = 24) and converted to a fertile allotetraploid by in vitro callus culture (S0, Burk 1973). Plants were grown in a greenhouse under standard cultivation conditions. DNA isolation, restriction analysis, and Southern blot hybridization: Total genomic DNA was extracted from a young leaf, using a slightly modified cetylammonium bromide (CTAB) protocol (Saghai-Maroofet al. 1984). DNA was digested with an excess of restriction enzyme (twice for 3 hr) and subjected to electrophoresis on agarose gels. To each lane 1–3 μg of DNA was loaded to detect high- and medium-copy repeats. Following electrophoresis, the ethidium-bromide-stained gels were photographed, blotted onto membranes (Hybond N+, Amersham Pharmacia, Buckinghamshire, UK), and hybridized to [α-32P]dCTP-labeled DNA probes (>108 dpm·μg-1 DNA, Dekaprime kit; Fermentas, Vilnius, Lithuania). Oligonucleotide IGS_SR-V probe was labeled by [γ-32P]ATP in a polynucleotide kinase reaction. Southern hybridization was carried out in 0.25 m Na-phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, supplemented with 7% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at 65° for 16 hr followed by washing with 2× SSC (1× SSC = 150 mm NaCl, 15 mm Na3-citrate, pH 7.0), 0.1% SDS (twice for 5 min), 0.2× SSC, and 0.1% SDS (twice for 15 min). Oligonucleotide probe was hybridized at 45° and the blot was washed with 2× SSC (twice for 15 min). The membranes were exposed to X-ray film (Medix, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic) for 4–48 hr. A PhosphorImager (Storm; Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA) and ImageQuant (Molecular Dynamics) software were used to quantify the hybridization signal. DNA probes for Southern hybridization: The 18S rDNA probe contained a 1.7-kb EcoRI fragment of the 18S rRNA gene subunit from Solanum lycopersicum (Kisset al. 1989; accession no. X51576). The 26S rDNA probe was a 220-bp fragment of the 3′ end of the tobacco 26S rRNA gene (accession no. X76056) and was obtained by PCR amplification of the region between nucleotide (nt) 2901 (5′-GAATTCACC CAAGTGT TGGGAT-3′) and nt 3121 (5′-AGAGGCGTTCAGTCATA ATC-3′) with respect to the transcription starting site of the 26S rRNA gene. The IGS_A1/A2 probe was a cloned ∼280-bp A1/A2 subrepeat from N. tomentosiformis IGS (Volkovet al. 1999; accession no. Y08427). The IGS_SR-V probe was a 5′-AGGTGTTGAAAGGCACCTCAAGG-3′ oligonucleotide between nt 4196 and 4218 (Volkovet al. 1999; accession no. Y08427). PCR and cloning procedures: Templates for PCR were prepared as follows: large amounts (50 μg) of total genomic DNA from N. tomentosiformis cv. NIC479/84 were digested with an excess of EcoRV restriction enzyme and subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis. Material from 12.0- and 4.8-kb fractions was isolated from the agarose gel, using a gel extraction kit (Qiaex II; QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). PCR amplification was performed with 30–130 ng of genomic DNA as templates (∼12.0- and ∼4.8-kb fractions, respectively), in a reaction volume of 80 μl containing Taq buffer, MgCl2 to a final concentration of 1.5 mm, each nucleotide at 0.2 mm, each primer at 0.5 μm, and 1.6 units of thermostable Taq DNA polymerase (DyNAzyme). The PCR was run on a MJ Research (Watertown, MA) PTC100 under the following conditions: 5 min initial denaturation at 94° (hot start); 25 cycles of 30 sec at 94°, 30 sec at 68° (-0.5° per cycle), 30 sec at 72°; 10 cycles of 30 sec at 94°, 30 sec at 55°, 30 sec at 72°; followed by 10 min at 72°. Primers were designed according to the published sequence of N. tomentosiformis IGS between 26S and 18S rDNA (accession no. Y08427). Primer sequences for the A2 subrepeat were SubrepA_for 5′-GGTTGTTGTGAGTTGTGTCTGGC-3′ and SubrepA_rev 5′-CAATCRAAACRTRTATATRCCCC-3′ (Figure 1). PCR generated a ladder of products (∼140 to ∼700 bp), which were cloned using the QIAGEN PCR cloning kit into the polylinker of pDrive cloning vector (blue/white and ampicillin resistance selection). Representative clones from each IGS and satellite fractions were submitted to the EMBL/GenBank database (AY397676 and AY397677). DNA sequencing and analysis: Six randomly selected clones of the PCR products (three from 12.0- and three from 4.8-kb fractions, respectively) were purified in QIAGEN Plasmid mini kit columns and sequenced using SP6 and T7 internal oligonucleotide primers. DNA sequencing was performed by automated “cycle sequencing” at the Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Brno, Czech Republic (ABI PRISM 310 genetic analyzer, Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, CT). Sequence analyses were performed using the GCG package (version 10.3; Accelrys, San Diego). Expected values of CpG dinucleotide distributions are calculated from the formula E(CpG) = (n - 1) × f(C) × f(G) where n is the number of bases in the region and f(N) is the frequency of a given nucleotide. Computer analysis of DNA structure was carried out using CURVATURE software (Shpigelmanet al. 1993) that implements the nearest-neighbor wedge model of intrinsic DNA curvature. Fluorescence in situ hybridization: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was carried out as described in Lim et al. (2000b). Two cloned probes were used: (i) the IGS probe, an ∼280-bp A1/A2 subrepeat cloned from N. tomentosiformis IGS (Volkovet al. 1999), and (ii) pTa 71, a cloned 9-kb EcoRI fragment of the 35S rDNA unit from Triticum aestivum (Gerlach and Bedbrook 1979). These probes were used at a concentration of 4 μg·ml-1 and labeled with digoxigenin-11-dUTP (Roche Biochemicals, Sussex, UK) or biotin-16-dUTP (Sigma Aldrich). In all, the hybridization mix contained 50% (v/v) formamide, 10% (w/v) dextran sulfate, 0.1% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulfate in 2× SSC (0.3 m sodium chloride, 0.03 m sodium citrate). After overnight hybridization at 37°, the slides were washed in 20% (v/v) formamide in 0.1× SSC at 42° at an estimated hybridization stringency of 80–85%. Sites of probe hybridization were detected using 20 μg · ml-1 fluorescein-conjugated anti-digoxigenin IgG (Roche Biochemicals) and 5 μg·ml-1 Cy3-conjugated avidin (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). Chromosomes were counterstained with 2 μg · ml-1 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) in 4× SSC, mounted in Vectashield medium (Vector Laboratories, Peterborough, UK), and examined using a Leica DM RA2. Images were captured using Openlab (Improvision, Coventry, UK) and assembled to a plate using Adobe Photoshop (Adobe Systems, Edinburgh). Images were treated for color contrast and brightness uniformly. Localization of IGS repeats on chromosomes: A 280-bp dimer referred to as A1/A2 subrepeat (Volkovet al. 1999) was cloned from N. tomentosiformis IGS (Figure 1). This was used as a probe in FISH and Southern hybridization experiments. For FISH we conducted simultaneous hybridization of the IGS probe (for A1/A2 units, green fluorescence) and pTa71 (for rDNA genic regions, red fluorescence) to root-tip metaphases. When these probes label a chromosome region independently, the fluorescence color reflects the fluorochrome attached to the probe, but when the probes colocalize, the fluorescence color reflects the ratio of probe label present, leading to yellow and orange fluorescence colors. The experiment revealed that the IGS probe had two distinct distributions: (i) within the rDNA loci in locations that were expected from previous karyotype analyses (Limet al. 2000b) and (ii) dispersed in local concentrations on some chromosomes of N. tomentosiformis (both NIC 479/84 and TW142 varieties), N. kawakamii, N. tomentosa, N. otophora, and N. setchellii (all section Tomentosae). The dispersed A1/A2 units were completely absent in N. glutinosa (not shown) and N. sylvestris (section Sylvestris, ex. Alatae sensu; Knappet al. 2004, Figure 3). Sequence analysis shows that N. glutinosa should not be in section Tomentosae and is more likely a member of section Undulatae (Chaseet al. 2003; Knappet al. 2004). There was considerable variability in signal distribution between the species: while in N. tomentosiformis the IGS probe hybridized to six or seven chromosomes (at non-rDNA chromosomal loci), in N. setchellii there was only a small amount of signal on the short arm of a small metacentric chromosome. In N. tomentosa, the subrepeat hybridized to small metacentrics while in N. tomentosiformis the signal was present predominantly on larger chromosomes. Thus there is little apparent phylogenetic signal in the distribution of dispersed A1/A2 subrepeats outside of rDNA loci (A1/A2 satellites) in section Tomentosae (Figure 2). In most cases the IGS probe showed a dispersed, speckled signal distribution that often occupied nearly a whole chromosome arm, e.g., in N. tomentosiformis chromosomes. Some chromosomes carried more condensed or denser IGS probe signal distribution, particularly in N. tomentosa and N. tomentosiformis var. NIC479/84. This may indicate both dispersed and clustered organizations of the A1/A2 satellite repeats. Interestingly, in N. kawakamii the A1/A2 satellite was frequently associated with dispersed rDNA genic units, the latter having been reported previously (Limet al. 2000b). —Restriction enzyme map of the major N. tomentosiformis rDNA unit. The positions of probes (thick lines) and restriction fragment lengths are indicated. IGS structural regions (SR) are termed as SR-II (containing C subrepeats), SR-V (downstream from the transcription starting site), and SR-VI (containing A1/A2 subrepeats). Restriction enzymes are as follows: E, EcoRV. The A1/A2 subrepeat unit used as a probe is enlarged and contained the following restriction sites: BstNI, ClaI, ScrFI, SfaNI, RsaI, HaeIII, and DdeI. Positions of PCR primers used for amplification of A1/A2 sequences are indicated by solid arrowheads. Distances are approximately to scale. —Karyotypes of Nicotiana species in section Tomentosae probed by FISH, using digoxigenin-labeled (FITC detected, green fluorescence) IGS probe against the A1/A2 repeats and biotin-labeled (Cy3 detected, red fluorescence) pTa71 for 35S rDNA, counterstained with DAPI for DNA (blue fluorescence). Chromosomes are arranged in decreasing order of size except for rDNA carrying chromosomes whose position is identified in Lim et al. (2000b). When the IGS repeat and the 35S rDNA probe colocalize, the signal is yellow or orange depending on the relative strength of the two signals. All species have localized concentrations of dispersed A1/A2 satellite sequences. N. kawakamii is distinct in that the 35S probe also labels at dispersed locations. Bar, 10 μm. —FISH experiment labeled as in Figure 2. Metaphase chromosomes are shown. (A–C) N. sylvestris. There are three rDNA loci (six sites). The IGS probe colocalizes with the pTa71 at these loci and at no other site. (D) Synthetic N. tabacum (Th37.9); (E) labeled chromosomes isolated. The rDNA loci carrying 35S rDNA sequences are found at the terminal end of the short arm of chromosomes T3, S10, S11, and S12 (E, bottom row). The rDNA locus on S12 is amplified (Skalickaet al. 2003); it is also more orange than the other two S-genome loci, appearing more like the T3 locus. There is dispersed IGS signal on the long arm of chromosome T3 and at five other pairs of chromosomes (E, top row). The total IGS signal is less than that in the two cultivars of N. tomentosiformis examined. (F) Feral N. tabacum collected in Bolivia (accession Nee et al. 51789, S. Knapp); (G) labeled chromosomes isolated. There is less dispersed satellite signal than in the synthetic tobacco, its distribution is different (e.g., T3), and the locus on S12 is not amplified. (H) N. tabacum cv. 095-55. The abundance of dispersed A1/A2 satellite is lower than that in the feral tobacco and much lower than that in the synthetic tobacco. Bar, 10 μm. It would be expected that N. tabacum would have an IGS signal distribution that reflected the sum of that found in the diploid progenitors N. sylvestris and N. tomentosiformis. However, there was reduced A1/A2 satellite signal in all three tobacco lines [synthetic tobacco Th37 (Figure 3, D and E), a feral tobacco (Figure 3, F and G) and cv. 095-55 (Figure 3H)]. The reduction in A1/A2 satellite sequence was least apparent in the synthetic tobacco (Figure 3, D and E) and the sequence distribution on a subset of chromosomes most closely reflected, albeit in reduced abundance, that found in N. tomentosiformis (compare labeled chromosomes in Figure 3E with those in Figure 2). But there are differences; e.g., there is a satellite locus on the long arm of the T3 chromosome of Th37 plants that did not occur on chromosome 3 of any N. tomentosiformis varieties studied. The novel locus could have arisen by an allopolyploidy-induced translocation or amplification event. Distribution of A1/A2 satellite in Nicotiana genomes: We carried out Southern blot hybridization to study the distributions of A1/A2 satellite in the genomes of different Nicotiana species. Genomic DNAs were digested with EcoRV restriction enzyme, which has a conserved recognition site in the rDNA unit of Nicotiana (Figure 1 and Borisjuket al. 1997). Southern blots were hybridized sequentially with the 18S and 26S genic probes and the A1/A2 and SRV IGS probes (Figure 4A). The 18S and 26S probes hybridized to a single (N. otophora) or in most cases to multiple (e.g., N. tomentosa) fragments. Multiple bands in the <10-kb region indicated the presence of multiple rDNA families and incomplete rDNA homogenization. As expected both IGS probes hybridized to the same fragments as the 18S genic probe. However, an additional band of ∼12 kb of variable intensity was revealed in N. tomentosiformis (both cultivars), N. kawakamii, N. tomentosa, N. setchellii, and N. otophora after hybridization with the A1/A2 probe. The 12-kb signal was nearly (N. tabacum) or completely absent in lanes loaded with DNA from N. glutinosa, N. sylvestris, N. undulata, N. paniculata, N. rustica, N. alata, N. longiflora, N. glauca, N. solanifolia, and N. suaveolens (Figure 4 and not shown). Since the 12-kb fragment did not hybridize with the 18S, 26S, and SR-V probes it is likely that the band represents a non-rDNA satellite fraction of the IGS-related A1/A2 repeats. The majority of satellite repeats apparently lack a conserved EcoRV site although several minor fragments could be visualized after longer exposure of the blot. The complex pattern of hybridization bands in Figure 4B, lane 5, is consistent with extensive rearrangements of the parental IGS in this subline of synthetic tobacco (Skalickaet al. 2003). The distribution of A1/A2 repeats into rDNA and non-rDNA fractions was quantified by counting the radioactivity in the satellite and rDNA fractions after hybridization of the blot with the A1/A2 IGS probe (Figure 4, Table 2). It is evident that the relative abundance of satellite signal in the 12-kb EcoRV fraction correlates with FISH analysis (compare Figures 2 and 3 with Figure 4). It is evident that there is a negligible amount of A1/A2 satellite in both cultivated tobacco varieties examined. Genomic organization of A1/A2 repeats: To study the genomic organization of A1/A2 repeats we isolated two genomic fractions containing IGS and satellite repeats. Genomic DNA from N. tomentosiformis var. NIC479/84 was digested with EcoRV, gel separated by electrophoresis, and DNAs of 12- and 4.8-kb size fractions were eluted and purified. The purified DNAs, termed as 4.8- and 12-kb EcoRV fractions, were subjected to Southern blot analysis using methylation-insensitive restriction enzymes that have recognition sites within the A1/A2 repeats (Figure 5A). Ladder patterns were obtained from both 12- and 4.8-kb fractions, suggesting that the repeats are tandemly organized in both satellite and IGS fractions. The ladders started at ∼140 bp and were slightly irregular in the 4.8-kb EcoRV fraction (Figure 5A). In contrast, highly regular long ladders were obtained after digestion of the 12-kb EcoRV fraction with RsaI, SfaNI, and DdeI, suggesting that the tandem repeats could form longer arrays of uninterrupted satellite sequences. Another distinction between the two fractions was a prominent ∼0.8-kb band present in the 4.8-kb fraction only. Perhaps the ∼0.8-kb fragment represents a relatively abundant rDNA family characterized by a 6-unit spacing of neighboring RsaI sites. Relative hypomethylation of IGS sequences has already been described in several plant species (Flavellet al. 1988; Torres-Ruiz and Hemleben 1994), including tobacco (B. Koukalova, unpublished data). We were interested in determining the methylation status of IGS repeats within and outside of the rDNA locus. We digested DNA with methylation-sensitive and -insensitive enzymes followed by Southern blot hybridization (Figure 5B). BstNI cuts at CCWGG and is methylation insensitive; its nearby ScrFI isoschizomere cuts at CCNGG and is sensitive to CNG methylation; PvuII cuts at CAGCTG and is sensitive to CNG methylation; ClaI cuts at ATC GAT and is sensitive to CG methylation. Methylation-insensitive BstNI digested both 4.8- and 12-kb fractions into a series of bands. In contrast, ScrFI produced several bands only after digestion of the 4.8-kb fraction, and there was no significant digestion of the 12-kb satellite fraction. Similar results were obtained when ClaI and PvuII enzymes were used although in these cases no methylation-insensitive isoschizomeres were available to check the presence of recognition sites. Taken together, the data indicate that the A1/A2 repeats within the rDNA, compared with those outside rDNA loci, are relatively hypomethylated at cytosine residues. Sequencing analysis of rDNA and satellite A1/A2 repeats: To study sequence homology between IGS and satellite repeats we isolated several clones from the purified genomic fractions of N. tomentosiformis described previously. We carried out PCR, using oligonucleotide primers (Figure 1) designed according to the published IGS sequence (Volkovet al. 1999); one primer contained a degenerative sequence to increase the chance of the primer annealing to mutated sites. The PCR products obtained were analyzed by gel electrophoresis. In both samples the products contained fragments of ∼140 bp and its multiples, confirming a tandem arrangement of repeats. Amplified DNAs were cloned into the pDrive (QIAGEN) vector. Gel analysis of recombinant clones showed that inserts contained all kinds of oligomers up to pentamers with dimers and trimers being most abundant. Several randomly selected clones from each fraction were sequenced and the data were analyzed with previously obtained sequence (Volkovet al. 1999). The sequence homology between the clones from each fraction was between 75 and 85%. A Harr-plot analysis revealed a sequence repetition in most inserts, suggesting that these clones harbor more than one complete repeating unit. The units had a conserved length of ∼135 bp, and two clones were shorter (∼125 bp). The units within and between individual clones were analyzed by the program DISTANCES implemented within the Wisconsin GCG package software. Alignment of repeating units is expressed by a dendrogram in Figure 6. The multiple alignment did not separate satellite and IGS clones into distinct groups, indicating the absence of a sequence unique for particular fractions. The two separate clusters correspond to A1 and A2 versions of the repeat (Volkovet al. 1999). Units from N. sylvestris IGS fell into the A1 population branch. Most of the clones obtained from PCR amplification (indicated by “p” after the name of a clone) fell into the A2 group as expected from the primer sites (Figure 1). There was no homology between sequenced clones and analogous repeats in potato IGS (Stuparet al. 2002). —Southern blot hybridization showing the distribution of A1/A2 repeats (A) in Nicotiana diploids and (B) in N. tabacum and its progenitor species. Genomic DNA was digested with EcoRV and hybridized sequentially with the genic and intergenic probes. In A and B the 12-kb fragment visualized by the A1/A2_IGS probe (but not the genic and SR-V_IGS probes) indicated the presence of an rDNA-independent IGS-related satellite (labeled satellite). (B) The A1/A2 probe hybridized relatively weakly to the ∼10-kb EcoRV band in N. sylvestris rDNA (S-rDNA) due to decreased sequence homology between the probe of N. tomentosiformis origin and the N. sylvestris IGS. The minor bands in the blot (A) that hybridized with the SR-V_IGS probe result from incompletely stripped 26S probe. Lanes 1–4, N. tabacum vars. Vielblättriger, Samsun, SR-1, and feral tobacco. Lanes 5 and 6, Th37 synthetic tobacco plants differing in the type of rDNA families. T-rDNA, position of EcoRV restriction fragment containing 18S gene linked to the part of IGS of Tomentosae origin. S-rDNA, position of monomeric rDNA unit of N. sylvestris origin. Asterisks indicate fragments with rearranged IGS units in the synthetic tobacco line (B). Since the A1/A2 repeats are heavily methylated in satellite and to a lesser extent in IGS we investigated whether cytosine methylation has resulted in CG suppression through C to T transitions over a long period of time (Gardiner-Gardenet al. 1992). Analysis of consensus sequences for IGS and satellite monomers shows nearly equal probabilities of CG occurrences. Observed vs. expected values were 0.84 for IGS and 1.03 for satellite fractions, suggesting little or no CG depletion. CG-rich IGS subrepeats have also been reported in Zea (Buckler and Holtsford 1996) and Cucurbita (Kinget al. 1993), but not in several other genomes (Unfriedet al. 1991). Theoretical analysis modeling natural DNA curvature has revealed that satellite DNA is regularly curved (Fitzgeraldet al. 1994; Fannet al. 2001). The CURVATURE program (Shpigelmanet al. 1993) was used to analyze the curvature of A1/A2 monomeric units and other Nicotiana satellite repeats. In contrast to most other satellites, cloned A1/A2 repeats have relatively straight DNA paths (see supplementary material at http://www.genetics.org/supplemental/). We report the isolation and characterization of a repetitive sequence composed of A1/A2 units that occurs (i) as part of the IGS of 26S-18S rDNA in Nicotiana and (ii) independently as a high-copy satellite repeat unassociated with rDNA in the genomes of Nicotiana section Tomentosae (sensu Knappet al. 2004) and tobacco. The A1/A2 subrepeats of the IGS have dispersed into the genome of section Tomentosae and were then carried into the tobacco genome upon allopolyploidy involving the diploid progenitors N. sylvestris and N. tomentosiformis. The absence of A1/A2 satellites outside section Tomentosae and tobacco might be caused by a differential capacity of IGS to transpose into other genomic loci and/or by differential genome tolerance toward genomic changes. We now know that the evolution of section Tomentosae is associated with the evolution of at least three repetitive sequences, the A1/A2 satellite reported here, NTRS, and GRS characterized previously (Gazdovaet al. 1995; Limet al. 2000b). The occurrence of IGS-like sequences in plant genomes has been described in plants previously (Magginiet al. 1991; Unfriedet al. 1991; Falquetet al. 1997; Nouzovaet al. 2001; Stuparet al. 2002), e.g., high homology between the IGS subrepeat and a satellite in Vigna radiata (Unfriedet al. 1991) and limited homology in Phaseolus (Falquetet al. 1997). Perhaps multiple types of IGS-related satellites are scattered in some eukaryote genomes (Stuparet al. 2002). These data may indicate different evolutionary timescales of dispersion of the IGS to the genome from the rDNA locus. Indeed, in some cases the sequence divergence allowed discrimination of IGS-related subfamilies (Macaset al. 2003). In N. tomentosiformis there is high homology (75–85%) between A1/A2 repeats irrespective of their genomic origin, suggesting perhaps a recent origin (see also lack of CG suppression below). —Analysis of genomic fractions carrying A1/A2 repeats. (A) Genomic organization studied with methylation--insensitive restriction enzymes; (B) analysis of DNA methylation using methylation-sensitive (ScrFI, ClaI, and PvuII) and -insensitive (BstNI) restriction enzymes. The rDNA and non-rDNA fractions containing A1/A2 repeats were isolated from the agarose gel after digestion of N. tomentosiformis DNA with EcoRV and separation of fragments by electrophoresis. The 12-kb EcoRV fraction corresponds to the non-rDNA satellite fraction, and the 4.8-kb band to the rDNA fraction. Isolated EcoRV fractions were subjected to secondary digestion with enzymes indicated. Note in A the prominent 0.8-kb RsaI band and that the enzymes generated ladders of bands. In B the methylation-sensitive enzymes fail to cut the A1/A2 satellite sequences. Properties of A1/A2 units and clusters: The length of the basic A1/A2 units (138 ± 6 bp) is shorter than usual for a satellite repeat (∼180 bp; Vershinin and Heslop-Harrison 1998) and it lacks typical DNA curvature. Curved DNA and repeat length close to the nucleosomal periodicity have been proposed to facilitate chromatin condensation (Fitzgeraldet al. 1994; Ugarkovic and Plohl 2002). The IGS may have unusual structural features because IGS subrepeats are thought to be involved in the regulation of rDNA expression (Hemleben and Zentgraf 1994). But this alone cannot account for their genetic instability being restricted to Nicotiana section Tomentosae and tobacco. On the basis of known copy number of rDNA units and number of A1/A2 subrepeats/unit it is estimated that there are ∼2 × 104 copies of A1/A2 satellite repeat units in the N. tomentosiformis genome with some variability between the two accessions (Table 2). Despite high homology between A1/A2 satellite units and A1/A2 units in the IGS, Southern analysis did reveal differences in genomic organization associated with epigenetic modification. First, the A1/A2 satellite contains a larger number of A1/A2 tandem repeats (>20-mers) than is typical of the IGS. Perhaps there is a limit to the number of subrepeats in the IGS (Hemleben and Zentgraf 1994). Second, there were slight irregularities in ladders of IGS fraction, suggesting a more complex arrangement of A1/A2 subrepeats in the IGS. Third, there was relative hypomethylation of cytosine residues in IGS subrepeats. A hypomethylated fraction of the 35S rDNA molecules is frequently correlated with expression (Flavellet al. 1988; Torres-Ruiz and Hemleben 1994; Chen and Pikaard 1997; Castilhoet al. 1999). On the other hand hypermethylation of A1/A2 satellite repeats is in accord with a trancriptionally silent satellite. Thus the nearly identical repeats may be differentially methylated depending on the locus and genetic environment (Kovariket al. 2000). We postulated that since the A1/A2 are differentially methylated, the long-term evolutionary effect may be higher CG suppression in A1/A2 satellite sequences due to spontaneous or enzymatic deamination to TG dinucleotide (Gardiner-Gardenet al. 1992). However, analysis of CG contents in the A1/A2 repeats in satellite and IGS fractions revealed no evidence for CG suppression, and the content of TG/CA is near expectation, assuming a random nucleotide distribution. In contrast, a family of geminiviral sequences (GRD5) and a family of NTRS repeats, each of which integrated into a subset of species in section Tomentosae (Limet al. 2000b), do show substantial CG suppression (Matyaseket al. 1997; Muradet al. 2004). —Neighbor-joining dendrogram of rDNA and satellite A1/A2 sequences of N. tomentosiformis and N. sylvestris. Assignment of clones is as follows: IGS-TOM-5.4p, clone 5, the fourth unit in the row, obtained from PCR cloning of a repeat from intergenic 26-18S rDNA spacer of N. tomentosiformis; SAT-TOM-4.4p, clone 4, the fourth unit in the row, obtained from PCR cloning of the satellite repeat from the 12-kb EcoRV fraction of N. tomentosiformis; IGS-TOM-A1.1, sequence of the subrepeat obtained from cloning of N. tomentosiformis IGS in a phage (the last “1” indicates a unit proximal to the transcription starting site); IGS-SYL.1, sequence of the subrepeat obtained from cloning of N. sylvestris IGS in a phage (“1” indicates a unit located proximal to the transcription starting site). The sequences of phage clones are taken from Volkov et al. (1999). The origin of A1/A2 satellite sequences: The copy number, position, and genomic organization of the A1/A2 satellite is highly variable among closely related species; indeed, differences could be found between lines and accessions of N. tabacum and N. tomentosiformis, respectively. The variability in distribution of the A1/A2 satellite exceeds the variability of other tandem repeats previously mapped in Nicotiana (Limet al. 2000b). Thus the rate of divergence in the distribution of the A1/A2 satellite exceeds the rate of Nicotiana speciation and the overall rate of karyotype divergence. The absence of any sequence distinction between units of the IGS and satellite fraction (Figure 6), coupled with an absence of CG suppression in the satellite fraction despite high overall levels of cytosine methylation, point to a recent origin of the A1/A2 satellite. Yet this satellite fraction is found across all species of Nicotiana section Tomentosae, which is at odds with a “recent-origin” hypothesis. The most likely explanation for these data is that the A1/A2 satellite has a recent origin arising through repeated de novo integrations or sequence evolution via homogenization that influences the IGS and satellite sequences together. We favor the hypothesis that the A1/A2 satellite has arisen repeatedly through evolution of Tomentosae possibly by transposition from the IGS region. The dispersed character of FISH signals on many chromosomes may further support this hypothesis. It is unknown how the A1/A2 units became dispersed across the genome of some Nicotiana species. Three possibilities are apparent. Transposition of A1/A2 repeats may be mediated by reverse transcription of primary rRNA transcripts since the IGS A1/A2 subrepeats are located in the external transcribed spacer (ETS) and are removed during rRNA processing (Hemleben and Zentgraf 1994; Volkovet al. 1999). If this occurred, then unit amplification must have occurred at the novel site since Southern blot data (Figure 5A) indicated that the A1/A2 satellite occurs in long simple tandem repeats that are unlikely to be generated by reverse transcription. A subpopulation of A1/A2 repeats displayed a speckle-like FISH pattern on some chromosomes (Figures 2 and 3). These dispersed sites are probably formed by relatively short tandem arrays (Figure 5A) and may represent recent individual integration events. Perhaps insufficient time has elapsed to allow amplification of units to form long arrays. Longer arrays of IGS satellite repeats could be generated directly by an extrachromosomal excision-amplification-reintegration mechanism (Starket al. 1989) recently proposed for evolution of a potato IGS-related satellite (Stuparet al. 2002). Extrachromosomal amplification may be stimulated in tobacco by an aps element located upstream of the transcription starting site, which is known to stimulate amplification of linked transgenic DNA (Borisjuket al. 2000). But FISH (Figure 3) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (not shown) failed to reveal extrachromosomal IGS sequences. We favor the hypothesis that IGS-related satellite repeats evolved from randomly integrated solitary rDNA units [termed orphones (De Lucchini et al. 1988)] by amplification of subrepeats in the intergenic region. Some evidence supports this hypothesis—the genic probe showed faint hybridization signal to several non-NOR loci on N. kawakamii chromosomes, suggesting that other sequences in the rDNA units can also show dispersion in this species. The influence of allopolyploidy on A1/A2 repeats: Allopolyploidy is often associated with fast genetic change; for example, instability and frequent elimination of a subtelomeric satellite has been observed in most wheat varieties (Pestsovaet al. 1998). Also in newly synthesized Triticum and Aegilops allopolyploids, there is rapid, directed, and reproducible change in the occurrence of molecular markers (Ozkanet al. 2001). But data are contradictory since in similar experiments in newly synthesized allopolyploids of Gossypium there was no such change (Liuet al. 2001). Skalicka et al. (2003) showed in the fourth generation of synthetic tobacco that there was a rapid change in the A1/A2 repeat structure at rDNA loci of N. tomentosiformis origin. Here we observe a lower number of A1/A2 satellite repeats in both synthetic and natural tobacco lines compared to the paternal parent, N. tomentosiformis. The A1/A2 satellite is of paternal origin. Song et al. (1995) demonstrated in synthetic allopolyploids of Brassica that molecular markers of paternal origin were preferentially lost and they suggested that there is some instability in the male-derived genome of an allopolyploid in the cytoplasmic background of the female parent [nuclear cytoplasmic interaction (NCI) hypothesis (Jiang and Gill 1994)]. The A1/A2 satellite might have been eliminated as a result of NCI in tobacco. In tobacco gene conversion has altered parental rDNA unit structure (Volkovet al. 1999; Limet al. 2000a). The rearranged rDNA units could have lost the capacity to transpose from the IGS into non-rDNA chromosomal loci. Perhaps a “steady-state” level exists between recurrent recruitment and elimination of sequences. After homogenization of tobacco rDNA to the new unit type, the recruitment of the IGS units might have been compromised. It might not be coincidental that feral tobacco and synthetic Th37 hybrid lines that have retained most of the A1/A2 satellite also showed partial or no homogenization of rDNA units, respectively. Interestingly, rearrangement of the IGS in natural (Volkovet al. 1999) and synthetic tobacco (Skalickáet al. 2003) involved amplification rather than deletion of A1/A2 subrepeats. There is a possibility that the expansion of IGS repeats in N. tomentosiformis occurred after the divergence of N. tabacum (∼10,000 years ago; M. W. Chase, personal communication), rather than after a loss in N. tabacum since its formation. We thank S. Knapp from the Natural History Museum, London for seeds of feral tobacco. Technical assistance of D. Saikia is acknowledged. This work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (grant nos. 521/04/0775, Z5004920, and S5004010 to A.K.) and by the Natural and Environmental Research Council, United Kingdom. Sequence data from this article have been deposited with the EMBL/GenBank Data Libraries under accession nos. AY397676 and AY397677. , 2000 Molecular phylogeny of Nicotiana (Solanaceae) based on the nucleotide sequence of the matK gene. Plant Biol. 2: 316–324. , 1996 Integration of multiple repeats of geminiviral DNA into the nuclear genome of tobacco during evolution. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 759–764. ., 1997 Structural analysis of rDNA in the genus Nicotiana. Plant. Mol. Biol. 35: 655–660. ., 2000 Tobacco ribosomal DNA spacer element stimulates amplification and expression of heterologous genes. Nat. Biotechnol. 18: 1303–1306. , 1996 Zea ribosomal repeat evolution and substitution patterns. Mol. Biol. 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http://www.genetics.org/content/166/4/1935

