At just 15 years old, Rofhiwa Mukhondo, a student in Gauteng, South Africa, has been awarded the prestigious Galactic Unite Africa Scholarship award, made possible by Virgin Galactic Future Astronaut Tim Nash and his family.
The prestigious award is one of four programmes facilitated by the Thandulwazi Maths and Science Academy. It is designed to support students with strong language proficiency and academic excellence with particular achievement in science and mathematics. It's specifically aimed at students who fall within the group of "historically disadvantaged South Africans" and are successful despite the weak infrastructure in the schools in which they learn. Prior to accepting the scholarship, Rofhiwa was a weekly boarder in Grade Nine at Lee Rand High School, situated in Benoni on the East Rand of Gauteng, spending weekends at home every month, where she lives with her brother, his wife and their daughter.
I caught up with 15-year-old Rofhiwa to find out about more about her life, the changes to come and her hopes and dreams for the future.
It's amazing news about the scholarship – well done! I bet everyone's really proud of you – what do your friends and family think about it all?
My friends and family always have more faith in me than I have in myself. I felt the most pressure from my brother as he is always more serious about things like this and wants me to do well.
My friends really believe in me and all think I'm completely capable. Some of my friends just want to get finished at school, but I'm determined. If people have a dream and want to achieve it, it inspires me so that's what I'm doing.
What is your current school like and what do you think will be different at the academy?
I think the amount of work is going to be doubled, and I will need to put in more time to study, but I am a determined young lady! I won't struggle too much as long as I put my mind to it and set goals and reach them.
I also think it will be easier to study at the College and I will have more time to focus on studying, not cleaning and helping around the house etc.
I read that you plan to study medicine and specialise in neuroscience – where did this passion come from and what do you love so much about it?
I have always wanted to be a doctor but didn't know what type of doctor. During school we were doing the nervous system and I really liked finding out how everything works. Like you can just blink and the brain does loads of different things. The brain is amazing!
Is that what made you apply for the scholarship?
Well because I want to be a neurosurgeon, all aspects of the scholarship suit me. The school is amazing; it is beautiful and academically top class, but quite expensive. My father applied for the scholarship for me when he saw it advertised.
Reading, drawing, writing poetry, and creative writing – anything to do with creativity really. I don't love sports!
So the big question: who is your main inspiration?
My brother. He also had a scholarship and I watched him study day and night… always studying. He started from the bottom and is working his way up, which is inspiring.
If you were president, what would your main focus be? Education. I would make big changes and focus on education. It is so important; it creates more jobs and benefits everyone. Your mind just expands when you have education.
Would you ever want to go into space? And if you got the chance to, who would you want to go with?
Richard Branson! When you read about him he's such an open minded guy. His mind is so open, he has no boundaries and doesn't limit himself. Nothing limits him, he just goes for it. I was amazed when I found out he was dyslexic. Everything he has made came from the low expectations of others and he was completely successful. He's an inspiration.
Thank you for the opportunity and I will show you that you will not be disappointed.
It was really uplifting to speak to such an articulate, intelligent and ambitious young lady with so much determination to achieve her dreams.
Read more about the scholarship in partnership with the Thandulwazi Learner Scholarship Programme, and the work Galactic Unite are doing.


Wash and chop the parsley along with the sage and basil.
Drain the tuna and break into pieces, add chopped anchovies and the chopped herbs and mix well together.
In the meantime, sauté the garlic in the olive oil, add the tuna mixture and let it take on flavour over a low flame.
Drain the spaghetti, pour into a serving fish and top with the warm sauce.


Honey - www.dolcepiemonte.com marchio L.P.S. s.a.s.
Honey There are	2 products.
High mountains honey is produced at an altitude of 1200 meters. Where the flowers grow away from sources of pollution and honey is even richer in nutrients and healthy.


Adam Lebowitz, University of Tsukuba, Japan, Kelsea Clingeleffer, Liana Riddington, Zara Hoare, and Warde Macintosh, University of Tasmania, provide insights into the advantages of study tour experiences.
On-site tours of post-disaster areas can deepen conceptual understanding of risks in a disaster environment. This evaluation describes highlights of a three-week program in Japan for Australian students of disaster psychology to study disaster mitigation and management in a different cultural setting. Students visited northeastern areas of Japan affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011, and centres for learning and memorialisation (the process of preserving memories of people or events) in Tokyo. This visit allowed students to meet experts in disaster risk reduction and recovery and allowed observation of how theory and practice in these areas have been developed in Japan.
Read Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Volume 30 Number 3, July 2015, pp 62-65.
Call for Application for UNESCO Chair Programme on Cultural Heritage and Risk Management, International Training Course (ITC) on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage 2018, 13th year.
Cultural heritage is increasingly exposed to disasters caused by natural and human induced hazards such as earthquakes, floods, fires, typhoons, theft, terrorism etc. Recent examples include Earthquakes in Central Mexico in 2017, Central Italy and Myanmar in 2016, Nepal earthquake in 2015, UK floods in 2015, Balkan floods in 2014 and ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen. These disasters not only effect the immovable heritage components such as monuments, archaeological sites and historic urban areas but also cause damage to the movable components that include museum collections and heritage objects that are in active use such as religious and other artefacts of significance to the local community. Both these movable and immovable components are exposed to various hazards that necessitate appropriate measures to reduce disaster risks. Also in the aftermath of a disaster many architectural fragments of damaged or collapsed buildings need documentation, handling and storage similar to movable heritage collections. Therefore an integrated approach for movable and immovable heritage is needed for risk assessment of heritage sites as well as museums and its collections before, during and after a disaster situation. Limited availability of human and financial resources also calls for closer coordination between professionals and institutions dealing with heritage sites, museums and the external agencies. Moreover integrated disaster risk management involves appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce various risks to movable and immovable heritage components by taking into consideration their heritage values that are often interdependent. It is also important to recognize many examples of traditional knowledge evolved by communities through series of trials and errors that demonstrate that movable and immovable cultural heritage can be an effective source of resilience against disaster risks and integrate these in larger disaster risk management strategies.
Japan is home to a variety of frequently occurring disasters, which can cause wide-ranging damage to its cultural resources. For this reason, the country has taken specialized measures in establishing a disaster risk management system and methodology for post-disaster emergency response and recovery.
Together with the preservation of historical townscapes and buildings, we aim to protect the objects and implements long used in the daily lives of people of the region, as well as objects that serve as clues to understanding the lives and achievements of past generations. For this reason, we consider both movable and immovable cultural property to be essential subjects of our disaster risk management efforts.
Seasonal festivals and rituals as well as local celebrations and customs also help to make people's lives more abundant in the local community. Thus, another significant task is the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage from natural hazards.
These various cultural heritage disaster mitigation measures, many developed in response to Japan's special circumstances, will be covered in this training.
See http://r-dmuch.jp/en/project/itc_2018.html for Guidelines for Application, Application Form and further information about the course.
Read UNESCO's recent publication on their response to protect culture in crises, current challenges, the importance of culture in emergency situations and human rights.


