text:
Diffusion: Murder and Capital Punishment Essay
Submitted By Mina-Wagdy
He believes in capital punishment as a fair punishment to murderers. He thinks that capital punishment will create a safer environment and it will protects the lives of the innocent people. He believes that life of innocent people is so precious and the life of the murderer is not that important anymore after committing that vicious crime. He thinks that death penalty is a necessity. Murderers don't deserve to live because they caused a huge harm to other innocent people. Death is so frightening and death will discourage people from committing any more murders. On the other hand, Jeffery Reiman doesn't agree with the concept of death penalty. He doesn't think that the death penalty will discourage people from committing more crimes. His opinion is based on a study that compared death penalty with life in prison. The study proved that there is no significant difference between the two punishments when it comes to the social impacts of the two different punishments. He believes that life in prison is scary enough and that will create safer environment to the citizens. The statistics of the numbers of the murder crimes are the same in the states that support capital punishment and the states that oppose capital punishment. He believes that being locked up in jail is an enough and a fair punishment. He believes that the punishment of the murderer should be much more stronger than having the death penalty. He believes that capital punishment is an easy pass to death without feeling any actual pain. He also believes that capital punishment is an inhumane way to punish humans.
2- rich countries have to offer help to other countries that suffer from financial problems. A lot of poor countries suffer from the lack of food which could cause death in many cases. The rich countries should help the poor courtiers by providing more economical and financial opportunities which will reduce the rate of poverty in a very significant way. The right economical techniques could reduce the numbers of hunger and starvation in these poor countries. singer doesn't believe in making huge sacrifices in order to save the poor. He agrees that rich people should do charity to help the poor. He believes that it is a moral obligation to help those who are in need. He doesn't like the idea of absolute poverty and he thinks that it could be very preventable. He believes that humans have a problem with the increasing numbers of human population. These poor countries suffer from the fast spread of dangerous illnesses. The lack of food also causes famines, malnutrition and death of millions of children. Hardin believes that we have lots of poor people in this world. He also believes that we have a small portion of rich people in this world. The poor people constitute two thirds of the population. The rich people form one third of the population. He believes that rich people should be picky when it comes to helping the poor. Rich people should help the neediest poor more than the average poor. He gave an example of a boat that hundred people want to travel on it. The boat can only have ten people on it. If the boat has more than ten people, the boat will sink eventually. The solution will be having only ten people who really need to travel on that boat. He believes that children , women and old people deserve to have more help than other people who are less needy for help. That means letting people die because that will solve the overpopulation problem that humanity suffers from. Abelson believes that humans have enough economical resources to help everyone. children ,women and old people should be prioritized and other poor people should have their fair share. He believes that helping poor people shouldn't be based only on giving them money. Rich people should help the poor by fighting ignorance, poor public health, pollution and dietary imbalance.…
Related Documents: Diffusion: Murder and Capital Punishment Essay
Capital Punishment Essay
Capital Punishment 3 United States government needs to go the opposite way because the United States government is in a lot of debt with other countries because of the wars. Many people can be wrongly accused of committing crimes and given capital punishment. "More then 170 people have been exonerated by DNA testing after being misidentified before conviction. In most murder cases there is no DNA present, only 10% of all murder cases there is DNA available (Cardozo)." If America doesn't completely…
Capital Punishment Marylyn vos Savant once stated that "capital punishment is the source of many an argument, both good and bad." Most people would agree the act of an individual taking another individuals life is wrong. Since childhood we, as humans, have been taught that the act of taking another person's life is murder. So, what is the death penalty, or rather capital punishment? Capital punishment is not a good form of punishment for a plethora of reasons. Yes, the death penalty should…
Essay on Capital Punishment
When we hear the term capital punishment or the death penalty we often think of people being executed for the horrific crimes they committed. Justice is served. In ancient times any person could be sentenced to death for any charges brought about by their accusers. Often, many innocent people were condemned to die along with the guilty. Now that we are in the modern era, society has taken a different stance on capital punishment. Many countries have abolished the death penalty on the basis…
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Capital Punishment Mirella Reyes California State University of East Bay Capital Punishment Capital Punishment is the execution of a person convicted of committing a capital crime. Capital punishment has been around for many years since the first settlers came into the US. Many people had been executed for many different crimes that they have committed, and there has also been many people that ware innocent and that were sent to the death row. This is a topic that is…
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Capital Punishment Capital punishment is and has been a major discussion point for many years and I personally believe it is time to bring it back. Not only will it lower the level of crime rates but it may also grant the victims' families a bit of justice. Capital punishment should be brought back but only be used for the worst of crimes so it will only take place for the most heartless criminals. Although the death penalty may seem like a good option to put off crimes the statistics show otherwise…
Capital Punishment When it comes to capital punishment I am against it. I don't believe that someone should be killed for committing a murder because that just makes us a killer as well. If I were for capital punishment I guess it would be a way to send a warning to future criminals. Although murder still happens, maybe the person committing the crime might think about the consequences and decided to let the victim free because in the back of their head they think about the capital punishment.…
Capital punishment is a legal practice in which prisoners are executed as punishment by the state in accordance with judicial practice when they are convicted of committing a crime what is known as a "capital crime." People may also use the term "death penalty" to refer to capital punishment. The judicial order that someone be punished in this procedure is a death sentence, while the actual process of killing the person is an execution .Worldwide, this practice is extremely controversial, with a…
Capital punishment or the death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The crime is ultimately decided from the state but normally includes murder, rape, mutiny, etc. The practice was popular during the ancient era and into the medieval era which often included some form of torture and ended with a beheading. Countries still utilize these exact methods even today, most being in Asia. Other countries still favor the use of capital punishment…
Death Capital Punishment has always been a controversial topic in American history. From the Salem Witch Trials of burning individuals accused of practicing witchcraft, to lethal injections for persons found guilty of a heinous crime. These sentencing are based on the ancient quote/belief, "an eye for an eye" meaning if a person killed any other person then he should also be killed. Capital punishment was also established to detour criminal activity and to protect society. I believe that capital punishment…
and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments" (Bedeau 2). The death penalty is an unconstitutional punishment and should not even be considered to be part of the United States' justice system. Although the death penalty can bring closure to a few relatives of murder victims, the execution of those convicted of murder violates basic human rights, can come at the cost of incompetent lawyers and, in many cases, the lives of innocent people. Capital punishment, better known…


During our workshop with Robert Ebendorf at the Southwest School of Art and Craft, Gary Schott (the metals department Chair) suggested to all the participants at the workshop to create a charm.
All the charms were used to make a necklace that we gave to Robert as a surprise thank you gift from all of us.
We all loved the idea and each one of the participants made a charm.
My charm was a little bronze clay tree of life that I attached to a copper background with a rivet and a tab.
I wanted to give Robert something that is close to my heart and that represents my work.
Robert was very surprised and overwhelmed by our gift. It was a pleasure to look at him while he was touching the charms and talking about each one of them. I was very lucky to be right next to him!
THANK YOU Robert for such an amazing experience!
Awesome! I'm so glad you had a great time and that you were able to experience this with him! Fabulous! Love your piece too!
that's fabulous! What a treasure!
that's very cool Lorena... it's definitely a little piece of each student. What a great gift!!
I loved to read all your comments!
Yes, I was fortunate to have this experience. He is truly a great artist and teacher.
Oh, Lorena...it looks like you all had a wonderful time! What a lovely gift. I can imagine his delight!
That is a fantastic gift and I really love your charm. Are you going to make any to sell?
Connie: I will make more ;-) .
Penny: Thank You ! Great to meet you.
Wonderful! Such a beautiful gift!


• Date: Friday, January 1, 2016, at 12:54 p.m.
> out of a possible grand total of 35 stars, it's only one star imperfect?
> simply graded more favourably (to put it mildly).
Except for The Dark Knight series, Hunger Games, The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jurassic Park, Spider Man, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean.
I can't even think of distant 3rd to compare with LOTR or Star Wars when it comes to concepts, executions, especially consistency.


Shade matching is important. Great dental work is seen but not noticed. In our office, we use a combination of natural light and electronic shade matching to mimic your natural teeth as much as possible.
When you schedule an appointment at Solstice Dental, we take time to get to know you and your unique situation.
©2019 Solstice Dental & Aesthetics. All Rights Reserved.