Create, edit, convert, annotate, protect, merge, watermark, compress, and sign PDF files in a better way. PDF element is an ideal tool for the creation and edition of pdf files, the creation of PDF documents is simple, and fast, you can create files based on any other document, from text files, images, among other types of documents, the editing of these files is very easy, it is a tool that any person of any age, with basic knowledge of informatics, can use at will. The text sources are too limited, I think that an application like this should have other types of text sources, but use the same as many text processors, besides the text centering tools are not automatic, you must center everything to measure, and it is not always perfect, they should be predetermined, to have more perfect documents, in different types of sizes and types of sheets. 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Very good bang for you buck. Annotate, add information and draw on top of the PDFs for correction demands, code reviews and creating/modifying contracts to be sent and signed by my clients. I also use it for school when reviewing and taking notes in class for the lectures. Much faster and time saver for taking notes and drawing. Like you, I also appreciate shortcut keys - it beats needing to use my mouse/tracking pad! We have a few shortcut keys available, but there is currently no guide on which key combinations trigger what. We are launching our new blog soon so I'll look into creating a blog post around that. In response to your feedback on the zoom in/out function: Currently, the way to zoom in and out is using Command and -/+, but using the trackpad to pinch is a function that we should consider. I like that the user interface is so much like Microsoft Office. It feels like you are in part of the office suite. 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While creating pdf's from word docs, the bookmarks are not carried on automatically from the word file. 1. Acrobat is good but uses much system memory which affects the overall performance. Further, it is very costly. 2. Foxit Phantom is lightweight but the OCR recognition is not up to mark. 3. Nuance power pdf and nitro pdf have lots of additional features but the interface is cluttered. For example, identifying and using a highlighted text is very difficult in power pdf as they have put the panel right below the text. 4. The only con I have encountered with PDFelement so far is the absence of an extension for MS word. PDFelement has been extremely helpful in converting pdf to other formats without the loss of quality. Moreover, the form templates have reduced the workload while organising multiple surveys under the same project. 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It is the best aoftware you will ever find in the market, ease of use, clean and made to make you look like a pro when you fill a form. No more hand writing and it can recognize any form i believe. "PDF Element 6 Mac Software Review" 1. All the drop-down tools that are familiar with using Mac software is almost gone. The idea is to go to toolbars with descriptive text underneath each command. 2. Change text change is simpler in 6 than in 5. 6 allows the user the ability to change multiple items on one panel and not clicking another icon for the information. 3. The ability to convert the PDF file to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel is great! I can now if need to make more edits in the Office products. This is not in PDFelement 5. I am reviewing the new version 6 on a Mac with the latest operating system (High Sierra) and am a mouse-centric and not keyboard commands person. In summary, I would buy this software and the update for me means an update to PDFelement 6. Filling in PDF documents on the computer instead of handwriting all the information. The benefits have been better documentation and readable text on a PDF form. Thank you for the detailed review. I'm glad that there are some improvements that you like. Specifically, what are some of the problems that you are encountering with check marks on PDFelement 6? If this issue has been persisting, we would like to look into it! "Easy to use, but powerful PDF editor." PDFelement 6 Pro is a very intuitive and powerful PDF editor that does everything I have needed it to do in order to edit and modify my PDF documents in a very efficient and effective manner. It has surpassed my expectations in terms of easy of use and power when editing PDF documents. I have used other PDF editor programs as well as PDFelement 6 Pro and, while all of them have powerful editing capabilities, PDFelement 6 Pro is easier and more intuitive to use without sacrificing valuable features. This is a great program which should satisfy the needs of virtually all users and is well worth the moderate cost. Up to this point I have found nothing that I dislike about PDFelement 6 Pro. It has met and exceeded my expectations. There was a bit of a learning curve regarding the command buttons in the program when I first began using the program, but they were easily learned in a short period of time and any errors made in editing any PDF are very easily corrected with PDFelement 6 Pro if one is unhappy with the result. Give the trial version a try and you will be very happy about the ease and depth of PDFelement. I am using PDFelement 6 Pro to edit all types of PDF documents. The ease of adding, deleting, modifying text, and adding images to documents has greatly reduced the time and effort involved in these processes, resulting in very efficient, effective, and professional end result. "A good alternative to Adobe Acrobat" PDF Element 6 is easy to use, its intuitive and can quickly be learnt. It's faster than the previous version. Compared to the previous version, the user interface has improved a lot - thanks. - Fast OCR detection, also supports image-based PDFs. - personal comments with notes or text box. - Creating forms is now a simple process. - very cheap price compared to Adobe Acrobat. In summary: PDFelement 6.x is a very good software with extensive functions for professional work. PDFelement has an unbeatable price-performance ratio. The software is for me a high quality alternative to expensive Adobe products. I couldn't find anything I did not like about the program. Version 5 errors have been fixed in version 6. This software is excellent, extensive and fast. My recommendation for PDF applications. "PDFelement 6 Pro is a substantial improvement on the previous PDFelement 5" I have been using the PDFelement 5 for several years. Version 6 Pro has a better interface. It is also more intutitive and compared to competitors like Adobe it is simler to navigate. I like adding text with ease, the almost flawless oening of scanned documents, making text and picture amendments. Also converting the word and pdf files are easier. It keeps the tables and charts in proper place and makes it easier to edit tham according to text I edit. In filling some forms it still has some difficulty in marking the boxes which could be improved. When opening documents from file is enlarges them and it is with extra effort to make them smaller to edit or see. This can be improved. Switch and use. It is a very useful and practical pdf tool. I often write articles which need to be shared in PDF version. Wityh 6 Pro I can productively do this. Furthermore I use the OCR in foreign languages quite often. Thank you for your feedback, I'm glad to see that you enjoy PDFelement's new interface. To clarify, do you find that opening the file in external programs enlarges the check boxes automatically? "You need PDFelement 6. The PDF program for the cost I've worked with!" Much cleaner than previous version and the speed is better than previous version. The interface is definitely more modern and functions as well as the previous version. The overall look and feel are very professional and allow the user to do just about anything they would want with a pdf file. It does everything I expected only better than the previous version. I use the expensive Adobe version at work and this is as good if not better. I can't image working without it on my projects. It does everything as advertised and the price is unbelievable. I use constantly and it the best product I've used for the price. As a CPA I can't give PDF Element enough kudos for how well it works! As an accountant I use it quite a bit to fix reports and add items to pdf's that are not editable after download. It's as good as adobe at a fraction of the cost. Awesome product! The ability to take multiple pdf files and combine them into on complete package report is invaluable for someone like me. Before I have to scan the pages and create a pdf the was too large and bulky to be functional or usable to my end user. Your product allows me to do things I never thought possible for the price and my end user are happy too. I love a win-win! "Upgraded to PDFelement 6 Pro, well worth it!" It didn't take me long to be able to maneuver around within this program. Set it up as my primary pdf file viewer and away I went! I was easily able to convert a pdf file and edit it as well. I Love the ease of adding text to scanned documents, and watermarks to personal business documents. Being able to combine multiple documents is easy to do as well. I love the ease of just opening the program and then selecting documents from the history to open. Very helpful, and easier than finding the document in my files and then opening. I dislike that whenever a pdf file is opened, it is zoomed in to around 150% or more....I am constantly decreasing the viewing size back to 100%. I will have to use this product even more to come up with anything else negative/constructive feedback wise. Change to PDFelement....it is easy to use! Just using it as my primary pdf viewer, and editor. "Best PDF Tool I've used yet!" PDF Element Pro 6 takes the limitations off of PDFs. It allows me to work with these documents in a much easier way as if they were word processing documents. I find it is much more user-friendly for completing fillable PDF forms which can sometimes be difficult as well. I often use PDF Element Pro 6 to convert PDFs i to word documents or Excel documents with ease and it saves me a lot of time trying to transcribe or otherwise work with the information on a PDF. I haven't found anything I dislike about PDF Element Pro 6, except that my coworkers do not have the program so now they email me files to convert and send back to them! It took me a little while to get to know how to use PDF Element Pro 6, so don't underestimate the learning curve. It is a powerful piece of software that can accomplish a lot for you! The value of an effective and efficient tool to convert PDFs in to spreadsheet or word processing documents is invaluable. It saves everyone in my office a lot of time and we are able to use the valuable information stored in PDFs much easier. "Very nice App to manage PDF documents" It's very easy to use, and it has all the features I usually need for managing and editing PDF documents. Tools are very intuitive, you can start using the app as soon as you install it without having to read any instructions. I especially like the Edit function, because it's easy to manage each paragraph, add new text and/or images. You can easily move paragraphs up/down and insert new ones. Managing pages is also very easy; you can extract or insert pages very fast. Nothing at this time. I have been able to do everything I have needed. Use the trial version first, so you will know if it really meets all your expectations. I usually have to edit PDF documents like contracts, manuals, instruction sheets. I also have to join or split documents, and PDF Element let me do all these tasks very easily and fast. I've been using PDFelement for a few years and have just tried the upgrade to PDFelement6. What I love is that it works seamlessly with any file I throw at it and most importantly for me, does a great job of extraction both for Word and Excel files. Conversion to Powerpoint is also great although I don't personally use this feature as much. The other thing I really like about PDFelement is how easy it is to use the page extraction and insertion features as well as editing text. I've found that at times other software can't dismantle a table or elements in a pdf while PDFelement can still extract everything I need from it, so while it was the last pdf editor I used to go to now it's the first one I go to. Just use it. Try out the trial software and like I did you'll find yourself upgrading super quickly! Extracting data from tables is my biggest use of PDFelement and at times, slides to powerpoint, although it's mainly data that I need to pull from tables for reports & visualisations, and it saves a lot of time & grief for me. "Meets and Exceeds My Needs for Every Aspect of PDF Management " User friendly interface. Clean and well laid out making for a good overall user experience. It's easy to navigate and quite intuitive making it easy to find the most important options. Fast and accurate. Definite improvement over previous version. What is there to dislike, it does everything I need it to. It seem's to be robust and stable which is a great improvement from the last version. It's a great program. The developers are working hard to meet all the requirements. It can only get better as they go forward. Version 5 definitely had issues but Version 6 is a vast improvement! I am confident that if they continue on this path they will become the industry leader in PDF management! Move over Adobe there's a new PDF champ in town. I have become quite impressed with Wondershare products over the last few years. I also use Filmora for video editing and am enjoying each new version as they are always improving! I edit, fill in and sign PDF files regularly,. I use it to convert my Word Doc files to PDF format. It is a great benefit to be able to manage all my PDF files in the same place. "PDF Element is a Great Editor and Viewer" It's fast and offers a lot of editing features. Sometimes, software that does more than just view files takes too long to load for everyday use. PDF Element isn't like this, so it's really convenient for everyday use as a viewer or an editor. I wish it offered dark modes. It's personal preference, but I don't like bright white windows on my screen. It's annoying to use at night. Also, I was really disappointed when considering an upgrade that I could not upgrade to the other platform (I own PDF Element 5 for Mac but wanted to switch over to the PC version going forward as I've switched platforms.) I was disappointed to learn that there was no upgrade path for this. I own a copy of PDF Element 5 that I've been using for several years. The user interface for version 6 is much cleaner and it's priced very competitively vs. other similar software on the market. It makes managing lease documents much easier because I combine content from multiple sources, and it's just easier to do as a PDF. PDF Element lets me do this and still make final tweaks and edits. Thanks for the feedback, Trent. I really like the idea for dark modes, as it's easier on the eyes. I'll forward both suggestions to the team! Let us know if you have any other feedback. The easy use, and a variety of handy options. Not much - but one thing in the previous version was the limit to 15 open files. If you are looking for an application that is useful, versatile and offer you good functionality this might be it. I have stopped using other PDF readers and this is what I stick to now, and also for editing PDF files. There are likely additional functions, but the ones available here are the ones required for me in my role as a teacher and administrator in higher education - to be able to easy make changes in some previously uneditable files, etc. What takes plenty of time for some colleagues is an easy and quick fix, using this software. At times I ask myself what amounts of times the application has saved me - and the answer is many hours, every month. It is helpful in different ways, for example when managing files for student groups. "ROBERT KNAUER LIKES PDF Element6 software" PDFElement6 is so far superior to Adobe for the price and its versatility. In pretty much enables me to do everything Full Adobe allowed me to do, but at a much lower price. I love that it is menu driven enabling me to view the screen much like Windows 10 to easily find what I am looking for....There is literally nothing I don't like about it except giving me more functionality than Adobe. For what Element6 gives me I am happy. Before spending lots of hard earned money on Adobe you should give PDFelement6 a try for the money you simply cannot beat it. I love the fact that I can cut, copy, past and make changes along with attaching other documents to my project on the fly. For the fact it makes me fully productive and gives me the ability to easily save and send PDF conversions to others gives me the tool I need to help teach my negotiation classes.I love the versatility, ease of use and convenience this product provides me with to do my work. The ease of editing pdf files is clearly the thing that drew me initially to PDFelement. It has saved me hundreds of hours by not having to recreate every pdf doc over the years. Although intuitive, I'd still like to have some of the image tools enhanced so that removing and adding images from things like banners and footers was simpler. It has become a true 'go-to' tool for our business. Allowing us to focus on our content, creation of results and selling those outcomes rather than spending 100's of hours trying to figure out creatives that means hiring designers constantly to tweak and test tons of options and testing. I am able to use creative marketing pieces and customize them to our current offerings and timeframes. Knowing our market, offers and how to sell is at a very high level. Creating the creative and design aspects are great to be able to implement and enhance. Thank you for your feedback regarding additional functionalities for image tools. Aside from removing and adding images on banner and footers, is there anything else you would like to see on PDFelement? "Versatile Easy to Use PDF Editor" PDF Element is so easy to use makes it the primary reason I chose to use it for business and home tasks. Removing or editing text is a breeze and one of the best features is the ability to remove or extract pages from a document. Everything on the screen is laid out in a very simple manner so it takes little if any time to get right into working with the program. Very robust and up to date. I had the full Adobe but found it too costly to upgrade. This is much more streamlined and easy to use! When I send a PDF Element file, all others can see it perfectly in their Adobe format. Being able to send something from PDF Element that others can see in their desired format is a great benefit. I always had Adobe reader crashing on my and hanging up my computer. The interface in PDF Element 6 has been streamlined throughout and feels more responsive with use. It is very intuitive and easy to navigate. The simple interface, and easy navigation do not mean a lack of features though. I find PDF Element to be capable of all my PDF needs. I can quickly combine multiple files into a single PDF allowing me to share projects containing a variety of file types easily with colleagues. PDF ELement doesn't just stop with creation, or converting other file types though. The OCR integration makes it a very powerful tool to turn scanned documents into an easy to edit document. The ability to edit any PDF file makes it an invaluable tool for me on a regular basis. I made the switch from Acrobat over a year ago, and have not missed it since. PDF Element is an excellent replacement at a much more attractive price. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative. The cost savings realized with PDF ELement, without having to give up features have made this software an invaluable asset. "Easy to use for pdf manipulation" The appearance of PDFelement 6 is much cleaner then version 5. The speed in obtain the files is fast and the changes can be made very quickly. I use it to amend pdf's and with the OCR installed it is very easy. I also use it to convert pdf's to word documents and it does that easily as well. Finally, I use it to rearrange documents within a pdf and in my line of work that is priceless. PDFelement is the easiest system that I have used for that process. This is by far the easiest system that I have used. I have run into situation where the layout of the document has been changed when converting to a word format. I do not know for sure that it is a pdfelement problem but I also do not know that it isn't. "It was the easiest conversion program I have every used" I haven't used it enough to find any things about it I don't like yet. As I to use it more I may or may not come up with any things I dislike and I promise I will let you know. I have to created leases for my rentals and PDFelement makes that a breeze. I haven't used it enough yet, since I am switching from another program. Most of the documents I need in my real estate business come as PDF's as protection. They cannot be edited unless converted, and with PDFelement, they are easily converted. As I use it more I will be able to realize more benefits and perhaps some issues. "Save Time and Money... Wow!" What I like the best is how simple everything is now. Like I said, I love the new layout and everything about it is so different, in a good way. I would highly recommend... BIG TIME! I solved many problems. I don't have to spend money and hire a professional, I'm the professional using the PDF Element 6. It's absolutely perfect for my business needs. The changes are AWESOME indeed... What I really love is how simple it is to do anything I want inside of the software. For example, when I get ready to place page numbers on all of my pages, it's simple and very easy. Also, when I get ready to put links into my headers and footers, it's a snap. I love it. I would love it if the save feature were a little bit bigger, so I'm not looking for it, however, my eye site is not what it used to be. I love the fact that there is a huge improvement over the last product. Everything seems to be more user-friendly and easy to use. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be using PDF Element 6 a lot more than the other version. Place images inside of your documents is also another great feature. You can also move it around anywhere inside of your document and it's the best that I've seen in the market, no doubt. I will use it almost daily when I'm working on my coaching programs and getting my products online. It saves so much money and time that I can continue to spend with my family and friends. Let's don't forget the amount of time I can spend in the air, you see, I'm a pilot and I enjoy as much time in the plane as possible. PDF Element 6 is the best as far as I'm concerned. I would highly recommend this to all of my friends and business associates. Huge improvement over the last version. I've use other pdf software and this truly is the best out there. I would even go as far as buying this for a business friend, no doubt, that I would. Like I said before. It saves so much money and time that it is worth the cost easily. I can hardly wait to see what in the world they will do with the next version. I can't imagine what improvements they could do to make it any better. The most AWESOME PDF software on the market today, no kidding. I've been in online marketing for over 20 years and software like this is a life saver for sure. You can start a project and then finish it up very quickly because it's so simple and easy to use. Everyone knows that time and money is a key factor in building your business. I create and market my own products. Years ago you would have to hire someone just to put links into your documents, however, with the use of the PDF Element, you can do it in a matters of minutes. I love it and will be very excited about all of the new features I can now use inside of the newest version. My name is Robert Phillips and I highly recommend this software. I will help you in anything to get ready to create. PDF Element is an incredible tool. It's ability to edit directly in pdf documents has saved me many hours of painstaking labour. Similarly, being able to seemlessly convert pdf documents to Word and Excel has helped me provide an efficient and cost effective service to my clients. Spending some time getting to know all the features and functionality in PDF Element is definitely worth the effort. I originally purchased the software as a quick fix to a problem I was having but over time I have learnt more and more about the product and every time I use it I become more impressed. Editing pdf documents directly and converting pdf's to word and excel has saved me many many hours of boring and frustrating work. "Easy, Fun and great links with MS Office" I started with PDF Element 5 to use OCR (Czech and English texts) which worked perfectly. Than I started with the 6 version and started to admire it because of the interconnection and easy collaboration with the MS Office. The file transferability is great, even from pdf to word, or from excel to pdf, very cool graphics interface and work with various elements on the page - pictures, forms, windows, passwords, watermarks, direct scan to OCR, OCR outputs and previews. "Excellent software for editing pdf files and converting them" I mainly use the software for editing pdf files and exporting them to excel and word documents. It does an amazing job for me. I also occasionally use it to merge files or split them and it works quite well for me. It has saved me time all the time. I am currently using version 5 which sometimes doesn't convert images properly. This happens to the images like logo etc in the document which gets converted to tiny images and some text in them. However this is not a big problem for me as after conversion, I am always able to add the images again to resemble the original one. It's a great software. I was struggling with converting pdf files and since I found PDFElement, life is much easier. It's definitely a winner for me. We send and receive a lot of PDF files and this helps us editing/modifying them if we need to. It's much easier to edit pdf files in PDFElement than any other software. I am liking it. It also helps in password protecting the PDF files, move text and images around etc. Overall it does many good things for us and we as business quite liking it. "Absolutely user friendly and make working with PDF fun!" Honestly I can't point out anything that I dislike. Looking forward to new updates making this experience even better. Overall great product that serves your needs working with PDF. The batch processing is an awesome advantage. I use it on a Mac and love the user interface. If you work with PDFs you need to have a powerful software to be able to edit PDFs and convert or extract data from it. PDFelement does all of that plus many more awesome capabilities. Je suis très satisfaite de l'utilisation quotidienne du PDFelement Pro. La nouvelle interface est simple et bien faite...et elle te donne une belle lisibilité. Les options OCR sont bien surtout le traitement des PDF en français et Anglais. Avec PDFelement la conversion de mes documents PDF en Formats PPT et DOC est devenue très facile et bien maitrisable. mon utilisation de PDFelement pendant une durée de 9 mois ma montre que c'est un éditeur de PDF bien a adopté et de recommander aux utilisateurs. C'est pour quoi j'ai bien recommande ce logiciel à mes amies et mes collègues de travail. The clean and tidy user interface offers a lot of design possibilities under the hood. Convert encrypted PDF file to Word, Excel, PPT and other file types, allowing further editing, copying and printing. Including OCR in the Pro version which is very interesting if searchable documents are needed. PDF Word, Excel, PPT, images, text, text, EPUB ebooks, HTML and more. Supported image formats are JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF. OCR technology also supports image-based PDFs. Convert up to 200 PDFs in one step and 3 minutes. Comment with sticky notes or text box. Brighten up important text. Provide PDF with stamps. All of them are compatible with Acrobat and other popular programs. Add secure passwords to prevent unauthorized opening, copying, editing, extracting and printing of your document. Compress PDF files to a perfect size in good quality to email or upload them to the Internet. Now resize PDFs in seconds. Great price when compared to Adobe. I couldn't find anything. Surely there is always room for improvement, but I can't complain. On Windows, PDFelement is absolutely great and intuitive. I like the design very much and despite the many functions it looks very tidy. If you are looking for a powerful pDF editor, this is the right place. I rather privately very much solve the PDF processing for documents, invoices, scripts. You can easily create, edit, print pdf files. Also adding images and text is easy. Easy to print, easy to prepare documents and forms. I recommend it for every type of user. The menu bar can be smaller than the current version. The font implementation can be improved. Also, OCR can work more smoothly with the other languages than English such as Dutch or Turkish. It may also provide online translation documents from different languages. Cost effective pdf solution for mid-sized companies. It has all the required features for business owners such as creating, editing pf files and also print features. Thank you for your feedback! Which languages do you find difficult to work with in terms of our OCR? Jose de la Cruz D. Es una interfaz rapida y facil de utilizar, aunque no tengas experiencia, para el trabajo de oficina o el trabajo de la escuela te permite lograr resultados rápidos al poder guardar y exportar en diferentes formatos. PDFelement is fast, robust and beautiful PDF editor for Mac and Windows. Through multiple pdf file processing mode (=Work with Batch Processing) and the commenting tools, highlights and text I was able to accelerate my work and highlight the important elements in my documents. "Easy to use and a good step forward from PDF Element 5" The new menus are easy to use and understand - I sometimes struggled to find the tool I needed when using the 5th edition of PDF Element but the new format and layout seems more logical and certainly easier to understand. The conversion tools are the best in the market (I often use the PDF to Excel conversion tool and it provides results which can be relied upon - which cannot be said for any of the other products I've tried over the last few years). The conversion to Word tool, whilst improved still struggles to provide a Word document which mirrors the PDF. The text seems to be slightly misaligned on each row which can render the whole conversion unusable. This product is certainly worth a try if you want a reliable, affordable product for the editing of PDF files and conversion into Microsoft Office formats. In our business we sometimes get sent PDFs of information which can run into multiple pages. Using the PDF to Excel converter, we can literally save ourselves hours of work (so the entire price of the product can be recovered in the first hour of use... and the multiple other hours it saves represent pure profit)! Glad to see that you saw an improvement between PDFelement 5 and PDFelement 6. I appreciate the feedback on the PDF to Word confusion - let me know if there has been any improvement in the last few updates! "Convert PDFs to do what you need them to do!" I love being able to edit product catalogs and documents that come to me for my business!! I have been able to use this program to make individual catalogs for dealers and to not need to print out, write in, and then scan in pdf documents that need to be filled out. Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out the layers and to get things in just the right spot. But I'm on a learning curve, and that's more me than the program. On one catalog I've had a horrendous time getting a black box to print around my business name. I could've asked for help with that, but I didn't. This makes more sense to me than Adobe. The pricing is worth what you get. It's a great value, and it helps flow tremendously. Getting the word out through customized catalogs for my dealers and for my business. Our basic product stays the same, but additions and price changes happen each year. "Easy to use PDF managing software" PDF Element is really easy to use, its logic is very intuitive and can quickly be learnt. I haven't found anything that I really dislike about the software. Occasionally the formatting of documents converted to Word can be a little complex.Comparing it to others I have found it very straightforward. If you want a very easy to use product for handling all aspects of PDF management, this is the product for you. Learning time is short and users who are not familiar with this type of software can quickly learn to use it. Its ease off use makes it readily useable by many people in the office who may only need to use it occasionally. It makes all handling of PDF documents , from signatures, editing and collating very straightforward. I use it a lot for putting separate PDF documents together into a single document. Its ability to quickly converts PDFs to Word and Excel is an excellent feature. "PDF Element 6 Review1- James Dooley" "Robust PDF editing software - reasonably priced to boot" I particularly like the wide variety of commenting options available. Makes it quick and easy to mark up shared business documents. These tools seem more responsive in version 6 than in previous versions. Also, when inserting pages, the program stays on the "Page" tab, making it faster to insert other pages. In earlier versions, you had to click the Page tab upon every separate insertion. I can't find much to dislike. A minor glitch: when filling a PDF form field using Courier font, it will look OK on screen, but when printed out, words are broken in random places at the right margin. Other fonts don't exhibit this, but the first line of a paragraph "returns" far short of the right margin. Hopefully they'll get this fixed in a future update. We do lots of combining of multiple PDFs pulled from separate documents. We also create fillable forms, and send documents around for markup or comments. PDF Element makes short work of these tasks. "Best PDF tool ever, Easy to use and work with PDF documents" Easy to use and you can edit PDF file with PDFelement like Microsoft Word. It helps you a lot to save your time. Moreover, it help you to create fillable PDF form. With Form Field Recognition feature. The software will auto recognize and create interactive form fill for you. You can edit them later with ease of use. And with the Data Extraction, you can extract data from form fields or marked PDF to csv file. Moreover, you can add secure passwords to prevent unauthorized opening, copying, editing, extracting and printing of your document. You can export PDF document to Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel that help you save more time and very effective. To be honest, currently I cannot find any negative issues of PDFelement that should be raised for change or correct. I recommend PDFelement to others who considering to try. For me, It is very easy to create fillable PDF forms. It's great. * We monitor all PDFelement reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. Validated reviews require the user to submit a screenshot of the product containing their user ID, in order to verify a user is an actual user of the product. Hi there! Are you looking to implement a solution like PDFelement?