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Ten (10) minute presentation during 1st or second CPP/FPC class.
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text:
RELATED URLs
ART NOUVEAU ARTISTS
VISIT ART NOUVEAU
© 1993-2012 Frank Derville
Welcome to the "Art Nouveau 'round the World server"
What is Art Nouveau? (AN)
Art Nouveau is the French/Belgian name of an art movement in reaction to the academical schools at the end of the XIXth century (1894-1914). This movement was represented in Europe and also in the United States. It often had several names in each country. Some were named after major artists, magazines or firms (e.g. in France, "Style Guimard," in Germany, "Jugendstil," and in Italy, "Stile Liberty" see etymologies). Other, more general referred to something new ("Art Nouveau" in France, Modernism in Spain, "Nieuwe Kunst" in the Netherlands or "Sezessionstil" in Austria). In each country, "Art Nouveau" had its own identity, and sometimes artists at that time were opposed to each other. However, beyond these "oppositions" between countries or even artists, we can find, retrospectively, numerous common points in each movement. By "Art Nouveau", I mean all the avant-garde movements during the period 1894-1914 in reaction to the academic and historical point of view.
Art Nouveau artists wanted to erase the distinction between major and minor arts. They aimed at unifying all arts, centering them around man and his life. Therefore architecture, which has a direct influence on man's life, was the central art on which every skill is naturally integrated. Architecture is seen as a total art; every detail, every object in or on the building is related to the whole. Other crafts/arts of the Art Nouveau period not related to building are placards and jewelry. But jewelry took women as its center.
Some art historians like to talk about an Art Nouveau "style" (as they would talk about Gothic, Roman, and Baroque styles) that took its inspiration from nature and women. One of the main arguments for gathering all the national movements into a single style is their common roots.
Others think that this first point of view is too reductive for movements that can have different approaches and even self contradictions. They prefer to study a "period" in Arts that ends at the First World War.
Art Nouveau, if defined as a decorative style, was already declining since the middle of the first decade. It was sparely in use after WWI, but in Spain by Gaudi or in Germany by Mendelsohn, or in countries where it had started later, like Greece and Argentina.
This server is made more or less in the second way of thinking, while not rejecting the fact that the Art Nouveau "style" is the first thing that a beginner sees and that this style had an important role in this complex period, especially with the beginning of mass advertising. Hypertext links are very useful to show a multifaceted world.
Etymologies
Art Nouveau etymology
The name "Art Nouveau" ("new art" in English) was first used by contemporary critics in Belgium. It was then used by Siegfried Bing to name his art shop in Paris, which specialized in Japanese Art (his brother worked as an ambassador in Japan) and contemporary work by Art Nouveau artists. The shop interior was designed Art Nouveau artists including the Belgian artist Henry van de Velde and the Dutch George de Feure. The term is now used in English and French.
Jugendstil etymology
The name "Jugendstil" literally means: style promoted by the Jugend magazine (Jugend means Youth in German), which was created in Munich in 1896. It is now used in German to designate Art Nouveau. In Poland, the Art Nouveau movement was called Young Poland (Nova Polska).
Stile Liberty etymology
Stile Liberty is named after the company "Liberty Ltd.". This famous English company was one of the few English companies involved in Art Nouveau. It is used in Italy as well as "stile Floreale" (flower style)
This word is used in German to characterize artistic movements rejecting the imitation of historical styles (secession means "be apart"). Viennese Secession is the best known, but such movements existed also in Dresde, München (the first one), and Berlin.
This word is used after the William Morris Association, which rejected the use of machines and pushed hand-made, high quality objects. The esthetics of Arts and Crafts is partly inspired by medieval Art and closely related to the Preraphaelist painting movement. The Arts & Crafts style directly inspired the Continental artists by the way of world fairs, magazines and visits.
portion ©2005 to Valerie Hoy for her style corrections. Thank you.
©1993-2012 Frank Derville
The Art-Nouveau-round-the-world server is dedicated to promote a better knowledge of the Art Nouveau period (1890-1914)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Redistricting Battle Coming in Texas
Justice Department to Lay Out Decision on Legality of New Map
By Rollcall Staff
The Justice Department will deliver its opening salvo today in Texas' controversial redistricting case, laying out its initial argument on whether the state's new Congressional map adheres to the Voting Rights Act.
The department's legal brief will also give a hint as to how hard the Obama administration will fight for Hispanic voters in a proxy battle against one of the president's potential opponents next year, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R).
"It's a critical step in figuring where we end up in redistricting, especially Congressional redistricting," said Michael Li, a Democratic election attorney in Dallas. "It's the first time Democrats have controlled the Justice Department [during this process] in 40 years, since the Voting Rights Act was enacted. Everyone has been wondering how aggressive the Justice Department is going to be."
Earlier this year, Texas Republicans passed a Congressional map that added four new House seats — a result of population growth. But Democrats charge that the map does not accurately reflect the increase in Hispanic voters by creating additional majority-minority districts.
The Justice Department has been tight-lipped about the Texas map. Xochitl Hinojosa, the department's spokeswoman for the civil rights division, declined to comment for this story.
But many Democrats are optimistic that the Justice Department will use the new Texas map as the basis for a major judicial battle.
"Those of us who have been following this believe there is ample reason why the Justice Department will object to these plans," said Matt Angle, a Democratic strategist and redistricting expert from Texas.
The Department of Justice's brief, due in court today, could provide a range of answers, redistricting experts said. It could approve the map, making an upcoming federal trial almost moot, or it could ask for more information about certain areas of concern. The department's attorneys could also oppose parts of the Texas plan or all of it.
Meanwhile, a separate federal trial over the map in San Antonio wrapped up last week. That court is expected to hold off on a decision until the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia gets the DOJ brief and then decides on moving forward with a trial.
Many prominent Republicans are mum on the matter. Some of them involved with the new map declined, through aides, to be interviewed for this story, including Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and Republican Reps. Joe Barton and Lamar Smith.
"The State is confident that the new legislative and Congressional maps comply with both the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution," Abbott spokeswoman Lauren Bean wrote in an email. "For the last ten days the Texas Attorney General's office has defended Texas' new redistricting maps, including the Congressional map, in trial in federal district court in San Antonio."
But Texas House Members are not optimistic, given the conclusion of the San Antonio trial, according to one well-placed party operative in the state. Like many others, the operative declined to speak on the record during ongoing litigation.
In the San Antonio trial last week, the state's expert witness testified that Republican Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco's new district does not pass muster as a Hispanic-performing district. That's one of three major legal problem areas Democrats frequently cite in the new Texas map. They also lament that there's only one minority district around Dallas, even though there are 1.5 million Hispanics in the area.
Finally, Democrats argue the map as a whole retrogresses the representation of majority-minority districts from 11 to 10 seats, despite the state picking up four seats.
"The state's expert witness turned a rock-solid legal argument into a question when there are already so many other questions," the GOP operative bemoaned. "Because of the way the [state] attorney general handled the case, there's no question that Republican Members are extremely nervous about the potential outcome and ruling on this case. Nervous is an understatement."
Members are worried about their seats, but the implications of the redistricting court battle go beyond the state's map.
Obama stands to gain if the Justice Department battles the Texas map, staging a symbolic fight with his surging rival, Perry. Polls show the president's standing with Hispanic voters continues to slip, and a strong effort in court will show that his administration is on their side.
"It sends Hispanic voters a message that this Justice Department is ready to fight to defend the Voting Rights Act — and not just Hispanic voters, but African-Americans voters," Angle said.
Perry signed the map into law, so he benefits if courts pre-clear it without much hassle. Many Republicans see Perry as the party's best shot to compete for Hispanic voters in 2012, and an easy trial reinforces that notion.
"He's one of the candidates that truly understands the Hispanic community given that almost 40 percent of the state is Hispanic," said Bettina Inclán, the former national executive director of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. "They have a huge part of the state that is Latino, and he also has one of the largest borders with Mexico."
Perry faced a tight time frame to sign the map in mid-July, just a few weeks before he announced his campaign for president. If he vetoed the bill, he would have been forced to call another special session for lawmakers to pass a new map — a move that would have pushed his campaign launch even further into the fall.
Texas is up against the clock to finish the map before candidates begin filing for next year's primaries on Nov. 12. The map must be done 30 days in advance of that date, leaving only a few weeks to resolve any legal issues.
Texas has a history of legal challenges to its maps. In 2001, a federal court redrew the lines after the Legislature failed to pass its own map. The next year, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's (R) state allies redrew the map again.
In 2006, the Supreme Court struck down part of DeLay's map and ruled that one district violated the Voting Rights Act.
The redraw orchestrated by DeLay remains one of the most controversial redistricting cases in history. It's a situation that only amplifies the stakes this time for Texas as well as for Hispanic voters across the country.
"I can't imagine it being more politicized than the 2003 DeLay redistricting," Li said. "It's sort of a battle between the old and new Texas. It's a battle between Anglo Texas and Hispanic Texas in a lot of ways, and the emerging Hispanic majority."


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Nest CEO vows no ads in products as firm prepares to restart Protect smoke detector sales
Mikey Campbell | May 22, 2014
Following a report that Google is eyeing ad placement on refrigerators, wearables and other connected devices, former Apple executive and Nest cofounder Tony Fadell said his company's thermostats will not be an outlet for such promotions.
Earlier on Wednesday, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed Google could one day serve targeted ads on car dashboards, thermostats, glasses and watches, "just to name a few possibilities."
The statement ruffled some feathers, however, as it seemed to imply the Internet search giant is at least considering using its $3.2 billion purchase of Nest Labs to further its advertising business, something the company promised would not happen.
Google subsequently noted the filing was made prior to the purchase of Nest and did not necessarily reflect its future product plans. The company said it is in contact with the SEC to correct the filing's language.
On Nest's side, Fadell issued his own statement in what appear to be an attempt to temper rampant speculation, telling Re/code that ads will not be displayed on the firm's Nest Learning Thermostat.
"Nest is being run independently from the rest of Google, with a separate management team, brand and culture," Fadell said. "For example, Nest has a paid-for business model, while Google has generally had an ads-supported business model. We have nothing against ads — after all Nest does lots of advertising. We just don't think ads are right for the Nest user experience."
The emailed statement echoed sentiments discussed by Fadell in January covering data collection and privacy.
Revelations of Google's SEC filing come at an unfortunate time for Nest as the Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced the recall of some 440,000 Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector units. Nest took the product off store shelves in April after it was discovered that the "Nest Wave" convenience function posed a potential safety risk.
With "wave," users can flail their hands in front of Protect to disable the built-in alarm, but a flaw in the device's software was causing the feature to be unintentionally activated.
Wednesday's decidedly negative press overshadowed Nest's announcement that it would be restarting sales of Protect "in a few weeks." As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the company will have the Nest Wave feature activated when the device returns to stores.
cashxx
Too late you sold out and are Google's b!tch now!!
macxpress
Maybe he didn't get the memo about the ads...
After seeing tha pic of the smoke alarm, this article seems a little silly. I mean, what kind of ads would be displayed on it or a thermostat?
512ke
I LOVE the idea of Android/Google appliances in my home! Google can monitor my refrigerator and send me messages about what I should buy at the store. Google Voice will listen to what I say to my wife, and match the perfect ads on my fridge to my topics of conversation. And Google will keep a handy record of exactly when I get home, and how much electricity I am using, and more. This will be in addition to all the great information Google already collects about what I search for, to whom I'm talking, and what messages I send or receive. Thanks, Google, for watching over me!
/s
Nest is owned by Google, so what Fadell says essentially means nothing. Google can change its corporate policy at any time (or EULA for Nest), and Fadell can do nothing to stop it, despite his good intentions. Nest is just another (future) revenue stream (via ads) for Google.