What are the top Nursing Schools in Fall River, MA?
There are 2 nursing schools in Fall River, Massachusetts. With an overall population of 91,938 and a student population of 9,601, approximately 8,850 of Fall River students attend one of Fall River's schools that offer nursing programs.
Bristol Community College is the largest nursing school in Fall River, based on student population. Approximately 70 students graduated in 2010 from Bristol Community College with credentials in nursing.
A reported 101 students graduated with credentials in nursing in Fall River in 2010. If you decide to attend a nursing school in Fall River, you can expect to pay an average yearly tuition of $3,578.
In addition to tuition costs, plan on spending an average of $1,000 for nursing related books and supplies each year.
Many nursing graduates choose to work as nurses after graduation. If you choose to follow that path and remain in Fall River, your job prospects are good. There were 83,320 nurses working in Massachusetts and 14,550 working in the greater Fall River area in 2010. The government projects that the number of nurses in Fall River will increase by 17% by the year 2018. This anticipated change is slower than the projected nationwide trend for nurses.
The average salary you can expect to earn as a nurse in Fall River is $69,220 per year, which is lower than the average for nurses state-wide.


text:
Zaha Hadid Architects, Woods Bagot, and Cox Among Finalists Announced for Auckland Tower Competition
September 6, 2018 Eric Baldwin Architecture, Architecture Article, Architecture News, Home design ideas, Interior Design 0
Auckland Tower. Image Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects
The international design competition to create a new high-rise tower in central Auckland has announced five finalists. The five teams include Warren and Mahoney, Cox Architecture, Zaha Hadid Architects, Elenberg Fraser and Woods Bagot. The landmark tower competition is run by Melbourne-based property development company ICD Property. Each of the teams were asked to complete two versions of their design, one following current city Unitary Plan rules and one version that could be built given more open planning parameters.
The Auckland tower competition doubled as a forum to discuss how the city develops and the future of Auckland's skyline. ICD launched the competition between the five architecture firms in July, and the final design will be built at 65 Federal Street near the Sky Tower. Hosting a range of inspiration, the diverse tower concepts include local design inspiration from Māori cloaks to sky gardens and the city's streetscape. ICD believes that the new $200m Auckland tower will contribute to the city's future growth and development.
ICD managing director Michael Mai said the designs would bring an international standard of high-rise living to Auckland. "As ICD's first international project outside of Australia, we chose Auckland because we see a strong future in continuing to work here. The city has many positive and unique aspects – from its multicultural make up through to the stunning scenery and landscape."
Warren and Mahoney
Auckland Tower. Image Courtesy of Warren and Mahoney
Warren and Mahoney's entry is inspired by a korowai, which can be seen in the building's cascading façade. Warren and Mahoney principal architect Andrew Barclay says the Federal St project is an opportunity to reflect Auckland's unique population, cultural diversity and geography. "At present Auckland does not have a mixed-use hotel and residential building that has these qualities," he says. "The project is located in one of Auckland's most exciting locations, so it has a responsibility to contribute to Auckland's increasingly vibrant inner-city life, both during the day and by night."
Cox Architecture
Auckland Tower. Image Courtesy of Cox Architecture
Phil Rowe of Cox Architecture says the challenge posed by ICD's Auckland project was to address how architects and designers can improve and inspire the future of Auckland. "It has to be done in a very Auckland way, rather than importing what is perceived by fashion to be 'best practice'. The building will be a visual icon for what Auckland can and will look like in the future."
Zaha Hadid Architects
Zaha Hadid Architects design was inspired by bringing the city's streetscape into the very heart of the tower with a Sky Garden. "Auckland's ambition and vision for the future must cater for everyone in the city, and in that respect mixed-use projects and plenty of publicly accessible spaces will be the most successful," says associate director Michele Pasca di Magliano.
Elenberg Fraser
Auckland Tower. Image Courtesy of Elenberg Fraser
For Callum Fraser of Elenberg Fraser, the most exciting aspect of the Federal St project is delivering to Auckland an environment worthy of the city's position as a leading global tourism destination. "This is a real opportunity to see what the future looks like. The world looks to New Zealand for its freedom, ingenuity and independence of thought," he said. "The spotlight on Auckland is to see what that means for the physical construction of the city, which is only a by-product of that culture."
Auckland Tower. Image Courtesy of Woods Bagot
Pete Miglis, principal architect at Woods Bagot, says the project will transform Federal St and its surrounds, especially at street level with a focus on giving the streets back to the people. "It will also enhance the city's skyline and importantly it's all about a building that will reinforce Auckland as a global city."
The competition winner will be announced in October by ICD Property, and ICD will take ownership of the site from Sky City in April 2019. Construction is expected to finish in 2022
Why Isn't All Earned Income Subject to Social Security's Payroll Tax?
The Shop at CAC / Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
A0-Boards.indd
seccion trans ill
seccion long ill
/Users/WANG/Desktop/2d.dwg
abedare detail-Default

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Well built cast-iron stove. Easily assembled from enclosed instructions. With the addition of the fire bricks, the firebox becomes very small and will only suit logs laid across the stove unless they are very short. Because of the limited size, we find it necessary to top up the fire box at frequent intervals, even when burning low. It is NOT a relaxing heat source!
With an additional 75-100mm depth, this stove would be a superb item.
We use a half-shovel of coal after the initial lighting and then shut the stove down to halfway. It will then burn for a couple of hours without attention.
Heat output is very good but not 8 kw even with perfectly dry hardwood. I would say that the maximum we have managed is 4 - 5 kw. We have a 30ft x 15ft living room and should probably have gone for something bigger but, in a general way, the Firefox 8 fulfils our needs.


At once viewed one knows surely from a member of the Tsujimura family, here this well-balanced and fired on by Kai(b.1976). In perfect condition, 45cm.tallx35-36., signed on base.
Classic and gorgeous, this large Shigaraki jar-tsubo was made by Takahashi Rakusai V (b.1954); it comprises all the warm characteristics of Shigaraki. In perfect condition with a signed box, 40.3cm.tallx37.2., signed on base.


text:
<?php

namespace Oro\Bundle\WorkflowBundle\Tests\Unit\Acl\Voter;

use Oro\Bundle\WorkflowBundle\Acl\Voter\WorkflowEditVoter;
use Oro\Bundle\WorkflowBundle\Entity\WorkflowDefinition;
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\Authentication\Token\TokenInterface;

class WorkflowEditVoterTest extends \PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase
{
    /** @var TokenInterface|\PHPUnit\Framework\MockObject\MockObject */
    protected $token;

    /** @var WorkflowEditVoter */
    protected $voter;

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc}
     */
    protected function setUp()
    {
        $this->token = $this->createMock(TokenInterface::class);

        $this->voter = new WorkflowEditVoter();
    }

    public function testVoteWithUnsupportedAttribute()
    {
        $this->assertEquals(
            WorkflowEditVoter::ACCESS_ABSTAIN,
            $this->voter->vote($this->token, null, ['ATTR'])
        );
    }

    public function testVoteWithUnsupportedSubject()
    {
        $this->assertEquals(
            WorkflowEditVoter::ACCESS_ABSTAIN,
            $this->voter->vote($this->token, null, ['EDIT'])
        );
    }

    public function testVoteWithActiveWorkflow()
    {
        $definition = new WorkflowDefinition();
        $definition->setActive(true);

        $this->assertEquals(
            WorkflowEditVoter::ACCESS_DENIED,
            $this->voter->vote($this->token, $definition, ['EDIT'])
        );
    }

    public function testVoteWithInactiveWorkflow()
    {
        $definition = new WorkflowDefinition();
        $definition->setActive(false);

        $this->assertEquals(
            WorkflowEditVoter::ACCESS_GRANTED,
            $this->voter->vote($this->token, $definition, ['EDIT'])
        );
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers
Gretchen A. Dietz University of Florida
Gretchen A. Dietz is a PhD candidate within Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida. Her research interests include diversity in engineering and qualitative methodologies.
Elliot P. Douglas University of Florida
Elliot P. Douglas is Professor of Environmental Engineering Sciences and Engineering Education, and Distinguished Teaching Scholar at the University of Florida. His research interests are in the areas of problem-solving, cultures of inclusion in engineering, engineering ethics, and environmental justice.
Erica D. McCray University of Florida orcid.org/0000-0001-8140-678X
Dr. Erica D. McCray is an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Florida. Prior to joining the faculty, she served as a special educator for students with behavioral and learning disabilities in Title I elementary and middle school settings. Dr. McCray has been recognized on multiple levels for her teaching and research, which focuses on diversity issues.
This paper is a work in progress (WIP) assessing how engineers view aspects of the workplace culture affecting the extent to which they can authentically be themselves. We also assess how engineers describe the manifestation of racist ideas in their workplace. While considerable effort has been made to change the demographics of engineering, the profession still lacks diversity. White males are persistently the majority within engineering, which defines the culture of the field. This potentially causes Black individuals to mask aspects of their identity in order to assimilate into the dominant workplace culture. It is important to bring more awareness to racial diversity issues in workplaces. In this study, data were collected through interviews from three different engineers working within the same company in order to explore workplace conditions. The participants were one Black male, and two White males.
Two frameworks were utilized for the investigation of in/authentic experiences and the manifestation of racist ideas. We used an extension of Wendy Faulkner's (2009) concept of in/authenticity, which describes how women in engineering may have experiences that are either authentic or inauthentic to their personal identities. We shifted this lens towards racialized experiences in addition to gendered experiences and focused on Black engineers. We also used a framework derived from Kendi's (2016) history of racist ideas in the U.S.. We employed this framework to examine structural racism in the workplace. Kendi describes three stances on race: segregationists, antiracists, and assimilationists. He also points to moments of advantage and disadvantage taken by individuals. We used these personas and moments to investigate their effects on the experiences of Black engineers.
This paper documents findings from pilot data collected for a larger project. Initial analysis of the pilot data using the two frameworks allowed us to identify individual and structural acts of racism in the engineering workplace of the company where the three participants work. With regard to in/authenticity, the White engineers saw no distinction between their personal and work identities. They saw the company's values aligning with their personal values, and the workplace as being open and comfortable. In contrast, the Black engineer described taking on different identities in business settings and one-on-one interactions. In business settings, he felt the need to be a "commanding force". In one-on-one settings he allowed himself to be "open… free flowing" and bring in "a more wide range of emotions" to interactions. Several points of structural racism were identified including lack of attention to racial diversity while hiring, lack of diversity in the workplace, and colorblind attitudes. For example, the Black engineer noted his lack of advancement within the company, with reasons being "people not having the opportunity to know me", while White engineers expressed a colorblind approach, insisting that race has no place in selecting leaders. All participants saw the advantage of diversity, yet little action was being taken to improve diversity in their company. With this project we intend to bring light to the experiences of Black engineers, and to make industry stakeholders more explicitly aware of diversity issues.
Faulkner, W. (2009). Doing gender in engineering workplace cultures. II. Gender in/authenticity and the in/visibility paradox. Engineering Studies, 1(3), 169-189.
Kendi, I. X. (2016). Stamped from the beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas in America. New York: Nation Books.
Dietz, G. A., & Douglas, E. P., & McCray, E. D. (2020, June), Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35608
Dietz, G. A., & Douglas, E. P., & McCray, E. D. (2020, June), Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers  Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35608
Dietz, G. A., \& Douglas, E. P., \& McCray, E. D. (2020, June), \emph{Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers}
Gretchen A. Dietz, Elliot P. Douglas, and Erica D. McCray.  "Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers".  2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line , 2020, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2020.  https://peer.asee.org/35608 Internet.  17 Jan, 2022
Gretchen A. Dietz, Elliot P. Douglas, and Erica D. McCray.
"Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers".
author = "Gretchen A. Dietz, Elliot P. Douglas, and Erica D. McCray"
title = "Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers"
AB  - This paper is a work in progress (WIP) assessing how engineers view aspects of the workplace culture affecting the extent to which they can authentically be themselves. We also assess how engineers describe the manifestation of racist ideas in their workplace. While considerable effort has been made to change the demographics of engineering, the profession still lacks diversity. White males are persistently the majority within engineering, which defines the culture of the field. This potentially causes Black individuals to mask aspects of their identity in order to assimilate into the dominant workplace culture. It is important to bring more awareness to racial diversity issues in workplaces. In this study, data were collected through interviews from three different engineers working within the same company in order to explore workplace conditions. The participants were one Black male, and two White males.
AU  - Gretchen A. Dietz
AU  - Elliot P. Douglas
AU  - Erica D. McCray
TI  - Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers


text:
Posted on September 26, 2014 by Joshua Gans
Entrepreneurial advice from the horse's mouth
A few books have been released recently where entrepreneurs impart their managerial and strategic advice on the world. Of course, they are all successful which means that ultimately they are explaining what they did that made them successful. We should be sceptical. I remember an old Dilbert cartoon with the boss saying something "I'm reading the books of successful leaders and am going to do the things they all did." The response from Wally was "none of them read the books of successful leaders."
I have read four of these books recently. In each case, I thought they were books I would like my MBA students to read. The advice was likely to be right and they all had the quality of challenging conventional wisdom. The first I'd like to mention is How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg. These two were for a decade the 'adult supervisors' at Google. I have written about Rosenberg before The book is a set of anecdotes peppered with good advice. The best advice is to 'default to open' both internally and externally within a company — if only I could get my own employer to think like that! It could easily have been entitled "You're wrong" because basically it is story after story of some non-adult teaching the adults how to think differently. In other words the theme is the common: "I went there to teach these young kids a thing or two and ended up learning more from then than they did from me." I can't help but be reminded of this Onion article but that doesn't make their journey any less interesting.
What that book misses is a real over-arching framework. It offers advice supported by an anecdote but does not really give you a way to think through situations. That is a common thing. For instance, from what I have seen to Y-Combinator President, Sam Altman's, Stanford Start-up class, it is all basically the advice-anecdote route. That does not mean that this is bad and it is a good prod to get you to think but it is far from a 'Master-Class' that a University would provide. A more academic approach gives you the framework.
Which brings me to Peter Thiel's Zero to One. This also started as a Stanford course but Thiel has a framework. For entrepreneurs he advocates looking for monopoly. Now I have written about this before and I think there is merit to the approach. But it is also interesting how it is diametrically opposed to the message given by Schmidt, Rosenberg and Altman. That I suspect comes from the fact that Thiel's approach is closer to a standard economic approach to entrepreneurship whereas the alternative is something different. And as I have said before, that something different does not necessarily mean wrong but more that it has received insufficient attention from economics and, indeed, all management academics.
Is there a sweet spot between the anecdotal and the analytical? Six months ago, Yale professor Barry Nalebuff sent me a copy of Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently and Succeeding, a book he had co-authored with Seth Goldman, his Honest Tea co-founder. I love Barry's books. They have been important in so many ways. Thinking Strategically helped get me into game theory. Why Not? helped me think out of the box. And perhaps most importantly, Coopetition became the basis for my own MBA classes (leading to my own textbook and set me down a 15 year course of thinking about bargaining more seriously as a foundation for economic models. So you would think that I would have picked up his new book and started reading right away, just like all of the others. But no. It was a graphic novel and I had never really liked reading those. I found the mixture of artwork and text just too confusing. I love cartoons but this longer form mode was never my thing; although I found the Madefire approach pleasing so maybe that is the future. Finally, it was just going to be their story of founding a Tea company. I thought I knew that story already: professor and student find gap in tea market, brew tea in kitchen, sell it to Barak Obama, sell to Coke, yada yada yada, made lots of money.
Last week I ran into Barry at a conference. We talked about the book and, indeed, that I wanted Honest Tea to be a case for my entrepreneurial strategy class and writings — it is a great example of a value chain strategy. He told me that I could just give them his new book but I had to admit I hadn't read it yet. Barry had explained that they had chosen that format to do things a little differently and that it would be more digestable that way. I said that it wasn't for me and that I worried that my MBA students would not like it either.
Back in my office this week, I picked up the book and, I know this is cliched, I couldn't put it down. As it turns out, the graphics in the book are not of the 'action' variety (how could they). Instead, they are simple and friendly and as it turns out, while 300 pages seemed daunting, 2 hours later I was through and had absorbed the whole thing. Their format call had actually paid off once my initial barriers — and I have to admit a dose of guilt — had been overcome.
But more than that is the content. This book falls into the "focus on execution" mantra that is Schmidt/Rosenberg/Altman more than Thiel. But it also fills in the "yada yada yada" in important ways. First and foremost, it is a book that takes you on a 10 year journey of a hard start-up life. Mostly that is Seth Goldman but the pressure was clearly felt throughout the founding team. More critically, however, the hand of an analytical framework existed in the whole start-up's story. Barry is a game theorist and fancies himself an strategic entrepreneur (indeed, back when I first met him in 1996 we had a conversation about what he would have done if he were not an academic and he said "entrepreneur." I told him he was dreaming but, as is often the case, I'm eating my words now). The point is that Honest Tea was a teaching case for him and a playground to try out his own ideas. There are flashbacks to class discussions — that would have been hard to capture without the graphic format — and there are internal debates of the kind "Barry comes up with completely off the wall idea, someone tells him he is crazy, he adjusts and they do something moderately off the wall instead." Each one of these moments is a teaching case.
The upshot is that Mission in the Bottle is the top of my pre-reading list now for all my entrepreneurship classes. It is a must read. It is not high tech and not as well-known (especially since I still can't get Honest Tea in Canada!). But it is the right mix of analytics, anecdotes and advice.
Finally, I started this post with a Dilbert quote let me end with the book Dilbert's creator, Scott Adams wrote offering his own advice. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life is a fun read. It is at the Thiel-spectrum of analytical (Adams is a former econ major after all) but it has some useful pointers as to habits that can make you highly productive. I think it could be shorter but if you are looking for a little thoughtful inspiration, it is a good place to start.
CategoriesBook Review
One Reply to "Entrepreneurial advice from the horse's mouth"
kristomi says:
I enjoyed this post. Would you mind elaborating more on how you are " thinking about bargaining more seriously as a foundation for economic models"? I find that approach ensnaring.
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text:
Q: Merge 2 rows into one row in SQL I am trying to merge 2 rows in 1 in SQL Server.
This is what I have:
+---------------+-------+--------+
| Part Number   | Code  | value  |
+---------------+-------+--------+
|     1         |  00   |   12   |
|     1         |  01   |   21   |
+---------------+-------+--------+

This is what I want :
+---------------+-------+--------+
| Part Number   | Code  | value  |
+---------------+-------+--------+
|       1       |  00   |   33   |

I want that remain only the code 00.

A: You can try something like:
SELECT [Part Number], MIN(Code), SUM(value)
FROM myTable
GROUP BY [Part Number]

A: use GROUP BY clause
you can try
SELECT PartNumber, MIN(Code), SUM(value) FROM parts GROUP BY PartNumber

A: @EmanueleVerderame, This is a mock up below, to show you how to prevent errors.
It seems some column, either Code or Value has NULL/Blank values.
DECLARE @parts TABLE (PartNumber INT, Code Char(2), Value INT)
INSERT INTO @parts
SELECT 1,'00', 12 UNION ALL
SELECT 1, '01', 21 UNION ALL
SELECT 2, NULL, 5
--+---------------+-------+--------+
--| Part Number   | Code  | value  |
--+---------------+-------+--------+
--|     1         |  00   |   12   |
--|     1         |  01   |   21   |
--|     2         |       |   5    |
--+---------------+-------+--------+

SELECT PartNumber, MIN(isnull(Code, '00') ), SUM(isnull(value, 0))  FROM
@parts
GROUP BY PartNumber

A: If you want to display only first result then you should use where rownum = 1

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


John Nettles, John Hopkins. Inspector Barnaby is deep into it with cases involving a golf club murder, an 18th century painting, a sleep-walking schoolteacher who claims an intruder has been committing local murders and more in this 12th season. Includes "The Dogleg Murders," "The Black Book," "Secrets and Spies," "The Glitch," "Small Mercies," "The Creeper" and "The Great and the Good." 7 episodes on 4 DVDs. 7episodes on 4 DVDs. 2009–10/color/10 hrs., 50 min/NR/widescreen.