2019-04-22T06:32:29Z

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A machine control system includes an operation terminal which includes a communication unit and a touch panel unit and outputs machine operation information for operating a machine via the communication unit, a controller which controls the operation of the machine based on the received machine operation information, and a safety switch device which is mounted on the operation terminal and includes a switch unit which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine, and a packet generation unit which converts the output stop instruction signal into a packet and outputs the packet to the operation terminal, wherein the operation terminal transfers the packet received from the safety switch device to the controller, and the controller restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal and stops the machine based on the restored stop instruction signal. 1. A machine control system comprising: a portable operation terminal including a communication unit which communicates with a peripheral device and a touch panel unit used for display and input, the operation terminal outputting machine operation information for operating a machine via the communication unit based on an input operation to the touch panel unit; a controller which controls operation of the machine based on the machine operation information received from the operation terminal; and a safety switch device which is removably mounted on the operation terminal and includes a switch unit which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine by being operated, and a packet generation unit which converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit of the operation terminal, wherein the operation terminal transfers the packet received from the safety switch device to the controller via the communication unit, and the controller restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal and stops the machine based on the restored stop instruction signal. 2. The machine control system according to claim 1, wherein the packet generation unit in the safety switch device converts the stop instruction signal into a multiplexed packet. 3. The machine control system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit of the operation terminal transmits the packet to the controller via a communication channel common to the machine operation information. 4. The machine control system according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit of the operation terminal receives the packet from the safety switch device via a communication channel different from the communication channel used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller. 5. The machine control system according to claim 1, wherein the switch unit includes at least one of an emergency stop button which outputs the stop instruction signal by being pressed, and an enable switch which outputs the stop instruction signal by cancelling pressing. 6. A safety switch device for stopping a machine operating based on machine operation information received from a portable operation terminal including a communication unit which communicates with a peripheral device and a touch panel unit used for display and input, the device comprising: a mount unit configured to removably mount the safety switch device on the operation terminal; a switch unit which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine by being operated; and a packet generation unit which converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit of the operation terminal, wherein the machine is stopped by a controller which controls operation of the machine, based on a stop instruction signal restored from the packet transferred to the controller via the communication unit of the operation terminal. 7. The safety switch device according to claim 6, wherein the packet generation unit converts the stop instruction signal into a multiplexed packet. 8. The safety switch device according to claim 6, wherein the packet is transmitted to the controller, together with the machine operation information, via a common communication channel by the communication unit of the operation terminal. 9. The safety switch device according to claim 8, wherein the packet generation unit transmits the packet to the operation terminal via a communication channel different from the communication channel used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller by the communication unit of the operation terminal. 10. The safety switch device according to claim 6, wherein the switch unit includes at least one of an emergency stop button which outputs the stop instruction signal by being pressed, and an enable switch which outputs the stop instruction signal by cancelling pressing. 11. A portable operation terminal which transmits based on an input operation, machine operation information for operating a machine to a controller which controls operation of the machine, the terminal comprising: a communication unit which communicates with a peripheral device including the controller; a touch panel unit used for display and input operations in an editing task for the machine operation information; and a housing on which a safety switch device including a switch unit which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine by being operated, and a packet generation unit which converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit of the operation terminal is removably mounted, wherein the communication unit transfers the packet received from the packet generation unit in the safety switch device to the controller, and the machine is stopped based on a stop instruction signal restored from the packet by the controller. 12. The operation terminal according to claim 11, wherein the stop instruction signal is converted into a multiplexed packet by the packet generation unit. 13. The operation terminal according to claim 11, wherein the communication unit transmits the packet to the controller via a communication channel common to the machine operation information. 14. The operation terminal according to claim 13, wherein the communication unit receives the packet from the safety switch device via a communication channel different from the communication channel used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller. 15. The operation terminal according to claim 11, wherein the switch unit includes at least one of an emergency stop button which outputs the stop instruction signal by being pressed, and an enable switch which outputs the stop instruction signal by cancelling pressing. This application is a new U.S. Patent Application that claims benefit of JP 2016-223515, filed Nov. 16, 2016, the disclosure of this application is being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. The present invention relates to a safety switch device, an operation terminal, and a machine control system including the same for stopping a machine operating based on machine operation information received from the operation terminal. A portable wireless teaching pendant connected to a controller for a machine via wireless communication is used to operate, e.g., a robot or a CNC machine tool (to be also simply referred to as a "machine" hereinafter). In such a machine system, an emergency stop button or an enable switch (deadman switch) is provided on a wireless teaching pendant to avoid any unexpected operation of a robot or a machine tool to ensure the safety of surrounding machines or operators. FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a general machine control system including a wireless teaching pendant and a controller for a machine. In a general machine control system 1000, a portable wireless teaching pendant 1001 and a controller 1002 which controls a machine 1004 such as a robot or a CNC machine tool are connected to each other via wireless communication. The operator can perform, e.g., registration, editing, condition setting, or status display of an operation program associated with the machine 1004 or teaching of the machine 1004, using the wireless teaching pendant 1001. In such a machine control system 1000, to ensure the safety of the operator, the international standard stipulates that the wireless teaching pendant 1001 may have to include a mechanical safety switch unit such as an emergency stop button and an enable switch (deadman switch). When, for example, an emergency stop button (not illustrated) provided on the wireless teaching pendant 1001 is pressed by the operator, an emergency stop signal for bringing the machine 1004 to an emergency stop is transmitted from the wireless teaching pendant 1001 to the controller 1002 with a certain period, and, upon receiving the emergency stop signal, the controller 1002 can bring the machine 1004 to an emergency stop to ensure the safety of the machine 1004 or their surrounding machines and operators. In recent years, for, e.g., cost reduction, versatility ensuring, and an improvement in operator convenience, a machine control system which operates a machine such as a robot or a CNC machine tool using a portable operation terminal (smart device) such as a tablet or a smartphone instead of a dedicated teaching pendant is employed. In such an operation terminal, while the arrangement of operation buttons displayed on a display can be advantageously changed to suit the operator's preferences, a mechanical safety switch unit such as an emergency stop button and an enable switch may be preferably provided, as in the case of a dedicated teaching pendant, to use the operation terminal as a teaching pendant. In a robot operation device which operates a robot using a portable smart device such as a tablet or a smartphone including a touch panel unit used for display and input, a smart device equipped with a removable enable switch and emergency stop button is known, as disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2016-60018. As described above, even in a machine control system which operates a machine such as a robot or a CNC machine tool using a portable operation terminal (smart device) such as a tablet or a smartphone, a mechanical safety switch unit such as an emergency stop button and an enable switch may be preferably provided on the operation terminal, as in the case of a dedicated teaching pendant. Wired and wireless communication paths are available as communication paths for transmitting to a controller for a machine, a stop instruction signal for stopping the machine output from a mechanical safety switch unit provided on an operation terminal. Unfortunately, the use of a wired communication path to connect the safety switch unit and the controller for the machine to each other degrades the portability of the operation terminal equipped with the safety switch unit. However, the use of a wireless communication path to connect the safety switch unit and the controller for the machine to each other is inefficient because two types of wireless communication may be preferably handled: one for machine operation information for operating the machine and the other for a stop instruction signal, leading to a higher cost. In addition, mutual interference may occur between two types of wireless communication paths between the safety switch unit and the controller for the machine. There is a demand for a safety switch device, an operation terminal, and a machine control system including the same which can reliably stop a machine operating based on machine operation information in an emergency and achieve high convenience and versatility and low cost. In one aspect of the present disclosure, a machine control system includes a portable operation terminal including a communication unit which communicates with a peripheral device and a touch panel unit used for display and input, the operation terminal outputting machine operation information for operating a machine via the communication unit based on an input operation to the touch panel unit, a controller which controls operation of the machine based on the machine operation information received from the operation terminal, and a safety switch device which is removably mounted on the operation terminal and includes a switch unit which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine by being operated, and a packet generation unit which converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit of the operation terminal, wherein the operation terminal transfers the packet received from the safety switch device to the controller via the communication unit, and the controller restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal and stops the machine based on the restored stop instruction signal. Herein, the packet generation unit in the safety switch device may convert the stop instruction signal into a multiplexed packet. Further, the communication unit of the operation terminal may transmit the packet to the controller via a communication channel common to the machine operation information. Further, the communication unit of the operation terminal may receive the packet from the safety switch device via a communication channel different from the communication channel used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller. Further, the switch unit may include at least one of an emergency stop button which outputs the stop instruction signal by being pressed, and an enable switch which outputs the stop instruction signal by cancelling pressing. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a safety switch device for stopping a machine operating based on machine operation information received from a portable operation terminal including a communication unit which communicates with a peripheral device and a touch panel unit used for display and input includes a mount unit configured to removably mount the safety switch device on the operation terminal, a switch unit which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine by being operated, and a packet generation unit which converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit of the operation terminal, wherein the machine is stopped by a controller which controls operation of the machine, based on a stop instruction signal restored from the packet transferred to the controller via the communication unit of the operation terminal. Herein, the packet generation unit may convert the stop instruction signal into a multiplexed packet. Further, the packet may be transmitted to the controller, together with the machine operation information, via a common communication channel by the communication unit of the operation terminal. Further, the packet generation unit may transmit the packet to the operation terminal via a communication channel different from the communication channel used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller by the communication unit of the operation terminal. In still another aspect of the present disclosure, a portable operation terminal which transmits based on an input operation, machine operation information for operating a machine to a controller which controls operation of the machine includes a communication unit which communicates with a peripheral device including the controller, a touch panel unit used for display and input operations in an editing task for the machine operation information, and a housing on which a safety switch device including a switch unit which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine by being operated, and a packet generation unit which converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit of the operation terminal is removably mounted, wherein the communication unit transfers the packet received from the packet generation unit in the safety switch device to the controller, and the machine is stopped based on a stop instruction signal restored from the packet by the controller. Herein, the stop instruction signal may be converted into a multiplexed packet by the packet generation unit. Further, the communication unit may transmit the packet to the controller via a communication channel common to the machine operation information. Further, the communication unit may receive the packet from the safety switch device via a communication channel different from the communication channel used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller. FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a general machine control system including a wireless teaching pendant and a controller for a machine. Next, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, similar members are provided with similar reference signs. To facilitate understanding, these figures have been suitably changed in scale. Further, embodiments as illustrated in the figures are one example so as to carry out one aspect of the present disclosure and such embodiments are not limitative. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a machine control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The same reference numerals in different drawings denote components having the same functions hereinafter. In this embodiment, a machine 4 is operated on a portable operation terminal 1 and implemented as, e.g., a robot or a CNC machine tool. A machine control system 100 according to this embodiment includes a portable operation terminal 1, a controller 2 which controls the operation of the machine 4, and a safety switch device 3 removably mounted on the operation terminal 1. The operation terminal 1 is implemented as a smart device such as a tablet or a smartphone. The operation terminal 1 may even be implemented as a notebook computer. In this embodiment, the operation terminal 1 transmits based on an input operation, machine operation information for operating the machine 4 to the controller 2 that controls the operation of the machine 4. More specifically, the operation terminal 1 includes a communication unit 12 which communicates with a peripheral device including the controller 2, a touch panel unit 11 used for display and input operations in an editing task for the machine operation information, and a housing 13 on which the safety switch device 3 is removably mounted. In the operation terminal 1, the communication unit 12, the touch panel unit 11, and a storage unit 14 are electrically connected to each other via a control unit 15 and buses, and the operation of the operation terminal 1 including the communication unit 12 and the touch panel unit 11 is controlled by the control unit 15. A teaching software program implemented as an application program for operating the machine 4 is installed on the storage unit 14, and the control unit 15 controls the operation of the operation terminal 1 in accordance with the teaching software program. Hence, the operation terminal 1 functions as a wireless teaching pendant which operates (teaches) the machine 4. The operator can perform editing and confirmation tasks such as registration or condition setting of operations associated with the machine 4, through the input and display functions of the touch panel unit 11 of the operation terminal 1. The communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 is used for communication with a peripheral device. The peripheral device includes the controller 2 that controls the machine 4. The communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 and a communication unit 22 of the controller 2 that controls the machine 4 are connected to each other via wireless communication. Examples of such wireless communication include wireless LANs such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.RTM., and infrared communication. Instead of wireless communication, wired communication may be used, but in this case, the portability of the operation terminal 1 is relatively low although the stability of communication between the operation terminal 1 and the controller 2 is relatively high. The communication unit 12 transfers a packet received from a packet generation unit 32 in the safety switch device 3 to the controller 2 and transmits machine operation information for defining teaching details input on the operation terminal 1 to the controller 2, although details will be described later. The safety switch device 3 is removably mounted on the housing 13 of the operation terminal 1. The safety switch device 3 is used to stop the machine 4 in an emergency. The safety switch device 3 includes mount units 33 for removably mounting the safety switch device 3 on the operation terminal 1, a switch unit 31 which outputs a stop instruction signal for issuing an instruction to stop the machine 4 by being operated, and a packet generation unit 32 which converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit 31 into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1. The power involved in operating the safety switch device 3 may be supplied via a cable (a USB cable or a dedicated power supply cable) from the operation terminal 1 on which the safety switch device 3 is mounted, or supplied from a battery built into the safety switch device 3. The safety switch device 3 further includes a communication unit 34 as a means for transmitting the packet generated by the packet generation unit 32 to the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1. The communication unit 34 of the safety switch device 3 and the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 may be connected to each other via either wireless or wired communication. Examples of such wireless communication include wireless LANs such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.RTM., and infrared communication. Examples of such wired communication include communication via a USB cable. The switch unit 31 of the safety switch device 3 includes at least one of a mechanical emergency stop button 31-1 which outputs a stop instruction signal by being pressed, and a mechanical enable switch (deadman switch) 31-2 which outputs a stop instruction signal by cancelling pressing. In an exemplary example illustrated as FIG. 1, one emergency stop button 31-1 and one enable switch 31-2 are provided as the switch unit 31, but only one of an emergency stop button 31-1 and an enable switch 31-2 may be provided, or a plurality of emergency stop buttons 31-1 and/or a plurality of enable switches 31-2 may be provided. When the operator wants to bring the machine 4 to an emergency stop upon, e.g., the occurrence of an abnormality in the machine 4, he or she presses the emergency stop button 31-1 to output a stop instruction signal from the emergency stop button 31-1. In the normal operation of the machine 4, the operator uses the operation terminal 1 while gripping the enable switch 31-2 of the safety switch device 3 with his or her hand (i.e., while the enable switch 31-2 is kept pressed), but when he or she releases his or her grip on the enable switch 31-2 for some reason, the pressing of the enable switch 31-2 is cancelled and a stop instruction signal is output from the enable switch 31-2. The mount units 33 of the safety switch device 3 are used to removably mount the safety switch device 3 on the housing 13 of the operation terminal 1. Although examples of fitting between the safety switch device 3 and the operation terminal 1 will be given below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the safety switch device 3 may be mounted on the operation terminal 1 using a method other than those illustrated as FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a first example of fitting between a safety switch device and an operation terminal according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. As the structure of the mount units 33 of the safety switch device 3, the safety switch device 3 is mounted on the operation terminal 1 to partially cover the housing 13 of the operation terminal 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a second example of fitting between a safety switch device and an operation terminal according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The mount units 33 are placed at the four corners of the safety switch device 3, which is mounted on the operation terminal 1 to be fitted together from the lower surface of the operation terminal 1 through the mount units 33. In the examples illustrated as FIGS. 2 and 3, one emergency stop button 31-1 and two enable switches 31-2 are provided as the switch unit 31. The packet generation unit 32 of the safety switch device 3 converts the stop instruction signal output by operating the switch unit 31 into a packet and outputs the packet to the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1. More specifically, the packet generation unit 32 generates a packet by dividing the stop instruction signal from the switch unit 31 and adding sequence numbers to the divided signals. In this embodiment, to improve the communication safety and reliability, the packet generation unit 32 multiplexes processing for generating a packet from the stop instruction signal. In other words, to generate different types of packets from one stop instruction signal, the packet generation unit 32 includes a plurality of LSIs as processors which generate packets from the stop instruction signal. In an exemplary example illustrated as FIG. 1, packet generation processing is dualized, so that the packet generation unit 32 includes a first LSI 32-1 and a second LSI 32-2. The stop instruction signal output by pressing the emergency stop button 31-1 is input to each of the first LSI 32-1 and the second LSI 32-2. Similarly, the stop instruction signal output by canceling the pressing of the enable switch 31-2 is input to each of the first LSI 32-1 and the second LSI 32-2. In each of the first LSI 32-1 and the second LSI 32-2, a packet is generated by dividing the received stop instruction signal and adding sequence numbers to the divided signals. The respective packets generated by the first LSI 32-1 and the second LSI 32-2 are transmitted to the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 via the communication unit 34. As a modification to this embodiment, in either the first LSI 32-1 or the second LSI 32-2, a packet generated by this LSI may be concatenated with a packet generated by the other LSI and then the obtained packet may be transmitted to the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 via the communication unit 34. The packet generation unit 32 may be configured to generate a packet appended with an error detection signal or an error correction signal to further improve the communication safety and reliability. Examples of the error detection signal and the error correction signal include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). The safety switch device 3 may include components other than the switch unit 31, the packet generation unit 32, the mount units 33, and the communication unit 34. The safety switch device 3 may include, e.g., a unit which generates an electrical signal other than a stop instruction signal, and in this case, the packet generation unit 32 may generate a packet containing the electrical signal. The packet generated by the packet generation unit 32 in the above-mentioned manner is transmitted to the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 via the communication unit 34. The communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 further transfers the packet received from the packet generation unit 32 to the controller 2. Transfer processing for receiving a packet from the communication unit 34 of the safety switch device 3 and transferring the packet to the communication unit 22 of the controller 2 by the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 is performed as appropriate during intervals between processes based on the teaching software program of the operation terminal 1. A software program associated with a series of packet transfer processes (to be referred to as a "packet transfer software program" hereinafter) is also stored in the storage unit 14, and the control unit 15 performs packet transfer processing in accordance with the packet transfer software program. The communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 transmits machine operation information to the controller 2, and since a packet is transmitted from the operation terminal 1 to the controller 2 via a communication channel common to the machine operation information, the communication path for a packet associated with a stop instruction signal also serves as a black channel. As the communication channel for communication between the communication unit 34 of the safety switch device 3 and the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1, a communication channel different from that for communication between the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 and the communication unit 22 of the controller 2 is used so as to prevent mutual communication interference. In other words, the communication unit 12 of the operation terminal 1 receives a packet from the safety switch device 3 via a communication channel different from that used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller 2. A specific example of the packet transfer processing will be described later. The controller 2 controls the operation of the machine 4 based on the machine operation information received from the operation terminal 1. The machine operation information is received via the communication unit 22. The controller 2 restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal 1 and stops the machine 4 based on the restored stop instruction signal. The controller 2 therefore includes a signal restoration unit 21 which restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal 1. As described above, since the packet is multiplexed by the packet generation unit 32 of the safety switch device 3, the signal restoration unit 21 in the controller 2 restores one stop instruction signal from the multiplexed packet. The signal restoration unit 21 in the controller 2 therefore includes a plurality of CPUs as processors which restore one stop instruction signal from the multiplexed packet. In an exemplary example illustrated as FIG. 1, since packet generation processing is dualized, the signal restoration unit 21 includes a first CPU 21-1 and a second CPU 21-2. The packet received via the communication unit 22 is input to each of the first CPU 21-1 and the second CPU 21-2 on the basis of the sequence numbers. A stop instruction signal is restored in each of the first CPU 21-1 and the second CPU 21-2, and the restoration results are compared by the first CPU 21-1 and the second CPU 21-2. The controller 2 uses the stop instruction signals in processing for stopping the machine 4 as valid data only when they match each other, and outputs an alarm when they are mismatched. When one or both of the packets have an error, the controller 2 may perform retry processing within the time limit permitted by the system. In this manner, according to this embodiment, since packet generation processing associated with a stop instruction signal is dualized, the possibility that the controller 2 will receive an erroneous stop instruction signal can be reduced even when a bug occurs in the packet transfer software program within the operation terminal 1 or communication failure occurs in each communication path. When the packet received via the communication unit 22 is generated by concatenating the respective packets generated by the first LSI 32-1 and the second LSI 32-2 in the packet generation unit 32, this packet is divided by either the first CPU 21-1 or the second CPU 21-2, and a stop instruction signal is then restored in each of the first CPU 21-1 and the second CPU 21-2. When the packet generation unit 32 is configured to generate a packet appended with an error detection signal or an error correction signal to further improve the communication safety and reliability, the controller 2 includes an error detection and correction unit (not illustrated) which detects the presence or absence of a packet error on the basis of an error detection signal added to a packet received from the operation terminal 1 or corrects a packet error on the basis of an error correction signal added to a packet received from the operation terminal 1. Packet transfer processing in the operation terminal 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. For the sake of easy explanation, the communication units 12, 22, and 34 used for respective types of communication between the operation terminal 1 and the controller 2 and between the operation terminal 1 and the safety switch device 3 will not be particularly referred to herein, but it is to be noted that any of the communication units 12, 22, and 34 is engaged in each such type of communication. Since the processing of the first LSI 32-1 and the second LSI 32-2 in the packet generation unit 32 and the processing of the first CPU 21-1 and the second CPU 21-2 in the controller 2 are the same as above, a description thereof will not be given hereinafter. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communication diagram when a controller is equipped with a timer in the embodiment of the present disclosure. In this case, the controller 2 transmits a request signal to the operation terminal 1 with a predetermined timer period. The operation terminal 1 transfers the received request signal to the safety switch device 3. In response to the request signal, the safety switch device 3 performs processing for detecting whether the switch unit 31 has been operated. When the switch unit 31 has been operated, since a stop instruction signal is output from the switch unit 31, the packet generation unit 32 in the safety switch device 3 converts the stop instruction signal into a packet and outputs the packet to the operation terminal 1, which further transfers the packet received from the safety switch device 3 to the controller 2. The controller 2 restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal 1 and stops the machine 4 based on the restored stop instruction signal. It takes a certain time, after the controller 2 transmits a request signal to the operation terminal 1, until it receives a packet from the operation terminal 1, and when this time exceeds a preset time limit (set to a time shorter than the timer period) as well, the controller 2 stops the machine 4 for the sake of safety (alarm stop). FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communication diagram when the safety switch device is equipped with a timer in the embodiment of the present disclosure. In this case, the safety switch device 3 performs processing for detecting whether the switch unit 31 has been operated with a predetermined timer period. When the switch unit 31 has been operated, since a stop instruction signal is output from the switch unit 31, the packet generation unit 32 in the safety switch device 3 converts the stop instruction signal into a packet and outputs the packet to the operation terminal 1, which further transfers the packet received from the safety switch device 3 to the controller 2. The controller 2 restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal 1 and stops the machine 4 based on the restored stop instruction signal. It takes a certain time, after the controller 2 receives a packet from the operation terminal 1, until it receives the next packet, and when this time exceeds a preset time limit (set to a time shorter than the timer period) as well, the controller 2 stops the machine 4 for the sake of safety (alarm stop). When the safety switch device 3 is equipped with a timer, since active packet transmission to the operation terminal 1 may be preferably performed, a communication scheme which allows such communication may be preferably employed. For example, while wireless LANs such as Wi-Fi capable of mutual communication between devices or the like may be employed, USB cable communication using a fixed master-slave relationship may not be employed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communication diagram when the operation terminal is equipped with a timer in the embodiment of the present disclosure. In this case, the operation terminal 1 transmits a request signal to the safety switch device 3 with a predetermined timer period. In response to the request signal, the safety switch device 3 performs processing for detecting whether the switch unit 31 has been operated. When the switch unit 31 has been operated, since a stop instruction signal is output from the switch unit 31, the packet generation unit 32 in the safety switch device 3 converts the stop instruction signal into a packet and outputs the packet to the operation terminal 1, which further transfers the packet received from the safety switch device 3 to the controller 2. The controller 2 restores a stop instruction signal from the packet received from the operation terminal 1 and stops the machine 4 based on the restored stop instruction signal. It takes a certain time, after the controller 2 receives a packet from the operation terminal 1, until it receives the next packet, and when this time exceeds a preset time limit (set to a time shorter than the timer period) as well, the controller 2 stops the machine 4 for the sake of safety (alarm stop). In one aspect of the present disclosure, a safety switch device, an operation terminal, and a machine control system including the same which can reliably stop a machine operating based on machine operation information in an emergency and achieve high convenience and versatility and low cost can be realized. In another aspect of the present disclosure, in place of a dedicated teaching pendant, a teaching pendant including a mechanical safety switch unit such as an emergency stop button and an enable switch can be formed on a portable operation terminal (smart device) such as a tablet or a smartphone, so that the machine can be reliably stopped in an emergency and safety is high while achieving cost reduction and ensuring versatility and operator convenience. In still another aspect of the present disclosure, since a packet associated with a stop instruction signal is transmitted from the operation terminal to a controller for the machine using a communication channel common to the machine operation information, the cost is low. In still another aspect of the present disclosure, since a packet is transmitted from the safety switch device to the operation terminal via a communication channel different from that used to transmit the machine operation information and the packet to the controller, no signals interfere with each other. In still another aspect of the present disclosure, since packet generation processing associated with a stop instruction signal is dualized, the possibility that the controller will receive an erroneous stop instruction signal can be reduced even when a bug occurs within the operation terminal or communication failure occurs in each communication path, and safety is high.