text:
Q: Which element can I use instead of table that have the same properties? I have many pictures with the same size and I want to use them for a slideshow,
so they have to be in one row and maybe the width of this row be larger than width of the window and I want to some pictures go out of screen instead of they go in next line.
Before now I used table to make them in one row and I just moved the table to make this slideshow. [like this:]

   ...

but I want to use another element [ for example a div with some CSS rules that have a property like that table ] because table make some problems in my page.

A: A solution with minimal code and no "hacks".

       ...

DEMO

A: Most commonly, an unordered list ist used in such slider plugins.

with
li{float:left;}

This has the advantage, that you can put more elements into the
 elements (e.g. an image + description + short text).
but you could use a plain div as well

If you want more elements grouped together (e.g. an Explanation for the images) you have to wrap them with additional divs. (which effectively brings you back to the ul...)

 Text

 more Text

And just for you information, the correct way to use a table is:

A: Hey now used to this format

   ...

Css
.slideshow{
white-space: nowrap;
}
.slideshow img{
vertical-align:top;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Easy pickings: SNL takes on the IRS
By Tom Howell Jr. The Washington Times - May 20, 2013, 09:04AM
President Obama's rough week continued into the weekend, when "Saturday Night Live" did what it does best.
The hosts of "Weekend Update" ribbed the embattled IRS for targeting tea party groups from 2010 to 2012, a move that will do little to improve the revenue agency's reputation.
"You're less popular with Americans than exercise," weekly host Seth Meyers said.
"I mean really, the government only keeps you around to make the DMV look good," former cast member Amy Poehler said in a cameo.
They also knocked Mr. Obama for saying he found out about recent scandals from TV reports, a comedic strain the Daily Show's Jon Stewart highlighted last week by saying the president probably learned about Osama bin Laden's death in 2011 from his own televised announcement.
"I don't want to live in a world where you have the same sources as my aunt," Mr. Meyers said. "You're the president, I didn't think you had to watch TV for anything. I assumed you already knew how 'Breaking Bad' ends."
The tea party, too, should have seen this coming, they said.
"You named yourself after a group of people who proudly and historically violated tax laws," Ms. Poehler noted. "Look, if I had a vanity license plate that said 'WEED420,' I might expect to get pulled over now and then."
More from this Story
** FILE ** This Sept. 18, 2011, file photo shows Jimmy Fallon, ... more >
Tom Howell Jr.
Tom Howell Jr. covers politics and the White House for The Washington Times. He can be reached at [email protected].
Follow @TomHowellJr
Republicans launch 'Women for Trump' coalition in Pennsylvania
Donald Trump says a 'long way to go' on China trade
Bipartisan group wants to write Huawei ban into law
Treasury airs concerns about cryptocurrency, Facebook's Libra
Donald Trump demands higher standards for 'Made in America' goods


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Q: How do I execute a function on a page after navigating to it in Flutter? I have a CupertinoDialogAction button in Flutter that navigates back to a page with a timer. I want to start the timer function of that page upon clicking the button. Is this possible?
Here is the current code that I have to create the dialog action and navigate to the timer page upon being clicked.
Current Code

A: Create an init state method on the page with the timer and call your function there - this runs when the page is initialised

class TimerPage extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _TimerPageState createState() => _TimerPageState();
}

class _TimerPageState extends State<TimerPage> {

 .
 .
 .

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _startTimer();
  }

 .
 .
 .

}

As said in the comments, add your code in the body of your question - this will allow us to give a more complete answer.


The Field Safety Adviser takes on the role of leading, coordinating and providing appropriate guidance related to security management within an office.
- Country operations receive practical and well-reasoned security advice and support toward helping ensure an appropriate level of safety for UNHCR's staff and operations and compliance with security guidelines and procedures.
- UNHCR benefits from effective relationships with host country law enforcement agencies and the UN Security Management System.
- Staff are aware of threats/risks and how to respond to them, understand and comply with guidelines and procedures.
- Security management is efficient, well-coordinated and consistent with policies and procedures.
- Advise and support the Representative or Head of Office in managing staff safety and security of UNHCR staff, partners, operations, premises and refugees or persons of concern.
- Undertake periodic security assessments in close co-operation with UNHCR senior staff members and interagency partners, analysing security factors and levels of risk related to UNHCR activities and programmes.
- Evaluate existing security measures to determine their appropriateness and identify areas needing improvement. Follow up with actions to oversee or implement those improvements.
- Assist in ensuring compliance with Minimum Operational Safety Standards (MOSS) and Minimum Operational Residential Safety Standards (MORSS).
- Assist in the development of plans for evacuation, medical evacuation and other contingencies.
- In cooperation with UNHCR senior staff members, ensure that security measures are fully integrated into operational planning, including budgetary provisions, at the earliest stages of development.
- Participate and support in activities to advise on programme criticality assessment process.
- As a member of a multi-functional team, contribute to efforts to ensure the physical protection and security of refugees and other persons of concern by providing security assessments, analysis and advice in developing and implementing effective strategies which underpin the responsibilities of the host state.
- Develop and maintain relationships with security-related actors, including host government law enforcement authorities and other stakeholders to ensure effective information sharing; provide regular feedback and analysis to country managers.
- Maintain close co-operation with staff of the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), ensuring UNHCR's understanding of applicable requirements, cooperating in security assessments and planning and supporting UNDSS understanding of agency requirements.
- Support UNHCR staff serving as members of the country Security Management Team (SMT), or Area Security Management Team (ASMT), Area Security Coordinators (ASC) and Wardens.
- Provide country-relevant security advice and training to UNHCR staff, and where appropriate, to staff of NGOs and implementing partners in areas including, inter alia, preparation for and conduct of road missions, radio telecommunications and responding to specific threats within the environment.
- Conduct rehearsals and practical exercises to ensure that staff are familiar with contingency plans and can implement them confidently in an emergency.
- Prepare periodic analytical reports on security in accordance with UN and UNHCR standard operating procedures, sharing with managers in the country of assignment and FSS.
- Maintain linkages with the Staff Welfare Section, and the Medical Service, referring cases as required.
- Undertake other security-related functions or responsibilities as delegated by the supervisor.
- Advise on, and upon approval, implement, needed mitigating measures.
- Participate in criticality assessments.
- Represent UNHCR in interagency working groups and attend SMT or ASMT meetings as an observer.
- Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) with a focus on Security Management and/or related disciplines (Business Administration, Political/Social Science, International Relations) plus minimum 6 years of previous work experience relevant to the function including 2 years security risk management experience in an international capacity. Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master's) plus 5 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 4 years of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
- Also relevant would be military or police academy degree (at Officer level).
- Proven competences in security analysis.