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Q: Joint CDF of $Z = X_1 + X_2 + X_3, Y = X_3$ Given order statistics $X_1 < X_2 < X_3$ I am trying to find the Joint CDF of $Z = X_1 + X_2 + X_3, Y = X_3$. i.e. $P(Y \le y, Z \le t)$.
I am leaving out the specific distribution as I have already found the joint pdf $f(y,z).$ I introduced a new variable and then was able to integrate out that new variable to get $f(y,z)$
In the pdf, as should be clear from definition of $Z,Y$, there is a dependency. I get two cases.
What I get for the first case $Y \le Z \le 2Y$ and $0 \le Y$. I am a bit rusty on my multivariable calculus. I believe in this case it would be
$\displaystyle P(Y\le y, Z \le t) = \int_{x}^{2x} \int_0^x f(y,z)dydz$
Note: the othe case is somewhat similar except the bounds for $Z$ are $2Y \le Z < \infty$
So here $\displaystyle P(Y\le y, Z \le t) = \int_{2x}^{t} \int_0^x f(y,z)dydz$
I just want to make sure I am setting these double integrals up correctly. Integrate first wrt $y$ then wrt $z$ as $z$ is dependent upon $y$. It seems related to convolutions but not that same as when there is a sum of two random variables.
Note: $f(y,z)$ is itself piece-wise thus the reason for the two cases.


On Saturday, October 26 Grandfather Mountain visitors will be in for a scare as our park opens its doors to trick-or-treaters for a Beary Scary Halloween celebration! Families and children of all ages will be able to experience the beauty of fall at Grandfather Mountain while enjoying a full day of Halloween activities in addition to our regular programming.
Halloween activities take place throughout the park from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are included with regular admission. Kids in costume will get in at half price.
At 11:30 a.m. Naturalists will meet by the Mildred the Bear statue in the Nature Museum to lead an interactive program titled "Going Batty for Bats." Participants will learn all about bats and their importance to the environment.
Stop by to see the Mountain's Naturalists in the Nature Museum between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. for the "Creepy, Crawly Critters!" program. Participants will learn about creatures of the night, creatures that bite and other spooky animals.
At 1 p.m. kids will have an opportunity to help keepers decorate pumpkins and other treats to be used during habitat enrichments at the animal habitats later in the afternoon. An enrichment is anything different that can help break up the animals' day such as a scent, a new toy or a treat and are typically great opportunities to see each animal active and close to the overlook of the habitat. The keepers will begin special Halloween habitat enrichments at 2 p.m. at the Deer Overlook.
All kids wishing to participate in our annual costume contest are invited to join staff members in the auditorium of the Nature Museum at 1:30 p.m. There they will have an opportunity to parade in costume through the auditorium and prizes will be awarded for different costumes!
The last of the day's programming will take place in front of the Fudge Shop at 2:45 p.m. At this "Animal Encounter" guests can meet and learn about the spooky nighttime prowlers that can be found in the High Country.
For the full schedule of Beary Scary events please visit www.grandfather.com.
The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation established to preserve Grandfather Mountain, operate the nature park in the public interest and participate in educational research activities. For more information phone 800-468-7325 or plan a trip at www.grandfather.com.


You stroll through the spinning entryway of the hall toward the lift, absorbing your environment—there's not a commonplace face in the building. You fix your suit, press #12, and take a full breath: Once those entryways re-open, your first seven day stretch of work will authoritatively start.
One of your most imperative obligations your first week is retaining everything. Becoming acquainted with your organization's way of life, the working and correspondence styles of your partners, the issue ventures, office legislative issues, and office or extensive objectives implies that you'll have the capacity to begin your genuine work sooner (and be more successful when you do).
Thus, go to the new contract introduction, agree to accept proficient advancement classes, and go to all the group and office gatherings you can, regardless of whether you're not yet beyond any doubt what's happening or they don't 100% relate to your work.
Additionally participate on the casual occasions. In the event that you get requested to lunch, party time, or the workplace softball league(either as a member or spectator), say yes. It's an awesome method to meet individuals, and it demonstrates that you're eager to be a piece of the group.
Do be cautious, however, to adjust your timetable—you need to have a lot of time to take in the ropes from your work area. The exact opposite thing you need is to appear as though you have excessively to juggle, appear overpowered, or appear late to a dedication since you're stuck elsewhere.
As you find out about new procedures, ventures, and individuals, don't be reluctant to make inquiries. You have to get up to speed, and individuals will expect it from the new individual on the group. Likewise bring down point by point notes about all that you learn, regardless of whether it appears to be straightforward. Your mind will be on over-burden this week, and recording everything will ensure you don't need to ask a similar inquiry twice.
In the meantime, don't be hesitant to contribute and include esteem—you would like to strengthen that you're the perfect individual for the activity! No, you won't know everything (nor should you act as you do!), yet you can make proposals in group gatherings or meetings to generate new ideas, or make inquiries like, "Has this been attempted previously?" And on the off chance that you have an aptitude or capacity that you've been employed to convey to the group, speak up and share that information. Be that as it may, be mindful so as to peruse your crowd. You would prefer not to go ahead like gangbusters or venture on somebody's toes.
There might be some down time amid your initial couple of days at work as your supervisor and group change in accordance with having you there. Be that as it may, don't lounge around sitting tight for others to make sense of errands for you—volunteer to help your new partners on a task. You'll demonstrate activity, you'll assemble compatibility with your manager and collaborators, and you'll find out about desires, methodology, and how things are finished.
On the off chance that your supervisor or colleagues give you counsel or offer to assist you with an errand or task, take them up on it—yes, regardless of whether you're absolutely fit for taking care of things yourself. It's an awesome method to bond with your office mates, in addition to you may get important understanding into the organization's desires or a more proficient approach to take the necessary steps you'll be given.
It never damages to have an accomplished, learned, fruitful expert to bob thoughts off of and be prepared by, yet it's particularly valuable when you're the novice. Glance around. Who are the stars of the association—the ones who transmit amiability, certainty, and activity? Present yourself, and pick their brains.
Without a doubt, the general population who influence you to feel most good will turn into your go-tos as you explore your first week. Be that as it may, recall the time it takes for individuals to enable you to out is time being detracted from their own assignments. Be delicate to this by attempting to make sense of things for yourself initially, soliciting an assortment from individuals when you do have inquiries, and demonstrating thankfulness for everybody who causes you out.
Consistently, request intermittent gatherings with your manager (rather than flying in her office for each inquiry you have!). Notwithstanding getting her bearing on activities and assignments, you should utilize this opportunity to refresh her on what you're realizing and who you're meeting with.
Make inquiries like "Are there extra undertakings I ought to go up against or aptitudes I ought to learn?" and "Would you be able to give me input on the venture I simply finished?" to indicate activity, yet in addition complete a considerable measure of tuning in, as well. Your manager's criticism and knowledge will be one of your most prominent assets now—all things considered, you will spend the following weeks, months, and possibly years working for her, and figuring out how she supposes at an opportune time will work well for you.
Clearly you could shake off things you cherished (or hated) about your last occupation and how this position looks at—yet don't! You need to give yourself each chance to sparkle, and that implies keeping your underlying first week impressions to yourself. You're in another place, and this is another opportunity, so grasp it and advance!


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This was one of my first interviews. I had the honor of speaking with Don Lopez back in 2002. Don was serving as deputy director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum at the time. I flew an online flight combat simulator at the time named Aces High.
Call for Life next first Friday, March 4th!
Pro-Life? March 4th is the next first Friday of the month. Join us on that day and Call for Life! Monthly Call for Life.
Investigating and exposing corruption in both public and private institutions.
Up to now, they have exposed Planned Parenthood in their brutal, murderous policies, and now they show the desire of the Democratic Party to manipulate our children and indoctrinate them with their own viewpoints.
A) Democrats wanted the Democrat votes from Latinos, and they are the ones who openly pushed for an invisible border and open policies which encouraged tens of millions of illegals to pour into America. They couldn't have done it without the Republicans looking the other way, doing nothing to stop them.
B) Establishment Republicans wanted cheap labor, so there are tens of millions of illegal Democrat voting Latinos. If they ever want to get elected again, they have no choice but to liberalize their messages and policies.
What do Democrats believe and what are they teaching our children?
That's not all, watch the video for the rest!