2019-04-18T12:29:26Z

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Malinovský Ľ., Lukáč P., Morva I., and Zábudlá Z.: Determination of the temperature of electrons heated by microwaves from the spectral line intensities emitted by the neon afterglow plasma, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (21), 215204 (2011). Onderka M., Rodny M., Velísková Y.: Suspended particulate matter concentrations retrieved from self-calibrated multispectral satellite imagery, Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics 59 (4), 251-261 (2011). Pekárová, P.; Miklánek, P.; Halmová, D.; et al.: Long-term trend and multi-annual variability of water temperature in the pristine Bela River basin (Slovakia), Journal of Hydrology 3-4, 333-340 (2011). Pongrác B., Machala Z.: Electro-Spraying of Water with Streamer Corona Discharge, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 39, 2664-2665 (2011). Šipoldová Z., Machala Z.: Bio-decontamination of plastic and dental surfaces with atmospheric pressure air DC discharges, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 39, 2970-2971 (2011). Foissac C., Kristof J., Annusova A., Martišovitš V., Veis P., and Supiot P.: Vacuum UV and UV spectroscopy of N2–Ar mixture discharge created by a RF helical coupling device, Plasma Sources Science & Technology 19 (5), 055006 (2010). Janda M., Machala Z., Laux C.O.: Optical and Electrical Study of Transient Spark Discharge in Air, Acta Physica Universitatis Comenianae L-LI, 85-93 (2010). Machala Z., Chládeková L., Pelach M.: Plasma agents in bio-decontamination by dc discharges in atmospheric air, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 43, 222001 (2010). Onderka M., Pekarova P., Miklanek P. et al.: Examination of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen budget in three experimental microbasins with contrasting land cover-a mass bala, Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 210 (1-4), 251-261 (2010). Stancu G.D., Janda M., Kaddouri F., Lacoste D., Laux C.O.: Time-Resolved CRDS Measurements of N2(A) Density Produced by Nanosecond Discharges in Atmospheric Pressure Nitrogen and Air, J. Phys. Chem. A 114, 201-208 (2010). Hensel K.: Microdischarges in Ceramic Foams and Honeycombs, Eur. Phys. J. D 54 (2), 141-148 (2009). Hensel K.: Studená plazma ako potenciálny nástroj na zlepšenie účinnosti automobilových katalyzátorov, Čs. čas. fyz. 59 (4), 255-256 (2009). Hensel K., Machala Z., Tardiveau P.: Capillary Microplasmas for Ozone Generation, Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 47 (2), 22813 (2009). Machala Z.: Plazma a živé organizmy, Čs. čas. fyz. 59 (6), 370-376 (2009). Machala Z., Jedlovský I., Chládeková L., Pongrác B., Giertl D., Janda M., Šikurová L., Polčic P.: DC discharges in atmospheric air for bio-decontamination – spectroscopic methods for mechanism identification, Eur. Phys. J. D, 54, 195-204 (2009). Malinovský L., Lukáč P., Foltín V., Morva I., Morvová M.: On the electron temperature dependence of the dissociative recombination of Ne-2(+) ions with electrons, Journal of Physics B - Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics 42 (10), 105701 (2009). Mikuš O., Lukáč P., Morva I., Zábudlá Z., Trnovec J., Morvová M.: Electron and gas temperature dependences of the dissociative recombination coefficient of molecular ions Ne-2(+) with electrons, Plasma Sources Science & Technology 18 (2), 025031 (2009). Sato S., Hensel K., Hayashi H., Takashima K., Mizuno A: Honeycomb Discharge for Diesel Exhaust Cleaning, J. Electrostat. 67 (2-3), 77-83 (2009). Hensel K., Sato S., Mizuno A.: Sliding Discharge inside Glass Capillaries, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 36 (4), 1282-1283 (2008). Hensel K., Sato S., Mizuno A.: Electrical Discharge in Honeycomb Monolith, Chem. Listy 102 (16), s1318-s1321 (2008). Hensel K., Tardiveau P.: ICCD Camera Imaging of Discharges in Porous Ceramics, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 36 (4), 980-981 (2008). Janda M., Machala Z.: Transient spark discharge in N2/CO2/H2O mixtures at atmospheric pressure, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 36 (4), 916-917 (2008). Janda M., Machala Z., Morvová M., Morva I.: Study of Plasma Induced Chemistry by DC Discharges Above Water Surface in CO2/N2/H2O Mixture, Orig. Life Evol. Biosph., 38, 23-35 (2008). Leštinská L., Foltin V., Machala Z.: Emission Spectroscopy of Atmospheric Nitrogen Microwave Plasma, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 36, 962-963 (2008). Leštinská L., Martišovitš V., Zahoran M., Machala Z.: Atmospheric pressure MW plasma for waste carbon treatment, Chemické listy 102 (16), S1428-S1431 (2008). Machala Z., Jedlovský I., Martišovitš V.: DC discharges in atmospheric air and their transitions, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 36, 918-919 (2008). Mikuš O., Lukáč P., Morva I., Morvová M., Foltin V.: The Dual Mode Microwave Afterglow Apparatus for Measuring the Electron Temperature Dependence of the Electron-Ion Recombination, Contributions to Plasma Physics 48 (4), 311-325 (2008). Pawłat J., Ihara S., Hensel K., Yamabe C.: Treatment of Surfactants in the Foaming Column, Chem. Listy 102 (16), s1494-s1497 (2008). Hensel K., Martišovitš V., Machala Z., Janda M., Leštinský M., Tardiveau P., Mizuno A.: Electrical and Optical Properties of AC Microdischarges in Porous Ceramics, Plasma Process. Polym. 4 (7-8), 682-693 (2007). Janda M., Martišovitš V., Morvová M., Machala Z., Hensel K.: Monte Carlo simulations of electron dynamics in N2/CO2 mixtures, Eur. Phys. J. D 45 (2), 309-315 (2007). Machala Z., Janda M., Hensel K., Jedlovský I., Leštinská L., Foltin V., Martišovitš V., Morvová M.: Emission Spectroscopy of Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas for Bio-medical and Environmental Applications, J. Molec. Spectrosc. 243 (2), 194-201 (2007). Foltin V., Leštinská L., Machala Z.: Spectroscopic investigations of atmospheric pressure microwave torch nitrogen plasma jet, Czech. J. Phys. 56, B712-720 (2006). Janda M., Hensel K., Martišovitš V., Morvová M.: Theoretical Study of Influence of H2O on Parameters of Low-Temperature Plasmas in Humid Mixtures, Czech. J. Phys. 56, B774-B780 (2006). Pawłat J., Hensel K., Ihara S.: Generation of Oxidants and Removal of Indigo Blue by Pulsed Power in Bubbling and Foaming Systems, Czech. J. Phys. 56, B1174-B1178 (2006). Hensel K., Katsura S., Mizuno A.: DC Microdischarges inside Porous Ceramics, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 33, 574-575 (2005). Janda M., Machala Z., Morvová M., Franček V., Lukáč P.: WEB-EEDF: Open Source Software for Modeling the Electron Dynamics, Acta Physica Slovaca 55, 507-514 (2005). Machala Z., Laux C.O. and Kruger C.H.: Transverse DC Glow Discharges in Atmospheric Pressure Air, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 33 - Special Issue on Plasma Images, 320-321 (2005). Machala Z., Marode E., Morvová M., Lukáč P.: DC glow discharges in atmospheric air as a source for VOC abatement, Plasma Process. Polym. 2, 152-161 (2005). Pawłat J., Hensel K., Ihara S.: Decomposition of Humic Acid and Methylene Blue by Electric Discharge in Foam, Acta Phys. Slovaca 55 (5), 479-485 (2005). Hensel K., Matsui Y., Katsura S., Mizuno A.: Generation of Microdischarges in Porous Materials, Czech. J. Phys. 54, C683-C689 (2004). Jašík J., Macko P., Martišovitš V., Lukáč P., Veis P.: A time - resolved study of the U - V radiation produced in the initial time period of a pulsed argon discharge, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 54 (6), 661 (2004). Machala Z., Marode E., Laux C.O., Kruger C.H.: DC glow discharges in atmospheric pressure air, J. Advanced Oxid. Technol. 7, No. 2, 133-137 (2004). Pawłat J., Hensel K.: Discoloration of the Solutions in the Foaming Environment, Czech. J. Phys. 54, C964-C969 (2004). Morvová M., Morva I., Janda M., Hanic F., Lukáč P.: Combustion and carbonisation exhaust utilisation in electric discharge and its relation to prebiotic chemistry, Int. J. of Mass Spectrometry 223 (1-3): 613-625 Jan. 15 (2003). Hensel K., Hayashi N., Yamabe C., Morvová M.: Positive DC Corona Discharge in N2-NO-CO2-O2 Mixtures, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 41 (1), 336-345 (2002). Macko P., Martišovitš V., Veis P.: Vibrational population of the O-2(b(1) Sigma(+)(g)) state in a low-pressure oxygen pulsed discharge, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 51 (5), 491 (2001). Hajossy R., Pastva P., Morva I.: Reply to comment on "Ignition of welding arc during a short-circuit of melted electrodes" (1999 J.Phys.D: Appl.Phys. Vol.32, p.1058), J.Phys. D: Appl.Phys. 33, 2342-2344 (2000). Hanic F., Morvová M., Morva I.: Thermochemical Aspects of the Conversion of Gaseous System CO2-N2-H2O into Solid Mixture of Amino Acids, Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, Vol.60, 1111-1121 (2000). Hensel K., Yamabe C.: Corona Discharge in NOx-COx Mixtures, Rep. Fac. Sci. Engrg. Saga Univ. 29 (1), 47-56 (2000). Huczko A., Lange H., Sioda M., Rzanek-Boroch Z., Morvová M.: Plasma Decomposition of Carbon-Bearing Reactants, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics, Vol.50 No.5, pp. 615-622 (2000). Machala Z., Morvová M., Marode E., Morva I.: Removal of cyclohexanone in Transition Electric Discharges at Atmospheric Pressure, J.Phys. D: Appl.Phys., Vol.33 No 24, 3198-3213 (2000). Morvová M., Hanic F., Morva I.: Plasma Technologies for Reducing CO2 Emissions from Combustion Exaust with Toxic Admixtures to Utilisable Products Sparing Energy and Environment, Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, Vol.61, 273-287 (2000). Hajossy R., Pastva P., Morva I.: Ignition of welding arc during a short-circuit of melted electrodes, J. Phys.D.: Appl.Phys. 32, 1058-1065 (1999). Morvová M.: The influence of water vapour and temperature on depletion of carbon monoxide in dc corona discharge, Czech.J.Phys. Vol.49, No.12, pp. 1703-1720 (1999). Šáro Š., Matoš M., Martišovitš V.: The experimental pressent and future of superheavy nuclei synthesis, Acta Physica Slovaca 49 (1), 75 (1999). Hajossy R., Morva I.: Optimum experimental design for reconstruction of flame front propagation in a long pipe, Measuring Science and Technology 9, 100-108 (1998). Martišovitš V., Košinár I., Trnovec J., Zahoran M.: In situ monitoring of uniformity by and point signal during plasma etching, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 48 (10), 1225 (1998). Morvová M.: DC corona discharge in CO2 - air and CO - air mixtures for various electrode materials, J.PhysD: Appl.Phys 31, pp. 1865-1874 (1998). Kurdel M., Morvová M.: DC corona discharge influence on chemical composition in mixtures of natural gas with air and its combustion exhaust with air, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 205-215 (1997). Martišovitš V., Zahoran M.: Transport of chemically active species in plasma reactor for etching, Plasma Sources Science & Technology 6 (3), 280 (1997). Šimko T., Martišovitš V., Bretagne J., Gousset G.: Computer simulations of H+ and H3+ transport parameters in hydrogen drift tubes, Physical Review E. 56 (5), 5908 (1997). Hajossy R., Morva I., Pavlík J., Šúra P.: A simple digital multilevel streak image of combustion,, Review of Scientific Instruments , 67, p. 733-736, (3) March (1996). Hensel K., Morvová M.: The Conversion of NOx in a Corona Discharge with an Inner Electrode Material Variation, Contrib. Plasma Phys. 36 (1), 51-61 (1996). Trnovec J., Martišovitš V.: Theoretical study of heterogeneous reactions during plasma etching and depasition by mass spectrometry of stable species, Acta Physica Slovaca 46 (1), 57 (1996). Cernak M., van Velthuizen E.M., Morva I., Rutgers W.R.: Effect of cathode surface properties on glow-to-arc transition in a short positive corona gap in ambient air, J.Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 28, 1126-1132 (1995). Hajossy R., Morva I., Martišovitš V.: Starting Short-Circuits in Gas Metal Arc Welding, Int.J. Joining of materials 7 (1), 1-7 (1995). Heid R., Bazaliy Y. B., Martišovitš V., Cox D. L.: Staggered superconductivity in UPt3: A new phenomenological approach, Phys. Rev. Letters 74 (3), 2571-74 (1995). Hajossy R., Morva I.: Cathode and anode falls of arcs with fusible electrodes, J.Phys.D.:Appl.Phys., 27, 2095-2101 (1994). Hajossy R., Martišovitš V., Morva I.: Short-circuit duration as a criterion of precision for electric measurementsin arc, Acta Physica Slovaca 43 (1), 20 (1993). Martišovitš V., Zahoran M., Košinár I., Trnovec J.: Effect of chemical reaction stoichiometry on the pressure variation in the etch chamber during etching of aluminium, Physics Letters A 173 (6), 462 (1993). Morvová M., Morva I., Kurdel M.: The Use of Corona Discharge for Rubber Crush Drier Exhaust Control, Contribution of Plasma Physics 33, No.4, pp.285-295 (1993). Martišovitš V., Miertušová J., Šurda V., Trnovec J., Zahoran M.: Investigations into deposit forming during aluminium etching in CCl4 plasma, Acta Physica Slovaca 36 (2), 116 (1986). Morva I., Tegelhofová M.: Production of organometalic compounds by the explosion of a copper wire in xylene, water and their mixtures, Acta Physica Slovaca 36, No.3, 171-176 (1986). Tegelhofová M., Martišovitš V.: Formation of polymer deposits in corona discharge of both polarities in CO and its mixtures with H2 and H2O, Acta Physica Slovaca 36, No.3, 164-170 (1986). Tegelhofová M., Martišovitš V.: Chemical reactions in corona discharge in CO and its mixtures, Acta Physica Slovaca 33 (1), 25-35 (1983). Veis P., Veisová E., Tegelhofová M.: Study of structural changes in surface layers of apples due to corona discharge, Acta Physica Slovaca 33, No.3, 195-198 (1983). Červeňan Ľ, Martišovitš V.: A study of the radial distribution of the ultraviolet radiation from hollow cathode glow discharge, Acta Physica Slovaca 32 (6), 341 (1982). Martišovitš V., Košinár I.: Influence of the two-stage ionisation on radial profiles of charged and metastable particles, Acta Physica Slovaca 32 (3-4), 217 (1982). Pavlík J., Morva I.: Explosions of thin Cu and Al wires, Acta Physica Slovaca 32 (3-4), 205 (1982). Teplanová K., Košinár I., Martišovitš V.: Numerical solution of the diffusion model of the electric sheath, Acta Physica Slovaca 32 (3-4), 235 (1982). Červeňan Ľ, Martišovitš V.: A simple hollow cathode device for the study of the negative glow by the effusion technique, Acta Physica Slovaca 31 (4), 215 (1981). Košinár I., Kryukov N.A., Reďko T.P.: Diffuzija atomov medi v inertnych gazach, Opt Spektrosk. 50, 62 (1981). Košinár I., Reďko T.P.: Some dependences of the backround current in a Bennett radiofrequency mass spectrometer, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 30, 1293 (1980). Košinár I., Martišovitš V., Teplanová K.: Theory of the electric sheat in the diffusion regime discharge plasma, Acta Physica Slovaca 29 (2), 139 (1979). Luknárová M., Martišovitš V.: Measurement of electrical conductivity of low - temperature alkali plasma by week probing signals, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 29 (11), 1237 (1979). Martišovitš V.: The interaction of plasma with a solid surface, Acta Physica Slovaca 29 (2), 133 (1979). Martišovitš V.: Transport of metastable atoms in a positive column including radial variation of the excitation rate, Journal de Physique IV 40 (7), 185 (1979). Martišovitš V.: Effect of collisions between the metastable atoms on their radial transport in a positive column at various spatial distribution, Journal de Physique IV 40 (7), 183 (1979). Tegelhofová M., Martišovitš V.: Convection in corona discharge, Acta Physica Slovaca 29, No.2, 103-108 (1979). Tegelhofová M., Martišovitš V.: The decomposition of carbon monoxide in corona discharge, Acta Physica Slovaca 28, No.1, 38-45 (1978). Červeňan Ľ., Martišovitš V.: A study of the plasma column with attention to the region near the wall, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 26 (5), 507 (1976). Martišovitš V., Kalužay J.: Amplitúdová modulácia jasu pri oscilografickom snímaní hmotového spektra, Československý časopis pro fyziku A 24, 254 (1974). Červeňan Ľ, Martišovitš V.: A time - resolved study of the U - V radiation produced in the initial time period of a pulsed argon discharge, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 23 (12), 1333 (1973). Košinár I.: Some dependences of the backround current in a Bennett radiofrequency mass spectrometer, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 23, 1219 (1973). Košinár I.: A note on the mobility of some ions in a high field, Fyzikálny časopis SAV 22, 186 (1972). Martišovitš V., Košinár I.: A note on the time-of-flihgt technique of the detection of metastable atoms, Journal of Physics B - Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics 5 (10), L214 (1972). Martišovitš V., Preložník V.: A study of the background current in a Bennett radio - frequency mass spectrometer, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics 22 (11), 1102 (1972). Martišovitš V.: Radial structure of the collision - dominated plasma column, Journal of Physics B - Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics 3 (6), 850 (1970). Martišovitš V., Szarka Š.: An investigation of the energy gain in Bennett´s radio - frequency mass spectrometer, Journal of Scientific Instruments ( Journal of Physics E), Series 2., 1 (3), 326 (1968). Martišovitš V., Veis Š.: Quantitative description of blood oxygenation process in oxygenator for extracorporal circulation, Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics 29 (6), 485 (1967). Martišovitš V.: Vysokofrekvenčný hmotový spektrometer, Matematicko-fyzikálny časopis SAV 13 (1), 72 (1963). Hensel K., Le Delliou P., Tardiveau P., Pasquiers S.:: Discharge Propagation in Capillary Tubes Assisted by Bias Electric Field, 7th International Symposium on Electromagnetic Devices and Processes in Environment Protection ELMECO-7, Nałęczów (Poland), September 28-30, 39-40 (2011). Morvová M., Morva I., Janda M.: Overview of removal methods for CO2 and other greenhouse gas and details of the method using non-thermal plasma, 139th TMS Annual Meeting, Symposium Carbon Dioxide and Other Greenhouse Gas Reduction Metallurgy, Seattle (USA), February 14-18, p. 3-14 (2010). Hensel K., Janda M., Ráheľ J.: Generation of Discharges inside the Honeycomb Monolith Assisted by Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge, 19th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry ISPC 19, Bochum (Germany), July 26-31, CD-ROM (2009). Hensel K., Kim H. H.: Effect of Noble Gases and Water Vapor on Discharge in Porous Ceramics, 19th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry ISPC 19, Bochum (Germany), July 26-31, CD-ROM (2009). Hensel K., Leštinský M., Homola T., Ráheľ J.: Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge Assisted Generation of Discharges inside the Honeycomb Monolith, 17th Symposium on Applications of Plasma Processes SAPP XVII, Liptovsky Jan (Slovakia), January 17-22, 163-164 (2009). Hensel K., Mizuno A.: Formaldehyde Abatement by Atmospheric Plasma and Catalyst, 23rd Symposium on Plasma Physics and Technology SPPT, Prague (Czech Republic), June 16-19, 149 (2008). Hensel K., Sato S., Mizuno A.: Electrical Discharge in Honeycomb Monolith, 2nd Central European Symposium on Plasma Chemistry CESPC, Brno (Czech Republic), August 31 - September 4, 140-141 (2008). Janda M., Stancu G.D., Spence T.G., Harb C., Kaddouri F., Pai D., Lacoste D., Laux C.O.: Measurements of N2(A) by pulsed cavity ringdown spectroscopy in repetitively pulsed nanosecond discharges, XVII International Conference on Gas Discharges and their Applications, Cardiff, UK, September 7-12, p. 385-388 (2008). Morvova M., Martisovits V., Morva I., Kosinar I., Janda M., Kunecova D., Kolesarova N., Biskupicova V. and Morvova M. jr.: Non-thermal plasma based system for exhaust treatment in reduced atmosphere of pyrolysis gases, 3rd International School of Advances Plasma Technology, Varenna (Italy), July 28-31, p. 77-88 (2008). Pawłat J., Ihara S., Hensel K., Yamabe C.: Treatment of Surfactants in the Foaming Column, 2nd Central European Symposium on Plasma Chemistry CESPC, Brno (Czech Republic), August 31 - September 4, 138-139 (2008). Sato S., Hensel K., Takashima K., Mizuno A.: Generation Condition of Honeycomb Discharge, 6th Conference of the French Electrostatics Society, Paris (France), July 7-9, 366-371 (2008). Sato S., Hensel K., Takashima K., Mizuno A.: Generation Condition of Discharge in Honeycomb Catalyst, IUMRS International Conference in Asia 2008 (IUMRS-ICA 2008), Nagoya (Japan), December 9-13 (2008). Sato S., Hensel K., Yamauchi H., Takashima K., Mizuno A.: Emission Spectrum of Honeycomb Discharge, 32nd Annual Meeting of Institute of Electrostatics of Japan, Oita (Japan), September 18-19, 143-144 (2008). Stancu G.D., Janda M., Kaddouri F., Pai D., Rolon J.C., Laux C.O.: Two-photon absorption laser induced fluorescence study of repetitively pulsed nanosecond discharges in atmospheric pressure air, 39th Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference, Seattle, WA, June 23-26, AIAA 2008-3882 (2008). Stancu G.D., Janda M., Kaddouri F., Spence T.G., Harb C., Lacoste D., Laux C.O.: Study of nanosecond repetetively pulsed discharges in atmospheric air or nitrogen by advanced laser diagnostic techniques, Europhysics Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionised Gases (ESCAMPIG), Granada (Spain), July 15-19 (CD-ROM, Topic 5) (2008). Čermák P., Varga J., Macko P., Martišovitš V., Veis P.: Study of nitrogen dielectric barrier discharge at near and over atmospheric pressure by optical emission spectroscopy, 16th Annual Conference of Doctoral Students WDS07, Prague (Czech Republic), June 5-8, p. 101-05 (2007). Hensel K., Sato S.: Elektrické a optické vlastnosti výbojov v sklenných kapilárach, Moderné trendy vo fyzike plazmy a pevných látok III, Bratislava (Slovakia), October 4, 46-49 (2007). Hensel K., Tardiveau P.: ICCD Camera Imaging of Microdischarges in Porous Ceramics, 27th Annual Meeting of Institute of Electrostatics of Japan, Tsukuba (Japan), September 10-11, 5-6 (2007). Hensel K., Tardiveau P.: Vizualizácia mikrovýbojov v poréznych keramikách, Moderné trendy vo fyzike plazmy a pevných látok III, Bratislava (Slovakia), October 4, 43-45 (2007). Leštinský M., Hensel K.: Odstraňovanie NO pomocou mikrovýbojov v poréznych keramikách, Moderné trendy vo fyzike plazmy a pevných látok III, Bratislava (Slovakia), October 4, 82-85 (2007). Leštinský M., Hensel K., Martišovitš V.: Ozone Generation by Microdischarges in Porous Ceramics, 16th Symposium on Applications of Plasma Processes, Podbanské (Slovakia), January 20-25, 217-218 (2007). Sato S., Hensel K., Yamauchi H., Takashima K., Mizuno A.: Emission Spectroscopy of Sliding Discharge inside Quartz Capillary Tubes at Atmospheric Pressure, 27th Annual Meeting of Institute of Electrostatics of Japan, Tsukuba (Japan), September 10-11, 1-2 (2007). Stancu G.D., Janda M., Pai D., Lacoste D.A. and Laux C.O.: Laser-based diagnostics of repetitively pulsed nanosecond discharges in atmospheric pressure air, 7th Cavity Ring Down User meeting, Greifswald, Germany, Book of abstracts, 43 (2007). Janda M., Hensel K., Martišovitš V., Morvová M.: Theoretical Study of the Influence of H2O on Parameters of Low-Temperature Plasma in Humid Mixtures, 22nd Symposium on Plasma Physics and Technology SPPT, Prague (Czech Republic), June 26-29, 39-40 (2006). Pawłat J., Hensel K., Ihara S.: Generation of Liquid Phase Oxidants in Bubbles and Foam, 22nd Symposium on Plasma Physics and Technology SPPT, Prague (Czech Republic), June 26-29, 79-80 (2006). Morvová M., Morva I., Fógelová B.,Obderka M., Lukáč P.: Synergetic Effect of Non-Thermal Plasma Based Systems and Electrolysis for Waste-Water Treatment, Proc. of 15th Symposium on Applications of Plasma Processes and 3rd EU-Japan Joint Symposium on Plasma Processing, Podbanské (Slovakia), January 15-20, 215-216 (2005). Morvová M., Morva I., Hanic F., Košinár I., Amena M., Franček V., Janda M., Fógelová B., Vláčilíková J.: Pyrolýza drevnej hmoty spojená s výrobou tepla, kvapalných a plynných palív a so zabezpečením čistenia exhalátov, Využitie ihličnatej kalamitnej hmoty na energetické účely: odborný seminár s medzinárodnou účasťou, Trenčín, Slovakia, January 17 (2005). Morvová M., Morva I., Hensel K., Košinár I., Lukáč P.: The Removal of CO2, CO, NOx and Nicotine from Tobacco Smoke Using Non-Thermal Plasma System, 15th Symposium on Applications of Plasma Processes and 3rd EU-Japan Joint Symposium on Plasma Processing, Podbanské (Slovakia), January 15-20, 217-218 (2005). Pawłat J., Hensel K., Ihara S.: Decomposition of Humic Acids and Methylene Blue during the Electrical Discharge in Foam, 15th Symposium on Applications of Plasma Processes and 3rd EU-Japan Joint Symposium on Plasma Processing, Podbanské (Slovakia), January 15-20, 229-230 (2005). Hensel K., Matsui Y., Katsura S., Mizuno A.: Generation of Micro-discharge in Porous Material, 21st Symposium on Plasma Physics and Technology SPPT, Prague (Czech Republic), June 14-17, CD-ROM (2004). Matsui Y., Hensel K., Takashima K., Katsura S., Mizuno A.: Micro-discharge in Porous Ceramics, International COE Forum on Plasma Science and Technology, Nagoya (Japan), April 5-7, 65-66 (2004). Morvová M., Morva I., Hensel K., Pawłat J., Košútová Z.: Non-Thermal Plasma Influence on Tobacco Smoke, International COE Forum on Plasma Science and Technology, Nagoya (Japan), April 5-7, 281-282 (2004). Pawłat J., Hensel K.: Discoloration of the Solutions in the Foaming Environment, 21st Symposium on Plasma Physics and Technology SPPT, Prague (Czech Republic), June 14-17, CD-ROM (2004). Sawada J.,Matsui Y., Hensel K., Koyamoto I., Takashima K., Katsura S., Mizuno A.: Microdischarge in Porous Ceramics for Exhaust Gas Cleaning, 5th International Conference on Applied Electrostatics ICAES 2004, Shanghai (China), November 2-5, 128-131 (2004), published in the book 'Recent Development in Applied Electrostatics', editors S. Keping and Y. Gefei, Elsevier (2004). Hensel K., Pawłat J., Mizuno A.: Combination of Plasma and Catalyst for Removal of Formaldehyde, 16th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry ISPC 16, Taormina (Italy), June 22-27, paper ISPC-215, CD-ROM (2003). Hensel K., Pawłat J., Takashima K., Mizuno A.: Possibilities of Formaldehyde Removal by Discharge Plasma, International Joint Power Generation Conference IJPGC 2003, Georgia (USA), June 15-19, paper IJPGC2003-40149, CD-ROM (2003). Hensel K., Pawłat J., Takashima K., Mizuno A.: Treatment of HCHO Using Corona Discharge and Pellet Catalysts, 30th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science ICOPS 2003, Cheju (Korea), June 2-5, 276 (2003). Chmielewská E., Morvová M., Vojs M., Gáplovská K: Microporous carbon coated clinoptilolite rich tuff carrier vs. Other related materials for phenol removal, 3er Congreso Mexicano de Zeolitas Naturales - Zacatecas, 9.-12.11.2003, MX, Universidad Autonoma metropolitana, pp. 46-49 (2003). Morvová M., Morva I., Hanic F.: The Model for Origin of Life due to Exhaust Utilisation in Electric Discharge, 16th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry, Taormina, Italy June 22-27, (2003). 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Pawłat J., Hensel K., Yamabe C., Mizuno A.: Acetaldehyde Treatment in Foaming Column, 30th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science ICOPS 2003, Cheju (Korea), June 2-5, 276 (2003). Morvová M., Majková E., Dubničková A.Z.: Education and employment for women in physics in Slovakia, AIP Conference Proceedings, Paris, 7.-9.3.2002, AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol.628, Paris-IUPAP, pp.215-216 (2002). Morvová M., Morva I., Lukáč P., Hanic F.: Plasmochemical reactions in electrical discharges for environmental applications, Invited lecture in 1st International Conference on Global Research and Education, Bratislava, Slovakia, Conference Proceedings pp.45-52, September 23-26 (2002). Hensel K., Hayashi N., Yamabe C., Morvová M.: Spectroscopic Study of Positive Corona Discharge in Mixtures Containing N2, NO, CO2, O2 and H2O, 25th International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases XXV ICPIG, Nagoya (Japan), July 17-21, vol.4, 19-23 (2001). Hensel K., Hayashi N., Yamabe C., Morvová M.: Spectroscopic Study of Positive Corona Discharge in Mixtures Containing N2, NO, CO2, O2 and H2O, 3rd International Symposium on Non-thermal Plasma Technology for Pollution Control ISPNT-3, Seogwipo (Korea), April 23-27, 219-222 (2001). Hensel K., Ihara S., Satoh S., Hayashi N., Yamabe C., Morvová M.: The Effect of Water on the Positive Streamer Corona Discharge in N2-NO-CO2 Mixtures, 2nd Polish-Japanese Hakone Group Symposium on Non-thermal Plasma Processing of Water and Air, Nagoya (Japan), July 23-24, 72-76 (2001). Hensel K., Yamabe C., Morvová M.: The Analysis of Dry and Wet Gas Mixtures Containing NOx-CO2 Treated by Positive DC Streamer Corona Discharge, 4th International Conference on Applied Electrostatics, Dalian (China), October 8-12, 288-291 (2001). Morvová M., Morva I., Janda M.: Utilisation of CO2, fixation of nitrogen and exhaust gas cleaning in electric discharge with electrode catalysis, APP Spring meeting in Diagnostic of Non-Equilibrium High Pressure Plasmas, Bad Honnef, Germany, February 18-21, 209-212, (2001). Morvová M., Morva I., Lukáč P.: Plasmochemical Reactions in Electric Discharges, 14th Symposium FSO, Ed. Brno Technological University, Faculty of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, Book of Invited Lectures, pp.238-251 (2001). Hensel K., Yamabe C.: Spectroscopic Study of Corona Discharge in N2-NO-CO2 Mixtures, 10th Asian Conference on Electrical Discharge ACED-2000, Kyoto (Japan), November 6-7, paper A-118, 103-106 (2000). Hensel K., Yamabe C., Morvová M.: Corona Discharge in NOx-COx, 3rd International Symposium on Electromagnetic Devices And Processes In Environment Protection ELMECO 2000, Lublin (Poland), June 4-6, 15 (2000). Hensel K., Yamabe C., Morvová M.: Some Aspects of Corona Discharge in Mixtures Containing NOx-COx, 1999 Japan-Korea Joint Symposium on Electrical Discharge and High Voltage Engineering, Kitakyushu (Japan), October 25-26, 141-143 (1999). Morvová M., Morva I., Hanic F.: Single Step Removal of CO2 Incorporating CO2 and Nitrogen Fixation from Gas Phase in Electric Discharge, Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, Editors: P.Riemer, B. Eliason, and A. Wokaun, Elsevier Science Ltd., 137-142 (1999). Morvová M., Morva I., Janda M.: Utilisation of CO2, fixation of nitrogen and exhaust gas cleaning in electric discharge with electrode catalysis, 3th Czech-Rusian Seminar on Electrophysical and Thermochemical Processes in Low Temperature Plasma, Brno, Czech Republic, November 16-19, 100-103 (1999). Morvová M., Hanic F., Morva I.: Chemical and physical processes in conversion of the geseous system CO2-N2-H2O into solid condensate of amino acids, Book of contributed papers from 11th Symposium on elementary processes and chemical reactions in low temperature plasma, Part 2, pp. 237-241, Ed.Morvová M.&K.Hensel, JSMF, ISBN 80-967454-8-4 (1998). Morvová M., Morva I., Košútová Z.: Corona discharge effects on tobacco smoke, Book of contributed papers from 11th Symposium on elementary processes and chemical reactions in low temperature plasma, Part 2, pp. 232-236, Ed.Morvová M.&K.Hensel, JSMF, ISBN 80-967454-8-4 (1998). Morvová M., Gašparík R., Hensel K., Švehla B.: Simultaneous Removal of SiF4 and NOx Using Corona Discharge, 5th International Symposium on High Pressure Low Temperature Plasma Chemistry HAKONE V, Mílovy (Czech Republic), September 2-4, 92-96 (1996). Ružinská E., Kurdel M., Morvová M.: Influence of DC corona discharge with one electrode deep in water on the mixture of combustion products of natural gas with natural gas, Book of Contributed Papers from V. International Symposium on High Pressure Low Temperature Plasma Chemistry HAKONE V, pp. 290-294, Mílovy, September 2-4 (1996). Hensel K., Morvová M.: Conversion of NOx in Corona Discharge with Inner Electrode Material Variation, 30th Nordic Plasma and Gas Discharge Symposium, Geilo (Norway), February 5-8 (1995). Trnovec J., Martišovitš V., Košinár I., Juráni R.: In situ monitoring of plasma etching and deposition by using the gas pressure difference, 12th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry, Mineapolis, USA, August 21-25, p. 379-384 (1995). Hensel K., Morvová M.: Removal of NOx in Corona Discharge at the Atmospheric Pressure with Inner Electrode Material Variation, 10th Symposium on Elementary Processes and Chemical Reactions in Low Temperature Plasma, Stará Lesná (Slovakia), September 5-9, 18 (1994). Morvová M.: The effect of dc corona discharge with various electrode materials on exhaust components, Book of invited papers from 10th Symposium on elementary processes and chemical reactions in low temperature plasma, pp.155-183, Stará Lesná, High Tatras, September 5.-9. (1994). Šimko T., Martišovitš V., Bretagne J.: On the accuracy of the Wannier formula during nonstationary period of ionic transport, 12th ESCAMPIG, Noordwijkerhout, NL, August 23-26, p. 258-259 (1994). Morvová M., Kurdel M., Morva I.: The Plasmochemical and Electrocatalytical Effects of Corona Discharge of Both Polarities on CO and CO2 Mixtures with Air for Various Materials of Electrodes, Book of Contributed Papers from IV International Symposium on High Pressure Low Temperature Plasma Chemistry HAKONE IV, pp.159-164, Bratislava, August 30th-September 1st (1993). Morvová M., Morva I., Kurdel M.: Corona Discharge Action on Combustion Exhausts, Book of Contributed Papers from IV International Symposium on High Pressure Low Temperature Plasma Chemistry HAKONE IV, pp. 93-98, Bratislava, August 30th-September 1st (1993). Morvová M., Morva I., Kurdel M.: Corona discharge action on combustion exhaust, Book of Contributed Papers from IV International Symposium on High Pressure Low Temperature Plasma Chemistry HAKONE IV, pp.93-98, Bratislava, August 30th-September 1st (1993). Morvová M., Morva I.: Denox and desox by corona discharge, 8th Symposium on Elementary Processes and Chemical reaction in Low Temperature Plasma, Book of Contributed Papers, pp.45-49, JSMF, Bratislava (1990). Martišovitš V., Košinár I.: Effect of the two - stage ionization on radial transport of charged and metastable particles, International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Minsk, Soviet Union, July 14-18, p. 745 (1981). Košinár I., Martišovitš V., Veis: Effect of boundary conditions on radial transport of metastable atoms in a positive column, International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Berlin, Germany, September 12-17, p. 233 (1977). Martišovitš V., Košinár I., Tarábek P., Veis Š.: Destruction of metastable atoms by electron impact in the argon and neon positive column, European Conference on Atomic and Milecular Physics of Ionized Gases : ESCAMPIG, Bratislava, Slovakia, August 24-26, p. 94-95 (1976). Martišovitš V., Košinár I., Tarábek P., Veis: An experimental study of metastable atom flux to the tube wall in an argon positive column of glow discharge, International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Eindhoven, NL, August 18-22, p. 59 (1975). Martišovitš V., Košinár I., Veis: A theoretical study of metastable atom diffusion in a positive column of glow discharge, International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Eindhoven, NL, August 18-22, p. 60 (1975). Martišovitš V.: The ion current to the discharge tube wall in a positive column of an argon discharge, International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Prague, Czechoslovakia, September 10-14, p. 140 (1973). Martišovitš V.: Mobilities of ions in the parent gas over a wide range of values of E/N, International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Vol. 1 Contributed Papers, Oxford, GB, September 13-18, p. 3 (1971). Martišovitš V.: Pressure dependence of "neutral flow" effusing from an argon positive column, International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Vol. 1 Contributed Papers, Oxford, GB, September 13-18, p. 122 (1971). Martišovitš V., Červeňan: Time - resolved measurements of a "neutral flow" effusing from an argon positive column, ICPIG 1971: 10 th International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Oxford , 13.-18.9.1971. GB, September 13-18, p. 123 (1971). Martišovitš V.: Kineatic energy distribution for ions reaching the wall of the discharge tube at the low-pressure regime, 4th Czechoslovak Conference on Electronics and Vacuum Physics, Prague, Czechoslovakia, October 7-12, p. 161 (1968). Martišovitš V.: Die Anwendung des Hochfrequenz - massenspektrometers zur Untersuchung der Glimmentlandung, 3rd Czechoslovak Conference on Electronics and Vacuum Physics Transaction, Prague, Czechoslovakia, September 23-28, p. 103 (1965).