text:
The Core, Bath Lane, NE4 5TF, UK
0044-1665-568-179
Licensed Applicators
Have you done everything that you can to improve fire safety on board your superyacht? Are you compliant with current legislation? Not sure? Then talk to us and we can help you.
Flame Screen is an Approved Service Provider
Flame Screen is proud to be a Service Provider approved by the MCA's Notified Body under the new MGN 580 (M), which sets out standards of fire retardant treatments for fabrics under the Large Commercial Yacht Code, now known as the REG. Our Certificate of Approval number is E007272
MGN 580 (M) - Fire Protection - Fire Retardant Treatments for Fabrics - New Legislation
Although the new MGN 580 (M) legislation replaces the previous MGN 453 (M), all vessels with MGN 453 (M) certification will continue to be covered until the renewal date of their certificate. Upon which any future certification will be completed to the new MGN 580 (M) standard.
Here's What You Need To Know about Compliance and MGN 580 (M)
The requirements regarding flame retardant treatments and those who apply them on-board vessels certified under the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Large Commercial Yacht Code part A (vessel < 500GT) have improved immensely over the last 20 years. We believe some of the the most significant changes took place when MGN 453 (M) was introduced. The MGN 453 (M) requirements were more stringent and raised the standards of those companies providing this crucial service. At that time, any prior MCA accreditations were revoked and all companies had to be approved and certified in accordance with a new set of procedures to recognise and document what was fire safe. As a result, crews, owners, and guests would benefit from the advancement.
Important Facts to Note
To control the approval of these fire retardant treatments, the MCA continues to use MCA Approval Procedures and a Declaration of Conformity for such treatments.
The standards required by those applying flame retardant products to floor coverings, suspended textile materials, upholstery materials and bedding components are set out in The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Marine Guidance Note (MGN) 580 (M).
The duration of the MGN 580 (M) Declaration of Conformity is not decided by the MCA, but by the Service Provider.
The MCA, and therefore all of the REG Flags recommend treatment every 12 months. Take a look at this article explaining the pros and cons of MGN 580 (M) Declaration of Conformity duration so you can make an informed decision.
Timeline of Legislation
The first Yacht Code was published by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in 1997
LY2 The Large Commercial Yacht Code MSA 010/009/0184 published September 2007
LY3 The Large Commercial Yacht Code MS 174/004/055 published August 2012
MGN 453(M) came into force on 1st October 2012
The Large Yacht Code LY3 combined into The Red Ensign Group Yacht Code known as The REG published Jan 2019.
Finally, the most recent amendment has been MGN 580 (M) which came into force in 2020.
Very little has changed in MGN 580 (M) from the previous MGN 453 (M) legislation. As a result, owners, guests, captains, crew, management companies and charter companies, won't have to do anything new.
We have set out the amendments below in more detail in a QA format.
The New MGN 580 (M) Legislation - What has changed from the previous MGN 453 (M)? Your Questions Answered.
MGN 580 (M): What do owners and captains of vessels need to do?
There are no changes from the client perspective at all. MGN 453 (M) certification is still recognised and valid until the renewal date. Then the certification will be completed to the new MGN 580 (M) standard.
MGN 580 (M) – What has changed compared to MGN 453 (M) legislation?
1. MCA Notified Bodies to Manage the new legislation.
The MCA have passed the management of MGN 580 (M) to any interested parties who are on the MCA's Notified Body List of UKAS Accredited Companies.
2. Changes to the pre-test process when the flame retardancy chemical is tested.
The MGN now requires a pre-soak of all textiles before we visit to treat them and the process witnessed, before the samples are then sent to test.
The fabrics are now soaked in water for 72 hours and the water is changed every 24 hours to prevent any pre-treatment tampering, before the company is invited in to spray. This is done to break down any previous treatments which may have been applied and thus preventing a spurious result.
Under the new MGN 580 (M), are all textiles tested to a higher performance requirement than previously?
No, that is not true. The only addition is the pre-soak discussed above which has nothing to do with flammability testing, that is exactly as it was and is strictly controlled by the IMO FTP Code of 2010, none of which has changed.
Do carpet and floor coverings require both flammability and the stringent life saving toxicity test under the new MGN 580 (M)?
No, that is not true, the IMO FTP CODE 2010 (Revised 2012) Part 5 – A.653 (16) Test for Surface Flammability for primary floor coverings is exactly the same, this includes the smoke toxicity test. They now have a water extraction element after treatment, which has been taken from the rules used for Cruise liners and Passenger Ferries, but no change to the Flame Test.
What does the MCA say about the requirement to treat carpets?
We contacted the MCA regarding this very subject and here is what they said about carpets and floor coverings:-
1. There is currently no requirement on Large Yachts under 500GT to treat floor coverings
2. The REG Yacht Code (Red Ensign Group) provides the current requirement.
3. Part A Section 14A does not require FTP Code compliance of carpets. (in line with SOLAS for under 500GT cargo ships).
4. Part A Section 14B does not require FTP Code compliance of carpets – only Primary Deck Coverings.
5. Part B Passenger Yachts does require FTP Code compliance of carpets – (in line with SOLAS for Passenger ships)
MGN 580(M) details how to treat floor coverings and primary deck coverings if there is a requirement to do so. MGN 580(M) does not constitute the requirement.
What's Checked and Monitored?
The following areas of the flame retardancy process have been scrutinised to create a more rigid method of monitoring and approval:-
Products used for the flame retardancy treatment
Testing of the textiles once treated
Certified applicators of the product and their methods
Detailed documentation of the treatment process
Audit of service provider's Quality Manual and processes including audit of Licensed Applicators
Information on all certified personnel approved by the service providers
Vessel certification ideally valid for one year in accordance with MCA recommendations
The Approval Procedures and Declaration of Conformity provide equivalence to inherently fire retardant materials on-board vessels built under the Large Commercial Yacht Code, now known as the REG.
Also, they establish robust quality assurance procedures to allow approval of flame retardant treatments, products and their application.
Want to Know More About Flame Retardancy?
We can help you through the ins and outs of fire retardancy. Just get in touch and let's take it from there.
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What Should You Look For in a Flame Retardancy Company?
You need to decide on a company who is not only professional but one that you trust.
Ask to see the chosen company's credentials, if they are certified for the task they will be happy to do so. Flame Screen's Certificate Number is E007272
Find out about the product they apply. Check to make sure it doesn't contain any harmful chemicals.
The company should have the experience and wealth of knowledge to provide professional valuable advice as every yacht is different in style, shape and décor employing luxurious unusual fabrics and textiles which often will require professional cleaning prior to treatment.
Choose a company who you will enjoy working with - a company who show they want to work with you on a long term basis, remember this should be a regular process, with planned maintenance intervals.
Finally, choose a company whose emphasis is on quality, know-how, professionalism and extremely high levels of service. You don't want to entrust your prized possession and considerable asset with anyone less.
"With Flame Screen, I know I'm in safe hands. They have been so helpful with compliance questions."
Overview of the REG (Red Ensign Group)
The REG has been in the business of regulating yachts since 1997 when the first "Large Yacht Code" was published by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
Over the last 20 years, a lot has happened in the superyacht industry, including a huge increase in the size and complexity of yachts being built today, which has required an ever-changing regulatory framework to reflect the industry's needs.
The Red Ensign Group Code consolidates an updated version of the Large Yacht Code (LY3) and the latest version of the Passenger Yacht Code (PYC) to better address the needs of the large yacht industry. The code further develops the well-established industry standards of the LY3 and the PYC, combining the lessons learned from 20 years of developing yacht codes.
Therefore, if you are currently flying a REG (Red Ensign Group) flag and are certified to any of the earlier versions of LY3 or PYC, then the new REG Yacht Code will be applicable.
Part A.
Is an updated version of LY3 and is now known as Part A, which continues to look after yachts which are 24Mtrs and over in load line length, are in commercial use for sport or pleasure, do not carry cargo and do not carry more than 12 passengers (not counting the crew).
Part B.
Is an updated version of the Passenger Yacht Code which is applicable to pleasure yachts of any size, in private use or engaged in trade, which carry more than 12 but not more than 36 passengers (not counting crew) and which do not carry cargo.
This is like the Passenger Yacht Code 6th Edition but again will be called the REG.
New Vessel
Means a vessel, to which this new code applies, the keel of which was laid or was at a similar stage of construction on or after the 1st January 2019.
Existing Vessel
Means any vessel, the keel of which was laid or was at a similar stage of construction prior to the 1st January 2019.
Part A Points of Note:
The following should be used as a guide only to the major items that require physical change or purchasing of new equipment on-board, in preparation for REG Yacht Code Compliance for Part A Vessels and remember to always consult with your Flag Surveyor.
Where the major physical items that require changing can be found listed below, many of which may already have been updated, but the "soft " side of compliance should not be overlooked or ignored.
Recovery of persons from the water (although this can be a paperwork exercise, some additional equipment or modifications may be required.
Fire Protection Treatment for interior materials (under 500GT Vessels).
Removal of fixed carbon dioxide fire extinguishing systems in machinery spaces.
Carriage of intrinsically safe radios for fire fighters.
Availability of Radio Equipment which may require duplication of equipment.
Fitting of Bridge Navigationia Watch Alarm System (BNWAS).
Fitting of ECDIS for vessels over 3,000GT.
Carriage of portable atmosphere testing equipment for entry into enclosed spaces.
Over-side Working Rails are to be tested and demonstrated compliant or are to be de-commissioned.
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text:
The return of rationing
The difficult decisions needed in an age of austerity
Finance & economicsJun 25th 2011 edition
POLICYMAKERS must juggle three priorities when offering a public service: coverage, cost and choice. They almost always have to sacrifice at least one of the three. As austerity bites, this equation is going to lead to very tricky decisions.
Health is an area where the trilemma clearly applies. Britain's National Health Service offers universal coverage but as a result has to limit patient choice in order to control the costs. The American health system historically gave a high priority to patient choice at the price of ballooning costs and the exclusion of the uninsured from the system. Having increased coverage, the Obama reforms will have to restrict choice if they are to control costs.
Over the past 40 years cost has been less of a constraint in all areas of public policy than it might have been. At times of crisis governments without exchange-rate targets have been able to let their currency, rather than the real economy, take the strain. Steady growth has allowed governments to expand the services they offer. Once granted, a service or benefit is hard to remove because recipients campaign for its retention.
Pensions are a case in point. Governments have promised generous future benefits without recognising the full cost upfront. The demographic bulge caused by the baby-boomers helped at first: when the promises were made, the ratio of workers to retirees was high.
Now that the boomers themselves are retiring, the cost is becoming clear. On the issue of coverage, governments can hardly remove pension rights altogether. So they are having to ration the benefits. Rather than retiring earlier than private-sector employees and having their pensions linked to their final salaries, British public-sector workers are being asked to retire later, have their pensions based on a career average and enjoy less generous inflation-linking. This has provoked unions to call strikes for June 30th.
Britain is still in the relatively fortunate position of having an independent monetary policy and the ability to borrow from the markets in its own currency at relatively low rates. But countries in the euro zone are facing more painful options. In a world where cost is the priority, either coverage or choice has to be restricted.
One option is to ration cash itself. As Argentina battled to avoid default in 2001, citizens were restricted in the amount of cash they could withdraw from their bank accounts. The corralito, as this measure was known, stayed in place even after default. Iceland introduced capital controls in the wake of its financial crisis, imposing a limit on foreign-exchange transactions of 350,000 kronur (about $3,000) for residents planning to travel abroad. A chaotic Greek default would require capital controls to prevent the assets of the banking system disappearing overnight.
An alternative to rationing cash is to ration goods. Decades of prosperity have accustomed consumers to a wide range of choice. Baskin-Robbins once advertised 31 ice-cream flavours, one for every day of the month; now it offers 1,000. Restaurant menus are no longer a set list of choices but the starting point for negotiations between diner and waiter.
It is hard to imagine this abundance disappearing. But it can. Countries can create their own currencies but this alone does not help buy goods from abroad. If they cannot balance their trade or borrow money at a reasonable rate, they will be unable to afford all the goods their citizens want. (America, with its reserve currency, is privileged in this respect.)
Britain found itself short of dollars after the end of the second world war, once President Harry Truman cancelled the lend-lease programme that provided the country with credit. British politicians decided that the only way to guarantee a minimum standard of living for all citizens was to restrict consumer choice.
The wartime rationing regime was tightened so that the country could pursue an export drive. Consumption of meat, sugar and even clothes was restricted, and the rules were not relaxed until the 1950s. This columnist's father recalled the options as "jam or butter on your bread, but not both".
The critical resource in a modern economy is not food, but power. When power is restricted for whatever reason, governments have to decide which users have priority: factories, hospitals, shops or consumers. China has power rationing now, as does Venezuela (a sign of incredible incompetence in an energy-rich country). Developed economies have not experienced this sort of thing on a regular basis since the 1970s. But that could be the outcome if they are forced into default.
Economist.com/blogs/buttonwood
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline "The return of rationing"
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This study was conducted in June 2005. In this research the authors have tried addressing different reasons that cause obesity apart from the well aware reasons. As a general rule, when the intake of calories is more than what we spend, obesity occurs. This imbalance might be due to multiple etiologies.
The researchers also mention the environmental factors (both cultural and ecological), lifestyle preferences, behavioral/social aspects and genetic factors as the primary reasons for the prevalence of the obesity among the children (Hill JO et all, Science 1998, 280:1371-1374; Goodrick GK et all, Nutrition 1996, 12:672-676; Eckel RH et all, Circulation 1998, 97:2099-2100; Grundy SM et all, Am J Clin Nutr 1998, 67:563S-572S). The authors agree that the obesity is a chronic disorder and needs to be treated in a professional manner such as strategizing a long-term action plan incorporating different preventative methods.
They suggest the implementation of such ideas at home and in preschool institutions, schools or after-school care services as natural setting for influencing the diet and physical activity (Dehghan et al, Nutrition Journal 2005, 4:24; 1-8). Another important point to be noted in this study is the researcher's inclination towards the built-in environments as the catalytic forces for the prevention of childhood obesity. They opine that the challenge ahead is to identify 'Obesogenic Environments' [=neighbourhood that sustain obesity] and influence them so that healthier choices are made available.
In this study the researchers devise a 'Solution Oriented' approach towards the obesity prevalence and they brand most of the previous research programs as 'Problem Oriented'. They contend that these efforts have been inhibited by the predominant biomedical and social science problem-oriented research paradigm, emphasizing reductionist approaches to understanding etiologic mechanisms of diseases and risk factors. Most important applied research questions have been left unanswered, as per the authors, due to the implications of this problem-oriented approach.