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HomeMy Top 10 Science Stories of 2005 – #6
My Top 10 Science Stories of 2005 – #6
The Star That Wasn't There
In April, Italian astronomers reported seeing the smallest-ever features on any celestial body outside the solar system. Patrizia Caraveo of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, in Milan, and her colleagues, observed the X-rays coming from "hot spots" on the surfaces of three neutron stars, ultradense globes that are the leftover of supernova explosions. The spots, estimated to be as small as 60 meters across, were seen in motion following the rapid rotation of the neutron stars. They were glowing at more than 1 million degrees Celsius, or twice as hot as the rest of the stars' surfaces.
The authors speculated that the hot spots could be the product of charged particles flowing in intense magnetic fields — the neutron-star analogue of earth's auroras.
This is supposedly the first such sighting ever. A year before the same team had first imaged the spot — presumably without seeing its motion yet — on one of the three neutron stars, an object known as Geminga.
(The name Geminga is a combination of "Gemini" and "gamma." According to the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera, Caraveo and her colleague Fabrizio Bignami discovered this source of gamma and X-rays in the the Gemini constellation in the 1970s, at a spot where no ordinary star could be seen, and christened the mysterious source Geminga to make a pun with the Milanese-dialect "gh'e' minga," which means "is not there.")
< Top 10 home < back to #7 – to #5>


Multiple events available but as the venue is quite small we are restricting the numbers to a maximum of 10.
Who knows what energies these items have, what misery they've seen and witnessed? This is an amazing place and we'd love to invite you to the ghost hunts with us HauntedLIVE.
NB - Further dates may be available. If you are interested, please email contact@hauntedliveofficial.com for further details.
* Alcohol is not permitted at any HauntedLIVE event.


Summer's a time to grace our homes, our hearts and most especially our hardboard desks with fresh, fabulous-quality flowers. Gerberas, peonies, sweet peas, hydrangeas, exotic flowers, sunflowers... there's enough choice to ensure something splendid graces every available space.
Enjoy special deals, flash sales and exclusive discounts at SerenataFlowers.com. Watch out for your inbox every Thursday for a special Flash Sale on a selected bouquet, the sale is normally valid only 24 hours.


Unable to get fuel tank vacuum? Try the easiest thing first, look at the gas-cap and where it seals to the filler pipe; look for a torn/cut seal, rusty pits on the metal seat, etc. The cap is stock, on there, and tight, right?
Good call on that gas cap Bill! Your learning!! I have seen alot of these 1450 problems dealt with a new filler neck. They tend rust in my region. A seeping filler tube will also give a symptom like a loose gas cap.


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PC Games > Hidden Object Games > Worlds Align: Deadly Dream
Worlds Align: Deadly Dream
Amax Interactive brings you the next chilling adventure in the Worlds Align series!
When a young woman in astral form explains that she and your comrade Dupin have been kidnapped, it's time to spring into action! But you quickly find that much more than Dupin's life is at stake. Someone's trying to break down the barriers between the Game Worlds and going after the Watchers is just the beginning. When someone's dreams can be used against them, no one's safe. Can you rescue your friends and stop a madman from destroying the worlds in time? Find out in this exhilarating Hidden-Object Puzzle adventure!
OS: Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 10
Worlds Align: Deadly Dream is rated 3.7 out of 5 by 3.
Rated 5 out of 5 by denniann2 from it was a pretty good HO game i enjoyed playing this. i played on casual and it had a good hint system. you are looking for a reason that people are disappearing in the town. you have been summoned. you will some characters that you have seen before.
Rated 3 out of 5 by storm011 from such a let down for a sequel i loved the first one - The Beginning - however this one was a let down. Should be more a 2.5 than a 3. I guess I shouldn't compare the original with this one however ............. the original was so fresh and took so much from all the other games = this one just had the characters and hasn't taken anything from their own games. For example - in the original it had the puppetshows theatre, workshop and hospital. The original also had a couple of puppets this one had 1 puppet and it was killed off after 30 seconds. I think if you are taking characters from other games you need to be true to the characters and take some of their games with them (such as the original did). Overall it was uninspiring and a rehash of the original. And what happened to the ending - 2 versions of it ???? I would have preferred Dr Blackmore dies if it saves having another chapter. Think i will give the next chapter a miss - as i said uninspired. Play before you buy - happy gaming :)
Rated 3 out of 5 by pennmom36 from THE CE WASN'T CE WORTHY, SO BE GLAD YOU WAITED! Completed Game approximately 4.5 hours (including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter) 18 Main Game Scene Locations +8 Bonus Chapter Difficulty Range: Beginner-Intermediate Professor Blackmore is alive and well after all these years, hiding in the shadows, lurking in the dark, and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Naturally, he has summoned Saint Germain to do his evil biddings, more than once, in fact, and now the lives of Dupin, Estelle, the Puppet Master, and the Cardinal are in mortal danger. Dr. Blackmore has invented some morbid devices in the past, but his latest invention is the cruelest of all, for it robs its victim of their free will until all that remains is a zombified ghost of the past, unrecognized by even death himself! Who doesn't remember the sick twisted experiments of The Greenhills Sanitarium or Fears From Childhood? Who doesn't gasp when they see Saint Germain meddling in all your affairs? Who doesn't love the Puppet Master or the familiar face of the Cardinal as he gently stroked his poor cat that looked like he has been around the block several times and is working on his 10th or 11th life, and of course we love Detective Dupin! The story started out really good but it's almost as if they forgot where they were going with it or didn't actually have an "end game" Dr. Blackmore makes an appearance to show he's the evildoer and the mastermind behind the whole plan but where did he go, are we okay with the fact that no one even talks about him once all's said and done. St. Germain makes a few appearances and slips through the cracks but that's always his MO, he always lives to see another day, but the last chapter was literally bouncing all over the place and I never understood whether the event that took place in chapter 3 was the truth or if what happened in chapter 4 was the reality, the loopholes were huge and none of it made sense because there were too many discrepancies, as if the ending was slapped in place at the last minute to get the game ready when clearly it wasn't! There were so many glitches in the game, the first part worked flawlessly, by chapter 3 it was skipping, the music was getting stuck on the same note, the voices weren't matching up, some of the dialogs was just completely missing it didn't even have music, it was complete silence! This is what leads me to believe that this game wasn't ready for game day! ??Collectibles? CE Version Only Once again Amax is skimping on the CE Bling because they believe that eventually, we will come to accept that THIS is normal! Once again, There are NO Morphing Objects. There are No Hidden Collectibles. There are 14 Zoom-Zone Moon Crystals to click on, they aren't really hidden, they are colorful and in plain sight, the zoom-zone doesn't even close automatically until the crystal has been picked up, so I consider these "Clickables", not Collectibles because they don't present any challenge whatsoever. Each Moon Crystal Unlocks 1/7 Devices that contain a Scroll with stories from the Keeper of Untold Stories. The stories are available individually as each one is unlocked. (you don't have to wait until the end of the game) This game is NOT CE WORTHY, in my opinion, wait for the SE version! ?Hidden Object Scenes? There are 21 Hidden Object Scenes 9 in the CE Bonus Chapter, including several smaller Zoom-Zone Hidden Object Scenes which usually preceded the larger main HO scenes. I'm not usually a fan of HO's but they actually did a decent job with them, there's a nice variety, but I will give you a heads-up that some scenes tend to be rather dark, and the objects are partially hidden behind other objects, very small and at times, unrecognizable, especially when they add fog for special effects. I really wish developers would add a Skip option to the HOP's because most of the time the alternate Match 3 games they offer are just as boring so they are both just a complete waste of time for most seasoned players. Most of the HO's are Interactive List Finds but there are also Silhouetted Shape Finds, Multiples of the Same Object Finds, Fragmented Item Finds, Find & Replace, Finding Pictured Ingredients, Finding Stones & Tiles, Uncovering Matching Pairs, and Removing Related Pairs, There are no alternate Puzzles available. ?Mini-Games? There are 33 Mini-Games +11 in the CE Bonus Chapter, and they are mostly tile swapping of every variation imaginable or moving tiles along a track type of puzzles. Here are some of my personal favorites: 1-Eliminate 20 Bats in the dark by clicking on them. (warning! they do jump out at you...hilarious but super fun whomp-a-bat!) ??? 2-Use clues you find to overcome obstacles. 3-Select discs to change the speed it rotates to pass each ball between the disc at the same time. ?? 4-Navigate 3 characters thru the map by standing on platforms to open & close matching colored doors. ??? ?Bonus Chapter (Collector's Edition version only)? This is the part of the story that coincides with the main story when Dupin asked Estelle to search for the parts necessary to complete the Astral Key because she is one of the Watchers who is able to visit the Astral World. Unfortunately, it takes place over the same 8 boring scenes as the fourth and final chapter of the main game which was agonizing for me personally. There are 11 mini-games and 9 hidden object scenes (including smaller zoom-zones) and you will find the final 3 Zoom-Zone Moon Crystals to unlock the final story scrolls. ?Collector's Edition Extra's? 7 Wallpapers, 7 Concept Art Pictures, 4 Music Soundtracks, 15 Achievements, 12 Replayable Mini-Games, 12 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes,14 Zoom Zone Moon Crystals to unlock 7 Devices (Each one requires 2 crystals to open a scroll to read a page in the story), 4 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-In Strategy Guide. Once again, this doesn't look like a whole lot of CE bling to me??? WORLDS ALIGN SERIES LIST Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating 1-Beginning (November 1-2019) 4.2 2-Deadly Dream (August 14-2020) n/a by: Amax Interactive
Can you and your friends save all the worlds in time?