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In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the essential small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protease Ulp1 is responsible for both removing SUMO/Smt3 from specific target proteins and for processing precursor SUMO into its conjugation-competent form. Ulp1 localizes predominantly to nuclear pore complexes but has also been shown to deconjugate sumoylated septins at the bud-neck of dividing cells. How Ulp1 is directed to bud-neck localized septins and other cytoplasmic deconjugation targets is not well understood. Using a structure/function approach, we set out to elucidate features of Ulp1 that are required for substrate targeting. To aid our studies, we took advantage of a catalytically inactive mutant of Ulp1 that is greatly enriched at the septin ring of dividing yeast cells. We found that the localization of Ulp1 to the septins requires both SUMO and specific structural features of Ulp1's catalytic domain. Our analysis identified a 218-amino acid, substrate-trapping mutant of the catalytic domain of Ulp1, Ulp1(3)(C580S), that is necessary and sufficient for septin localization. We also used the targeting and SUMO-binding properties of Ulp1(3)(C580S) to purify Smt3-modified proteins from cell extracts. Our study provides novel insights into how the Ulp1 SUMO protease is actively targeted to its substrates in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, we found that a substrate-trapping Ulp1(3)(C580S) interacts robustly with human SUMO1, SUMO2 and SUMO2 chains, making it a potentially useful tool for the analysis and purification of SUMO-modified proteins. Cell division is a fundamental feature of all life and involves the controlled duplication and faithful segregation of an organism's genetic material from one cell to the next. In eukaryotes, each cell division cycle is therefore executed as a tightly regulated, stepwise program that relies on intact chromosomes. In humans, the consequences of faulty chromosome segregation and the inability to repair DNA damage have been implicated in cancer, aging and congenital birth defects. Ubiquitin and small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO), two small proteins that can become attached to other cellular proteins in a reversible manner , control important aspects of the cell division program. Ubiquitin is best known for its role in the targeted, proteasome-mediated destruction of proteins, including key cell-cycle regulators, but also holds nonproteolytic functions . Sumoylation, on the other hand, does not directly target proteins for degradation. Rather, modification of proteins with SUMO has been shown to modulate various cellular processes, including cell-cycle regulation, transcriptional activation, nucleocytoplasmic transport, DNA replication and repair, chromosome dynamics, apoptosis, ribosome biogenesis, and the formation of nuclear bodies . Additionally, an unexpected role of SUMO in protein ubiquitination has been uncovered. Briefly, degradation of several nuclear proteins, including some that are involved in DNA repair and transcriptional regulation, are preceded by modification with SUMO. These sumoylated proteins are recognized by SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligases (STUbLs), which mediate their ubiquitination . SUMO proteins are highly conserved from yeast to humans. Yeast cells express one SUMO protein (Smt3), and vertebrates express three isoforms (SUMO1, SUMO2 and SUMO3) . SUMO2, SUMO3 and yeast Smt3 can form SUMO chains. SUMO1, on the other hand, lacks the internal lysine required for polymerization and may function as a chain terminator for SUMO2 and SUMO3 chains . All SUMO variants are conjugated to lysine residues of specific proteins, but only a fraction of these target proteins are modified with SUMO at any given time [7, 8]. In metazoans, the dysregulation of sumoylation adversely affects developmental processes and has been implicated in the progression of neurodegeneration, cancer and infectious diseases [9, 10]. More than 1, 000 sumoylated proteins have been identified in yeast and humans, but only in a few cases has the role of sumoylation been studied in detail . In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the ligation of SUMO to specific substrate proteins requires an E1 heterodimer (Aos1 and Uba2) that activates SUMO, as well as E2 (Ubc9) and E3 (Siz1, Siz2, and Mms21) enzymes that aid in the conjugation and ligation of SUMO to proper target proteins . Two yeast SUMO proteases, Ulp1 and Ulp2, contain a conserved cysteine protease domain that can remove the SUMO moiety from modified proteins. Recent evidence suggests that Ulp2, and its mammalian orthologs Susp1/SENP6 and SENP7, play a role in the removal of SUMO and SUMO chains from nuclear proteins [12–16]. Ulp1, on the other hand, has two contrasting cellular functions. Ulp1 facilitates sumoylation by processing precursor SUMO into its conjugation competent form. Conversely, Ulp1 also facilitates desumoylation by removing SUMO from nuclear and cytosolic proteins after conjugation . Therefore, impairment of Ulp1 results in the accumulation of SUMO conjugates and the inability to carry out de novo sumoylation. The resulting lack of mature SUMO has been shown to adversely affect cellular DNA repair processes, the processing and export of the 60S preribosomal particle, nucleus-cytoplasm trafficking and cell viability [18–21]. The substrate specificity of SUMO proteases is at least in part regulated through their localization . For example, certain yeast (Ulp2) and vertebrate (SENP6 and SENP7) SUMO proteases localize within the nucleus. In contrast, both yeast (Ulp1) and vertebrate (SENP1 and SENP2) SUMO proteases reside at the nuclear envelope (NE) through their interactions with the nuclear pore complex (NPC) [23–26]. Distinct domains have been identified that are required for Ulp1 NPC localization (amino acid residues 1 to 403) and SUMO processing (amino acid residues 404 to 620) [25–28]. The Ulp1 localization domain promotes interaction with karyopherins, which are soluble proteins that mediate transport across the NE and help localize Ulp1 to the nucleoplasmic side of the NPC. The Ulp1 localization domain can be subdivided into region 1 (Kap121-binding domain) and region 2 (Kap60- and Kap95-binding domain). Juxtaposed to the NPC localization domain of Ulp1 is a coiled-coil (cc) domain with a putative nuclear export signal and region 3, the catalytically active, conserved ubiquitin-like protease domain (UD) of Ulp1 [25–27]. Only regions 1 and 2 are involved in Ulp1 localization to the NPC, and the karyopherins seem to play a redundant role. NPC association of Ulp1 requires several proteins, including the nucleoporins Nup60 and Nup84, the silencing protein Esc1 and the myosin-like proteins Mlp1/2 [18, 19, 28]. Together these proteins may provide a scaffold for the functional regulation and substrate access of Ulp1 at the NPC. The identification of NPC localization domains in Ulp1 has done little to aid our understanding of how SUMO proteases are targeted to their respective substrates . One possibility is that SUMO proteases may contain structural features which allow for noncovalent interactions with SUMO and SUMO-modified proteins as they enter the nucleus. Indeed, conserved SUMO-interacting motifs (SIMs) have been predicted to be localized in the yeast SUMO protease Ulp2, as well as in mammalian SENP1, SENP2, SENP6 and SENP7 [14, 22, 29, 30]. Even though SIMs have not been identified in Ulp1, the crystal structure of the catalytic domain (region 3) bound to Smt3 reveals that both proteins interact through multiple residues that are distributed across a SUMO-binding surface (SBS) on the SUMO protease . Only the carboxy terminus of bound Smt3 is inserted into a hydrophobic tunnel that leads toward Ulp1's active site. SUMO processing and deconjugation require an active site cysteine residue that resides at the end of this tunnel (see Additional files 1 and 2). It has been suggested that this configuration may allow for the accommodation of many different sumoylated proteins as well as SUMO precursors . Ulp1 and several other SUMO proteases play important roles in mitosis [17, 32]. In budding yeast, loss of Ulp1-mediated desumoylation leads to cell-cycle progression defects and cell death . This observation suggests that Ulp1 plays a key role in the sumoylation dynamics of important cell-cycle regulatory proteins. Though these cell-cycle-specific targets have eluded identification, several nuclear and cytosolic proteins involved in DNA replication and mitosis have been identified as Ulp1 desumoylation substrates [33–35]. How the NPC-localized Ulp1 is targeted to these mitotic substrates, especially those that are localized in the cytosol, is not entirely clear. In budding yeast, the NE does not break down during mitosis, and access to cytosolic desumoylation targets is therefore not automatic. It has been reported that during mitosis, Kap121 blocks Ulp1's access to its NPC-binding site and thus promotes an interaction of Ulp1 with septins . A deletion mutant of Ulp1 lacking region 2 (Δ2), the Kap60- and Kap95-binding domain, has previously been shown to localize to septins in a Kap121-dependent manner . Curiously, it has recently been demonstrated that region 2 also plays a role in nucleolar accumulation of Ulp1 after ethanol-induced stress . One set of cytosolic substrates of the Ulp1 SUMO protease are the septins [27, 35]. The septins comprise an evolutionarily conserved class of GTPases that are implicated in bud-site selection, bud emergence and growth, microtubule capture and spindle positioning . Members of the septin family in yeast include Cdc3, Cdc10, Cdc11, Cdc12 and Shs1/Sep7. These proteins are unique because they can form filaments that assemble into a ring structure and mark the site of new bud formation during cell division. At the end of mitosis, this ring separates and resembles a double-collar residing at the junction between the mother and daughter cells. The septins Cdc3, Cdc11 and Shs1 are subject to sumoylation. Sumoylation of the septins occurs very briefly from the onset of anaphase to cytokinesis, with SUMO being attached only to the mother side of the double-septin ring collar [27, 38, 39]. Cell-cycle (G2/M) arrest with nocodazole, a microtubule depolymerizing drug, greatly increases SUMO conjugation to septins . Septin sumoylation in budding yeast is mediated by the SUMO E3 ligase Siz1 [40, 41]. During most of the cell cycle, Siz1 resides in the nucleus. However, at the M phase, Siz1 exits the nucleus to sumoylate septin proteins and possibly other cytosolic substrates . Deletion of SIZ1 from cells abolishes septin sumoylation while causing only mild growth and cell-cycle progression defects. At the end of mitosis, the septins are desumoylated by Ulp1, even though Ulp1 remains visibly enriched at the NPC [27, 35, 38]. In the current study, we focused on the SUMO protease Ulp1. As detailed above, Ulp1 resides at the inner face of the NPC. This enrichment at the NPC depends on direct interactions with karyopherins and two domains in the amino terminus of Ulp1. In theory, this localization is well-suited to give Ulp1 access to some nuclear substrates and those in transit across the NE. However, both nuclear and cytosolic desumoylation targets of Ulp1 have been identified, posing an interesting question. How is Ulp1 directed to its cytosolic desumoylation targets? To answer these questions, we sought to identify features of Ulp1 required for substrate targeting in vivo and in vitro. Herein we describe our finding that the carboxy terminus of Ulp1 affects the targeting and retention of this SUMO protease to sumoylated target proteins, including septins, at the bud-neck of dividing cells. Specifically, we show that the interaction with SUMO comprises an important aspect of the subcellular targeting of Ulp1 to these substrates. Our findings are confirmed by biochemical analyses that focus on the SUMO-binding properties of Ulp1(3)C580S, a novel truncation mutant that interacts avidly with SUMO and sumoylated proteins in vivo and in vitro. Significantly, the results of this study add important new details to our understanding of how Ulp1 interacts dynamically with its substrates and also provides potentially useful new directions for the study of Ulp1-interacting proteins. As part of a larger study to identify how Ulp1 is targeted to its mitotic desumoylation substrates, we analyzed the localization of GFP-tagged versions of both the full-length wild-type (WT) Ulp1 and a catalytically inactive mutant of Ulp1 (Ulp1C580S) in G2/M-arrested yeast cells (see Methods and Additional file 3). The C580S mutation replaces the catalytic cysteine with a serine residue, rendering the Ulp1 SUMO protease catalytically inactive . Both fusion proteins were expressed under the control of the Ulp1 promoter on low-copy plasmids, and images were collected using a fluorescence microscope. Consistent with its localization to NPCs, WT Ulp1 stained only the NE of arrested yeast cells (Figure 1A, left). Unexpectedly, however, full-length Ulp1C580S was enriched at both the bud-neck and the NE of G2/M-arrested cells (Figure 1A, right). This bud-neck localization of Ulp1C580S is reminiscent of the localization of the septin ring. Several sumoylated septins have been shown to be Ulp1 substrates, and we show in this study that the septin Cdc3 is highly sumoylated during G2/M arrest (Figure 1B). Furthermore, a catalytically inactive Ulp1 mutant colocalizes with the septin Cdc11 in G2/M-arrested (noc) cells (Figure 1C). Therefore, Ulp1C580S resides at the bud-neck localized septin ring. Localization of Ulp1 and the catalytically inactive Ulp1 (C580S) in dividing yeast cells. (A) Yeast cells (MHY500) were transformed either with a low-copy plasmid expressing GFP fusions of Ulp1 or with the catalytically inactive Ulp1(C580S) mutant. Representative images indicating the localization of GFP-tagged Ulp1 and Ulp1(C580S) after nocodazole-induced G2/M arrest are shown (YOK 1611 and YOK 1474). Note that only the Ulp1(C580S) mutant can be seen at the bud-neck of arrested cells. The arrowhead indicates the position of the bud-neck. (B) Confirmation of sumoylation of Cdc3 was achieved. Whole-cell extracts (WCE) from yeast cells expressing the YFP-tagged septin Cdc3 (YOK 1398) were treated with nocodazole (noc) or grown logarithmically (log) prior to preparation of WCEs. Extracted proteins were then separated on SDS-PAGE gels and probed with the JL-8 antibody (see Methods) to detect Cdc3-YFP and more slowly migrating sumoylated Cdc3-YFP adducts. The identity of sumoylated Cdc3-YFP bands was confirmed by comparing gel shift assays with untagged and FLAG-tagged Smt3 (data not shown). (C) Colocalization of Cdc3 and Ulp1 is shown. A strain coexpressing full-length Ulp1(C580S)-GFP (green) and Cdc3-CFP (red) (strain YOK 2204) was arrested in G2/M and then observed under a fluorescence microscope with the appropriate filter sets (left panel). Arrowheads indicate septin-localized, pseudocolored Ulp1-GFP (green), Cdc3-CFP (red) and the merged image (overlay). Also shown for comparison (right panel) is the colocalization of the Ulp1(3)(C580S)-GFP truncation and Cdc3-CFP (strain YOK 2205). Ulp1(3)(C580S)-GFP is described in Figure 4. Our data suggest that introducing the C580S mutation into the catalytic domain of Ulp1 somehow alters the subcellular distribution of this SUMO protease, causing it to localize with a bud-neck-associated substrate, possibly a sumoylated septin protein. Localization changes have also been reported for catalytically inactive, substrate-trapping mutants of phosphatases that form stable complexes with their substrates in vivo . We tested whether the C580S mutation that visually increased the ability of Ulp1 to associate with the septin ring in vivo was, in fact, SUMO-dependent. For this purpose, the Ulp1C580S construct was expressed in two Smt3 mutants (smt3-331 and smt3-R11, 15, 19) or two SUMO pathway mutants (ubc9-1, siz1Δ siz2Δ) [13, 39, 41, 44–46]. Logarithmically growing cells of each mutant were arrested in G2/M, and images were collected to assess the septin ring localization of Ulp1C580S in comparison to an SMT3 WT strain. In our analyses, we found that in the absence of both SUMO chains (in the R11, 15, 19 mutants) and a mutant SUMO protein (in the smt3-331 mutant), the localization of Ulp1C580S to the septin ring was reduced (22% in smt3-331 and 36% in smt3-R11, 15, 19) in frequency and intensity but not abolished (Figure 2). We obtained different results in the ubc9-1 strain, a mutant of the SUMO E2-conjugating enzyme which impairs SUMO conjugation, and in the siz1Δ siz2Δ strain, a SUMO E3 ligase double-mutant that lacks sumoylation of septins and many other proteins [40, 41, 44]. Consistent with a role for Smt3 in the localization of Ulp1C580S, we were unable to detect septin ring localization of Ulp1C580S in ubc9-1 and siz1Δ siz2Δ strains. However, Ulp1C580S was retained at the NE (Figure 2A). As an additional control, the septin ring localization of GFP-tagged Smt3 was undetectable in both ubc9-1 and siz1Δ siz2Δ strains (Figure 2B). Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is required for the localization of Ulp1 (C580S) to the septin ring. (A) The indicated mutants smt3-331, ubc9-1, smt3-R11, 15, 19, siz1Δ siz2Δ (YOK 1995, YOK 2065, YOK 1910 and YOK 2067) and a WT control strain (WT) were transformed with a plasmid expressing GFP-tagged Ulp1(C580S). Representative images indicating the localization of GFP-tagged Ulp1(C580S) after G2/M arrest are shown. The septin ring localization of Ulp1(C580S) is indicated where present (arrowheads). Note that Ulp1(C580S) failed to localize to the septin ring in SUMO-conjugating and ligating enzyme mutants (ubc9-1 and siz1Δ siz2Δ, respectively). (B) Septin ring localization of Smt3-GFP is absent in ubc9-1 and siz1Δ siz2Δ strains. Localization of Smt3-GFP was visualized in G2/M-arrested WT, ubc9-1 and siz1Δ siz2Δ strains (YOK 1857, YOK 2144 and YOK 2143) using fluorescence microscopy. Arrowheads indicate the position of the septin ring. Smt3 conjugation is required for Ulp1 localization to the septin ring. Therefore, Ulp1 is targeted to the septin ring of dividing cells in a SUMO-dependent fashion. Our data also suggest that the formation of SUMO chains on substrates may enhance this targeting of Ulp1. Our finding that a single point mutation in Ulp1, C580S, dramatically enhanced the localization of full-length Ulp1 to the septin ring in a SUMO-dependent fashion warranted a more detailed analysis of the targeting domains in Ulp1. Therefore, we generated a collection of GFP-tagged Ulp1 truncations and domains that were expressed under control of the Ulp1 promoter. We reasoned that the truncations and domains of Ulp1 that retained substrate targeting information would also localize to the septin ring in G2/M-arrested cells. In all, we assessed the localization of ten GFP-tagged constructs in comparison to full-length WT Ulp1 and full-length Ulp1C580S (C580S). Our choice of individual constructs was guided by previous findings that Ulp1 consists of functionally separate domains. These domains include a Kap121-binding domain with a role in septin localization (region 1), a Kap95- and Kap60-binding domain with a role in NPC anchoring (region 2), a cc domain harboring a nuclear export signal (CC) and the catalytic UD (region 3) [25–27]. Representative images of these domains and their subcellular localization are shown in Figures 3A and 3B. As previously reported, we found that the Ulp1 protein lacking region 2 (Δ2) localized to the septin ring in the majority of large-budded, arrested cells . Therefore, region 2 of Ulp1 normally antagonizes localization and/or retention at the septin ring. This result is complemented by our novel finding that the full-length Ulp1C580S localized to the septin ring in 33% of all arrested, large-budded cells (Figures 1A and 3A). Distinct and separate Ulp1 domains are required for localization to the septin ring. (A) and (B) Left: A schematic of Ulp1 deletion and truncation mutants used in this study is shown. The length of each construct (amino acid scale 1 to 621), the individual domains of Ulp1 and pertinent amino acid changes are shown. WT: full-length Ulp1; region 1: Ulp1(1 to 150); region 2: Ulp1(151 to 340); region 3: Ulp1(341 to 621); Δ2: Ulp1 lacking region 2; C580S: catalytically inactivating mutation; D451N: deleted salt bridge with small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) (YOK 1611, YOK 1474, YOK 1490, YOK 1861, YOK 1479, YOK 2016, YOK 1839, YOK 1907, YOK 1903, YOK 2203, YOK 1828 and YOK 2157). Colored letters N, S and D summarize the observed nuclear, septin and diffuse localization of the indicated constructs, respectively. SBS corresponds to a shallow SUMO-binding surface on Ulp1 [31, 57, 58]. Right: Representative images of G2/M-arrested cells expressing the GFP-tagged Ulp1 constructs shown on the left. The arrowheads indicate the fraction of cells (%) with N, S or D localization and the presence and position of septin ring-localized Ulp1 constructs. (C) Quantification of distinct subcellular localization of wild-type and mutant Ulp1 region 3 constructs. Large-budded G2/M-arrested cells were imaged to assess diffuse, nuclear or septin ring localization (n > 100). Next we investigated other residues of Ulp1 that could affect the septin ring localization of the Ulp1C580S mutant, possibly by interfering with its targeting to sumoylated substrates. Aspartate 451 (D451) in Ulp1 is required to form an essential salt bridge with arginine 64 of Smt3 [31, 47]. Therefore, we introduced a D451N mutation into Ulp1C580S and found that it abolished the accumulation of the full-length Ulp1 double-mutant (D451N and C580S) at the septin ring (Figure 3A). This finding underscores the importance of Smt3 in targeting full-length Ulp1 to the septin ring shown in Figure 2. Additionally, it may indicate that D451 is required for targeting of sumoylated proteins and the C580S mutation is required for retention of Ulp1 at the septin ring. Most intriguingly, we found that a truncation consisting only of region 3 with the C580S mutation (Ulp1(3)(C580S)) displayed robust septin ring localization in 59% of cells (Figures 1C, right panel, and Figure 3B). In stark contrast, regions 1 and 2 and WT region 3, lacking the C580S mutation, failed to localize to the septin ring (Figures 3A and 3B). However, in strains with diffuse Ulp1 truncations, the septin ring stays intact. Therefore, necessary and sufficient SUMO-dependent targeting information is contained in region 3 of Ulp1, but not in regions 1 and 2. The latter conclusion is confirmed by two-hybrid assays with Smt3. The previously published cocrystal structure of Ulp1 with Smt3 (MMDB database 13315) reveals that amino acids 418 to 447 of region 3 make extensive contact with Smt3 and constitute an exposed SBS (see also Additional files 1 and 2). The SBS is situated next to, but does not include, the critical D451 residue that contacts Smt3 [31, 47]. Additionally, deletion of this SBS in region 3 of Ulp1 abolishes the complementation of a ulp1Δ deletion mutant . In an attempt to identify critical residues in the evolutionary conserved SBS domain, we used psi-blast to compare the protein sequence of the yeast Ulp1 catalytic domain with all nonredundant protein sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database for seven iterations and limited the output to the top 250 matches. Our results contained 81 different species. Among these species, 61% of the sequences were identified as verified or predicted sentrin/SUMO protease/Ulp1 genes, 24% were identified as unnamed protein products or hypothetical genes and 15% were classified as "other" (crystal structures, unanalyzed sequences and so on). The alignment of these sequences allowed us to identify areas of strong conservation (see Additional file 1). Using this approach, we identified several highly conserved residues in the SBS. However, these amino acids did not contact Smt3 in the published cocrystal structure and likely play structural roles in Ulp1 folding . We investigated the effect of deleting the entire SBS domain on the localization of Ulp1(3)(C580S). A Ulp1(3)(C580S)SBSΔ construct did not localize to the septin ring in the majority of cells (96%). These results match those obtained by Li and Hochstrasser using a WT Ulp1(3)ΔSBS construct (C173). We confirmed that SBSΔ and other Ulp1(3) constructs are expressed as soluble proteins, suggesting that they are not grossly misfolded. We also cloned and expressed the SBS domain as a fusion with GFP (SBS-GFP). This construct was distributed diffusely throughout the cell and failed to localize to the septin ring (Figure 3, middle). These data suggest that the SBS domain of region 3 may be required for the initial interaction with sumoylated substrates, but additional features of Ulp1 are required for targeting (D451) and retention (C580S) of this SUMO protease at the septin ring. Next we directed our attention to the temperature-sensitive ulp1ts-333 allele. This mutant allele causes cells to arrest in mitosis and accumulates unprocessed SUMO precursor and sumoylated proteins . Our ulp1ts construct of region 3, Ulp1(3)ts, contains three mutations (I435V, N450S and I504T), and introduction of C580S into Ulp1(3)ts showed a greatly reduced incidence and intensity of septin ring localization (compare panels in Figures 3B and 3C). We noted that the (N450S) mutation in the ts construct was located next to the salt bridge-forming residue D451 described above and that both residues were highly conserved in the consensus sequence of Ulp1-like molecules (Additional file 1). This suggests that residues altered in ulp1ts-333, specifically N450, may contribute to Smt3 interaction and possibly substrate targeting. It is possible that N450S perturbs the salt-bridge interaction formed between D451 of Ulp1 and R64 of Smt3, thus reducing the interaction with Smt3 and contributing to the temperature-sensitive phenotype. In support of this hypothesis, correction of the N450S mutation in Ulp1(3)ts (S450N) partially rescued the slow growth defect of a ulp1Δ strain at 30°C and 37°C (data not shown). The effect of the ulp1ts mutation on Ulp1's ability to interact with Smt3 is explored in more detail below. We tested which domains of Ulp1 are required for targeting and retention at the septin ring in vivo. Using our region 1 and region 2 GFP-tagged constructs (see Figure 3A), we show that septin-targeting information is not contained in the domains that are known to interact with karyopherins. The Δ2 construct recapitulates the previous finding that Kap121-binding to region 1 regulates access of Ulp1 to the septin ring. The full-length Ulp1C580S mutant reveals that a single substrate-trapping mutation in Ulp1 suffices to enrich Ulp1 at the septin ring. To show that an Smt3 interaction is required for the septin localization of Ulp1C580S, we created the double-mutant (D451N and C580S). The D451N mutation is known to destroy an essential salt bridge formed between Smt3 and Ulp1. Next, using the Ulp1(3)C580S construct, we show that the septin-targeting information is limited to region 3 of Ulp1 (Figure 3B). Further truncating Ulp1(3)C580S revealed that a previously identified SBS domain in Ulp1(3)C580S is also involved in septin targeting and retention. To test whether mutations found in region 3 of the ulp1ts mutant play a role in septin localization, we introduced three additional mutations, I435V, N450S and I504T, into Ulp1(3)C580S. This Ulp1(3)ts C580S construct showed a reduced ability to enrich at the septin ring (Figure 3C), suggesting that its ability to interact with sumoylated septins may be reduced but not abolished. In the preceding sections, we described our identification of necessary and sufficient substrate-targeting information in the catalytic domain (region 3) of Ulp1. However, region 3 of Ulp1 may not be the only domain involved in targeting to the septin ring. Region 1 of Ulp1, the Kap121-binding domain, has previously been implicated in septin targeting. Specifically, it has been reported that Kap121 is required for targeting Ulp1 to the septin ring during mitosis . Therefore, we decided to assess the role of Kap121 in the substrate-targeting of Ulp1(3)(C580S). Specifically, we used a kap121ts mutant to assess the septin ring-targeting of WT Ulp1, full-length Ulp1C580S and Ulp1(3)(C580S). In our analysis, we found that full-length Ulp1C580S required Kap121 function for targeting to the septin ring. At the permissive temperature (30°C), Ulp1C580S demarcated the NE and septin ring of G2/M-arrested cells. After a shift to the nonpermissive temperature, however, Ulp1C580S could no longer be detected at the septin ring (Figure 4, middle). Surprisingly, the Ulp1(3)(C580S) truncation was localized to the septin ring at the permissive and nonpermissive temperatures in a kap121ts strain. As shown herein, Ulp1(3)(C580S) resided both inside the nucleus and at the septin ring at 30°C and 37°C (Figure 4, right). Kap121-independent small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO)-targeting information resides in region 3 of Ulp1. kap121ts cells were transformed with plasmids expressing GFP-tagged wild-type (WT) Ulp1, Ulp1(C580S) and Ulp1(3)(C580S) under the control of the Ulp1 promoter (YOK 1487, YOK 1488 and YOK 1944). Shown are representative images indicating the localization of GFP-tagged Ulp1 constructs in large-budded cells at 30°C and 37°C, the nonpermissive temperature for kap121-ts. Arrowheads indicate the position of septin ring-localized Ulp1 constructs. Our data suggest that Ulp1 contains both Kap121-dependent and Kap121-independent septin ring-targeting information. The only requirement to detect full-length Ulp1 at the septin ring is the C580S mutation and functional Kap121 (Figures 1, 2 and 4). In contrast Ulp1(3)(C580S), which lacks all domains required for NPC interaction through Kap121, Kap60 and Kap95, localizes to the septin ring and inside the nucleus. This finding provides strong evidence that Kap121-independent septin ring-targeting information resides in the catalytic domain (region 3) of Ulp1. Our finding that a single amino acid change in the catalytic domain of Ulp1 results in greatly enhanced, SUMO-dependent localization to the septin ring also prompted us to investigate the two-hybrid interactions of Ulp1 with budding yeast SUMO (Smt3-BD; Smt3 fused to the Gal4 DNA-binding domain). Full-length WT Ulp1, the full-length catalytically inactive Ulp1C580S mutant, the Ulp1 Kap121-interacting domain (region 1), the Ulp1 Kap60/Kap95-interacting domain (region 2) and the catalytic domain (region 3) failed to interact with Smt3-BD (data not shown). However, the catalytically inactive Ulp1(3)(C580S) truncation interacted reproducibly and above background with Smt3 (see Figure 5, C580S). Distinct and separate features of Ulp1 are required for interaction with SUMO. Two-hybrid analysis of various Ulp1(3) truncation mutants (C580S: catalytically inactive; D451N: deleted salt bridge with small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO); ts: mutations including S450N in ulp1ts-333) with SUMO/Smt3-BD. The presence of both Smt3 (pOBD2/TRP1) and Ulp1 constructs (pOAD/LEU2) was confirmed by growth on growth media lacking tryptophan and leucine (-T-L). The interaction between Ulp1 constructs and Smt3 is shown as triplicate patches of cells on media lacking adenine (-A). See Figure 3A for a graphic representation of individual constructs. Ulp1(3)(C580S) appears to interact only weakly with our Smt3 two-hybrid bait construct, as indicated by fewer colonies on the reporter media (Figure 5, Ade). However, such an interpretation assumes an equally available pool of both bait and prey. One possible explanation for this result is that the Ulp1(3)(C580S) two-hybrid prey construct interacts with a number of available substrates in the cell (for example, free Smt3 and other sumoylated proteins), and, as a result, this sequestration is no longer available to the Smt3 two-hybrid bait construct, thus creating the appearance of a weak interaction. We reasoned that introduction of the ulp1ts mutations could weaken the potential substrate-trapping phenotype of Ulp1(3)(C580S), making more of the pool available to engage the Smt3 bait construct. Consistent with this model, when we introduced the ulp1ts mutations into the substrate-trapping Ulp1(3)(C580S) prey construct, we observed a more robust two-hybrid interaction with the Smt3 bait (Figure 5, compare C580S and ts(C580S). It must also be noted, however, that currently we cannot fully explain the variations in our in vivo and in vitro assays used to assess ability of Ulp1(3)(C580S) to interact with Smt3. Next we focused on the D451N mutant of Ulp1 that prevents the interaction of Ulp1 with SUMO [31, 47]. As shown above, D451N, when introduced into Ulp1(C580S), prevents localization of this construct to the septin ring (Figure 3A, C580S/D451N). Correspondingly, we found that introduction of the D451N mutation into Ulp1(3)(C580S) completely abolished the two-hybrid interaction with Smt3 (Figure 5, compare C580S, D451N/C580S and D451N). These observations provide evidence that the targeting of Ulp1 to sumoylated substrates is a closely balanced act involving both Smt3 targeting and retention. We hypothesized that if Ulp1(3)(C580S) were to interact avidly with Smt3, this mutated moiety of Ulp1 could efficiently interact with SUMO adducts in vitro. Therefore, to test the direct interaction of Ulp1(3)(C580S) with SUMO, we fused this domain to the carboxy terminus of maltose-binding protein (MBP) and expressed the recombinant fusion protein in bacteria. Subsequently, the MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) fusion protein was purified from bacterial extracts and bound to amylose resin (see Methods). As a control to assess the ability of MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) to interact with sumoylated proteins, we also purified a second MBP-fused Ulp1(3)(C580S) construct lacking the SBS domain (3(C580S)ΔSBS). First we determined the ability of MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) to affinity-purify sumoylated proteins from crude yeast cell extracts. ulp1ts-333 cells expressing FLAG-tagged SMT3 were grown to log phase prior to preparation of yeast cell extracts (see Methods). These extracts were then incubated with resin-bound MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S), MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S)-ΔSBS or unbound amylose resin. After washing, bound yeast proteins were eluted, separated on SDS-PAGE gels and examined by Western blot analysis with an anti-FLAG antibody. Flag-SMT3-modified proteins present in the whole-cell extracts (WCEs) (Figure 6, lane 2) could clearly be detected bound to MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) (lane 5) but not to the MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S)-ΔSBS control protein (lane 4). We identified both unconjugated Flag-Smt3 proteins as well as several higher-molecular-weight adducts. These data suggest that Ulp1(3)(C580S) can efficiently bind and enrich sumoylated proteins from crude yeast cell extracts. To demonstrate the versatility of Ulp1(3)(C580S)-aided Smt3 purification, we also purified monomeric and conjugated GFP-Smt3 from yeast cells (Figure 6B). Additionally, we probed the extracts and eluted proteins shown in Figure 6B with an anti-Cdc11 antibody, which revealed the specific copurification of Cdc11 with immobilized Ulp1(3)(C580S) (Figure 6C). The Ulp1(3) (C580S) truncation binds SUMO and SUMO-modified proteins. (A) and (B) Immobilized Ulp1(3)(C580S) was analyzed for its ability to affinity-purify Smt3 from yeast whole-cell extracts (WCEs). WCEs containing FLAG-tagged Smt3 (YOK 428) (left) or GFP-Smt3 (YOK 1857) (right) (input) were prepared under nondenaturing conditions and incubated with immobilized maltose-binding protein (MBP)-Ulp1(3)(C580S) (3(C580S)), MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) lacking the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO)-binding surface (3(C580S)ΔSBS) or unbound resin (amylose). After washing and elution, bound Smt3 and Smt3 conjugates were detected using either anti-Flag or anti-GFP antibody. (C) Immobilized Ulp1(3)(C580S) was analyzed for its ability to affinity-purify Cdc11 from yeast WCEs. WCE containing GFP-Smt3 (YOK 1857) was prepared under nondenaturing conditions and incubated with immobilized MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S), MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) lacking the SUMO-binding surface (3(C580S)ΔSBS) or unbound resin (amylose). After washing and dilution, bound Cdc11 was detected using an anti-Cdc11 antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology). (D) WCEs from logarithmically growing yeast cells expressing GFP-tagged Ulp1(3), Ulp1(3)(C580S) and Ulp1(3)(C580S)ΔSBS (YOK 1839, YOK 1907, YOK 1903) (input) were prepared under nondenaturing conditions. Extracts were then incubated with SUMO2 immobilized on agarose beads (Boston Biochem). After washing and elution with sample buffer, bound proteins were detected using an anti-GFP antibody. (E) SUMO2 chains (Boston Biochem) were incubated with resin-bound MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) or unbound resin (amylose). After washing and elution with sample buffer, bound proteins were detected using an anti-SUMO2 antibody. SUMO2 chains loading control (input). Concentrations of immobilized MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) and MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) lacking the SUMO-binding surface (3(C580S)ΔSBS) were confirmed by Coomassie staining of eluted proteins and quantitation on an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies). In the reciprocal experiment, we tested whether a GFP-tagged Ulp1(3)(C580S) construct expressed in yeast cells could bind immobilized SUMO2, which is highly conserved to yeast Smt3. In this experiment, yeast cells expressing CEN-plasmid levels of GFP-tagged Ulp1(3), Ulp1(3)(C580S) or the Ulp1(3)(C580S)-ΔSBS (see Figure 3) were grown to log phase prior to preparation of yeast cell extracts. Individual extracts were then incubated with SUMO2 immobilized on agarose beads (see Methods). After washing, bound yeast proteins were eluted, separated on SDS-PAGE gels and examined by Western blot analysis with an anti-GFP antibody. This time the GFP-tagged Ulp1(3)(C580S) could be detected in the WCEs and bound to the SUMO2 agarose (Figure 6D). In contrast, neither the WT catalytic domain of Ulp1 (Ulp1(3)) nor Ulp1(3)(C580S)(SBSΔ) was bound to SUMO2 agarose. Similarly, the Ulp1(3)(C580S) could also be purified on SUMO1 agarose (data not shown). We also tested whether immobilized Ulp1(3)(C580S) could be used to purify SUMO chains. In this experiment, we incubated purified SUMO2 chains with our immobilized Ulp1(3)(C580S) or the unbound amylose resin. After washing, bound SUMO2 chains were eluted, separated on SDS-PAGE gels and examined by Western blot analysis with an anti-SUMO2 antibody. SUMO2 chains could clearly be detected in the input (Figure 6E, lane 2) and bound the MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) (lane 4), but not the resin-only control (Figure 6E, lane 3). Both lower- and higher-molecular-weight adducts of SUMO2 were purified with a preference for higher-molecular-weight chains (5-mer, 6-mer or 7-mer). These data suggest that Ulp1(3)(C580S) can efficiently bind and enrich SUMO2 chains in vitro and that the MBP fusion of Ulp1(3)(C580S) may also be useful for the purification of sumoylated proteins from mammalian cells. STUbLs such as the yeast Slx5/Slx8 heterodimer and the human RNF4 protein efficiently ubiquitinated proteins modified with SUMO chains [49, 50]. These proteins interact with their respective sumoylated ubiquitinated targets through SIMs. STUbL reactions have been reconstituted in vitro, but the purification of target proteins modified with SUMO chains has been technically difficult or prohibitively expensive. The ability of Ulp1(3)(C580S) to interact with SUMO may therefore provide a simple way to purify a SUMO chain-modified STUbL target of choice. To test whether Ulp1(3)(C580S) can serve as a platform to modify a purified protein with SUMO2 chains, we incubated the immobilized MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) with SUMO2 chains. Unbound SUMO2 chains were removed by washing. The MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) SUMO2 chain complex was then eluted and added into a STUbL in vitro ubiquitinated reaction containing recombinant RNF4 (K A Fryrear and O Kerscher, unpublished reagents). Proteins in the STUbL-mediated ubiquitination assay were separated on SDS-PAGE gels and examined by Western blot analysis with an anti-SUMO2 antibody (Figure 7A). Consistent with previous observations, we were able to detect ubiquitinated SUMO2 chains after the STUbL reaction. This ubiquitination was dependent on RNF4 and SUMO2 chains. On the basis of these results, we propose that Ulp1(3)(C580S) may provide a useful, widely applicable tool for the study of sumoylated proteins and STUbL targets (Figure 7B). MBP-Ulp1(3) (C580S) can serve as a SUMO2 binding platform for SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase-mediated substrate ubiquitination. (A) SUMO2 chains (Boston Biochem) were incubated with resin-bound maltose-binding protein (MBP)-Ulp1(3)(C580S). The complex of MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) with small ubiquitin-like modifier 2 (SUMO2) chains was then eluted and added to an in vitro ubiquitination reaction with the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase (STUbL) RNF4, an E3 ubiquitin ligase. Proteins in the STUbL reactions were separated by SDS-PAGE and assessed by Western blot analysis with an anti-SUMO2 antibody. Arrows indicate modified SUMO2 chains. Lane 1: No SUMO chains; lane 2: no RNF4; lane 3: no Ulp1(3)(C580S); lane 4: all reagents. (B) Proposed model for using MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) as a SUMO2-binding platform for substrate ubiquitination. SUMO2, ubiquitin and RNF4 are indicated by spheres labeled S, spheres labeled Ub and the gray oval labeled RNF4, respectively. In this study, we have demonstrated that region 3 of Ulp1, the catalytic domain, contains critical information for subcellular targeting to sumoylated substrates, including the septin Cdc11. To determine how Ulp1 is targeted to its substrates, we took advantage of a catalytically inactive Ulp1 mutant (C580S) that exhibited partial redistribution from the NE to the septin ring of dividing yeast cells. We found that the relocalization of Ulp1 depended on functional Smt3 and sumoylated proteins at the septin ring of dividing cells. Importantly, using this novel Ulp1 in vivo septin-ring localization assay, we traced the critical targeting information to two features in region 3 of Ulp1, a previously identified SBS (amino acids 418 to 447) and a SUMO-contacting residue (D451) that resides near the carboxy terminus (see structure supplied). D451 of Ulp1 has previously been shown to contact Smt3 through a salt-bridge interaction [31, 47]. Indeed, in our analysis, we provide evidence that the salt bridge-disrupting D451N mutation abolishes the SUMO-dependent targeting of Ulp1 to septins and prevents the two-hybrid interaction of the catalytic domain of Ulp1 with Smt3 (Figures 3A, B and 5). The sole requirements for the enrichment of full-length Ulp1 at the septin ring were the catalytically inactivating C580S mutation in the catalytic domain of Ulp1 and functional Kap121. This finding has important implications for the targeting role played by the amino-terminal karyopherin-binding domains of Ulp1 (discussed below). Additionally, Smt3 processing appears to be required for substrate release. The catalytically inactive Ulp1(3)(C580S) mutant is predominantly localized to the septin ring and nucleus of dividing yeast cells, whereas the catalytically active WT Ulp1(3) shows merely diffuse staining throughout the cell (compare Figure 3B, top). This is not due to differential expression or stability of either GFP fusion, as similar amounts of proteins were detected in cell extracts (see Figure 6D). We propose and show in our biochemical analysis that the C580S mutant may trap Smt3-modified proteins, allowing it to be observed in association with cellular desumoylation substrates. In support of this assessment, combining the D451N with the C580S mutation abolishes all visible bud-neck localization (Figure 3A). Therefore, we propose that Ulp1(C580S) first targets and docks Smt3 through the SBS domain and the salt bridge-forming D451 residue, then traps it in place because of its inability to cleave after the di-glycine motif of Smt3. We can assume that a trapped substrate prevents further catalysis or interactions with other Smt3 molecules, an assessment that is borne by our finding that, despite its septin-targeting and SUMO-binding properties, Ulp1(3)(C580S) interacts only weakly with Smt3 in a two-hybrid assay (Figure 5 and Additional file 4). A better understanding of how the sumoylated substrate is trapped by Ulp1(3)(C580S) may have important implications for the rational design of inhibitors for Ulp1-like SUMO proteases, but may await the elucidation of the cocrystal structure with a trapped substrate. The interaction of budding yeast Ulp1 with Smt3 relies on multiple hydrophobic and salt-bridge interactions between the catalytic domain (region 3) of Ulp1 and the carboxy-terminal extension of Smt3. By making multiple contacts with Smt3, Ulp1 is particularly well-suited to interact with a wide variety of sumoylated substrates [22, 31]. Other SUMO proteases, Ulp2 and several SENP proteins (Senp1, Senp2, Senp6 and Senp7), are believed to interact noncovalently with their sumoylated substrates through dedicated SIMs [14, 22]. On the basis of our structure-function analysis of region 3, Ulp1 seems to employ a unique mode of interaction with Smt3 and sumoylated substrates. Ulp1 does not appear to contain bona fide canonical SIMs, and neither of the amino-terminal domains of Ulp1 (regions 1 and 2) interact with Smt3 or become enriched at the septin ring . This assessment is also underscored by the arrangement of Smt3 and Ulp1 in the cocrystal structure . The hydrophobic groove of Smt3 that would interact with a SIM-containing protein is turned away from the domains of Ulp1 that interact with Smt3. Interestingly, this may suggest that Ulp1 can be recruited to proteins that are covalently or noncovalently modified with SUMO and SUMO chains. Our research demonstrates for the first time that noncovalent interactions between Ulp1 and SUMO are important not only for SUMO binding but also for the cytosolic targeting of this SUMO protease to the bud-neck and potentially to sumoylated septins. Septins are not the only cytosolic substrates of Ulp1 and are arguably the most prevalent [35, 38]; therefore, they may be readily scored in our septin ring targeting assay (Figures 3A and 3B). We predict that Ulp1 is also targeted to other cytosolic and septin-bound sumoylated substrate proteins, such as the karyogamy protein Kar9 . However, because of the low local concentrations in comparison to sumoylated septins, these proteins may be hard to detect. We propose, however, that sumoylated proteins that accumulate or aggregate in the cytosol of yeast cells may be readily detectable by Ulp1(3)(C580S). As detailed below, Ulp1(3)(C580S) also provides a useful tool with which to purify these sumoylated proteins (Figure 6E), and such studies are underway (O Kerscher and Z C Elmore, unpublished data). Our findings provide strong evidence that SUMO, at least in the case of sumoylated proteins at the septin ring, is a required signal for the cytoplasmic targeting of Ulp1. Our alignments of the SBS domain and the juxtaposed salt bridge-forming D451 residue reveal that this mode of targeting may also be conserved in other metazoan Ulp1-like SUMO proteases (Additional file 1). Though we clearly show herein that Ulp1 becomes enriched at the septin ring, we do not yet fully understand how Ulp1 arrives at this subcellular localization. Our findings support the previous observation that Kap121 plays an important role in promoting Ulp1 targeting to the septin ring. Similar to a previously described Ulp1 mutant that lacks the Kap60/Kap95 binding domain (region 2) , the septin ring localization of the full-length Ulp1(C580S) protein described herein is dependent on functional Kap121. It is unlikely that the association with Kap121 shuttles Ulp1 to the septins. Rather, in mitosis, Kap121 becomes associated with a transport inhibitory nucleoporin, Nup53, and may thus exclude Ulp1 access to the inner phase of the NPC . This suggests that, in the absence of Kap121-binding, a fraction of Ulp1 is free to associate with sumoylated septins. Our studies confirm that Ulp1 lacking the Kap60/Kap95-binding domain (region 2) is enriched at the NPC and the septin ring (Figure 3A). We extend these observations by showing that the ability to target sumoylated septins resides in the catalytic domain (region 3) of Ulp1. We found that a Ulp1(3)(C580S) mutant, but not WT Ulp1(3), is enriched at the septin ring in the absence of Kap121. These data suggest that both the Ulp1(3)(C580S) mutant and WT Ulp1(3) can interact with sumoylated septins, but, unlike the subtrate-trapping Ulp1(3)(C580S) mutant, the catalytically active WT Ulp1(3) may be quickly released after desumoylation of the target protein, giving it a diffuse appearance in the cell. How Kap121 helps Ulp1-Δ2 to be retained at the septin ring in the absence of the C580S mutation is currently unclear. Kap121 may theoretically promote the interaction with a septin ring-localized protein. However, the localization of Kap121 to septins has not previously been reported. One intriguing aspect of our study is the results of our analysis of the substrate-trapping Ulp1(3)(C580S) construct. Three lines of evidence reveal the avid interaction of Ulp1(3)(C580S) with SUMO proteins and sumoylated substrates. First, this Ulp1-derived construct shows a pronounced interaction with the bud-neck, which is composed of sumoylated septins in vivo. Second, Ulp1(3)C580S interacts with Smt3 in a two-hybrid assay, whereas WT Ulp1(3) does not. Third, the purified recombinant Ulp1(3)(C580S) protein is a potent affinity-tag for the purification of Smt3 conjugates and SUMO-modified proteins. Furthermore, in preliminary BiaCore analyses, we determined the Kd for the interaction between Ulp1(3)(C580S) and SUMO1 to be 12.8 nM, which is about 200 times stronger than the interaction between a SIM and SUMO, as previously reported by Hecker and co-workers . A related study involving the C603S mutant of the human SENP1 protease confirms our assessment of the substrate-trapping feature. Those authors observed relocalization of their SENP1(C603S) mutant in vivo to PML nuclear bodies and domains of the HDAC4 protein, suggesting that SUMO-dependent targeting may be a conserved feature of Ulp1-like SUMO proteases . The latter may also provide a useful strategy for the identification of mitotically important desumoylation substrates. Indeed, two-hybrid screens with Ulp1(3)(C580S) in the laboratory have already identified several novel cytosolic desumoylation targets (M Donaher and O Kerscher, unpublished data). We are also exploring the ability of Ulp1(3)(C580S) to act as a SUMO chain-binding tag that can be used to promote the interaction of putative STUbL target proteins with RNF4 and other STUbLs (Figure 7). How Ulp1 and other SUMO proteases target specific mitotic substrates for desumoylation remains unknown. Our analysis of SUMO-dependent Ulp1 targeting to the septin ring provides important evidence that Ulp1-like SUMO proteases do not passively await their desumoylation substrates, but rather dynamically localize to them in a cell-cycle-specific manner. Future experiments that take advantage of the SUMO-binding properties of the substrate-trapping Ulp1(3)(C580S) construct may prove useful for the identification of clinically relevant targets of conserved Ulp1-like SUMO proteases in yeast and human cells. Ulp1 remains one of the most enigmatic SUMO proteases with an essential role in cell-cycle progression. Our work focuses on the fundamental but unresolved question of how Ulp1, an NPC-associated SUMO protease, targets mitotic desumoylation targets in the cytosol. The current study of Ulp1 reveals for the first time that (1) specific determinants of Ulp1's catalytic domain are utilized to target the septins at the bud-neck of dividing cells, (2) Ulp1 requires SUMO and intact sumoylation for correct cytosolic targeting, (3) Ulp1, unlike Ulp2, relies on specific salt bridge-forming residues for substrate targeting, (4) septin-targeting information in the catalytic domain of Ulp1 is independent of Kap121 and (5) the substrate-targeting domain of Ulp1 can be modified to identify and purify sumoylated substrates of Ulp1 in genetic screens and in biochemical analyses. The yeast strains and plasmids used in this study are listed in Table 1. smt3-331 expresses a temperature-sensitive Smt3 protein containing a L26S mutation ( and S Brill, personal communication). smt3R11, 15, 19 expresses a triple-mutant of Smt3 rendered unable to form SUMO chains through replacement of lysines 11, 15 and 19 with arginines . ulp1ts expresses a temperature-sensitive mutant of Ulp1 that contains three mutations (I435V, N450S and I504T) in region 3, the catalytic domain . Yeast media preparation and manipulation of yeast cells were performed as described previously . Yeast strains were grown at 30°C unless otherwise indicated. DNA fragments containing Ulp1 under the control of its endogenous promoter were amplified from yeast genomic DNA and placed in-frame with a carboxy-terminal GFP-tag in the CEN/LEU2 plasmid pAA3 . Primer pairs used for full-length Ulp1 amplification were OOK2 (ULP1 (-310 to -294)) and OOK3 (ULP1 (+1, 842 to +1, 863)). To prepare the truncated and mutated Ulp1-GFP constructs listed in Table 1, the QuikChange XL Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene/Agilent Technologies, La Jolla, CA, USA) and the Phusion Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Finnzymes Oy/Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vantaa, Finland) were used according to the manufacturers' instructions. Primer sequence information for the construction of individual mutants and truncations are available upon request. All constructs were sequenced, verified and/or confirmed by performing complementation assays (for example, see Additional file 3). Additionally, we confirmed that septin rings are intact in strains expressing plasmid-borne Ulp1(3)C580, WT Ulp1 and Ulp1(3) (see Additional file 5). For two-hybrid constructs, ORFs of the indicated genes were PCR-amplified and recombined into gapped pOAD and pOBD2 vectors (Yeast Resource Center, Department of Biochemistry and Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA). To overexpress and purify Ulp1 truncations from bacteria, the respective Ulp1 fragments were PCR-amplified and cloned into pMALc-HT (a gift from Sean T Prigge, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA), thereby adding an in-frame MBP module followed by a TEV protease cleavage site and a His6 epitope tag. Ulp1 derivatives were expressed as MBP fusions in BL21 Star (DE3) cells (Invitrogen) containing a pRIL plasmid. The YCp-111 Cdc3-CFP/LEU plasmid was a kind gift from Ryuichi Nishihama of John Pringle's laboratory (Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA). Gal4-activation domain (AD) fusions of ULP1 and the indicated ULP1 mutants in pOAD were transformed into the AH109 reporter strain expressing a Gal4 DNA-binding domain (BD) fusion of SMT3 in pOBD. Two-hybrid interactions of serially diluted cells were scored in duplicate on dropout media lacking adenine. Frozen bacterial cell pellets from 200 ml of isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside-induced BL21 Star (DE3) cells were thawed on ice and resuspended in 2 ml of 1 × PBS containing 1 × Halt Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (catalog no. 78430; Pierce Biotechnology/Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rockford, IL, USA). Ice-cold cells were sonicated using a Branson Sonifier ultrasonic cell disruptor (Branson Ultrasonics, Danbury, CT, USA), and extracts were cleared by centrifugation at 15, 000 rpm for eight minutes at 4°C. Cleared bacterial extracts were added to 15-ml conical tubes and diluted using 4 ml of 1 × PBS containing the protease inhibitor cocktail. MBP-tagged proteins (MBP-Ulp1(3), MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) or MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S)ΔSBS) were bound to 5-ml columns containing 300 μl of amylose resin (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA, USA) and washed extensively with 1 × PBS. Yeast cell protein extracts containing the indicated target proteins were passed over the amylose resin, and proteins bound to MBP-Ulp1(3), MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) or MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S)ΔSBS were eluted with 100 mM maltose or SDS-PAGE sample buffer. Yeast cell protein extracts were generated by bead-beating about 50 nm of yeast cell pellets in 1 × cell lysis buffer (catalog no. 9803; Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA) containing 25 mM N-ethylmaleimide. "Bound" material (Figures 6A and 6B) corresponds to proteins affinity-purified from approximately 8 nm of extracted cells. Input (WCE) lysates correspond to 1.25 nm of extracted proteins (about one-sixth the material loaded onto the column). In SUMO pull-down experiments, recombinant MBP-Ulp1(3)(C580S) or MBP-Ulp1(3) was incubated with SUMO1 or SUMO2 agarose (Boston Biochem Inc, Cambridge, MA, USA) in 1 ml of 1 × PBS with protease inhibitors. Proteins bound to the agarose beads were washed in 1 × PBS and eluted with 1 × SDS-PAGE sample buffer. All protein extracts were separated on NuPage Novex 4-12% Bis-Tris gradient gels (NP0321; Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) using 3-morpholinopropane-1-sulfonic acid-SDS running buffer (NP0001; Invitrogen). Equal loading and concentrations of recombinant proteins were confirmed by Coomassie staining and analysis using an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer using a Protein 230 Kit (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). BiaCore measurements were conducted by Affina Biotechnologies, Inc (Stamford, CT, USA) as a paid service. Unless otherwise noted, cells were grown in rich media, arrested in G2/M using nocodazole (15 μg/ml/3 hours/30°C), washed in 2% dextrose and harvested by centrifugation. Images of live cells were collected using a Zeiss Axioskop microscope (Carl Zeiss USA, Thornwood, NY, USA) fitted with a QImaging Retiga™ SRV charge-coupled device digital camera (QImaging, Surrey, BC, Canada), i-Vision-Mac software (BioVision Technologies, Exton, PA, USA) and a Uniblitz electro-programmable shutter assembly system (Vincent Associates/UNIBLITZ, Rochester, NY, USA). Pertinent filter sets for the above applications include CZ909 (GFP), XF114-2 (CFP) and XF104-2 (YFP) (Chroma Technology Group, Bellows Falls, VT, USA). Images were normalized using i-Vision-Mac software and pseudocolored and adjusted using Adobe Photoshop software (Adobe Systems Inc, San Jose, CA, USA). Enzymes and substrates used in our in vitro ubiquitination assays were quantified using a Protein 230 Kit on the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies) according to the manufacturer's instructions. We used 10 × ubiquitination buffer, E1 enzyme (Uba1), ATP and 20 × ubiquitin provided in a commercial ubiquitin activating kit (BML-UW0400-0001; Enzo Life Sciences Inc, Farmingdale, NY, USA). Ubiquitination buffer, isopentenyl diphosphate (100 U/ml), dithiothreitol (DTT) (50 μM), E1 (Uba1), E2 (Ubc4) and E3 enzymes (RNF4) were combined with purified SUMO2 chains (ULC-210; Boston Biochem) and ubiquitin. Reactions totaled 27 μl and were incubated at 30°C for three hours. Reactions were stopped by adding an equal volume of SUMEB with Tris (SUTEB) sample buffer (0.01% bromophenol blue, 10 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, 1% SDS, 50 mM Tris, pH 6.8, 8 M urea) containing DTT (5 μl of 1 M DTT mixed with 1 ml SUTEB sample buffer). Protein products were boiled in a 65°C heat block for ten minutes and examined by Western blot analysis with anti-human SUMO2 antibody, anti-human SUMO2 (BML-PW0510-0025; Enzo Life Sciences Inc), anti-GFP (JL-8 632380; Clontech, Mountain View, CA), ANTI-FLAG M2 (F3165; Sigma-Aldrich, St Louis, MO, USA), anti-phosphoglycerate kinase (22C5D8; Invitrogen), anti-Cdc11 (y415) (sc-7170; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA, USA). We thank all members of the Kerscher lab for their support. We especially thank Cecilia Esteban for Figure 1B, Jeff Hollomon for an Ulp1 overexpression construct and Nora Foegeding and Chris Moad for help with experiments during revision of the manuscript. We are indebted to Diane Shakes, Rachael Felberbaum and Mark Hochstrasser for comments and/or edits of the manuscript. Additionally, we thank Vikram Panse, Maria Katariina Veisu, Sue Biggins, Mark Hochstrasser, Eric Rubenstein, Munira Basrai, Wei Chun Au, Rick Wozniak, Erica Johnson, John Pringle, Ryuichi Nishihama, Liz Allison, Mark Forsyth and Eric Engstrom for strains and reagents and Steve Brill for information on Smt3-331. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R15-GM085792 (to OK), a William & Mary Howard Hughes Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship (to MD and BCM), an ALSAM fellowship (to BCM) and a William and Mary Arts and Sciences Graduate Research grant (to ZE). OK and ZE designed and interpreted all the results of the experiments and wrote the manuscript. ZE carried out all experiments with the following exceptions: MD and JW carried out the two-hybrid assays and helped to interpret the results, BM designed and conducted the STUbL assay and HM aligned Ulp SUMO protease sequences, confirmed conserved residues and helped with editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