They also criticise that 'problem oriented' research pattern has slowed the efforts to prevent obesity and improve individual and population health. As an alternative the researchers here propose 'Solution Oriented' research paradigm. In this process the authors argue that the experimental research must identify the causes for good health. They intend to make a conceptual shift as far as the research dynamics goes. We can notice changes in phrasing research questions, generating hypotheses, designing research studies, and making research results more relevant to policy and practice.
They also intend to reduce the 'Laboratory to Patient' cycle thereby making the process more swiftly accessible to the patient (TN Robinson et all, Am J Prev Med 2005; 28(2S2); 194). 4. 9: Interventions for Preventing Obesity in Childhood – A Systematic Review (K. Campbell, E. Waters, S. O'Meara and C. Summerbell) Most of the features of this research study have already been reviewed in the earlier papers. However, to put it briefly, the overall findings of this review argue that currently there is a scarcity of quality data on the effectiveness of obesity prevention programmes and as such no ubiquitous conclusions can be drawn.
The researchers opine that there is an ever increasing need for well-designed studies that examine a range of interventions for obesity prevention. 4. 10: Prevalence of overweight among children in Europe (T. Lobstein and M. -L. Frelut) This research paper reports the childhood obesity prevalence data from 21 surveys in Europe. The authors here have used a single, internationally accepted definition of overweight in childhood. This, they opine, will allow direct comparisons to be made. The researchers show a tendency for a higher prevalence of overweight among children in western and especially southern Europe.
They discuss some possible reasons for this but they are in abridged state with respect to the interpretation that they tend to make. 4. 11: Role of Television in Childhood Obesity Prevention (M Caroli1, L Argentieri, M Cardone, and A Masi) In this research paper the authors reiterate the negative consequences on food habits and patterns by the usual depiction of food and obesity in television. They urge that different national regulations and norms on TV programs and advertisements which target children must be strengthened so as to sensor such programs and advertisements before allowing them to be broadcasted.
They argue that the television could be an effective tool to educate the children on good nutrition and obesity prevention. 4. 12: Evaluation of Implementation and Effect of Primary School Based Intervention to Reduce Risk Factors for Obesity (Pinki Sahota, Mary C J Rudolf, Rachael Dixey, Andrew J Hill, Julian H Barth, Janet Cade) This study was conducted on 10 primary schools in Leeds on 634 children (350 boys and 284 girls) aged 711 years. Here the researchers follow 'The Active Programme Promoting Lifestyle Education in School' (APPLES) which is a multidisciplinary programme.
They implement this method in the selected schools and the results are much more like the same as we have seen so far in the previous school-based obesity prevention programmes. Critical Questions to Consider: After the in-depth analysis that I so far described, let me now move towards the most decisive and significant section of this thesis. There are questions which my thesis will consider in the backdrop of all of the study and research presented thus far. To list: Q1. Is the amount of research conducted so far not enough? Q2. Are the solutions suggested in all these studies implemented completely? Q3.
Are the solutions given so far not effective enough? Q4. What is the projection of the growth of this obesity epidemic? Q5. And, lastly, what are the final solutions or what then must we do? If these questions are intimidating then the answers are even more intriguing. Let me address these questions one by one: A1: The amount of research conducted so far is enormous and the volumes of research papers written till to date are humongous. A curious search on British Medical Journal website with the keywords 'childhood obesity all papers' displays an astounding 2, 76,532 results (BMJ; accessed on 08/05/2010).
This may be an approximate number (taking into consideration the fact that there are so many other databases across the globe which, if considered, would shoot-up this number almost to infinity) nonetheless a factual one. Hence the amount of research conducted is just not adequate or enough but has reached extravagant levels. A2: The answer would be a firm No. Even though the governments have brought about significant changes in their approach towards the childhood obesity, there exist a number changes which yet to be looked into, let alone the surety of their implementation.
What makes the deal murkier is the fact that the higher the number of solutions the lesser the possibility of their implementation since the policy makers will be caught between the perplexities of satisfying the both general public as well as corporate interests. Hence, just a few of the solutions get implemented and remaining others remains on papers. However, Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO says: Our support to implement the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health will increase" (Speech to the World Health Assembly on 9th November, 2006).
But the facts and stats remain worrisome. A3: Despite the sheer ambiguity due to the gigantic volumes of solutions suggested, there is enough evidence to believe that the quality and efficacy of the suggestions are of superlative nature. No upheaval about this. A4: The projection is bleak. And, it is this very fact that makes my question 2 (and of course the aim of this thesis) and its corresponding answer worth re-visiting. Studies conducted worldwide time and again are confirming to the fact that the instances of overweight and childhood obesity increasing exponentially.
We must note that the current UK obesity trends imply that 34% of men and 38% of women will be obese by 2020 (IOTF; accessed on 08/05/2010). Following graph illustrates the stats effectively: The Vision 2020 of IOTF clearly shows an upwardly trend in the standards used for assessing the overweight and obesity in children and adolescents (N. Rigby et all: IOTF: P1-3). A5: The final solution would be to re-evaluate all the evaluations (such as this study) and shortlist the most effective solutions suggested by various researchers.
So much so that, the researches so far conducted have surely cast light on the finer aspects of this epidemic, but somehow, it seems as if the road to recovery has become topsy-turvy which nevertheless would have become an even trail. Sometimes the data itself creates such ambiguous situations that, it could even lead to wrong or false (though un-intentional, but surely non-voluntary) implications. And these connotations can further complicate an already complicated problem of this magnitude as the prevention of the prevalence of the childhood obesity.
One best instance of such slip-ups is described here. On 23rd November 2009 Gillian Merron, Minister of State, Public Health, (whose term in the office ended on 7th May 2010; barely 24 hours ago! ) issued a statement in the House of Commons thus (based on The NHS Information Centre's information on 19th November 2009 given to her): "As a result of a detailed validation carried out during the production of the Health Survey for England (HSE), 2008, the following error has been identified in the Health Survey for England series.
The error pertains to childhood obesity data for the years 1995 to 2007 inclusive and will affect all publications during these years. Between 1995 and 2007 there was an error which meant that small numbers of children that should have been classified as either "overweight" or "obese" were omitted from these categories because of rounding of age and body mass index (BMI) thresholds. The revised percentages of those who were overweight in each year differ by 0. 1 to 0. 8 percentage points and for those who were obese in each year they differ by 0.
1 to 1. 1 percentage points from those originally published, and 0. 3 % to 1. 2 % of children in each year were misclassified" (Gillian Merron; Hon' The Minister of State, Department of Health, House of Commons; Written Ministerial Statement; 23/11/2009; UK Parliament; accessed on 08/05/2010). This erratum clearly indicates that while handling data of such enormity, there bound to be some slip-ups. Hence there is an urgent need to treat such huge quantity of data pertaining to the childhood obesity in a logical manner.
For example, data where in well-known facts of nature are the main players can be set aside while taking into account only the data that has highest degree of variance against a set standard of normal parameters. Because there is a need to revisit a majority of the solutions and preventive measures suggested so far, does not mean that we must discard them and start the process from scratch. What it infers is the fact that solutions are there, but they are not properly implemented.
We have already analyzed these all solutions and preventive measures in greater detail while reviewing the respective thesis papers in the preceding paragraphs, hence there is no need to repeat them here. Therefore, I firmly reiterate the need to revisit the various implementation norms that the governments and healthcare professionals are currently following. 5. Discussion: The general understanding of the prevalence of childhood obesity and its control have so far been dealt with critical analysis, however, a brief discussion of the general purpose of this thesis will provide a better indulgence.
I will discuss the efficacy of my thesis result in two parts: (1) Qualitative Implementation and, (2) Quantitative Implementation. 5. 1: Qualitative Implementation The need for the qualitative implementation of the childhood obesity prevention programmes is an extensive but concise exercise in that the involvement of the manpower and the selection of solutions will be limited. The general meaning of this statement is that, only resourceful and knowledgeable persons will take part in this part of the programme.
The intention is to ensure that the children will be exposed to only reliable and eloquent set of solutions. The participants must be selected from all segments of the society provided they meet the criteria set for the programme. A report from BMJ is worth mentioning here: "The BMA agrees with the International Obesity TaskForce that in order to halt the obesity epidemic, 'interventions at the family or school level will need to be matched by changes in the social and cultural context so that the benefits can be sustained and enhanced.
Such prevention strategies will require a coordinated effort between the medical community, health administrators, teachers, parents, food producers and processors, retailers and caterers, advertisers and the media, recreation and sport planners, urban architects, city planners, politicians and legislators'. Environments that encourage healthy eating and active living are vitally important. The focus of such strategies should be to make it easier for the public to make healthy choices.
This will be the starter kind of programme which will introduce the children to the natural organization of food systems among different animals. The agenda of this part is to make the children appreciate the 'food levels' that Mother Nature has so meticulously designed. The participating adults need not be highly-qualified professionals but those who have naturalistic inclination in their personality as an embedded trait. This will effectively make the children realise the importance and sacredness of respecting the Natural Laws and staying adhered by them.
Making them understand the relationship between the food consumption and energy expense will be the prime goal of this part of the implementation. 5. 1. 2: Economic Induction Next in line, the 'Economic Induction' will target the parents of the children first and the children must be kept out of this section. Our civilized societies thrive on this concept called 'money' and it will be practically impossible to imagine anything without working out the financial implications beforehand. Hence, the need for such an induction.
The underlying aim is to ensure that the parents are well aware of the financial needs and are well-equipped to maintain the implementation completely without backing out. Because, we will initiate the focal implementation procedure in the second leg, it will be mandatory that the parents are not only ready for their part of action, but have also made proper arrangements. 5. 1. 3: Philosophical Induction: In this last section of the involvement procedure, there must be collective sessions for both parents and their children mainly on the lifestyle issues.
Critics may argue that the introduction of children to philosophy and expecting them to understand the complex jargon of philosophical facet of life might make them turn hostile towards the session, but let me assert that we are going to just talk about philosophical (which has undeniable influences on one's behaviour – an adult and a child alike, only the channels of propagation of such philosophical communications between the Nature and Humans differ). 5. 2: Quantitative Implementation Note that we have not used the word 'obesity' (or any of its equivalents) anywhere in the induction part of the implementation process.
Intentionally we have kept it out of our vocabulary and have just got the children and their parents duly 'Inducted' into the implementation process (in a way, this shows how much our approach is naturally vivacious). The need of the hour as we all know is to work out more and more innovative solutions so that the huge reservoir of the preventive remedies suggested so far could be most appropriately implemented. In the book "Childhood Obesity: Contemporary Issues", the author-doctors' words are worth a mention here: "………..
I am struck, as a doctor, by the need of children who are already obese and the dire lack of services to meet them. The city of Leeds presents a typical picture. There are no specialist paediatric clinics, the hospital dietetic department has closed its doors to any referrals for obesity, and the community dieticians can offer only one or two appointments, with a follow-up phone call. At a meeting of professionals that was called in 2001 because of emerging concerns, it became clear that no additional resources and time were likely to be available, and, dare I say, there was no real inclination from any professional body to take lead.
Clearly, we needed to think "outside the box" for a solution (Noel Cameron, Et All; Childhood Obesity: Contemporary Issues, Volume 44: P192). Once the qualitative implementation is done perfectly, the remaining part of the implementation process can be smoothly performed. The transition must be effective but should never have any lumbering impact on the children. Here the principle strategy would be to make the parents and children realise how easy and healthy life could be if the naturalistic living is followed and how can one act simultaneously to perform this task and inspire others too.
6. Conclusion This study exhibits two inherent (though they appear to be eccentric) qualities: Being Explicit and Being Implicit as well. It is like a face-off between the ambiguous and the unambiguous methods. However, these comparisons are nice from the literature angle but the science (and especially the medical science) has no room for such sentiments and niceties for it constantly looks for logical methods which can be empirically proved.
This research satisfies this stringent norm in that we have successfully managed to show that the quantity of the already proposed solutions is vast and all that we have to think about is to find newer ways which are feasible to implement these solutions. Whatever is the remedy and whatever be the domain of the society that is suggested for improvement, the focal point of the research must not shift. The figure below would be worth a thousand words of conclusion of this thesis: The figure represents the entire theme of this thesis in a poignant way.
This thesis took the studies of the past, processed the findings and understandings of those studies, gathered the results and solutions of these findings and eventually devised a model for implementing these solutions. Throughout the research, the approach was to investigate the areas of interest and that of conflict to understand the problems perfectly or more importantly scientifically without sacrificing the delicacy of humanity. Noel Cameron quotes one of the participants in the program in her book thus: 'It's like being middle aged as a child. It's like, well yeah, it's like being old before your time.
Chinn S, Rona R. "Prevalence and Trends in Overweight and Obesity in Three Cross Sectional Studies of British Children", 1974–1994. BMJ 2001; 322: 24–26. WHO Expert Committee. Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry. Report of a WHO Expert Committee, World Health Organization. Tech Rep Ser 1995; 854: 1–452 Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Grummer-Strawn LM, Flegal KM, Guo SS, Wei R, Mei Z, Curtin LR, Roche AF, Johnson CL. CDC growth charts: National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD. U S Adv Data from Vital and Health Stat 2000; 314: 1–27. Dietz WH, Bellizzi MC.
Ebbeling CB, Feldman HA, Osganian SK, Chomitz VR, Ellenbogen SJ, Ludwig DS. Effects of decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption on body weight in adolescents: a randomized controlled pilot study. Pediatrics 2006; 117:673-80 Tam CS, Garnett SP, Cowell CT, Campbell K, Cabrera G, Baur LA. Soft drink consumption and excess weight gain in Australian school students: results from the Nepean study. Int JObes 2006; 30:1091-3) SmithWestD, Bursac Z, Quimby D, Prewitt TE, Spatz T,NashC, et al. Self-reported sugar-sweetened beverage intake among college students. Obes Res 2006; 14:1825-31. Rush E, Schutz Y, Obolonkin V, Simmons D, Plank L.