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Nov 16, 2016 / by Wayne Eckerson Secrets of Data & Analytics Leaders
Interview With Lars Bjork, CEO of Qlik Technologies Inc.
Subscribe to the Secrets of Data & Analytics Leaders blog
With over 40,000 customers, 1,700 partners, and $600 million in revenues last year, Qlik is a leading player in the business intelligence space. To stay ahead of the market and keep pace with rapid technological changes, Qlik spent the last several years developing Qlik Sense, an exploration and discovery tool built on a modern, open platform. Although many QlikView customers have been reluctant to migrate to the new flagship product, Qlik Sense is expected to account for half of the company's license revenue in 2016, according to company executives.
Qlik's investment in Qlik Sense corresponds with a slide in net operating profit after taxes. Bowing to pressure from an activist investor, Qlik agreed this spring to be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for approximately three billion dollars. It's been three months since the acquisition closed, so we thought it would be good time to catch up with Lars Bjork, CEO of Qlik, to see how the transition is going and where the company is headed.
Eckerson Group: How has your job changed since the acquisition?
Lars Bjork: The big difference is that I can focus pretty much most of my time, if not all, on the business, the client, and operations. The distraction and time I had to spend on informing and educating and staying on top of the communication to the market is given back to me now, so in some way it's a lot more focused on the business itself.
Eckerson Group: What organizational changes have happened since the acquisition?
Lars Bjork: We've had a small reduction in workforce, something we were facing anyhow, but a lot easier to do in a private setting. Primarily, this is hitting back office functions, some in the field, and none at all in product. My team, except for one member out of eight, is signed up and ready to go. If you look at the next layer below the executive team, about 70 people, very few have left or moved on to do something else. With the exception of that small reduction, I would call it business as usual.
Eckerson Group: How has your product roadmap changed since the acquisition?
Lars Bjork: It hasn't changed at all. What I can say is Thoma Bravo acquired this company because of its exciting and innovative product roadmap. You're not going to spend three billion dollars for something and then break it up into pieces and potentially distract the businesses. That wouldn't be wise.
Thoma Bravo has a good understanding of this market for a financial player and sees us as a potential winner here in a few years as this market evolves. We think it's going to end up being a hybrid cloud market.
Eckerson Group: You've lagged behind competitors when it comes to the cloud. What's your current strategy?
Lars Bjork: I don't think we have lagged behind the actual market. What you are seeing now is the first movers in this market, the cloud-only vendors, they are going to die by the wayside. I'm referring to Birst, GoodData, ClearStory. They are all struggling; they are all in some kind of process trying to be picked up by others. They don't have traction.
That's happening because they made an either-or decision for the customer. It was binary. You have to be all in the cloud or you can't buy from us. What we think is going to be the outcome is hybrid. You can have data wherever you want. You can deploy wherever you want and all combinations in between. Customers will continue to have data in many different places, more so in the cloud as time goes on. But, I don't think in my lifetime we'll see a cloud-only world.
The next version of our business cloud will be released in the fourth quarter. And we already do quite a bit in the cloud through our partner ecosystem, specifically our OEM partners serving SaaS related offerings. We might be late to the hype, but I've never believed you make money off the hype. You make money off customers. So many people think the cloud is a differentiator, but it's not. It is an enabler.
Eckerson Group: What are Qlik's biggest differentiators in the market and will they change in the coming years?
Lars Bjork: I think we are THE vendor of the modern vendors, and there are only two of them to be very honest, with the strongest product portfolio. I think we are much, much further along when it comes to the back-end engine, the platform, and governance compared to Tableau. And I think Microsoft is in a very different place. They are pretty much just extending the use case for an Excel spreadsheet. Tableau has captured a lot of that market [i.e., Excel as analytic tool]. I think that's why you see Tableau getting hurt more by it than we are. The [Microsoft PowerBI] product is strong and has a lot of capabilities, but it's dirt cheap. That can fool a lot of people into buying the cheap solution, but it's not going to take them very far.
In terms of our differentiators, the openness of the Qlik Sense platform attracts a lot more people from an open source and developer community that were not attracted to QlikView. And our governance story is strong. If you want to roll out self-service visualizations to many people, you need a very robust governance story unless you want to create massive amounts of chaos.
Eckerson Group: How does Qlik with its in-memory architecture survive in the age of big data, machine learning, and streaming analytics?
Lars Bjork: Our big data initiative is going to be very compelling since it will handle enormous amounts of data and it will handle streaming as well. You'll see us separate from our belief that everything must be held in memory. We are working on an indexing engine that's extremely fast and can pick up whatever selection of data you make from the underlying data source.
When it comes to machine learning I don't think we are there yet. It is certainly something that is going to come into the market, but we are not putting a lot of effort into it, at least at the moment.
Eckerson Group: Qlik was always a closed platform - can't query the database, data model, or the reports. With QlikSense, to what degree has this changed?
Lars Bjork: The guys today that build something in a development environment are Web developers. They would never look for a product like QlikView, but they are really excited about Qlik Sense, and we can see that from our client base. We don't need to be there to assist them in the same way because they know how to handle it. That doesn't mean that QlikView is a product that's going away. It's still very appreciated and will be around for a long time, but the vast majority of our effort is going to go into the Qlik Sense platform.
Eckerson Group: It seems that a BI vendor needs to offer both a development platform for IT and other developers and a self-service platform for power users.
Lars Bjork: I would agree with you. What we have learned with QlikView is that few people build and many consume. You want to lock it down. You don't want each and every person to fiddle around with the layout or the data sources because you want it to be consistent, so you don't end up with different versions and interpretation of the data. I don't think that is going away, but it doesn't speak to the other need you alluded to and that's why we see both of them coexisting.
You can do all of that in Qlik Sense, if you wanted to. You can lock it down in the same way, but it's more natural to do it in QlikView. Our QlikView customers are very happy with the product and they deliver an enormous amount of value to their businesses. Therefore, they are not going to transition to Qlik Sense. The transition is below the pace we expected. But I think when customers are ready to retire a QlikView application and need to rethink what it should look like, that is when they will evaluate whether they should move to Qlik Sense.
Eckerson Group: What business decision would you take back if you could?
Lars Bjork: I think in all fairness, we've seen how well Qlik Sense has been received by the market. It is on par with QlikView in size. It's going to end the year being the leading product from us, but we probably should have started working on it earlier. We've done a phenomenal job, but in hindsight I'd say we were late out of the gate.
Eckerson Group: Are you still having fun?
Lars Bjork: I would say so, otherwise I wouldn't be here speaking with you! I think there is an interesting next wave in this industry and that's the broader transition to the cloud. I think it will take a few years before you see it make a real impact on the broader business, and I'm talking about larger clients and larger deployments. I think it's going to start from the bottom up with smaller companies and that is going to be very interesting to be a part of.
BARC Comment on the Announced Acquisition of Talend by Qlik
Kevin Petrie on the Rise of Observability
Catching the Domo Spirit
Qlik Acquires Attunity, Fleshes Out its Data Analytics Platform
All You Need is Tableau? The Relentless March of a Data Analytics Platform


Clean water is the most basic source of life. It is the foundation for health, education and viable economies.
1.1 billion people in the world lack this most basic source of life.
Currently, one-third of the world's population live in countries where there isn't enough water or its quality has been compromised, but by 2025 it is expected to rise to two-thirds.
Health Impact: At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water related disease such as typhoid and cholera. 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day (UNDP). The simple act of washing hands with soap and clean water can reduce diarrheal diseases by over 40% (UNICEF). Water-related diseases are the second biggest killer of children worldwide, after acute respiratory infections like tuberculosis (UNDP).
Educational Impact: More than 150 million school age children are infected with water borne parasites. 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases (UNDP). Teachers also lose school days from being sick from water related diseases.
Economic Impact: 40 billion working hours are spent carrying water each year in Africa (Cosgrove and Rijsberman 1998); Those without access to water in developing countries, live on $2 per day (water.cc).


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Medical Device Clinical Trials Business Strategies
Sigma Aldrich Bows out of Diagnostics
Sigma Aldrich's decision to abruptly exit the clinical diagnostics business is a cautionary tale for both large companies seeking to enter diagnostics and for small companies looking for deep-pocketed saviors. In April, after selling a small immunoassay business to Ivax Diagnostics, Sigma laid off nearly all of its diagnostics division's 600 employees, effectively all but shutting down the business. Under pressure from Wall Street, it decided to cut its losses rather than sell an on-going concern.
A Sobered Abbott Buys i-Stat
Abbott Laboratories' acquisition of i-Stat for $392 million reflects the promise and limitations of point-of-care diagnostics. A decade ago, i-Stat was a giddy startup, on a mission to revolutionize laboratory medicine with a handheld diagnostics system that could run basic blood tests rapidly at the patients' bedside. While it has accomplished much, it is far from creating a revolution. Meanwhile, the timing of the deal comes as Abbott emerges from a four-year nightmare with the FDA in which the FDA forced it to pull many of its important immunoassay tests off the market.
BioSite's Play for High-Value Diagnostics
Biosite, a small point-of-care diagnostics company, has figured out a way to pay for access to genetic markers that could be the basis of important new diagnostics tests, without laying out big bucks. It is offering to provide genomics companies with antibodies developed using its proprietary methodology, which allows it to make high-affinity antibodies much faster than any other supplier. Partners, genomics or pharmaceutical companies, pay for the cost of the antibodies and give Biosite exclusive rights to any genetic markers they develop that may have diagnostic applications. Already Biosite has one alliance with Scios Inc., a genomics company working in the area of cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
01 Apr 1999 In Vivo
Point-of-Care Testing in an Era of Laboratory Consolidation
ERBA Diagnostics Inc.
Dade Behring Inc.
Biosite Inc.
Ivax Diagnostics buys Sigma-Diagnostics product line
Sigma Diagnostics buys POC Dx company First Medical
Sigma Diagnostics buys coag. instrument company Amelung
IV001906
Subject: Sigma Aldrich Bows out of Diagnostics


Rick de Satge is a partner at Phuhlisani Solutions, an Associate of the Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at UWC, and an independent consultant.
De Satge is a specialist in land, livelihoods and capacity development, with comprehensive experience spanning land reform, land rights management, sustainable livelihoods, rural and urban development, adult learning and capacity development. He has worked extensively in South Africa, Zimbabwe and to a lesser extent in Botswana in a variety of development settings. He has played a central role in the founding and management of two NGOs and in the establishment of local and regional inter-sectoral learning networks.