2019-04-25T16:56:16Z

https://0-bmcbiol-biomedcentral-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/articles/10.1186/1741-7007-9-74

Like all other advertisers, osteopaths have to comply with the ASA's CAP Code and the ASA/CAP publish specific guidance to help them — in addition to the more general guidance on National Council for Osteopathic Research and their substantiation. However, it seems that some osteopaths thought the CAP Code and guidance required some clarification. Today, the ASA have published even more detailed guidance for those advertising osteopathy services. This new document provides that clarity and further restricts the claims they can make about the use of osteopathy with pregnant women, children and babies, particularly non-musculoskeletal conditions such as colic and problems allegedly caused by 'birth trauma'. A cursory glance at osteopaths' websites will find many such claims. See, for example, the results returned by this simple search for colic: osteopathy clinic site:.uk colic. This is a widespread problem. The Osteopathic Practice Standards place a duty on all osteopaths to ensure their advertising complies with the CAP Code (Standard D14). Failing to comply with the Code and associated guidance or rulings could result in GOsC fitness to practise proceedings. The GOsC and the osteopaths' trade body, the Institute of Osteopathy (IO) will be following this up with further communications and articles in various magazines and the GOsC will also be contacting the various osteopathy training organisations to make sure students are fully aware of their responsibilities. We hope that many students will ask questions of their tutors about why they are being taught something they are not allowed to advertise because of the lack of good evidence. Perhaps the GOsC should be asking themselves the same questions and revist their educational requirements. There is a lot of work to be done by osteopaths. An osteopathic check-up following the birth can help pin-point potential problems and helps to ease the dramatic transition from life inside the womb to the outside world. This initial adjustment involves many bodily systems such as breathing and digestion. Stresses and strains from the labour or pregnancy can lead to unsettled behaviour and difficulties with feeding, winding, bowel movements and sleeping. Relieving any physical strains with gentle osteopathic treatment can be very helpful and relaxing. The care of the entire family unit is of the utmost concern for an osteopath. This is a time when children learn to crawl, walk, run and communicate and are keen to explore their environment and to interact socially. It is desirable to monitor the progress of these early developmental milestones and to address the effects of any major physical mishaps or developmental lag to prevent problems developing in future. In the birthing process babies are subjected to enormous forces during their passage through the birth canal. Small amounts of movement exist in the infant skull to permit the baby’s head to adapt to these forces of labour. However when birth is difficult, unduly slow or fast, or complicated by the need for forceps ventouse or cesarean section delivery, the infant head may not fully recover from this distortion. If the baby is unable to resolve the stressors and strains naturally through breathing and suckling, these pressures with in the skull may lead to problems settling, feeding difficulties, disturbed sleep patterns and recurrent infections. Osteopathic treatment using a variety of gentle non invasive techniques may help improve the function of the musculoskeletal system and aid in the reduction of these symptoms. During childhood, in addition to any earlier trauma or strains the body has to adapt with the growth and development of the bones and muscles. Postural changes and activity level changes with participation in sports can also produce aches and pains which may be eased with manual therapy. Restrictions in the musculoskeletal system can sometimes cause delay reaching developmental milestones for behaviour, speech and learning and may benefit from osteopathic assessment and treatment. What parent would not be distressed by such stark warnings and sign their new-born up for immediate (and life-long?) treatment? The Bronfort review was commissioned by the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) in 2009 after I submitted 523 complaints to the GCC about claims being made by chiropractors on their websites — the GCC needed the review because they didn't have a clue about the evidence for the claims their registrants had been making. It was little more than a quick literature review carried out by chiropractors in the US. Even though Bronfort et al. considered all manner of treatments including reflexology, massage and chiropractic manipulations and not just osteopathic techniques specifically, it did look at various paediatric conditions. In terms of the non-musculoskeletal conditions, Bronfort identified a number of systematic reviews and additional RCTs for these conditions. None was positive for any treatment. However, it only gave results for the treatment of manual therapies for musculoskeletal conditions for adults and is silent on pregnant women, children and babies, so it's quite a leap to extrapolate to those patient groups from adults. The National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR), funded by osteopaths and the GOsC, is currently undertaking a systematic review of manual therapies in the treatment of children and babies. It'll be interesting to see what they finally publish. Meanwhile, it seems that the ASA believe that osteopaths are trained to treat pregnant women, children and babies and that they should therefore be allowed to make claims about these patient groups, despite being no good evidence that osteopathy is effective for these conditions. This simply raises the question as to what they are being taught if there is no good evidence it is effective for those groups in the first place. The question of dose response is not addressed either nor the potential for harm — particularly the many claims that it is 'safe and gentle'. However, that only applies to musculoskeletal conditions: the new guidance prevents them from directly or indirectly referring to conditions such as colic, growing pains, excessive crying and those allegedly caused by 'birth trauma'. As we have shown above, these are frequent claims. …refer to conditions for which medical supervision should be sought if they hold convincing evidence of the efficacy of their treatments (Rules 12.1 and 12.2). The caveat of holding the necessary standard of evidence is important, but it is not clear to us why statutory regulation should confer any special privileges: whilst the Osteopaths Act 1993 does provide for a means of regulating some aspects, it's primarily a means of protecting the title 'osteopath', ensuring registrants are appropriately insured and that there's a code of conduct and a complaints procedure. Notably, the Act does not prescribe any scope of practice, nor proscribe any treatments. This leaves the public open to being misled. Claims made on osteopaths’ websites that serve the purpose of encouraging consumers to make a transactional decision (i.e. claims that directly or indirectly invite individuals to consider seeking osteopathic treatment for themselves or someone else must comply with the Advertising Code. As healthcare practitioners regulated by statute, osteopaths may offer advice on, diagnosis of and treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. Those claims should be limited, however, to those for which the ASA or CAP has seen evidence for the efficacy of osteopathy for the particular condition claimed, or for which the advertiser holds suitable substantiation (references to conditions which the ASA or CAP accept osteopathy can help with should be understood on this basis, the ASA acknowledges that new evidence may emerge).2 The ASA retains the right to ask to review evidence for the purposes of resolving complaints should it consider the need to do so. Osteopaths should therefore ensure that they have access to substantiation before making such claims, including implied claims to treat a particular condition. Where the efficacy of osteopathy for treating a particular condition has already been established, treatment claims that do not stray beyond the principles set out in the CAP Guidance will be considered compliant with the Code. Osteopaths may make claims to treat general as well as specific patient populations, including pregnant women, children and babies provided they are qualified to do so. Osteopaths may not claim to treat conditions or symptoms presented as specific to these groups (e.g. colic, growing pains, morning sickness) unless the ASA or CAP has seen evidence for the efficacy of osteopathy for the particular condition claimed, or for which the advertiser holds suitable substantiation. Osteopaths may refer to the provision of general health advice to specific patient populations, providing they do not make implied and unsubstantiated treatment claims for conditions. The principles don't say anything new, but the fourth one is important: osteopaths can claim to treat pregnant women, children and babies, but they can only do so in terms of the conditions listed above and it clearly states the conditions they should not claim to treat. The guidance also gives some examples of claims that are likely and unlikely to be acceptable. The ASA, quite rightly, steer clear of saying outright what is and isn't acceptable: every claim has to be analysed individually in its proper context. We hope that osteopaths will take note of these carefully and not try to take advantage of any perceived equivocation. It might take osteopaths a while to clean up their websites. It's entirely fanciful, of course, but many osteopaths seem to believe it is effective for many childhood conditions and is seen by some as the 'bait and switch' used by some osteopaths to get new customers from a very early age. But at least now they cannot claim that they can feel these movements nor that they can then manipulate the skull to alleviate anything. This guidance is a great step forward. Osteopaths now have absolute clarity about what they can and cannot claim for pregnant women, children and babies and we hope to see speedy changes to websites. We also welcome the actions taken by the General Osteopathic Council to ensure their registrants stop misleading the public and we hope they will follow through when they are made aware of non-compliant websites; we also hope they will be pro-active in this and not simply wait around for others to submit complaints. We now hope the ASA and the General Chiropractic Council will now do the same for chiropractors — it is long overdue and, arguably, a much larger problem. The list of allowed chiropractic claims will be shorter, of course, and the list of unacceptable claims longer. Much longer. The Society of Homeopaths seemed to be taking responsible action to curb the claims of their members. But what's been going on behind the scenes? Little more than a month ago, the Society of Homeopaths (SoH) issued new advertising guidance to all their members. It was far from perfect and, we believe, strays some distance from the guidance laid down by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA/CAP), but, being generous, at least it was a step in the right direction in curbing the worst excesses of its members' advertising claims. The ultimate sanction is referral by the ASA to the Trading Standards under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Trading Standards is the legal backstop for the ASA. What this means is that where the threat or application of our sanctions have failed to achieve compliance, the matter may be formally referred to Trading Standards. Trading Standards will consider cases to determine if there are breaches of relevant legislation and take appropriate action in accordance with its own enforcement policy. These are serious consequences for any homeopath and it may look like the SoH has faced up to its responsibilities and taken the responsible course of action in trying to help its members comply with the CAP Code and consumer protection legislation. However, we now know that the SoH is not only supporting an anti-ASA campaign by some of its members, it is also seeking advice on the legality of the ASA's actions with a view to challenging them in the courts. Andy Lewis of The Quackometer has highlighted that the Society of Homeopaths (SoH) intend to fight the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over the advertising guidance they issued recently. They're not doing this by providing high quality scientific evidence that substantiate claims for homeopathy made by their members, of course, but by trying to find a legal basis to undermine the ASA's legitimacy as the UK's independent advertising regulator. …investigate allegations of illegal bias against homeopaths and homeopathy by the Advertising Standards Authority Ltd, in breach of Consumer Protection Regulations. The 6 RSHoms claim that the ASA has no legal basis for what it is doing and is acting unreasonably in targeting homeopaths. This admission that the 'legislative and national statutory guidance' are not written specifically to cover errant homeopaths but are laws and regulations that are designed to protect consumers from misleading practices by any and all traders is interesting. Their arguments against the ASA are well-worn and have been thoroughly refuted. They do try the old 'the ASA is only a limited company' meme and refer to them as the ASA Ltd: perhaps we should refer to the SoH by their own corporate title, The Society of Homeopaths Ltd? Anyway, in their guidance to their members, the SoH made several interesting statements with reference to the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) who legitimises them by placing them on their list of Accredited Registers. We submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the PSA for details of all information held by the PSA relating to the SoH's guidance. Sorry to chase you but I wanted to update you on a serious initiative by ASA/CAP. See attached letter [download here]. In short, with no notice or consultation at all, they want to impose guidelines on us, send them out inside a month and then chase all our members to make sure they have complied within a month! You will not be surprised to hear that we have refused to co-operate but we have said that, if they pause the process, we are more than happy to meet with them and see if we can work out a way forward that ensures our members are compliant to reasonable guidelines. We need to be working with them in the long run, rather than working against them. As far as I am aware, no other accredited register has been targeted. I am guessing they will be in time! The belligerent nature of their language puts into context the SoH's latest pronouncement about taking legal action against the ASA and the assumption of being singled out by the ASA for special treatment speaks volumes. No doubt such a line would play nicely to their vexed members. That the SoH refused to even cooperate with the ASA is extraordinary (even if they did recognise they will have to cooperate eventually) and we sincerely hope it raised more than a few eyebrows at the PSA. Standard 8 requires registers to set standards of business practice, including advertising (and to comply with the Advertising Standards Authority’s requirements). The Society must replace the section of its Code of Ethics and Practice relating to Advertising and Media which states ‘Examples of Codes the Society may also take account of are the relevant clauses of The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code), and the current guidelines of the Society’ with ‘will take into account’. This action to be completed within three months. The PSA's views of the necessity of complying with the ASA's rules could not be clearer, but here we have am Accredited Register not only wanting special, more 'reasonable' — presumably less stringent — privileges but actively seeking to take legal action against them. But why this talk of 'no notice or consultation'? The ASA's remit was extended to cover traders' websites on 01 March 2011. The ASA issued clear guidance specifically for homeopaths in September 2011. The ASA's adjudication against the SoH themselves was published on 03 July 2013. There can surely be no excuse for the SoH not to be aware of their obligations under the CAP Code yet they and their members have already been given five years to comply. What have they not complied already? How much more time do they need? It does seem to us that the SoH were looking to the PSA for some protection from those baddies at the ASA. However, other than an informal discussion between them on 12 January, no more appears to have been said. Hopefully the PSA will have reminded the SoH at that meeting of their responsibilities under the Accredited Register scheme. But it seems the SoH were successful to some extent in delaying the ASA's action: their letter finally went out to homeopaths up and down the country in September this year and they were given a full five weeks in which to get their websites in order — five years eight months after the rules came into force for websites. When referring to testimonials, it is wise to encourage people to seek independent medical advice and stay in close contact with their mainstream healthcare professionals. This supports an open dialogue, choice and informed, integrated care. The below was agreed by the Preliminary Investigation Panel, the Professional Standards Authority have also seen this statement, and appear happy with its use. Declaring that the PSA 'appear happy' with their interpretation of the ASA's guidance on testimonials seemed rather odd and informal language to us: did the PSA fully agree with the statement or did they not? Did they even have a view on whether such a disclaimer would adequately protect them from the ASA? 1. What communication has there been with the SoH on this? The testimonials were discussed as part of last year’s reaccreditation process, in particular the annual review report, we sent all of the information except the information we consider exempt to you in November 2015. There have been no further discussions about the testimonials since this date. 2. What does the statement that you 'appear happy' with the use of these statements mean? It is our understanding that this relates to the statement in the published panel decision in 2015. The decision reflects the fact that the panel was made aware of the above but made no specific comment for or against it. 3. Can you confirm that you told the SoH that the use of these statements by their registrants in their advertising was acceptable to you? We have made no specific comment about this matter beyond what is said in the 2015 decision. This is because we consider this to be a matter for the ASA. The Society [of Homeopaths] also found guidelines relating to testimonials were restrictive and could prevent registrants from providing sufficient information for service users to make informed decisions. The Panel noted the Society has provided a disclaimer for registrants’ websites to make clear testimonials are not intended to make any false claims about homeopathy. It's not at all clear to us how the SoH interpreted that as saying that the PSA 'appear happy' with the SoH's disclaimer, but now that the PSA have made it clear they believe it to be a matter not for them but for the ASA, we sincerely hope the SoH will update their guidance to clarify the PSA's position on this and update their guidance to bring it in line with the ASA's. Please note: Any claims made within a testimonial are subject to the CAP Code. Therefore, if a testimonial makes an efficacy claim, the author’s permission should be sought to edit out the relevant parts. Although this is an important part in the ASA's guidance on testimonials and endorsements, it is but one part of it. Overall, the SoH could have saved themselves a lot of bother by simply referring their members directly to the ASA's own comprehensive and clearly written guidance rather than regurgitating it and interpreting it, changing it in the process, inadvertently or otherwise. As well as writing to thousands of homeopaths, we have been made aware that the ASA have also contacted at least one trade directory, informing them of the requirements to comply with the CAP Code. I can appreciate how you and other Homeopaths currently feel and I hope that this email will help your understanding as to why we have made these changes. Because this is now a legal requirement for advertising, as a marketing platform, we must abide by it. CAP were the ones that contacted us about the changes which is why we have actioned it. I can see that you have already complied [sic] a detailed document raising your concerns, but please also have a look here: http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/images/ASASept2016/ASA-Guidance-6.pdf [the SoH's advertising guidance] as this may prove helpful for you when addressing this with the ASA / CAP. I would recommend contacting CAP as they are the ones that have implemented these changes and are therefore the ones to speak with. Unfortunately, because we are a marketing platform and not therapists ourselves, as mentioned before we must adhere to these changes and won't be challenging this with either the ASA or CAP. Please do keep us updated, I believe that you will receive a great amount of support from other Homeopaths that are currently experiencing the same. It's good to see the ASA taking such a comprehensive approach to cleaning up this sector and Therapy Directory's responsible action to comply with the ASA's rules. We hope all homeopaths, their trade bodies and other trade directories follow this responsible lead. But to return to the SoH in particular: is there really a conflict between representing your members best interests and complying with the rules, regulations and laws they are supposed to? That depends on what you believe is in your members' best interests. The SoH seemed to have taken a responsible approach to persuade its members to comply, but the other face they now show wants to challenge the ASA in the courts. It'll be interesting to see how far they get, but it would be perverse if it was believed that continuing to defy the advertising regulator and face possible conviction under consumer protection regulations was in the best interests of any homeopath or of the SoH itself. The Society of Homeopaths Ltd are at a crossroads: they need to grapple with the choice they face and decide whether they will go down the path of challenging the ASA or finally face up to their responsibilities as a supposed professional regulator, overseen by the Professional Standards Authority. This will also be a challenge for the PSA: how they deal with a wayward SoH will be a test of their willingness and ability to properly oversee their Accredited Registers and properly protect the public. In March 2011, our very first campaign was against the misleading advertising claims made by homeopaths on their websites. That was six years ago, and we gave the Advertising Standards Authority a huge headache: how to persuade homeopaths to abide by the same rules all advertisers have to abide by. Without those advertising rules (in the form of the CAP Code), advertisers would have free rein to make whatever claims they wanted; it would be a wild-west for all sorts of cowboys and quacks and one where the poor consumer would suffer. Homeopaths have featured in the ASA's list of adjudications and informally resolved cases over the years, but the ASA have recently preferred to let their Compliance Team deal with homeopathy advertisers because they had already extensively reviewed the evidence — notably through complaints about the Society of Homeopaths and homeopath Steve Scrutton, Media & Communications person at the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths — and had an established position on it. Read more about these adjudications in: Landmark decisions for homeopaths. A few advertisers have been somewhat recalcitrant, believing they could face down the ASA. Some even seemed to think the ASA could be ignored, but many have found that is not a sensible course of action and one that's not good for their business. However, many advertisers of complementary and alternative therapies appear in the ASA's list of Non-compliant online advertisers and others have been referred to Trading Standards (TS). Trading Standards have now successfully prosecuted 'Electronic Healing' (a provider of complementary and alternative therapies and devices) who had been referred to them by the ASA. TS have also had numerous websites taken down: they cannot be ignored. We have no doubt that many homeopaths were just not aware of the advertising rules or the need to abide by them. Many will now comply because they understand the need for rules to protect consumers and are responsible traders who want to stay on the right side of the law. But not all. Today, the ASA announced that they have written to homeopaths across the UK to remind them of the rules that govern what they can and can’t say in their marketing materials, including on their websites. This included their previous Guidance for Advertisers of Homeopathic Services and FAQs about advertising regulation and the sanctions the ASA can impose. It also builds on the advertising guidance published by the Society of Homeopaths (SoH) a few days ago, which had been reviewed by the ASA. You may remember that the SoH themselves fell foul of the ASA three years ago and an adjudication against numerous claims they made on Twitter and on their website found they had breached the CAP Code on multiple counts. Read more about the adjudication in: Landmark decisions for homeopaths. While we generally welcome the guidance from the SoH, we believe this guidance is incorrect and misleading in places and goes beyond what we believe the CAP Code allows, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Whether they ensure their members now comply with the CAP Code remains to be seen. With the ASA's letter to thousands of homeopaths, their published guidance on compliance and the SoH's letter to their members, there really is now no excuse whatsoever for homeopaths to continue to make misleading claims. After the expiration of this period, we will carry out extensive monitoring spot checks. Homeopathy practices that have failed to comply will be contacted again. After this time, we will consider the application of appropriate sanctions. This is the culmination of six years of campaigning for us — our initial campaign and the occasional prodding of the ASA and submitting the odd strategic complaint. Although there is much more still to do, we've done our bit to highlight the many issues with homeopathy advertising: it is now up to homeopaths to take the responsible action they know they must. Perhaps the Society of Homeopaths could set a good example to its members by having a thorough review of its own website? We've previously looked at how homeopathy in the English NHS has plummeted 95% in the last two decades. We now focus on what's been happening is Scotland. Their Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) data since 2001 (shortly after devolution in 1999) are available on one handy webpage, making them easier to find, with each spreadsheet covering the financial year from 01 April up to 31 March of the year given in the filename. The latest spreadsheet, PCA_2016.xlsx, therefore covers 01 April 2015 to 31 March 2016. Note that for consistency with the data for England, we have attributed the Scottish data for the year in the filename to the previous year in the charts below, ie the 2015/2016 data are attributed with 2015 to match the way the data for England have been attributed. Tab 3 - BNF sub-section gives the data we need. As with the NHS Digital (the re-branded name for the HSCIC) data for England, the data relate to the NHS prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies and by Dispensing Doctors in Scotland. The main measures of drug ingredient cost and volumes of items dispensed in the community are comparable across the UK countries. However it should be noted that the gross ingredient cost (GIC) within Scotland is equivalent to the net ingredient cost (NIC) in England, i.e. the reimbursement cost of drugs before any pharmacy discounts are applied. A spreadsheet with these data can be downloaded here. But why the small rise in prescriptions in 2012 and 2013? Was there a resurgence in public demand for homeopathy? Perhaps more GPs became convinced of its curative power? Maybe some new, compelling evidence for homeopathy hit the headlines? Probably not. The answer is more prosaic: the closure of the pharmacy at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital (re-branded the Centre for Integrative Care (CIC) recently) in 2011 will have caused a small increase in the number of prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies. The prescription numbers before 2011 don't include those dispensed at the GHH/CIC, but those after 2011 are inflated by the ones GHH/CIC patients have had go to their local community pharmacy to have dispensed. But note that this blip is more than wiped out by the falls in 2014 and 2015, leaving an overall 62% drop in the past ten years. The drop isn't as great as the 95% in England, but it is still very significant. Referrals to the GHH/CIC have been stopped by various Scottish Health Boards, putting pressure on them — it would seem unlikely that the long-term downward trend will be reversed. The number of patients at the GHH/CIC has been falling in recent years. Data from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) — the health board that runs the GHH/CIC — show significant drops in the number of new inpatients from areas outside of GGCin recent years but that has been partially offset by an increase in numbers of referrals from within the GGC area. Overall, the number has still fallen 9% in the past four years to 332 in 2015 — about one new patient a day. Similarly, falls in the number of new outpatients referred from areas outside GGC has been compensated by an increase in local referrals, leaving the number hovering around the 1,000 mark each year — in the order of three new patients a day. They also had 4,723 return appointments in 2015. The hospital is currently facing the closure by GGC of its seven inpatient beds (which had previously been cut in 2010 from 15 beds Monday to Sunday to seven beds Monday afternoon to Friday morning), saving £190,000, putting it under further pressure. The Unit has reduced its inpatient service in recent years from a 15-bedded seven-day unit to only 7 beds, open 4 nights a week. The Centre has been very successful in developing an ambulatory model of care and all services are now available on that basis. Inpatient capacity is now underutilised delivering only 332 episodes of care each year. This will be further reduced by the continuing impact of decisions by other Boards to withdraw from the service, only 224 in patient episodes are provided for NHS GG and C residents. Inpatients account for only 5.2% of patient contacts for GGC residents. The majority of service delivery is already delivered in an outpatient setting. Supporters of the GHH/CIC are campaigning to prevent its closure, including a Public Petition to the Scottish Parliament: PE01568: Funding, access and promotion of the NHS Centre for Integrative Care. The committee has been considering this for well over a year and seem to be making little progress; instead they seem keen to show their inability to understand scientific evidence. If the closure is agreed by the GGC Board, this makes the GHH/CIC even less viable and it's not clear how long the hospital can last — its future is on a shoogly peg. Homeopathy has been diluted to just 13% of its former self in the past 14 years. But looking at the data in more detail reveals something that looks odd: last year, there were 60% more prescriptions in total in Scotland than in England. The figures equate to 2.62 prescriptions per 1,000 population in Scotland but only 0.16 per 1,000 in England. But this has changed over the years: in 2001, it was the other way round with 2.7 times more prescriptions in England than in Scotland. If it was simply down to population, you'd expect there to be more than ten times the number in England compared to Scotland. Why is this not the case and why has it changed like this over the last 14 years? One possible explanation might be to do with the number of NHS homeopathic 'hospitals' and the legitimacy they lend to homeopathy in general: there has only been the one in Scotland but there have been four in England in recent times: London, Bristol, Liverpool and Tunbridge Wells, plus a number of satellite clinics. Now, however, only the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine remains, with the ones in both Liverpool and Bristol replaced by contracted private companies rather than being part of the NHS. The one in Tunbridge Wells closed in 2008. So, in its heyday around the turn of the century, Scotland was served by one but England was only served by four — proportionately far fewer considering the population. So, with the only the London hospital now remaining — even though it no longer has a dedicated homeopathy service — the decline of prescriptions in England was perhaps inevitable, following the decline in the number of hospitals. For those who do not believe public money should be spent on homeopathy, these figures will be welcome, but perhaps not so much for those in the homeopathy business as the false imprimatur given to homeopathy by the State plummets. New figures released today show that homeopathy on the English NHS has fallen to a new low. The number of NHS prescriptions for homeopathy in England, fulfilled in community pharmacies, dropped by a further 13% in 2015 from the previous year and is 95% down from its peak nearly 20 years ago. The new figures for 2015 show that there were just 8,894 prescriptions, down from 10,238 in 2014. The total cost of these prescriptions has dropped to £94,313, the first time it has been below £100,000. This follows on from other recent blows to NHS homeopathy: the closure of the homeopathy clinic at the South Bristol Community Hospital in Bristol, the reviews by both Liverpool CCG and Wirral CCG on ending the funding of homeopathy via the Liverpool Medical Homeopathy Service and other successfully completed reviews. And the forthcoming Department of Health review of the blacklisting of homeopathy could mean CCGs are no longer able to prescribe it — not that many do now anyway. Dilution by dilution, succussion by succussion, sugar pill by sugar pill, homeopathy is slowly but surely being removed from the NHS. This will not be welcomed by homeopaths who businesses rely on the (undeserved and unearned) legitimacy that being provided on the NHS lends to homeopathy, but it's the inevitable result of the their own failure to provide robust evidence of its efficacy. …the interior ministry said it had come to the conclusion that it was “impossible to provide such proof for these disciplines in their entirety”. So, it's not that the Swiss authorities had come across good evidence that homeopathy (and the other treatments covered) were, indeed, effective; more that they gave in and decided to reimburse them anyway, despite the lack of evidence. Based on the assessment of the evidence of effectiveness of homeopathy, NHMRC concludes that there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective. Homeopathy should not be used to treat health conditions that are chronic, serious, or could become serious. People who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good evidence for safety and effectiveness. People who are considering whether to use homeopathy should first get advice from a registered health practitioner. Those who use homeopathy should tell their health practitioner and should keep taking any prescribed treatments. It is therefore perverse that the Swiss Government should appear to bend over backwards to ignore the evidence and agree to pay homeopaths for dispensing their magic sugar pellets. But it may not be as smooth a ride as the homeopaths might like. Reimbursement will only take place for treatments administered by certified medical doctors. Additionally, according to the official announcement in Komplementärmedizin soll anderen Fachrichtungen gleichgestellt werden, some criteria apply concerning tradition of usage and research, scientific evidence and medical experience and further education. Also, some treatments that are seen as critical are to be examined and potentially excluded from the reimbursement. It's not at all clear exactly what this will mean for the homeopaths, but this may not be the full endorsement from the Swiss Government they would like to believe. This Sunday is the anniversary of the birth of the inventor of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, heralding the start of World Homeopathy Awareness Week. So as homeopathy on the NHS is in what must surely be its death throes, what better time to help others be aware of homeopathy? Follow us on Twitter and re-Tweet our Tweets on homeopathy throughout World Homeopathy Awareness Week. Homeopathy has suffered many body blows recently. A new decision by the medicines regulator rubs salt into its wounds. The last year or so has not been good for homeopathy. The comprehensive Australian National Health and Medical Research Council concluded that "there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective." The FDA and the FTC in the US are considering their positions on the regulation and advertising of homeopathic products and will hopefully clamp down on the worst excesses of misleading claims made there. In the UK, homeopathy continues its downward spiral, it's being challenged in Liverpool and the Department of Health will consult next year of the complete blacklisting of homeopathy. 2016 is going to be a very interesting year for homeopathy. Last August, we published details of our complaints against Nelsons Homeopathic Pharmacy. We're still waiting for the General Pharmaceutical Council to complete their investigation, but the medicines regulator, the MHRA, has already published their decision. In that newsletter, we said we were waiting for a further response from the MHRA. Although we're still waiting for a formal reply from them, the essence of what we were waiting for has just been published by them in yet another complaint about homeopathic products. Tissue Salts are not homeopathic but are homeopathically prepared micro dose minerals. Dr. Schuessler believed that it was most effective to follow the principles of homeopathy in their preparation – 1 part mineral to 9 parts lactose – mortar and pestle for 20 minutes bringing it up to a 1X and so on. They can be touched by hand and work differently in the body navigating all that you eat and ingest where they need to be. They are not as sensitive as homeopathics. They can be taken alongside food, coffee etc. Tissue Salts are not Homeopathics but are micro dose minerals that follow the similar method used in preparation - they will not interfere with homeopathic Nat Mur - it is important to note that Minerals are not homeopathic, they are biochemic. They do not follow the rule of similarity as many consider but are prepared in the homeopathic manner in order to provide bioavailability. The system needs minerals in order to function in these minute doses. They are absorbed through the mucosa that enables them direct entry to the blood stream and the availability to the cells. THE following report is issued under section 210 of the Health Act, 1911-1944:—It is claimed that the above "remedy" [Dr. Schuessler's Cell Salts, Kali Phos. 3X] is "indicated in loss of mental power, brain fag, paralysis of any part, nervous headaches, neuralgic pains, general disability and exhaustion and sleeplessness from nervous disorders." The "remedy" has been analysed and been found to contain potassium dihydrogen phosphate and lactose. The actual quantity of potassium dihydrogen phosphate in the "adult dose" is so minute that over 9,000 tablets would be necessary to give the minimum medicinal dose of this drug. Lactose is a sugar which is of no value in the treatment of any of the above-mentioned maladies. Dr. Schuessler's Cell Salts can therefore have no curative value. They will bring about no improvement in any of the illnesses for which they are said to be indicated. Any expenditure on the purchase of these salts will be money wasted. One of the main brands of these products is an Australian company, Martin & Pleasance, but there are others, including the New Era range (once owned by the pharmaceutical giant, Merck through their Seven Seas brand, but now owned by the Italian company, Olimed Ltd, sold in the UK by Power Health Products Limited). It was the Martin & Pleasance products we found being advertised on Nelson's website. Because they do not have a licence under the National Rules Scheme, an authorisation under the Homeopathic Rules Scheme nor even a (defunct) Product Licence of Right, we questioned whether these could be unlicensed medicines. The significance is that if the MHRA ruled they were unlicensed medicines, it would be a breach of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMR 2012) to advertise, supply or sell them. All other cases will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. So, it's perfectly OK to advertise these products as long as it is not claimed that they are in any way homeopathic, they do not have a homeopathic 'potency' and they have no therapeutic indications. If they comply with all of these restrictions, they will not be medicines, but will simply be food supplements and have to comply with food regulations. This is essentially the same as when Bach Flower products were declared to be foods, not medicines nearly a year ago. The standard labelling of these products (such as the one in the photograph) stated they were '6X' 'potency' and the mere mention of this is sufficient to bring it within the MHRA's definition of a homeopathic medicine. This is a direct consequence of the EU Directives and the HMR 2012: homeopathic 'medicines' are regulated and anything that is presented as being homeopathic is a medicine and has to comply with these rules. If they are not presented in any way as homeopathic, then they are just foods, not medicines. There may be others and if you spot any on sale in the UK that appear to be contravening the MHRA's new guidance, please let us know and consider submitting a complaint to the MHRA about them. There is now no mention that these products are homeopathic. But what about the websites of the three sellers mentioned in the MHRA's decision? This is advertising New Era Calc Sulph (No.3) Tissue Salts and Brittle Nails & Falling Hair (Comb - K), but both are currently not available and another page says they have been discontinued. It looks like they also used to sell the Dr Reckeweg brand of tissue salts but they have been removed. Whatever Schuessler/cell/tissue salt products they sold, they are no longer advertised on their website. Thirteen of the sixteen Schuessler products they advertise are currently out of stock. Schuessler Combination H Tissue Salt is a complete natural formula for hayfever and allied conditions with mag phos nat mur and silica. Hayfever is an allergic condition of the mucous membranes of the nose eyes and upper respiratory tract and is common during spring when sensitivity to pollen is severe but it is very treatable by combination H particularly if treatment is started from six weeks before the expected onset of normal symptoms. Many of the others have similar information. These would appear to be therapeutic indications and some refer to the potency as 6X, possibly contravening the MHRA's guidance so we'll be bringing these to their attention and hope that they will be corrected before the products return to stock. This is another step forward for informed consumer choice, but another blow for homeopathy. Gradually, sellers of homeopathy and homeopathy products are being held to account. Homeopathy is taking a beating, perhaps fatally wounded. It's a pity the Advertising Standards Authority wasn't around then.