The law, officially called the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or MAP-21, on the one hand cuts and consolidates the major sources of aid to states to build bike facilities and provide safety education.
On the other hand, the law devolves decisions once made in Washington to state officials, and decisions made by states to local officials. This means that relationships with mayors and other local office holders will become more important to ensuring continued development of bicycle infrastructure. And the bill actually creates a few new opportunities to improve bike safety and expand facilities.
President Barack Obama signed the law early in July. Officials from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), spoken to shortly thereafter, said they need time to figure out what it means, meet with federal officials and figure out how to implement it. But they said they remained committed to supporting bicycling programs. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) was still trying to figure it all out itself – Congress gave it less than three months to get it going. And national bike advocates realize that state and local bike groups are going to have to shoulder more of the burden and that the balance of the national advocate job is going to shift from mainly lobbying in Washington to more helping state and local groups.
But by and large, cyclists can't take any federal funding for granted, as they could for 20 years under MAP-21's predecessors. The new law lasts just two years – through September of 2014. so before we really know its effects, it will be time to start working on a successor. Congressional staff have said they plan to start work on a new bill in the fall.
"The front line has moved to the state and local level," notes Jeff Miller, president of the Alliance for Biking and Walking (ABW).
The largest sources of federal funds for bicycling, Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School (SRS) are now thrown into one pot called Transportation Alternatives. Historically, Utah has received about $6 million a year in Enhancements money and $2 million in SRS funds. But the Alternatives program also includes several other programs including ones funding scenic roadways and environmental mitigation – projects bicycle advocates don't want to oppose but will have to compete with for funding. And the new combined program provides a reduced funding level overall – $800 million a year nationwide, about one-third less than was available for all the combined programs previously. And to add to the danger, states can opt out of spending half of this money on alternatives and turn it over to motorized transportation programs.
The funding formula allows states to spend half the Alternatives money and the rest they must give to local governments, including metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) where they exist. In Utah, this applies to cities with populations of 50,000 and up. Smaller cities will have to persuade UDOT to give a share of the money. The advantage to this approach is that local officials may be more attuned to where a bike bridge or path is needed than a state transportation department that may concern itself more with cross-state highways. So advocates will have to spend a greater portion of their time talking to mayors and other local officials as opposed to state and federal ones.
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP), the third major source of funding for bike trails and education, gets somewhat better treatment. It is technically thrown into the Alternatives pot with Enhancements and SRS. But the law says that the state must spend about the same amount that it historically has on recreational trails (Utah got almost $1.1 million this year.) But the law comes with an escape clause that would allow the state to shift the money to other transportation programs – but only if the governor personally signs off on it. RTP gets its special protection because the funds come from a dedicated source – the recreational vehicle fuel tax. The Utah Department of Natural Resources administers it.
And UDOT retains the same level of commitment to bike/ped programs – it just has to spread less federal money around with different rules, she notes. "We always have a lot of competing interests for funding. This puts a new wrinkle into it but it is not anything we haven't had in the past. It's just figuring out what the details are," Tuddenham adds.
And as of October 1, the law requiring states to maintain a fulltime SRS coordinator vanishes. "It's up in the air at this point" if UDOT will maintain the fulltime position, says Cherissa Wood, Utah's SRS coordinator. "I may not be doing this fulltime." But she says UDOT is trying to come up with resources to keep the job – and SRS – projects going. Herbert's office adds noncommittally "the governor's office and UDOT will continue to work together to address the all concerns" regarding SRS.
And according to national advocates, agencies like UDOT would do well to obligate as much money appropriated under previous legislation before October 1, when the law changes and it's not clear what rules will apply to distributing it. Nationally, about $300 million in SRS money lies available for spending, according to Deb Hubsmith, founding director of the SRS National Partnership.
The bicycle advocacy groups in Washington, DC — including ABW, the League of American Bicyclists (LAB), America Bikes and others – are planning to provide technical help to state and local advocates to help them in their growing role.
And like many other advocacy organizations are doing these days, Bike Utah's board is discussing what to do at its August meeting. "It's part of our mission to work with all the communities throughout Utah and hope to build advocacy organizations," Bike Utah Executive Director Scott Lyttle says. With local advocacy increasing in importance, Bike Utah is helping put together a local advocacy group in St. George. "We'll put on a mini-bike summit in St. George September 26….We'll help them any way we can." Lyttle says.
Meanwhile, the new law does create some new opportunities to advance cycling – if state and local officials and bicycle advocates and their allies know how to take advantage of them.
MAP-21 continues the Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ), which gives grants to states and metropolitan planning organizations to reduce traffic volume and related smog, which sometimes includes grants to encourage bicycle riding. CMAQ money, for instance, helped build the Murdock Canal Trail in Orem. MAP-21 adds a new type of project eligible for a CMAQ grant: a project that shifts rush hour traffic to other transportation modes. "This should help encourage/justify the use of more CMAQ dollars to bike/ped," according to Caron Whitaker, campaign director for America Bikes.
But, Whitaker warns, in the name of giving states flexibility – the same rationale for combining the above programs – the new law allows states to transfer half of their CMAQ money to other programs (under the expiring law, they were limited to 21 percent). So bike/ped fans will have to work to ensure that states don't divert the money.
And still another FHWA program is open to funding on- and off-road bicycle projects: the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). "Traditionally, only a handful of states have used any of this funding on bike/ped but there is now a stronger opportunity to push for this funding," Whitaker says. The law now requires a representative from the non-motorized sector to participate in creating a state road safety plan.
Another provision in the law says that if states want to put rumble strips or other warning devices along the sides of roadways with HSIP funds, the devices must not impede bicyclists. And states can use HSIP funds to install lights and signs at bicycle crossings. State HSIP programs must include identifying hazards for bicyclists on public roads, "including roadside obstacles, railway-highway crossing needs, and unmarked or poorly marked roads," the law reads. And the law will require state analyses of safety crash data to include deaths and serious injuries to cyclists, which will provide an improved picture of Utah's most serious bike safety problems.
And, believe it or not, MAP-21 provides a brand new potential source of funding for bicycle infrastructure. It creates a new Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development Planning. FHWA will make discretionary grants to states and MPOs, meaning that communities will have to apply – no automatic funding. Grantees must use the money to plan for implementing plans to improve access to transportation hubs. Plans can include increasing access to train and bus depots for bicyclists, such as by building bike stations and parking, and paths leading to the stations.
And from now on, you'll be able to see exactly what bicycle projects UDOT is funding and what share of the transportation budget cycling gets because the law requires states to publish an annual list of all projects they fund, inducing bike projects.
The U.S. Department of Transportation will also have to collect some more helpful information too. The bill requires it to maintain an Intermodal Transportation Database for all modes of transportation, that will include the volume and patterns of bicycle and pedestrian use.
And, the bill provides a potential concern – and an opportunity for bicyclists on federal recreational land (national parks, forests, wildlife preserves, etc.). The bill requires bicyclists to stay off roadways if sidepaths are available within 100 yards of the road and the speed limit equals or exceeds 30 mph and the road is deemed dangerous or unsuitable for bicycling. Congressional staffers put the provision in the bill because some drivers complained of cyclists on a narrow roadway in a national park in Washington, DC. So it's not clear to what degree this will matter. Given that managers get to decide what roads to ban cyclists from "the number of miles affected is probably small," says Walter Finch, LAB vice president for advocacy.
On the other hand, the bill allows the $300 million a year Federal Lands Transpiration Program money to pay for bicycle facilities and requires consideration of cycling access in transportation plans for federal lands.
Finally, the bill allows Indian governments getting funds under the Tribal Transportation Program to use funds for any bicycle provisions.