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New Author Suggests Buying 'Books' as gifts this Christmas
Today marks the 1st of December, author, Patrice Simpson is urging Jamaican to gift their family members and friends a 'book'. What seems like an unlikely Christmas present to many comes as a suggestion as Patrice believes that gifts with sentimental value will help uplift the spirits of those who have been affected directly or indirectly by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The new author who released her book entitled 'SHE' had a challenging childhood. Her father migrated when she was only 6 years old prompting her mother to be the driving force in her and her five sisters' lives. Patrice said, "During Christmas, we exchanged gifts when we could, but money was limited so we prided ourselves in sharing gifts with sentimental value that would last forever in our hearts. Now that I am an author, I realize just how much you can live vicariously through characters in different stories".
'SHE' features 70 vignettes that support different themes inspired by the lives and struggles of real women. "My book makes for a beautiful gift for any female in your life that feel as though they are alone in their struggle. However, whether it is my book or not, books add value to people's lives, so gift one this Christmas" added Patrice. The self-published author describes her book as 'relatable' and 'thought-provoking', as it expounds on female trials and successes.
The 'SHE' author self-published her book and has the Kindle version available on Amazon and paperback versions available in stores in Jamaica. Patrice Simpson believes that reading exercises the reader's imagination and helps them to explore a new world. She has been featured on several local and international television and radio programmes highlighting her book which verified readers have dubbed 'inspirational'.
She can be followed on Instagram @triciiwrites.
Le Antonio's Foundation Feeding Programme


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Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews expecting second child
Aleesha Badkar March 16, 2020 9:00 am
Credit: Getty
Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews are expecting their second child.
The lovely couple, who welcomed their first child Theodore together back in 2018, have announced that they are expecting their second child together.
Speaking to HELLO! Magazine, the pair revealed that they are expecting a baby girl, with model and DJ Vogue already five and a half months through her pregnancy.
"We're delighted," she said. "It's so exciting but kind of scary to think we're going to have another newborn.
Happiness is YOU @spencermatthews and Theodore of course…. oh and my Winnie!! ❤
A post shared by voguewilliams (@voguewilliams) on Mar 12, 2020 at 11:43am PDT
"There's no doubt that I feel lucky to be having another baby. It isn't easy for everyone, and it was certainly a different path for us this time, so it's really nice to be here and talking about it now."
Vogue revealed that the couple had been trying for a baby since last summer, revealing, "our journey this time hasn't been as easy and straightforward as the last one, and for that reason we wanted to keep it under wraps for longer.
Explaining that she discovered that she has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can cause complications with conceiving, Vogue continued, "We just had a few bumps in the road this time around and it just wasn't as straightforward as it was with Theodore."
Happy International Women's Day to my gorgeous better half. You have helped me more than you will ever know. Theodore and I are lucky to have you. With love. x
A post shared by SPENCER (@spencermatthews) on Mar 8, 2020 at 1:25pm PDT
"We were trying and there was no doubt in my mind in my ability to get Vogue pregnant again," added Spencer, "but a bit of time had passed. I wouldn't say alarm bells were going off, but we did wonder how we could make it work a bit more efficiently."
Speaking of her excitement at having a little girl, Vogue admitted that she has already bought "an obscene amount of clothes", adding, "She's going to be like my little doll."
"There's an amazing opportunity to have fun with girls' names in particular," said Spencer of his daughter, "and to be creative – a little bit wild even.
MORE: Vogue Williams admits 'parenting is such hard work' as she opens up on life with baby Theodore
"Because so many cool, exotic names lend themselves to being very useable. There won't be any degree of stupidity to the name though. I think you can be fresh, and new and different, but it has got a bit silly in a few cases. So we'll try and rein it in".
Big congratulations to the couple on their exciting news!
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ARPPU in top performing games up 20% compared to 2016
At GameAnalytics, we've recently launched Benchmarks+, a mobile intelligence tool for the games industry with a huge scale of global data. This platform includes aggregated insights for each KPI across 1.2 billion players, 16 billion sessions and 150 million transactions each month.
Ioana Hreninciuc
CEO at GameAnalytics
Daily ARPPU has increased by around 20% since 2016 But what does spending look like for each gaming category? ARPPU for top-performing "Casual" games is around $50-60 Daily ARPPU in "Classic" games has increased by 35% Daily ARPPU in the best "Mid-core" games is around $50-60 In summary
Daily ARPPU has increased by around 20% since 2016
But what does spending look like for each gaming category?
ARPPU for top-performing "Casual" games is around $50-60
Daily ARPPU in "Classic" games has increased by 35%
Daily ARPPU in the best "Mid-core" games is around $50-60
Analysis from Benchmarks+ takes into account several different performance quantiles, including the "superstars" (top 5%, 10%, 15%), and the "standard" quantiles (top 25%, median, bottom 25%). We've segmented the analysis in this way to give a broad signal of typical performance bands seen across the industry. Tracking these quantiles also sheds light on historical trends per "band" to give a better sense of how the industry has evolved.
Using Benchmarks+, we have analyzed how the main gaming categories and genres have performed for daily ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User), looking at the full year of 2019, and all the way back to 2016. For this analysis, our key focus is the top 5% performance for this metric, which is a good indication of how much "whales" spend in popular titles on any given day. All revenue is IAP based and daily ARPPU values are averaged to weekly data points.
The top 5% of daily ARPPU values across all genres has climbed to around $66 (roughly an $11 or 20% increase compared to 2016). Despite this growth, the top 25%, median, and bottom performers have remained the same. This essentially means that players are prepared to spend more than ever before in the games that really capture their attention.
Even at the top, there is a huge variance: the gap between the top 5% and the top 10% is almost 2x. What this means is that the best performing (top 5%) of titles can on any given day see a daily ARPPU as high as $70, double the ARPPU of games in the top 10% at around $35-40.
Benchmarks+ allows users to filter top metrics by the different App Store genres, with these genres grouped into three main categories of mobile games. For this analysis, GameAnalytics has reviewed ARPPU for the Casual, Classic, and Mid-Core categories, sharing how this trend varies across different game types. Benchmarks+ will soon launch more granular sub-genres.
Between H2 – 2018 and H1 – 2019 the ARPPU for top-performing Casual games was at an all-time high. We believe this was a result of the hyper-casual boom and the sheer number of players this genre was bringing in. In the latter half of 2019, this metric began to show signs of stabilizing more towards the "normal" levels of previous years. This could be a reflection of an ever more ad-focused approach, but also of the increased competition in the casual space.
Throughout 2019, the best performing Classic games consistently achieved a daily ARPPU of $60 upwards. This is an increase of $20-30 compared to 2016. The top 10% has increased by up to $10, and the top 15% increased by $5. This means high spenders are parting with more cash in the classic titles, across a larger range of games. These types of games (word puzzlers, solitaire, chess etc.) are popular across all age groups and demographics, including older players with more disposable income, which might account for the increased spending.
Although the quantile variance is less pronounced than it is for the other categories covered, the top performing 5% of mid-core games still see up to 3x better monetization than the top 25%. Overall, the closeness of these performance quantiles highlights that mid-core games are better at converting across the board, with an overall greater focus on IAP still, even in this age of ads. Since 2016, the top 5% ARPPU has increased slightly, by about $5-10.
It's evident that the market is now undergoing widespread changes at a quicker rate than ever before. Hyper-casual appears to have boomed, and now might be evolving into something quite different. Although this analysis shows there are similarities between the different gaming categories, the need to follow industry trends per genre has never been so high, especially if developers want to truly succeed in this ever-evolving market.
At the moment, users of Benchmarks+ are able to answer these questions and more, filtering by category and genre for the major quantiles, all the way back to 2016. We will soon release advanced filtering options, allowing users to drill down across different geographies, operating platforms, sub-genres, and even filter data by IAP spenders. This release is planned for late January 2020.
You can find more information about it here.
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Industry insights for free
Check out Benchmarks+ for free 🚀
Dive right into our free tier and access industry trends for 2019