2019-04-26T16:35:37Z

https://www.nightingale-collaboration.org/news.html?start=6

This article is about the film studio. For the cinema chain, see Regal Entertainment Group. For the former record label, see United Artists Records. United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American film and television entertainment studio. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio was premised on allowing actors to control their own interests, rather than being dependent upon commercial studios. UA was repeatedly bought, sold, and restructured over the ensuing century. The current United Artists company exists as a successor to the original; as a distributor of films across MGM and third-party titles and as a provider of digital content, in addition to handling most of its post-1952 in-house library and other content it has since acquired. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired the studio in 1981 for a reported $350 million ($1.0 billion today). On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a controlling interest in Mark Burnett and Roma Downey's entertainment companies One Three Media and Lightworkers Media, then merged them to revive United Artists' TV production unit as United Artists Media Group (UAMG). However, on December 14 of the following year, MGM wholly acquired UAMG and folded it into MGM Television. UA was revived yet again in 2018 as United Artists Digital Studios. Mirror, the joint distribution venture between MGM and Annapurna Pictures was renamed as United Artists Releasing in early February 2019 just in time for UA's 100th anniversary. Pickford, Chaplin, Fairbanks, and Griffith incorporated UA as a joint venture on February 5, 1919. Each held a 25 percent stake in the preferred shares and a 20 percent stake in the common shares of the joint venture, with the remaining 20 percent of common shares held by lawyer and advisor William Gibbs McAdoo. The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earlier. Already Hollywood veterans, the four stars talked of forming their own company to better control their own work. They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors who were tightening their control over actor salaries and creative decisions, a process that evolved into the studio system. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before anything was formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland, head of Metro Pictures, apparently said, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson), formed their distribution company. Hiram Abrams was its first managing director, and the company established its headquarters at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York City. The original terms called for each star to produce five pictures a year. By the time the company was operational in 1921, feature films were becoming more expensive and polished, and running times had settled at around ninety minutes (eight reels). The original goal was thus abandoned. Griffith, Pickford, Chaplin (seated), and Fairbanks at the signing of the contract establishing the United Artists motion-picture studio in 1919. By 1924, Griffith had dropped out, and the company was facing a crisis; the alternatives were to either bring in others to help support a costly distribution system or concede defeat. Veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. He had produced pictures for a decade, and brought commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge, his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge, and his brother-in-law, Buster Keaton. Contracts were signed with independent producers, including Samuel Goldwyn, and Howard Hughes. In 1933, Schenck organized a new company with Darryl F. Zanuck, called Twentieth Century Pictures, which soon provided four pictures a year, forming half of UA's schedule. Schenck formed a separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. They began international operations, first in Canada, and then in Mexico. By the end of the 1930s, United Artists was represented in over 40 countries. When he was denied an ownership share in 1935, Schenck resigned. He set up 20th Century Pictures' merger with Fox Film Corporation to form 20th Century Fox. Al Lichtman succeeded Schenck as company president. Other independent producers distributed through United Artists in the 1930s including Walt Disney Productions, Alexander Korda, Hal Roach, David O. Selznick, and Walter Wanger. As the years passed, and the dynamics of the business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away. Samuel Goldwyn Productions and Disney went to RKO and Wanger to Universal Pictures. In the late 1930s, UA turned a profit. Goldwyn was providing most of the output for distribution. He sued United several times for disputed compensation leading him to leave. MGM's 1939 hit Gone with the Wind was supposed to be a UA release except that Selznick wanted Clark Gable, who was under contract to MGM, to play Rhett Butler. Also that year, Fairbanks died. UA became embroiled in lawsuits with Selznick over his distribution of some films through RKO. Selznick considered UA's operation sloppy, and left to start his own distribution arm. In the 1940s, United Artists was losing money because of poorly received pictures. Cinema attendance continued to decline as television became more popular. The company sold its Mexican releasing division to Crédito Cinematográfico Mexicano, a local company. In 1941, Pickford, Chaplin, Disney, Orson Welles, Goldwyn, Selznick, Alexander Korda, and Wanger—many of whom were members of United Artists--formed the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers (SIMPP). Later members included Hunt Stromberg, William Cagney, Sol Lesser, and Hal Roach. The Society aimed to advance the interests of independent producers in an industry controlled by the studio system. SIMPP fought to end ostensibly anti-competitive practices by the seven major film studios—Loew's (MGM), Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros./First National—that controlled the production, distribution, and exhibition of motion pictures. By 1958, SIMPP achieved many of the goals that led to its creation, and the group ceased operations. Needing a turnaround, Pickford and Chaplin hired Paul V. McNutt, a former governor of Indiana, as chairman and Frank L. McNamee as president. McNutt did not have the skill to solve UA's financial problems and the pair was replaced after only a few months. On February 16, 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur B. Krim (of Eagle-Lion Films) and Robert Benjamin approached Pickford and Chaplin with a wild idea: let them take over United Artists for ten years. If, at the end of those years, UA was profitable, they would own half the company. Fox Film Corporation president Spyros Skouras extended United Artists a $3 million loan through Krim and Benjamin's efforts. In taking over UA, Krim and Benjamin created the first studio without an actual "studio". Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. UA leased space at the Pickford/Fairbanks Studio but did not own a studio lot. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance, or the expensive production staff at other studios. With the instability in the film industry due to theater divestment, the business was considered risky. In 1955, movie attendance reached its lowest level since 1923. Chaplin sold his 25 percent share during this crisis to Krim and Benjamin for $1.1 million, followed a year later by Pickford who sold her share for $3 million. United Artists went public in 1957 with a $17 million stock and debenture offering. The company was averaging 50 films a year. In 1958, UA acquired Ilya Lopert's Lopert Pictures Corporation, which released foreign films that attracted criticism or had censorship problems. In 1959, after failing to sell several pilots, United Artists offered its first ever television series, The Troubleshooters, and later released its first sitcom, The Dennis O'Keefe Show. In the 1960s, mainstream studios fell into decline and some were acquired or diversified. UA prospered while winning 11 Academy Awards, including five for best picture, adding relationships with the Mirisch brothers, Billy Wilder, Joseph E. Levine and others. In 1961, United Artists released West Side Story, which won a record ten Academy Awards (including Best Picture). In 1960, UA purchased Ziv Television Programs. UA's television division was responsible for shows such as Gilligan's Island, The Fugitive, Outer Limits, and The Patty Duke Show. The television unit had begun to build up a profitable rental library, including Associated Artists Productions, owners of Warner Bros. pre-1950[note 1] features, shorts and cartoons and 231 Popeye cartoon shorts purchased from Paramount Pictures in 1958, becoming United Artists Associated, its distribution division. In 1963, UA released two Stanley Kramer films, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and A Child Is Waiting. In 1964, UA introduced U.S. film audiences to the Beatles by releasing A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965). At the same time, it backed two expatriate North Americans in Britain, who had acquired screen rights to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. For $1 million, UA backed Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli's Dr. No in 1963 and launched the James Bond franchise. The franchise outlived UA's time as a major studio, continuing half a century later. Other successful projects backed in this period included the Pink Panther series, which began in 1964, and Spaghetti Westerns, which made a star of Clint Eastwood. In 1964, the French subsidiary, Les Productions Artistes Associés, released its first production That Man from Rio. The second United Artists logo, used during the company's sale to Transamerica from 1967 until 1982. On the basis of its film and television hits, in 1967, Transamerica Corporation purchased 98 percent of UA's stock. Transamerica selected David and Arnold Picker to lead its studio. UA debuted a new logo incorporating the parent company's striped T emblem and the tagline "Entertainment from Transamerica Corporation". This wording was later shortened to "A Transamerica Company". The following year, in 1968, United Artists Associated was reincorporated as United Artists Television Distribution. UA released another Best Picture Oscar winner in 1967, In the Heat of the Night and a nominee for Best Picture, The Graduate, an Embassy production that UA distributed overseas. In 1970, UA lost $35 million; thus the Pickers were pushed aside for the return of Krim and Benjamin. Other successful pictures included the 1971 screen version of Fiddler on the Roof. However, the 1972 film version of Man of La Mancha was a failure. New talent was encouraged, including Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Sylvester Stallone, Saul Zaentz, Miloš Forman, and Brian De Palma. In 1973, United Artists took over the sales and distribution of MGM's films in Anglo-America until the latter bought UA in 1981 due to the massive losses from Heaven's Gate. Cinema International Corporation assumed international distribution rights for MGM's films and carried on to United International Pictures (made from CIC and UA's International assets being owned by partner MGM) in the 1980s. In 1975, Harry Saltzman sold UA his 50 percent stake in Danjaq, the holding-company for the Bond films. UA was to remain a silent partner, providing money, while Albert Broccoli took producer credit. Danjaq and UA remained the public co-copyright holders for the Bond series, and the 2006 Casino Royale remake shares the copyright with Columbia Pictures. UA released One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975 a film which won the Best Picture Academy Award and earned $56 million. UA followed with the next two years' Best Picture Oscar winners, Rocky and Annie Hall. However, Transamerica was not pleased with UA's releases such as Midnight Cowboy and Last Tango in Paris that were rated X by the Motion Picture Association of America. In these instances, Transamerica demanded the byline "A Transamerica Company" be removed on the prints and in all advertising. At one point, the parent company expressed its desire to phase out the UA name and replace it with Transamerica Films. Krim tried to convince Transamerica to spin off United Artists, but he and Transamerica's chairman could not come to an agreement. Finally in 1978, following a dispute with Transamerica chief John R. Beckett over administrative expenses, UA's top executives, including chairman Krim, president Eric Pleskow, Benjamin and other key officers walked out. Within days they announced the formation of Orion Pictures, with backing from Warner. The departures concerned several Hollywood figures enough that they took out an ad in a trade paper warning Transamerica that it had made a fatal mistake in letting them go. Transamerica inserted Andy Albeck as UA's president. United had its most successful year with four hits in 1979: Rocky II, Manhattan, Moonraker, and The Black Stallion. The new leadership agreed to back Heaven's Gate, a project of director Michael Cimino, which vastly overran its budget and cost $44 million. This led to the resignation of Albeck who was replaced by Norbert Auerbach. United Artists recorded a major loss for the year due almost entirely to the box-office failure of Heaven's Gate. It destroyed UA's reputation with Transamerica and the greater Hollywood community. However, it may have saved the United Artists name, as UA's final head before the sale, Steven Bach, wrote in his book Final Cut that there was talk about renaming United Artists to Transamerica Pictures. In 1980, Transamerica decided to exit the film making business, and put United Artists on the market. Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. purchased the company in 1981. Tracinda also owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1981, United Artists Classics, which had formerly been a division of the company that re-released library titles, was turned into a first-run art film distributor by Nathaniel T. Kwit, Jr. Tom Bernard was hired as the division's head of sales and Ira Deutchman as head of marketing. Later the division added Michael Barker and Donna Gigliotti. Deutchman left to form Cinecom, and Barker and Bernard formed Orion Classics and Sony Pictures Classics. The label mostly released foreign and independent films such as Ticket to Heaven and The Grey Fox, and occasional first-run reissues from the UA library, such as director's cuts of Head Over Heels and Cutter's Way. When Barker and Bernard left to form Orion, the label was briefly rechristened MGM/UA Classics before it ceased operating in the late 1980s. The merged companies became MGM/UA Entertainment Company and in 1982 began launching new subsidiaries: the MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group, MGM/UA Classics and MGM/UA Television Group. Kerkorian also bid for the remaining, outstanding public stock, but dropped his bid, facing lawsuits and vocal opposition. After the purchase, David Begelman's duties were transferred from MGM to MGM/UA. Under Begelman, MGM/UA produced unsuccessful films and he was fired in July 1982. Of the 11 films he put into production, by the time of his termination only Poltergeist proved to be a hit. As part of the consolidation, in 1983, MGM closed and marketed United Artists' long time headquarters at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York City. On August 7, 1985, Ted Turner announced that his Turner Broadcasting System would buy MGM/UA. As film licensing to television became more complicated, Turner saw the value of acquiring MGM's film library for his superstation WTBS. Under the terms of the deal, Turner would immediately sell United Artists back to Kerkorian. In anticipation, Kerkorian installed film producer Jerry Weintraub as the chairman and chief executive of United Artists Corporation in November 1985. Former American Broadcasting Company executive Anthony Thomopoulos was recruited as UA's president Weintraub's tenure at UA was brief; he left the studio in April 1986, replaced by former Lorimar executive Lee Rich. On March 25, 1986, Turner finalized his acquisition of MGM/UA in a cash-stock deal for $1.5 billion and renamed it MGM Entertainment Co. Kerkorian then repurchased most of United Artists' assets for roughly $480 million. As a result of this transaction, the original United Artists ceased to exist. Kerkorian, for all intents and purposes, created an entirely new company implementing the inherited assets; thus, the present day UA is not the legal successor to the original incarnation, though it shares similar assets. Logo from 1987 to 1994. Due to financial community concerns over his debt load, Ted Turner was forced to sell MGM's production and distribution assets to United Artists for $300 million on August 26, 1986. The MGM lot and lab facilities were sold to Lorimar-Telepictures. Turner kept the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library, along with the Associated Artists Productions library, Gilligan's Island and its animated spin-offs, and the RKO Pictures films that United Artists had previously purchased. United Artists was renamed MGM/UA Communications Company (MUCC) and organized into three main units: one television production and two film units. David Gerber headed up the TV unit with Anthony Thomopoulous at UA, and Alan Ladd, Jr. at MGM. Despite a resurgence at the box office in 1987 with Spaceballs, The Living Daylights, and Moonstruck, MUCC lost $88 million. In April 1988, Kerkorian's 82 percent of MUCC was up for sale. MGM and UA were split by July. Eventually, 25 percent of MGM was offered to Burt Sugarman, and producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber, but the plan fell-through. Rich, Ladd, Thomopoulous and other executives grew tired of Kerkorian's antics and began to leave. By summer 1988, the mass exodus of executives started to affect productions, with many film cancellations. The 1989 sale of MGM/UA to the Australian company Qintex/Australian Television Network (owners of the Hal Roach library, which both MGM and UA had distributed in the 1930s) also fell-through, due to the company's bankruptcy later that year. On November 29, 1989, Turner Broadcasting System (the owners of the pre-May 1986 MGM library) attempted to buy entertainment assets from Tracinda Corporation, including MGM/UA Communications Co. (which also included United Artists, MGM/UA Home Video, and MGM/UA Television Productions), but failed. UA was essentially dormant after 1990 and released no films for several years. Eventually, in 1990, Italian promoter Giancarlo Parretti purchased UA. He purchased a small company and renamed it Pathé Communications anticipating a successful purchase of Pathé, the original French company. But his attempt failed and instead he merged MGM/UA with his former company, resulting in MGM-Pathé Communications Co. During the transaction, Parretti overstated his own financial condition and within a year defaulted to his primary lender, Crédit Lyonnais, which foreclosed on the studio in 1992. This resulted in the sale or closure of MGM/UA's string of US theaters. On July 2, 1992, MGM-Pathé Communications was again named Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. In an effort to make MGM/UA saleable, Credit Lyonnais ramped up production and convinced John Calley to run UA. Under his supervision, Calley revived the Pink Panther and James Bond franchises and highlighted UA's past by giving the widest release ever to a film with an NC-17 rating, Showgirls. Credit Lyonnais sold MGM in 1996, again to Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda, leading to Calley's departure. In 1999, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola attempted to buy UA from Kerkorian who rejected the offer. Coppola signed a production deal with the studio instead. In 1999, UA was repositioned as a specialty studio. MGM had just acquired The Samuel Goldwyn Company, which had been a leading distributor of arthouse films. After that name was retired, MGM folded UA into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. G2 Films, the renamed Goldwyn Company and MGM's specialty London operations, was renamed United Artists International. The distributorship, branding, and copyrights for two of UA's main franchises (Pink Panther, and Rocky) were moved to MGM, although select MGM releases (notably the James Bond franchise co-held with Danjaq, LLC and the Amityville Horror remake) carry a United Artists copyright. The first arthouse film to bear the UA name was Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her. United Artists hired Bingham Ray to run the company on September 1, 2001. Under his supervision, it produced and distributed many art films, including Bowling for Columbine, 2002's Nicholas Nickleby, and the winner of that year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, No Man's Land; and 2004's Undertow, and Hotel Rwanda, a co-production of UA and Lions Gate Entertainment, and made deals with companies like American Zoetrope and Revolution Films. Ray stepped down from the company in 2004. In 2005, a partnership of Comcast, Sony and several merchant banks bought United Artists and its parent, MGM, for $4.8 billion. Though only a minority investor, Sony closed MGM's distribution system and folded most of its staff into its own studio. The movies UA had completed and planned for release—Capote, Art School Confidential, The Woods, and Romance and Cigarettes—were reassigned to Sony Pictures Classics. In March 2006, MGM announced that it would return again as a domestic distribution company. Striking distribution deals with The Weinstein Company, Lakeshore Entertainment, Bauer Martinez Entertainment, and other independent studios, MGM distributed films from these companies. MGM continued funding and co-producing projects released in conjunction with Sony's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group on a limited basis and produced tent-poles for its own distribution company, MGM Distribution. Sony had a minority stake in MGM, but otherwise MGM and UA operated under the direction of Stephen Cooper (CEO and minority owner of MGM). On November 2, 2006, MGM announced that Tom Cruise and his long-time production partner Paula Wagner were resurrecting UA. This announcement came after the duo were released from a fourteen-year production relationship at Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures. Cruise, Wagner and MGM Studios created United Artists Entertainment LLC and the producer/actor and his partner owned a 30 percent stake in the studio, with the approval by MGM's consortium of owners. The deal gave them control over production and development. Wagner was named CEO, and was allotted an annual slate of four films with varying budget ranges, while Cruise served as a producer for the revamped studio and the occasional star. UA became the first motion picture studio granted a Writers Guild of America, West (WGA) waiver in January 2008 during the Writers' Strike. On August 14, 2008, MGM announced that Wagner would leave UA to produce films independently. Her output as head of UA was two films, both starring Cruise, Lions for Lambs and Valkyrie. Wagner's departure led to speculation that a UA overhaul was imminent. Since then, UA has served as a co-producer with MGM for two releases: the 2009 remake of Fame and Hot Tub Time Machine—these are the last original films to date to bear the UA banner. A 2011 financial report revealed that MGM reacquired its 100 percent stake in United Artists. MGM stated that it might continue to make new films under the UA brand. On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a 55 percent interest in One Three Media and Lightworkers Media, both operated by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey and partly owned by Hearst Entertainment. The two companies were consolidated into a new television company, United Artists Media Group (UAMG), a revival of the UA brand. Burnett became UAMG's CEO and Downey became president of Lightworkers Media, the UAMG family and faith division. UAMG became the distributing studio for Mark Burnett Productions programming such as Survivor. UAMG was to form an over-the-top faith-based channel. On December 14, 2015, MGM announced that it had acquired the remaining 45 percent stake of UAMG it did not already own and folded UAMG into MGM Television. Hearst, Downey, and Burnett received stakes in MGM collectively valued at $233 million. Additionally, Burnett was promoted to CEO of MGM TV, replacing the outgoing Roma Khanna. The planned over-the-top faith service became a separate entity owned by MGM, Burnett, Downey and Hearst. By August 2018, MGM relaunched the United Artists brand as a digital production and distribution company aimed at creating original motion pictures, television programs, short-form content and digital series as well as building upon MGM's existing IP for distribution across digital platforms. Known as United Artists Digital Studios, the company's projects include mid-form original series Stargate Origins, interactive digital series #WarGames, and scripted series The Baxters (which is also the first for LightWorkers Media) and Weekend at Bernie's. In early October 2018, MGM and Walmart agreed to a partnership for MGM Digital to create exclusive content for Walmart's Vudu and Movies On Us service to begin showing in the first quarter 2019. MGM's and Annapurna Pictures' Mirror distribution venture was rebranded as United Artists Releasing on February 5, 2019, 100 years to the day of United Artists' founding. A majority of UA's post-1952 library is now owned by MGM, while the pre-1952 films (with few exceptions) are now either owned by other companies (such as Turner Entertainment) or are in the public domain. However, throughout the studio's history, UA acted more as a distributor than a film studio, crediting the copyright to the production company responsible. This explains why certain UA releases, such as High Noon (1952) and The Final Countdown (1980), are still under copyright but not owned by MGM.[original research?] The MGM titles which UA distributed from 1973 to 1982 are now owned by Turner. UA originally leased the home video rights to its films to Magnetic Video, the first home video company. Fox purchased Magnetic in 1981 and renamed it 20th Century-Fox Video that year. In 1982, 20th Century-Fox Video merged with CBS Video Enterprises (which earlier split from MGM/CBS Home Video after MGM merged with UA) giving birth to CBS/Fox Video. Although MGM owned UA around this time, UA's licensing deal with CBS/Fox was still in effect. However, the newly renamed MGM/UA Home Video started releasing some UA product, including UA films originally released in the mid-80s. Prior to MGM's purchase, UA licensed foreign video rights to Warner Bros. through Warner Home Video, in a deal that was set to expire in 1991. In 1986, the pre-1950 WB and the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television libraries were purchased by Ted Turner after his short-lived ownership of MGM/UA, and as a result CBS/Fox lost home video rights to the pre-1950 WB films to MGM/UA Home Video. When the deal with CBS/Fox (inherited from Magnetic Video) expired in 1989, the UA released films were released through MGM/UA Home Video. Before the Magnetic Video and Warner Home Video deals in 1980, United Artists had exclusive rental contacts with a small video label called VidAmerica in the US, and another small label called Intervision Video in the UK. for the home video release of 20 titles from the UA library (e.g. The Great Escape, Some Like It Hot, and Hair, along with a few pre-1950 WB titles). United Artists owned and operated two television stations between the years of 1968 and 1977. Legal ID's for the company would typically say "United Artists Broadcasting: an entertainment service of Transamerica Corporation," along with the Transamerica "T" logo. by Gray Television Licensed to Lorain. The call letters stand for United Artists Broadcasting, which founded the station. Kaiser Broadcasting owned a minor stake from 1975 to 1977 following the closure of crosstown WKBF. In 1977, Gaylord Entertainment Company acquired WUAB. Additionally, United Artists Broadcasting also held the permit to KUAB-TV in Houston, Texas, which would have possibly launched sometime around 1969 on channel 20. United Artists also owned one radio station, WWSH in Philadelphia, from 1970 to 1977. UAB/Transamerica left the broadcasting business in 1977 by selling WUAB to the Gaylord Broadcasting Company and WWSH to Cox Enterprises. United Artists Releasing (UAR), formerly Mirror (commonly, given its former use as the third party label), is a film distribution joint venture between Annapurna Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and MGM's Orion Pictures unit with offices in West Hollywood and Annapurna's offices in New York City's Soho neighborhood. The distributor also offers alternative services to the major studios and streaming companies with 10–14 films to be released each year. Mirror was founded as a film distribution joint venture between Annapurna and MGM in December 2017. This marks MGM's return to domestic distribution, in which they expect to have approximately six to eight releases per year starting in March 2018. Annapurna's existing distribution staff would be the initial staff of the joint venture. Films issued by MGM and Annapurna would be distributed respectively under their own names, while films released for third parties would use the Mirror releasing label. Death Wish was MGM's first release by the joint venture on March 2, 2018. Under the initial agreement, the distribution unit reported to MGM and Annapurna on their movies. By the end of January 2019, the distributor released eight titles total. The venture was rebranded as United Artists Releasing on February 5, 2019, 100 years to the day of United Artists' founding. Reasoning behind the move is to better compete against the major studios given their tentpole films that dictate the release calendar. Orion Pictures, an MGM company, would add its distribution staff and films to the venture as part of the change. Pam Kunath, a former Screen Gems executive, was appointed chief operating officer. A board of directors consisting of executives from the partner firms would oversee the three executives running UAR; Kunath, David Kaminow and Erik Lomis, Annapurna's president of marketing and president of distribution, respectively. Missing Link would be the first release under the UAR banner. ^ WB retained a pair of features from 1949 that they merely distributed, and all short subjects released on or after September 1, 1948, in addition to all cartoons released in August 1948. ^ Petski, Denise (July 21, 2017). "MGM Revives 'Stargate' Franchise With 'Stargate Origins' Digital Series & SVOD Platform – Watch The Teaser". Deadline. 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Philadelphia.: Running Press. p. 255. ISBN 9780762434183. Retrieved 2 September 2017. ^ Kamp, David (October 2012). "Fifty Years of Bond, James Bond: The Greatest Film Franchise's Biggest Birthday". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 1, 2017. In 1961, Broccoli worked his connections to secure a meeting in New York with Arthur Krim, the head of United Artists. Krim agreed to a budget of just over a million dollars for a James Bond movie. ^ a b Medavoy, Mike; Young, Josh (June 25, 2013). You're Only as Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films, and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9781439118139. Retrieved October 1, 2017. ^ Welkos, Robert W. "'Heaven's Gate': The film flop that reshaped Hollywood". latimes.com. Retrieved 25 December 2018. ^ Cole, Robert J. (May 16, 1981). "M-G-M is Reported Purchasing United Artists for $350 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2015. ^ a b c d e f g Fleming, Mike Jr; Busch, Anita (September 22, 2014). "MGM Buys 55% Of Roma Downey And Mark Burnett's Empire; Relaunches United Artists". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 4, 2014. ^ a b Fabrikant, Geraldine (August 8, 1985). "Turner Acquiring MGM Movie Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2014. ^ "Handle With Care". American Film. Winter 1980. ^ Siskel, Gene (May 16, 1982). "Hellow, Sweet Art: Small Films Big Success in Chicago". Chicago Tribune. p. 141. (Subscription required (help)). ^ Harmetz, Aljean (July 13, 1982). "Begelman Removed as Chief of United Artists". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2017. ^ "700 Bankers Trust Workers To Be Shifted to Jersey City". The New York Times. March 31, 1983. Retrieved August 17, 2015. ^ a b Prince, Stephen (2000). A New Pot of Gold: Hollywood Under the Electronic Rainbow, 1980 1989 (Paperback ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 14–16. ISBN 9780520232662. Retrieved September 2, 2017. ^ Dellugach, Al (November 12, 1985). "Weintraub Is New Chief of United Artists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 4, 2014. ^ "New Head For United Artists". The New York Times. November 20, 1985. Retrieved January 26, 2015. ^ Harris, Kathryn (April 29, 1986). "Rich Resigns From Lorimar to Become Chairman of UA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2015. ^ a b c Bart, Peter (May 1990). Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM (1st ed.). New York: Morrow. pp. 236–238. ISBN 9780671710606. Retrieved September 2, 2017. (Subscription required (help)). ^ a b c Parsons, Patrick R. (April 5, 2008). Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 507. ISBN 9781592137060. Retrieved 1 October 2017. (Subscription required (help)). ^ Stefoff, Rebecca (1992). Ted Turner, Television's Triumphant Tiger. Ada, Oklahoma: Garrett Educational Corp. p. 55. ISBN 9781560740247. Retrieved October 1, 2017. (Subscription required (help)). ^ Storch, Charles (May 7, 1986). "Turner May Sell Equity In Company". Chicago Tribune. Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved December 15, 2011. ^ Gendel, Morgan (June 7, 1986). "Turner Sells The Studio, Holds on to the Dream". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 15, 2011. ^ Balio, Tino (March 2, 2009). United Artists, Volume 2, 1951–1978: The Company That Changed the Film Industry. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 343. ISBN 9780299230135. Retrieved 2 September 2017. ^ a b c Fabrikant, Geraldine (June 7, 1986). "Turner To Sell Mgm Assets". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2015. ^ "Turner, United Artists Close Deal". Orlando Sentinel. United Press International. August 27, 1986. Retrieved September 20, 2013. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (November 29, 1989). "Turner Buying MGM/UA". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2014. ^ Bart, Peter (April 10, 2013). "MGM: Sometimes a Roaring Silence Is Best". Variety. Retrieved October 1, 2017. ^ "United Artists restructuring by MGM". CNNMoney. June 7, 1999. Retrieved 2015-01-26. ^ "DAILY NEWS **UPDATE**: Bingham Ray and Chris McGurk on the New UA; Solondz and Lipsky Stir "Storytelling" Rating Buzz". IndieWire. August 6, 2001. Retrieved April 7, 2019. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (January 9, 2001). "Shakeup at United Artists; Bingham Ray Exits Company". IndieWire. Retrieved April 7, 2019. ^ "MGM Puts Cruise in Charge of New United Artists". USA Today. November 2, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2010. ^ Petrecca, Laura; Lieberman, David (November 2, 2006). "Tom Cruise, producing partner cut a deal with United Artists". Zap2it. Retrieved October 1, 2017. ^ a b c Fritz, Ben (March 23, 2012). "MGM regains full control of United Artists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2015. ^ "SHOCKER! WGA To Announce Side Deal With Tom Cruise's United Artists; Now Studio Moguls Mad at MGM's Sloan". Deadline Hollywood. January 4, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2010. ^ a b Fleming, Michael (13 August 2008). "Paula Wagner leaves UA". Variety. Retrieved 14 August 2008. ^ Cieply, Michael (April 23, 2008). "The Nazi Plot That's Haunting Tom Cruise and United Artists". The New York Times. Retrieved April 29, 2008. ^ "Valkyrie (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 13, 2009. ^ Highfill, Samantha (17 January 2015). "MGM is launching the United Artists Media Group (again)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2015. ^ McNary, Dave (December 14, 2015). "Mark Burnett Named President of MGM Television". Variety. Retrieved December 14, 2015. ^ Bond, Paul (August 14, 2018). "MGM's Revenue on the Rise, But Net Income Struggles". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 13, 2018. ^ Spangler, Todd (October 8, 2018). "Walmart's Vudu Orders MGM Shows for Free, Ad-Supported Video Service". Variety. Retrieved October 9, 2018. ^ a b c d e f Donnelly, Matt (February 5, 2019). "Annapurna, MGM Joint Distribution Venture Rebrands as United Artists Releasing". Variety. Retrieved February 5, 2019. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (May 31, 1988). "For MGM/UA, Bidders Are Scarce". The New York Times. ^ Bins, Chuck (December 23, 1980). "VCR revolution to provide wide selection for TV viewers". New Castle News. p. 8. ^ "This Month" (pdf). Panorama. October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2017. ^ Kopp, George (October 4, 1980). "Europe Moves Forward in Copyright Levy Push". Billboard: 87. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved October 1, 2017. ^ a b c d e Fleming Jr, Mike (February 5, 2019). "MGM, Annapurna Set Joint Venture To Theatrically Distribute Under United Artists Releasing Banner". Deadline. Retrieved February 6, 2019. ^ a b McNary, Dave (October 31, 2017). "MGM, Annapurna Form U.S. Distribution Partnership". Variety. Retrieved February 6, 2019. ^ a b c d Galuppo, Mia (February 5, 2019). "MGM, Annapurna Team for Distribution Label United Artists Releasing". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2019. ^ "MGM Ramps Up Theatrical Distribution & Pacts With Annapurna; Easy Set Up To Roll Out Next Bond Film". ^ Jr, Mike Fleming; Lodderhose, Diana (February 11, 2017). "MGM Headlocks World Rights To 'Fighting With My Family' In $17.5M Deal: Berlin". Deadline. Retrieved February 7, 2019. ^ Ellingson, Annlee (February 5, 2019). "MGM, Annapurna revive United Artists for joint distribution venture". L.A. Biz. American City Business Journals. Retrieved February 14, 2019. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; D'Alessandro, Anthony (2019-02-15). "'Bond 25' Looks To Shake Up Easter 2020". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-02-16. ^ "'Legally Blonde 3' Sets Valentine's Day 2020 Release Date". June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018. Bach, Steven. Final Cut. New York: Morrow, 1985. Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1976. Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1987. Berg, A. Scott. Goldwyn. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988. Gabler, Neal. An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood. New York: Crown Publishers, 1988. Schickel, Richard. D.W. Griffith: An American Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983. Thomson, David. Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick. New York: Alfred A, Knopf, 1992. Wikimedia Commons has media related to United Artists. United Artists Corporation Records 1919–1965 — at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.