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This is kind of a different request I think. I wanted to play the phantasy star 2 modernization romhack, but the movement speed is so slow. Is there any way to speed up the movement and still be able to play that romhack?
As that hack's designer, I would be interested in hearing suggestions on how to do this.
It's one of my favorite games of all time, but yeah, it's slow.
It's doable but requires 68000 asm knowledge.
There is a disassembly available here. You need to find where the sprites positions are updated : a value of +/- 1 is added to x position or y position, change it to +/- 2. Then you must find where a step duration is stored. It should be 4 or 8 frames, reduce it to 2 or 4.
I did it for Phantasy Star 3, there were side effects when the party was moving automatically. I've yet to fix that.
Changing how far characters walk with each step (changing the X/Y increment/decrement amount) sounds like a big bug risk (collision detection).
Changing the number of frames between steps sounds safer (but I suppose it depends on how a game was programmed to handle cutscene events: simply auto-keypresses of if they were timed).
If you change the number of frames but not the dx/dy, your character won't walk faster, but each step will go further.
Here, dx/dy is the amount added each frame (the speed, if you prefer), not the global amount added in the whole animation (which must always be equal to the tiles of the map size, here 16 pixels IIRC).
What I found while trying to do this is that I could get characters to move faster, but the camera would not keep up. I never did find the camera code.
That's funny (as in strange). I would think the camera would be locked onto the player expect when approaching the edge of the visible area.
How does the camera reset itself when you step on the teleport tiles in dungeons?
For what it's worth, the Phantasy Star 2 version included in the Phantasy Star Complete Collection for PS2 has options to increase movement speed, EXP multipliers etc. The game basically runs using an officially sanctioned Sega Genesis/Megadrive emulator, so I'd wager they've got to be poking the emulated system's memory. It should be possible to get some useful info by disassembling this, though this might be a roundabout way of doing things.
Have fun with that. I have not tangled with this one in particular, nor read reports from one that has, but most other times "official" megadrive/genesis emulators have come up on systems more powerful than the megadrive* they have been... a bit more custom than the other times we see such emulators on other systems.
*which is not to say when things were "ported" to the GBA that it got any easier. The Phantasy Star Collection on the GBA being noted for unusual approaches to things in a variety of ways.
Do the camera stop when you stop, or did it continue scrolling up to the moment you're in the center again ?
and more generally, are collisions properly handled ?