A Google employee took "anything for Selenas" to the next level.
When Perla Campos, Google Doodles global marketing lead, found out her idea of a Selena doodle was accepted, she had to be on the team that would create it.
Campos, 28, was working for the company in Spain when the team began working on the doodle. When she transferred back to the United States, Campos made sure the doodle would give the Queen of Tejano justice.
"When I came on the team, I asked for us to postpone the doodle to make something bigger," Campos said. "Selena means so much to me ... Obviously, she is a pillar for the community so we went with a more complex doodle in the form of a video."
The doodle was released on Oct. 17, 2017, marking the launch date of Selena's first studio album in 1989.
The minute-and-a-half video features an animated Selena Quintanilla-Perez in the iconic purple outfit she wore during her last live performance at the Astrodome, posters of her in concert and illustrations of the singer holding her microphone with her red lipstick on it.
The doodle recently made "Google's best Doodles of the last 20 years" by Engadget, a technology news and review website.
The article says the doodle honoring the late Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla took the longest to make.
"One of the members of the team, Perla Campos, felt it was her life's purpose to tell the story of Quintanilla, who was murdered at the age of 23," the article states. "The Doodle took the form of a short film featuring one her most popular songs, 'Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,' as it illustrated her rise from a young, up-and-coming artist to a global mainstream musical powerhouse."
Campos said the doodle team of more than 15 people worked on producing the Selena doodle for nearly two years.
She said the team worked closely with Selena's older sister, Suzette, and her father, Abraham Quintanilla.
The Quintanilla family took the team through the major life events of Selena, Campos said.
"We wanted to collaborate with the family and we wanted to make sure her most iconic songs were in the doodle," Campos said.
"It was the project of (a) lifetime," she said. "We put her on the largest platform possible so people could learn about who she was. I love her and I know how loved she is. I wanted people to love it."
Campos recalled growing up in Grandbury, Texas where she would dress up like Selena and perform her songs at talent shows.
"I loved her because she looked just like me and because I felt like she understood what it was like for me growing up. I felt proud to be Mexicana. She helped me believe in myself from a very early age," she said.
"It was always very clear that I was different from a lot of the kids I went to school with. I spoke Spanish at home and we ate different foods. It was really hard, but watching Selena having all these dreams and achieving all these things made me believe I could do great things."
In a "Talks at Google" video, Suzette Quintanilla is interviewed by Campos before the Google Doodle was released. She talked about growing up with Selena and playing in their family band "Selena y los Dinos."
Suzette Quintanilla played the drums in the band while her brother, A.B. Quintanilla, played bass.
"It warms my heart. It's pretty incredible what is happening with her legacy," Suzette said in the interview. "I remember when my sister passed away, one of my father's goals that he made very clear was to make sure nobody forgot about Selena."
"We're very selective with things that we associate Selena's name with and there's a reason," she said. "Just having her presence and people knowing about what she represented for us Latinos ... I hope that in another 20 years we're still talking about her."


Researchers have recently discovered that smoking can damage both your brain health as well as your heart health. So the question is, does smoking increase your chances of memory loss later in life? A brand-new study by researchers in South Kora at the Seoul National University Hospital suggests that it does.
The South Korean researchers followed over 46,000 men from 2006 to 2013, ages 60 and older. They found that men who quit smoking and those that never smoked were far less likely to develop dementia than current smokers over the course of the study. According to the study, men who have never smoked were 19% less likely to develop dementia compared to current smokers. In addition, they were also 18% less likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Those who decided to quit for more than 4 years were 14% less likely to develop dementia and 15% less likely to develop Alzheimer's decease compared to those who are still smoking.
During 2016, an estimated 16% of men and 13% of women in the U.S were smokers. Smoking can be linked to an increased risk of various heart diseases, lung diseases, cancers, and several other health conditions. Although more research is required, the negative impact of smoking on the blood vessels and heart might assist with the link between dementia and smoking.
Smoking can damage and tighten blood vessels which essentially restricts blood flow to the brain and therefore deprive the brain for the necessary oxygen and nutrients it requires. Smoking can also cause blood clots to develop in the brain, resulting in strokes. This leads to a certain type of dementia called vascular dementia. Furthermore, reactive compounds found in tobacco smoke can also cause oxidative stress leading to the damage of brain tissue.
According to the Association of Alzheimer's, avoiding tobacco smoke is one of the greatest steps you can take to lower the risk of developing dementia later on in life. It's vitally important to eat a nutritious diet, ensure you get enough sleep, stay both mentally and physically active, and socialize with others. Studies have indicated that those who continue to learn brand-new things, such as taking up ballroom dancing, attending a class at a local college, or reading a new book every month is extremely beneficial to a healthy lifestyle. You will also need to stay physically active as this is also extremely beneficial to the health of your brain.
If you are a smoker and wish to kick the horrible habit, especially after reading this article, consider seeing a doctor to discuss various ways in which you can quit successfully. Your doctor will either give you prescription medications or recommend over the counter medications to assist with nicotine cravings. Your doctor can also suggest telephone, group, or individual counselling to assist you in managing the challenges of giving up the habit of smoking.
China Fines Employees Walking Less Than 180,000 Steps!


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Christian Aid's Naosheen Afroz: "Community participation takes place at every level"
Naosheen Roo Afroz works with Christian Aid's integrated emergency humanitarian response team in Cox Bazar. She is also the accountability coordinator. We had a chat with her against the background of the recent publication of Christian Aid's Accountability Assessment of the Rohingya Response in Bangladesh.
Naosheen, could you tell us what type of aid you deliver within the context of the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh?
Christian Aid and our implementing partners are supporting affected people and communities through various relief activities, namely:
Shelter and distribution of essential material including solar lamps;
Water and sanitation through the installation of latrines and the construction of showers; waste management; promotion of hygiene;
Protection: friendly spaces have been created in order to respond to the psychological needs of women, adolescent girls and children and bring a sense of normality back into their day-to-day lives; community kitchens have been created to support families;
Health: we are operating a mobile medical service, providing basic health care; we have distributed basic medication; we have carried out door-to-door house visits and community sessions on maternal care and reproductive health and have made a referral service available;
Site management: day-to-day management of 15 camp sites in collaboration with the Camp In-Charge (CIC); creation of Block Development Committees, which are the main points of contact to engage the Rohingya community in decision-making.
Community participation takes place at every level.
How does your team cooperate with partner organisations to deliver aid jointly?
Christian Aid's country team and our partner organisations have worked closely together since the very first day, conducting needs assessments and distributing relief supplies, including hygiene kits, latrine kits, menstrual hygiene kits and shelter materials.
Thanks to our implementing partners, we have been able to consult communities and vice versa from the earliest stages of programme planning. Ahead of distribution activities, for example, we jointly consult communities in order to identify their needs. Another example is that we have agreements with our partners, mainly within the framework of consortium projects, that a joint procurement committee will be established in order to ensure that the products we deliver respond to certain quality standards.
We inform communities about the distribution of supplies in their language. We inform them about the locations at which our distributions activities will take place and which items will be distributed, resorting drawings and identification numbers. We do the same to inform communities about available services and referral mechanisms.
Today, over 172 frontline staff from Christian Aid and partner organisations have received training on the importance of accountability and the basic norms of community interaction, so that they align with the Nine Commitments of the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), the Code of Conduct of the International Red Cross, as well as the Code of Conduct for the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).
What type of feedback mechanisms have you put in place in Cox Bazar?
In order to establish feedback mechanisms, we consulted 373 people – 194 women and 179 men – in the camps to find out about their preferred mechanisms. Simultaneously we ran a pilot project to see whether voice recorders placed in women- and child-friendly spaces would be used by women to share their feedback or complaints. These processes revealed that there were major gender-related differences in attitudes towards accountability. Women seem to have a much stronger desire to give feedback and were more concerned with confidentiality than men. However, everyone expressed a strong preference to share feedback verbally and said that they had neither the literacy or language skills, or the necessary awareness, to access many of the traditional accountability mechanisms, such as complaints boxes or hotlines. In fact, complaints boxes and hotlines were their least preferred mechanisms. Face-to-face, verbal mechanisms were clearly preferred. This meant that we had to think about what mechanisms we could use to gather people's feedback.
What feedback mechanisms did you establish as a result of this consultation process?
We have made a wide array of feedback mechanisms available in order to cater to people's diverse preferences. Voice recorders are available at women- and child-friendly spaces, but also at communal cooking areas. The Block Development Committees also collect complaints and feedback and record them in their logbook. Our volunteers have a feedback form to record what they hear when they interact with communities. We also have an info hub at our site management office and finally, we have a complaints box which we kept for visibility purposes.
We collect feedback, transcribe and analyse the voice-recorder messages on a weekly basis. Site management personnel identify and monitor those cases where follow-up is needed. These are presented at coordination meetings or individually, with the relevant stakeholder. We still have work to do in order to aggregate and analyse the feedback we collect through multiple mechanisms, but we are getting there!
How has the feedback improved Christian Aid's response so far?
The Rohingya response is one of the largest refugee responses in terms of numbers of people affected and the complexity of the situation. The feedback we receive from refugees helps us and our partners to learn on a daily basis. For feedback that relates to Christian Aid we discuss it within our project team, at our weekly meetings, and make a response and follow-up plan. If the feedback doesn't relate to Christian Aid or partner activities, we refer it at sector coordination meetings, such as those relating to site management or food security. We also share feedback with our head office, which uses it to inform their decision-making.
How has this mproved the lives of refugees in Cox Bazaar?
When I started in January, I found that people in the camps were very shy when asked to share their opinion. Sometimes they would only talk about their very basic needs – mostly related with food. Every day, we would come in and encourage people to speak up, and today the community trusts us, they raise their voice, they make demands and even draw our attention when we don't give them a timely response. These are all very positive signs.
Have you done anything different in relation to CHS?
When conducting research for our Accountability Assessment Report, we seized the opportunity to verify whether Rohingya refugees thought we had successfully implemented the Nine Commitments of the CHS. We had never asked people these questions at such an early stage of a response. The results were really interesting and revealed that women were less inclined than men to feel that the humanitarian response is appropriate, while neither men or women thought it was provided in a timely fashion. However, women felt that they could influence projects, which surprised us. We acknowledge that this response may be due to the fact that there has been more space for women to share their opinion. We were really pleased to know however that Rohingya refugee consider that they are treated well by humanitarian aid workers. These findings were really helpful for us to understand what people thought of the assistance we provide. We used them in order adapt our programme and ensure the equal representation of women and men in Block Development Committees.
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