2019-04-19T12:16:00Z

http://wiki-offline.jakearchibald.com/wiki/United_Artists

Why do people write a book? Do they want to talk about the characters in their head? Do they get the urge to elaborate on the idea that has been gestating in their mind? Or is it because they want a story to be told? Well, my reasons for writing are not any of the above. Who is qualified to write a book? Anyone with a story idea, who has written a lot before, or probably holding a literature degree… Or something similar. A book is usually written by someone who has dabbled in writing previously. I am Riddhi, a doctor. Why is a doctor writing a book? What is she going to say? What is her purpose? I am writing a book as a gift to my soul sister. This is just a few chapters from the long life of Adhira, my best friend since God knows when, and one of the women I admire and love more than myself. My purpose, you ask? I want to tell this story – her life story, and she would never do it, considering it narcissistic. But it is too good to not be told. So for some time, a doctor has become a writer. In these pages, you can travel with me as I share my life experiences, talking about my guardian angel, Adhira and how I am who I am, because of her presence in my life. Read on to know the story of how a girl who had everything lacked the most important thing in life and how she lost and found love, when it mattered. A book is not enough for me to write about Adhira, because I could take ages to describe her divine looks and ethereal presence, or her large heart that accommodated all of her friends, working to make their dreams come true. I could talk about how selfless she always was, putting others before herself and always thinking of how she could make everyone around her happy. I could talk about how her beauty made heads turn and hearts beat faster and how she made everyone tongue tied by her mere presence. Or I could tell you about how she was the epitome of human character. If ever there was a guidebook for humans, Adhira would be the role model. But since I cannot contain all that in a few pages, I relish the thought of being lucky enough to have her in my life, and instead, talk about the time when I almost lost her, and saw the strong woman crumble and rise back like the phoenix she was, losing the love where she most needed it and still managed to grit her teeth through all that because she didn’t want to hurt others. Her journey was always an inspiration to me, every step of every day. But since I wanted her life to touch you like it had mine, I am talking about how she surmounted all the horrific odds and is still fighting when most of us would have broken down. This book is more a gift to myself than her, because I got to talk about how she influenced the lives around her for the better and there can be no better joy than that. If this story makes any of you realise the truth about the Adhira you might be lucky enough to have in your life, hold on to them, cherish them for they are rare, almost one in a billion. If this story inspires any of you to become someone’s Adhira, my happiness would know no bounds. It was 7:30 in the evening. The clouds gathered in the dusky sky and the weather became extremely pleasant. Adhira was leaving for Gurgaon after completing her work in Meerut. She and Riddhi would meet in Delhi in between and she would continue to head towards her home in Gurgaon. Riddhi was worried about her so she called to know where Adhira was. “Hey Riddhi!” Adhira’s chirpy voice sounded over the phone. “Hi! You were supposed to be here by this time. Where are you? Why haven’t you reached? Is everything alright?” Riddhi asked tersely. Adhira always insisted that Riddhi asked too many questions for everything and she had to think and decide about which to answer first. “Gosh! Sometimes you are so hard to handle,” Riddhi said. “Take care and drive safe.” Riddhi said softly. Adhira cut the call and increased the volume on her car stereo. Her soul loved music and she could not survive without it. She liked music in any form but Bollywood music topped her list of favourites. She loved the songs of the hit duo Vishal & Shekhar and was their crazy fan, having memorised not only their song’s lyrics but also other details about them. In spite of being in the same field, she never had a chance to meet them. But she was not trying too hard for it. She felt that meeting them would diminish the craze she had because human psychology works in weird ways. We are only crazy about something until we have it. Once we get our wish fulfilled, we really start losing interest. Adhira never wanted that to happen. Adhira placed music as one of the primary elements needed for survival, right along with food, air and shelter. She had her reasons for letting music engulf her life though. She had music around her from morning till late evening and the last several years of her life had been dedicated to music and it had become her lifeline. By profession, Adhira is a Music Arranger. She had her own studio called ‘Rhythms’ and had created it for people who had a passion for singing but lacked a platform for exposure of their talent. She gave priority to the newcomers like college students who could not afford the big corporate banner recordings and didn’t know how to approach the music directors in the industry. She believed that the best of talent came from that pool and wanted to give them the wings to fly. Her good intentions and God’s kindness that followed those with good motives made her studio one of the most successful and famous studios in the whole Delhi NCR area. Artists from in and around Delhi would come to Rhythms for musical assistance. Some music directors who were her friends and acquaintances would also come there. She never thought her studio would become such a big hit when she founded it. She was still a bit dubious about it but her friends and family were proud of her nevertheless. Adhira was driving along slowly when she saw a car idling on the roadside. It seemed familiar so she stopped her car. And she was right. She saw her ex colleagues, once good friends but now just mere acquaintances because of their busy schedules. She approached them to enquire whether they had a problem and they were shocked to see her there. “Mrs. Bhargav! You here?” Nikhil asked with a feeling of surprise. It felt strange to be addressed by an ex colleague and old friend as Mrs. Bhargav instead of her first name. It was weirder than you would imagine it would be to be addressed by a surname prefixed with a Mrs., especially if it said by an old friend. It might be strange, but Adhira could not deny the reality in it. “Hi! I was just passing by and saw your car. What happened? Is there a problem?” Adhira enquired. “We think so,” he replied. “Can I have a look at your car?” Adhira asked again. Nikhil and Priya looked at her, surprised. They looked at her as if she were an alien or was speaking Chinese. “To the airport. Priya has a flight for Mumbai.” Nikhil explained. “No, no! We will manage something from here. Don’t worry,” Nikhil responded suddenly. It might have been the repeated offer or the seriousness of the situation, they took up Adhira’s offer for help. “Ok. But my car?” He asked instantly. Adhira pointed towards the mechanic’s garage, which was few meters ahead. “It happens,” Adhira said with a smile. They pushed the car to the garage and returned to Adhira’s car. She spent her spare time teaching singing and keyboard lessons to NGO kids, which she had funded since the past several years. She also gave management training to new employees from her former office where she had worked before starting her own studio. Adhira valued her relationships a lot. Even after resigning from her old job, she helped her ex colleagues for the sake of friendship. Thankfully it was her last class for the group and she would not be going there for some time. She raised her chin against the wind to feel the fresh breeze on her face. She felt her stress ebb away and noticed the magic in the air that day. They got into the car and Adhira got behind the wheel. Nikhil took the shotgun seat and surprised Adhira. Many times during the journey, they came face to face but looked away, never bringing themselves to talk. Adhira actually detested people who sat brooding in the car and made everyone else silent too. She felt upset to realise that they would not be talking this time either. The silence was too deep to be broken. There used to be a lot between them but then silence took over. She watched him furtively. He had changed a lot. His languished face did not hold a smile any longer. It had been three years since the last time Adhira had seen him in his office, when she had gone there for some work. Since then so much had changed in him. His face had been so bright and full of life. Adhira wanted to ask about him. But she kept quiet because she really did not have any rights to do so. She knew him well, their lives had passed by very close to each other. But that did not hold good then. Adhira snapped out of her thoughts when her phone buzzed. The name ‘Neeti’ flashing on her screen dragged her attention to it. Neeti was her shadow at work and now a very quintessential part of her life, for she represented Adhira in her absence. She was Adhira’s manager, secretary and everything in between. Adhira relied on her completely where her studio was concerned and Neeti became a companion she could trust blindly. Adhira attended the call and it automatically connected through her car’s stereo via Bluetooth. “There’s a problem,” Neeti said in a panicked voice. When Neeti was serious, she did not bother with the pleasantries. “Neeti, relax! Take a deep breath and tell me everything.” Adhira suggested in a soothing voice. “Adhira, there is a major problem in our main DAW.” Neeti informed tersely. “And what’s that?” Adhira asked. “Ok! So call the tech guys, Neeti. Why are you calling me?” Adhira said, grinning. “I know what to do, but the thing is that the repair guy will come only tomorrow and we have a major recording today in about an hour.” Neeti almost hyperventilated. “Oh! What sort of recording?” Adhira asked, wracking her brains. “Shekhar is recording in our studio! Why? Why is he not recording in his own?” Adhira was surprised and shocked, some of the panic setting in. “Please, I don’t know anything about this. Tell me some solution; I am totally blank at this time.” Neeti whispered tersely. “Ok, tell him to use my workstation.” Adhira suggested. “Are you sure?” Neeti asked. Though surprised, Neeti had no other option. She knew Adhira was making a huge concession by giving permission to use her workstation. She never allowed anybody near it. So she was not really surprised to hear the next words. “Yes, but only him and nobody else.” Adhira warned her. “Yes Ma’am. I know very well. But what shall I say if he asks about this change?” Neeti asked carefully. “I’ll talk to him about that. You don’t worry. He will not mind it. And if any other recording is scheduled, arrange it in one of the other rooms. I will come tomorrow to see what we can do. Ok then, bye.” Adhira disconnected the call. She was just about to dial Shekhar when she saw his incoming call. He had beat her to it. “Hey, I was about to dial your number,” Adhira greeted him. “I hope I didn’t dial a wrong number?” Shekhar joked. “Hahaha, don’t get confused. You got it right.” Adhira smirked. “Why were you calling me?” he asked directly. “No, first you tell!” she replied. “Nothing specific, I just wanted to know whether you were in the studio or not?” Shekhar asked casually. “No, I am on my way to the airport.” Adhira informed him. “Not yet… Just going to drop my friend.” She replied. “Oh! Actually I’m here in Delhi and about to go to your studio.” Shekhar informed. “Is there anything you don’t know about?” He wondered. “Incidentally everything related to Rhythms.” She replied, grief coloring her tone. “And why is that so? Are you in a mood to switch your profession?” he asked consciously. “No, it’s because Neeti handles everything and I just follow her.” Adhira replied, mostly as an excuse. “You are depending completely on her. Aren’t you?” he pointed out. “Yeah, you are right. But I have no choice. I have to manage other things as well. Like right now I am coming from somewhere.” She explained. “I can understand. By the way, why were you calling me?” he asked. “Oh, that… Actually there’s a little problem in the main workstation. You have to use mine for today. I hope you don’t mind.” She requested. “Are you sure?! Look, I don’t have any problem using your workstation but I thought you didn’t like anyone near your workstation. So, how can I?” he voiced his obvious surprise. “Don’t embarrass me. So… Tell me something, what are you up to? Why are you recording here?” She inquired. “We are working on my next personal album. You forgot?” He chided her gently. “Yes…yes… I almost forgot. Sorry!” She said apologetically. “I have to catch my flight at 10 in the morning. I wanted to record something before leaving for the US for my concert. Please re-arrange the songs and make it good for my listeners before I come back.” Shekhar replied. “Ok, I got it. Will make it happen,” Adhira assured him. “I don’t think I can make it. But I’ll try anyway.” Adhira tried to excuse herself. “See ya then. Bye.” Shekhar bid a goodbye and disconnected the call. Adhira turned to look at Nikhil’s and Priya’s faces. They were full of questions and doubts. Priya was the first one to begin actually asking them, though. Adhira was seeing Priya after a very long time but nothing had changed in her. She was still the same as always, impatient and curious. She had never been able to hold back the urge to ask a question that was in her mind and that nature had not changed over the years. Adhira knew Priya from the days they had worked together in the same company. But something unforeseen intervened and they had to part ways completely. The two so called best friends were forced to choose different life paths and had not been in contact since then. Until today. But Nikhil and Priya were always connected with each other, even after Priya’s dismissal. In fact, everything was still the same except the equation between Nikhil and Adhira who had an unfortunate and unforgivable past together. It was a past Adhira had forgotten but Nikhil had not yet let go of his guilt. He did not like the fact that he was left to live with shame and guilt and could not accept the fact that Adhira had managed to forget him so easily and move on. He did not have the guts to face her but masked it by not talking to her. Adhira had forgiven Nikhil the day she saw that he was happy with his girlfriend. She put his happiness first and was happy with his joys. But that did not absolve Nikhil of his shame and guilt, which he held like a burden to this day. “How do you know him?” Priya asked again, bringing Adhira back to the present. Adhira told her that she and Shekhar had been friends since their college days. But that information did not satisfy Priya, who was ready with her next question. “What do you do nowadays? And how are the things like studio, recording, editing and workstations related to you?” Priya asked in a single breath. She was obviously curious and wanted all answers. Adhira patiently dealt with her questions one by one. Nikhil was not as excited as Priya because Priya belonged to the age group of fans who enjoyed Shekhar’s songs the most. Shekhar usually had a large fan following consisting mostly of females because of the romantic numbers he had composed and sung. Adhira enjoyed answering Priya’s unending questions because there would be no one talking in the car otherwise. At least Priya was making an effort at conversation. Adhira could live alone with music but only listening to music and not talking with anyone, especially when travelling in the same vehicle was not a nice gesture. They seemed to have a lot to discuss about Priya’s COA (Centre of Attraction) Shekhar. “How is Varun?” A gruff voice suddenly muted both of them. They stopped their conversation and looked at Nikhil’s face. “How is Varun?” the voice asked again. It came from Adhira’s left side. This time it was Nikhil and not Priya who had surprised Adhira. She had thought Nikhil would never speak to her. Even today, he hadn’t spoken a word since the time he climbed into the car and now he was asking a question. And that question was about Varun, Adhira’s husband, who has been living in the US for the last three years. “He is good. He’s in the US since three years.” Adhira gently replied. “Then why are you here?” Priya asked. Adhira did not like giving a detailed explanation to anyone except her close friends and these people did not fall under that category. They were merely ‘acquaintances’, a politically correct way of calling friends who had become strangers. That was the reason she stopped with that single sentence. “So, is your work more important than your marriage?” Nikhil asked sarcastically. Adhira only smiled at his question because she understood the real intentions behind it. In this patriarchal society, no matter how successful a woman became, her real worth was measured based on how successful she was in handling her marriage, children, husband and other relationships. These were supposed to be her real degrees. As if getting married and having children were sole reasons for her existence in the world. The society did not allow girls to leave their footprints in the annals of the world that easily. This was not the first time Adhira had faced that question from a man. This had become a commonplace question since she had stepped out into the professional world. It was one of the most annoying questions, according to her. But thankfully, Varun did not mind these things. He was different. He supported her at her every step. Adhira was Varun’s choice. Theirs had been a love marriage. Though Varun’s family did not like Adhira much, they had to adjust with his choice because he was their only son. His parents treated her with a cold formality and they were both aware of that. But they chose not to complain about it to each other because they had a very strong mutual understanding. Their marriage was always a perfect marriage and her friends always felt that Adhira loved Varun more than he loved her because she was the one who always compromised. Adhira denied this. According to her Varun was far more caring and loving than she was. That was probably the reason why she never questioned Varun. Adhira was not much of a family person. She loved to be alone; maybe it was because she had always lived alone. Her friends were her only family besides her nanny who lived with her. She belonged to an army family; her father was always being transferred from one place to another. But she lived in Dehradun with her Nanny for the sake of her studies as her mother had to be with her father wherever he went. According to Adhira, only Riddhi understood her completely. Riddhi knew all her secrets. But it was not true. The way she handled and cared for her relations – Riddhi could never do that. In-fact, nobody else could do that. While talking to Priya, Adhira remembered that she hadn’t told Riddhi about her sudden change of plan. She called her but her number was busy, so she kept the phone on the car dashboard and was again lost in her songs. She pumped up the volume of her stereo, which was playing one of her favourite songs, Zehnaseeb, from the movie HTP. She loved that song, a song which compelled her to re-live her old golden memories of her courtship with Varun. A song which was magical enough to let her forget all her worries and took her to another world of magic called love. It’s true that sometimes the words left unspoken are the most important ones that should have been said much earlier to avoid the consequences of the destiny. If we love a person and care for them we should always let them know before it is too late. Confessions of this kind are far better than repentance. Adhira had just crossed few miles, when Riddhi called her to give the most awaited news of her life. She picked it up on the second ring and even before Riddhi could speak, Adhira understood from her exhilarated tone that she was about to tell her something amazing. “What happened, Riddhi?” She asked. “’yes’ to whom?” She asked, surprised. “Today… Actually, just now! He proposed to me and I finally accepted!” Riddhi rushed through her sentences in her excitement. Hearing this Adhira jumped on the car seat with joy. “OMG! You said yes to Siddharth? Did you? You must be joking!” She asked, sounding really happy and amused. “No, I am damn serious. I accepted his proposal.” Riddhi solemnly assured. Riddhi was really surprised by the reaction she got from her. “What are you saying, girl?” Adhira asked, her tone not able to mask the obvious shock and surprise. “Over the phone?” she asked, making sure. “No, he came to my house with the proposal,” Riddhi replied. Now, that was the most impudent news for Adhira. “What! Siddharth visited you without informing me? He was supposed to come here day after tomorrow. That’s strange! I mean, wait, I… I am confused. What am I saying! Well, congrats darling and give me just 5 minutes. Let me first talk to Siddharth,” Adhira said and disconnected the call. Adhira’s reaction was to be expected. After all, Siddharth was like a brother to her. She was his world. They were not related by blood but they were bound by destiny. They had one of the purest relationships anyone had ever seen, having a strong, deep emotional connection that transcended petty idiosyncrasies. As far as, Siddharth had never done anything without informing Adhira. But this time, he had returned without her knowledge and this hurt and worried her. She called him immediately. “I can’t believe you have become so irresponsible!” Adhira scolded him directly. “Hello Di, I know you must be very angry with me. But believe me! This was not planned at all. It happened so suddenly. I just forgot to inform you at the moment. I am really sorry Di…” Siddharth said apologetically, trying to calm down. He knew she would be angry for what he had done. “It is okay this time, Siddharth! But don’t ever repeat your mistake!” She warned him. “I know, she told me already.” Adhira replied softly. “Di, is she sure about her decision?” Siddharth asked, suddenly hesitant. “If she was not sure, she would not have accepted your proposal.” Adhira convinced him. “I am still jittery.” Siddharth confessed. “You don’t have to be. She’ll never leave you alone. I won’t let that happen.” Adhira promised him. “Don’t overreact,” Adhira admonished him. “Siddharth, have some patience, dear. How can all this be possible in such a short span of time?” Adhira asked, nonplussed. “He is right! I want everything to happen soon, too!” Riddhi reiterated what Siddharth had said. “Are you guys mad or what? You are both talking about marriage as if it is some kind of a joke!” Adhira seemed exasperated. “I know how odd it must sound to you. But trust me when I say I have never been as sure about any decision as I am about this. I don’t want to over think, get confused and have second thoughts. Let’s make it happen. I don’t even care about anyone else. Except you.” Riddhi’s voice sounded desperate and pleading. Siddharth seconded what she had said, adding a few pleading words on his own. Adhira was silent for a moment before she spoke next. Siddharth and Riddhi heaved a sigh of relief. They had successfully convinced Adhira. “I’ll talk to Dad. He will call you.” Riddhi told her. “Have you guys decided on any place or anything? I mean what kind of wedding do you have in mind?” Adhira asked. “It will be simple and only our friends will be allowed. No relatives. No melodrama. And I was wondering if we could do it at our farmhouse? Let’s call all our friends there. We haven’t met in so long. We can spend some quality time together. It’ll be fun. What say, Adhira?” Riddhi asked. “It’s a great idea. I’ll arrange everything. Wait, I’ll just connect the others to this call.” Adhira agreed and started connecting everyone on call. As time passed, she grew more and more excited and thrilled with the idea. They had never seen her getting so excited about anything so far. She called up Gunjan who in turn connected Mohit, Ritu, and Mayank. Riddhi connected Abhimanyu, Nikita, and Varun. They all have been friends for long and they were more like a family to each other. Some of them were friends since early days and some joined later. Adhira, Siddharth, Abhimanyu and Riddhi were together since the time they were not sure what friendship meant. The others came into their life during college days. When they had grown a bit and started realising the value of friendship, love and care. They met Gunjan, Mohit, Ritu, Mayank and Shekhar and their friendship grew. They have a strong group, their relationships built on trust, loyalty and honestly that matured with time. But even amongst this group, Abhimanyu and Adhira had the strongest bond. Their soul-mate like bonding could easily make the world understand their friendship. They mirrored each other in personalities. They were the best companions, competitors, admirers and what not! They are poles apart but together, they created a great example for others. A perfect Taurus – Scorpio bonding, they were the opposites that attracted each other. Their friendship has seen many seasons, they have been through many rough, dull and bright phases of life but nothing could break their trust towards each other. They have been together since childhood and will probably be together till eternity. Abhimanyu believes that their bond is strong and unbreakable because of the constant efforts made by Adhira in their friendship. He respected and admired her in every possible way. Somewhere, he is true. Adhira binds each and everyone together in a single thread called friendship, she captured all of them in a single frame. They filled everyone in with the latest news. The happiness and excitement in the air were infectious. This was turning out to be the most awaited news for their group. Siddharth had already proposed four times in the past few years but Riddhi had rejected every time. So this came as a pleasant surprise for everyone. A few minutes later, Varun took his leave from the call as he had a flight to board. The others left one by one. Only Siddharth, Abhimanyu, Adhira, and Riddhi remained on the call. Five years back, something happened between these two friends that compelled them to stay apart. Although it did not make a big difference in their hearts, it hurt their egos so badly that it was preventing their patch-up. In the last five years, Abhimanyu and Adhira had never once spoken. They had not even spoken over phone. Riddhi was sure Adhira was cursing her for connecting them in a conference call. But she really could not think of another way to get them together. “Why are you blaming me Riddhi? What do I do if someone else’s ego is hurt?” Adhira snapped at Riddhi. “Adhira, come on! You were best buddies once!” Riddhi tried to make her realize their importance in each other’s life. But the whole thing turned ugly. “Some best buddies we were! He hasn’t called me ONCE in the last five years.” She blurted, letting out a strangled sob. “Neither did you.” Abhimanyu said, directly to her. As if that was her undoing, Adhira started talking to him. “Why should I? It’s your mistake. You started shouting at me without understanding the situation. I was just listening to you. You should apologize.” She accused angrily. “Oh, really? You were wasting your time and emotions over a stupid person who did not give you the respect you deserved, but you were so deluded by him. What else was I supposed to do?” Abhimanyu demanded hotly. “I was not after him. I wasn’t even interested to talk about him even back then. It was YOU who started the conversation. I was simply sharing my views with you!” She explained, exasperatedly. Tears rolled down Adhira’s face. She was usually a very strong person but sometimes, in front of her loved ones, she broke down, unable to explain and prove herself. They were both discussing their last conversation that had ended in a verbal fight. Last time they had both spoken, Abhimanyu had found out that Adhira was still connected to Nikhil and nurtured feelings for him somewhere deep inside her heart. Yes, it was the same Nikhil who was sitting beside Adhira at that moment. She was unable to remove him from her life. It was mostly a one-sided affair from Nikhil’s side because Adhira kept her feelings hidden. Still, it wasn’t good according to Abhimanyu. He had just been showing his concern for her but uttered certain things he shouldn’t have. She always knew what was good for her and did not need much of and advice. She had already distanced herself from Nikhil at that point but had simply been sharing her feeling. “I tried calling you after that but your phone was switched off for hours!” Adhira said firmly. “And how is that my fault? You should carry your charger with you always if your phone has such a short short battery life.” She snapped. “That was funny,” Abhimanyu smirked. “So are you.” She shot back. They continued fighting in that vein for almost half an hour. But slowly Abhimanyu realised that Siddharth and Riddhi were also on the same call and were perhaps frustrated with their bickering. But they didn’t have much of a choice than to listen to their Mahabharata. “Okay… Leave the others out of this. Call me separately and we will continue.” Abhimanyu said. “Why should I? You call me! Damn your ego, Abhimanyu!” Adhira retorted, her ego preventing her from conceding. They ended the hour long con-call. And then Abhimanyu called Adhira. He was talking to his best friend after 5 years and a half hour call would not be enough. Though they were fighting like cats and dogs, Riddhi knew they would patch up soon. Sometimes, you faked anger towards your loved ones for some time but once they start talking, every strand of anger melts away. As in the case of Adhira and Abhimanyu, their anger melted away in the emotions that surfaced. The small misunderstanding seemed insignificant in front of their long lasting friendship. “Is your ego gone, Abhimanyu? How did you call me now?” Adhira asked without preamble. “Look, I am really sorry. I should have understood your situation, especially when I knew you don’t have anyone else to share your feelings with. But I could not. A lot of things were happening in my life too and I could not handle them all…” Abhimanyu said apologetically. “What kind of solution. You are the problem. How can I say?” Adhira said, smirking. “Listen. I really want to sort it out.” Abhimanyu requested. “Me, too! But the problem is, you have committed so many mistakes that it is hard to understand which one to forget first. Tell me something. Have you ever made an effort to talk to us? Did you ask about how things are going here? How is Siddharth? What he wants to do with his life? His future plans and ambitions? Have you ever asked about my studio? About how I am managing it all alone? You have never asked me any of these so far. Don’t start now. I have outgrown your support and don’t need it anymore. Adhira was so angry with Abhimanyu that she did not even care about the people sitting in her car. “I know I gave you thousands of reasons to hate me. I hurt everyone, especially you. But please, give me one last chance to explain myself too.” Abhimanyu said after a long pause. “How many chances should I give you?” She asked, irritated. “Last one. I swear I’ll never let you down.” He assured. “No, this time you need to be punished.” Adhira put a condition for their patch-up. “I agree. Accepted.” He said in haste. “Without knowing, you might have to pay a big price for this.” She warned him again. “Anything to make you happy.” He pacified her. “I’ll see to it. Now put the phone down. You can’t compensate 5 years of absence in a single phone call.” She said. “There were so many moments in the last five years, the magnitude of which this call cannot fill in.” He said emphatically. “I guess, it’s time to say a temporary goodbye now. We’ll talk again later. Bye and take care of yourself.” Abhimanyu signed off in haste. It surprised Adhira too, but she didn’t stew over it, mostly because she knew Abhimanyu had always been impulsive and was used to it. She ended the conversation and turned up the volume of music in her car. Nikhil and Priya had been silent for the entire time. They had a lot of queries but could not ask anything. Nikhil, especially, had a lot to ask because his name was mentioned in the conversation but he had lost the rights to ask anything of Adhira, who was currently preoccupied with other thoughts. She was thinking about Siddharth and Riddhi. She was very happy by their decision to get married. She had always wanted it, especially after Riddhi’s traumatic past that still haunted her. She always wanted to find someone who could love Riddhi more than anyone in this world. And thankfully Siddharth is the one. Adhira always believed that Siddharth is the one who would never break Riddhi’s heart. She believed that he is the one who will hold her hand till eternity. Riddhi completely relied on her beliefs and instincts. Deep inside her heart Riddhi also believed that Siddharth was the one whom God had chosen for her.

2019-04-19T15:28:33Z

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