Ariane Ernandorena is a University Innovation candidate Fellow, an English as a Second Language teacher, and an undergraduate student in Computer Science at UTEC (Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología) in Peru.
Ariane is originally from Argentina, so Spanish is her mother tongue, but she was exposed to English since she was very young and holds many international certifications in the language: ECCE and ECPE from Michigan University; and FCE, CPE and ICELT from Cambridge University. This last one is an in-service certification for English teachers.
When she turned 18, Ariane moved to Peru; and had to make her on her own, thus her specialisation in English teaching. After 5 years of hard work, she could finally enter university; so she has got a unique perspective on education: She is an experienced teacher and a student at the same time. At university, she got the opportunity to apply to the University Innovation Fellows.
In her spare time, Ariane likes playing videogames, doing yoga and talking to her friends. In campus, she usually offers advice to younger students - despite just finishing her first year, she is much older than her classmates - most often about organising their time and handling stress.
This page was last modified on 24 February 2018, at 01:53.


American ISP customer satisfaction rankings: lower than airlines | BGR: "Comcast lay at the very bottom of the American ISP customer satisfaction heap, with an overall score of just 62 out of 100. It was followed closely by Time Warner Cable, which had an overall score of 63, and CenturyLink, which had an overall score of 64. In fact, the only major American ISP to score above a 70 on the ACSI this year was Verizon FiOS, which posted a score of 71. How bad are these numbers? Consider that other than ISPs, only three other industries posted average scores of under 70: Airlines, subscription television service and Internet social media companies. The fact that only one major ISP could top even this minimal threshold speaks to deep dissatisfaction with the state of America's home broadband market."


Both classroom theory and practical on-site training are provided for all products by our experienced paving and walling industry in-house team.
Our range of training programmes – successfully launching Business Opportunities since 1992.
If you are interested in the Business opportunities that exist within the industry and are thinking of setting up or expanding your operation, or indeed looking for refresher courses for you or your team, you are at the right place. Training is offered for classroom theory, refresher and on-site training for all products and systems, as well as contractor support across all types of installation challenges. From a homeowner to an architect contractor or engineer, PICS can communicate across all levels to help projects incorporate our products and services into any size and scope of project.
Since 1992 we have trained upwards of 5,000 people in the various industry sectors we supply and support.. Many hundreds of these formed their own business and still operate successfully today.
But training is only the start of our relationship with the businesses who attend. Nobody has all the answers after a Training Day so the ongoing FREE Technical Support PICS provides is absolutely vital, especially in the early days for a new installer, while they are still in the learning phase. Our Technical and Training Team have a combined 50+ years' experience in the decorative concrete industry, many of which were spent working on-site, so they know what they are talking about and are delighted to help in any way they can.
Call Clare on 01635 202224 to book your place on the next available course.
The objective of the Theory Training day is to enable attendees to understand the key principles, skills and issues involved in undertaking a complete PICSPAVE (Imprinted Concrete) installation. All the required tools, material requirements and imprinting mats will be identified, and key facts to enable installers to improve the selling and marketing of PICSPAVE will be discussed.
The objective of On-Site training is to produce installers who are able to confidently and efficiently install areas of PICSPAVE to a high standard, and who can then reproduce that standard with minimal remedial work.
The basic on-site training day covers concrete laying, colouring, use of release agents, imprinting borders and patterns and is based on a one day site visit. Although not normally necessary, additional days covering site preparation and planning, installing movement joints, the washing off or the sealing processes can be arranged as required.
The training plans are based on a 10 day visit outside the UK excluding travel.
The plans include a guide as to how many square metres of PICSPAVE will be installed each day. Increased productivity must not be at the sacrifice of quality training and a thorough understanding of the process.
The primary objective of the training programme is to produce trainees who are able to confidently and efficiently install areas of PICSPAVE to a productivity level that is relative to their experience. Installations should be to a consistently good standard with minimal remedials and corrections. They should also have sufficient understanding of the process to be able to plan ahead for the entire cycle of the paving installation.
The objective of this free half day presentation is to enable you to evaluate the benefits of starting a new business in this field or adding the installation and marketing of PICSPAVE to your current business.
You will discuss the financial costs and profit potential, along with the marketing input required to successfully build and market PICSPAVE in your local area.
You will understand all the costs involved in setting up a team of installers, covering the tools, equipment and training requirements, along with successful marketing strategies which the team at PICS have gained from years of working with many of the most successful companies in the industry. We will provide an opportunity to plan for the next step forward and agree an action plan specifically for your business.
The objective of this is for those attending to gain a thorough understanding of the system, the basic skills involved, the size of the market, the investment required to get started, achievable profit targets and how to reach them.
The day covers the basic concept of the WALLCRETE system, what is required to produce great results, an outline of the enormous potential that exists for businesses entering this market and how to maximise that profit potential.
The practical training covers the essential planning, preparation and priming of the surface, the application of WALLCRETE itself and how to imprint the patterns and add artistic carving, colouring and added features to produce the best results.
Contractors already involved in imprinted concrete will already have most of the required skills and knowledge so should readily be able to add WALLCRETE to their portfolio of services.
The WALLCRETE training day thoroughly covers the theory and practical aspects of the system; because the installation process is not particularly time critical we have found that there is seldom the need for further on site training, particularly for those already involved in the imprinted concrete industry. As installers gain experience and develop their skills, questions are bound to arise but these can normally be handled very well with a telephone call to our technical department.
Applying WALLCRETE and Imprinting the render.
Carving the wall after imprinting.
PICS provide the theory and skills required to install both the PICSBOND Trowel Down and PICSBOND Broadcast systems with an understanding of the products and alternatives available.
All tools, consumable materials, and base preparation required for successful overlays will be discussed, with additional focus on marketing and promotional activities to ensure that sales opportunities are effectively exploited.
There is additional information provided to consider using the Picspave Textured Skin and exposed aggregate methods of using concrete if a complete paving replacement is necessary.
PICS will carry out on-site training to order, both inside and outside the UK. All material requirements will be organised and delivered to site prior to the training being undertaken, and necessary site preparation and plans for the design and layout of the project will be discussed with the trainer beforehand.