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        @GeoffreyDeSmet

            Presentation instructions

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            Deep Dive Training

                by Geoffrey De Smet

                OptaPlanner lead

Welcome

Meet and greet

Working page (contains all urls):

                TODO

Questions: just ask

Agenda: Training

Session 1 Monday afternoon

Session 2 Tuesday morning

Session 3 Tuesday afternoon

Session 4 Wednesday morning

Session 5 Wednesday afternoon

Session 6 Thursday morning

Session 7 Thursday afternoon

Session 8 Friday morning

Agenda: Training session 1

Understanding planning problems

Quick start: Cloud Balancing

N queens

Exhaustive Search

                Understanding

                planning problems

Lab 0: Exercises on paper

Is manually planning difficult?

Lab0: N Queens

Place n queens on a n sizes chessboard

No 2 queens can attack each other

Bad

Good

Assignment: Solve 8 queens

Optional 1: Solve 9 queens too

Optional 2: Solve 8 queens and maximize number of queens that can attack each other as knigth

Lab0: TSP Lab

Connect all 68 dots with 1 tour.

Circle back to the origin.

Try to find the shortest tour

Check the score of your tour:

Run tsp68-checker-6.3.0-SNAPSHOT/examples/runExamples.sh

Button Traveling Salesman

Button Import, directory tutorial, file st68.tsp

Right click on your each location in your tour in order

(Don't left click, that adds a location.)

To restart, just import the file again.

What is business resource optimization?

TSP demo

Lab: Open 6.2.0.Final documentation

Go to optaplanner.org and click on the big blue button.

Lab: Run the examples in an IDE

See docs section 1.4.2. Run the examples in an IDE (IntelliJ, Eclipse, NetBeans)

Optional: build it from source (docs 1.4.4. Build OptaPlanner from source).

Run the N Queens example in your IDE.

Planning problem use cases

Agenda scheduling: doctor appointments, court hearings,
maintenance jobs, TV advertisements, ...

Educational timetabling: lectures, exams, conference presentations, ...

Task assignment: affinity/skill matchmaking for tax audits, wage calc, ...

Employee shift rostering: nurses, repairmen, help desk, firemen, ...

Vehicle routing: route trucks, buses, trains, boats, airplanes, ...

Bin packing: fill containers, trucks, ships, storage warehouses,
cloud computers nodes, prisons, hospitals, ...

Job shop scheduling: assembly lines for cars, furniture, books, ...

Cutting stock: minimize waste while cutting paper, steel, carpet, ...

Sport scheduling: football/baseball league, tennis court utilization, ...

Financial optimization: investment portfolio balance, risk spreading, ...

Vehicle routing

                TSP

                is an academic problem

                What is realistic

                business resource optimization?

VRP demo

Assumption: An optimal VRP route uses only 1 vehicle.

Assumption: An optimal VRP route uses only 1 vehicle. (false)

Assumption: An optimal VRP route has no crossing lines.

Assumption: An optimal VRP route has no crossing lines. (false)

Assumption: An optimal, feasible VRP route with n vehicles is still optimal for n+1 vehicles.

Assumption: An optimal, feasible VRP route with n vehicles is still optimal for n+1 vehicles. (false)

Assumption: An optimal VRP route has no crossing lines of the same color.

Assumption: An optimal VRP route has no crossing lines of the same color. (false)

Assumption: We can focus on time windows before focusing on capacity (or vice versa).

Assumption: We can focus on time windows before focusing on capacity (or vice versa). (false)

Assumption: Humans optimize VRP optimally.

Assumption: Humans optimize VRP optimally. (false)

Can a manager reasonable judge if this is optimal?

                Are planning problems

                difficult to solve?

What is business resource optimization?

Cloud Balancing demo

                Find optimal solution and scale out

                for an NP-complete problem?

⇔ Is P = NP?

Unresolved since 1971

1 000 000 $ reward since 2000

One of the 7 Millennium Problems

Most believe P ≠ NP

⇔ Impossible to find optimal solution and scale out

3000+ known NP-complete problems (wikipedia)

                Planning problems are

                difficult to solve!

And human aren't good at it

But they don't realize it
(nor does their manager)

Reuse optimization algorithms

Find better solutions in time and scale out

Open source
Apache License

Regular releases
Download the zip or from Maven Central

Documented
Reference manual, examples, ...

Quality coverage
Unit, integration and stress tests

Cloud Balancing example

Domain model

Computer

public class Computer {

  private int cpuPower;
  private int memory;
  private int networkBandwidth;

  private int cost;

  // getters
}

Process is a planning entity

@PlanningEntity
public class Process {

  private int requiredCpuPower;
  private int requiredMemory;
  private int requiredNetworkBandwidth;

  // getters

  ...
}

Process has a planning variable

@PlanningEntity
public class Process {
  ...

  private Computer computer;

  @PlanningVariable(valueRangeProviderRefs = {"computerRange"})
  public Computer getComputer() {
    return computer;
  }
  public void setComputer(Computer computer) {
    this.computer = computer;
  }

}

Solution CloudBalance

@PlanningSolution
public class CloudBalance implements Solution<HardSoftScore> {

  private List<Computer> computerList;
  private List<Process> processList;

  @ValueRangeProvider(id = "computerRange")
  public List<Computer> getComputerList() {
    return computerList;
  }

  @PlanningEntityCollectionProperty
  public List<Process> getProcessList() {
    return processList;
  }

  ...
}

Solution CloudBalance: score

public class CloudBalance implements Solution<HardSoftScore> {
  ...

  private HardSoftScore score;

  public HardSoftScore getScore() {
    return score;
  }
  public void setScore(HardSoftScore score) {
    this.score = score;
  }

}

Cloud Balancing example

Score constraints

                Given 2 solutions

                which one is better?

Score calculation

Easy Java

Incremental Java

Drools

Easy Java score calculation

Easy to implement

Bridge an existing system

Slow

public class CloudBalancingEasyScoreCalculator
    implements EasyScoreCalculator<CloudBalance> {

  public Score calculateScore(CloudBalance cb) {
    ...
    return HardSoftScore.valueOf(hardScore, softScore);
  }

}

Incremental Java score calculation

Fast

Solution changes ⇒ recalculate score delta only

Hard to implement

Much boilerplate code

Drools score calculation

Incremental

No boilerplate code

Constraints in Drools Rule Language (DRL)

Declarative (like SQL, regular expression)

Integration opportunities

Drools Workbench

Decision tables

Solution CloudBalance: getProblemFacts()

public class CloudBalance implements Solution<HardSoftScore> {

  private List<Computer> computerList;
  private List<Process> processList;
  ...

  // Used in Drools score rules (DRL)
  public Collection<Object> getProblemFacts() {
    List<Object> facts = new ArrayList<Object>();
    facts.addAll(computerList);
    return facts;
  }

  ...
}

DRL soft constraint: computer cost

rule "computerCost"
  when
    // there is a computer
    $s : Computer($c : cost)
    // there is a processes on that computer
    exists Process(computer == $s)
  then
    // lower soft score by the maintenance cost
    scoreHolder.addSoftConstraintMatch(kcontext, - $c);
end

DRL hard constraint: CPU power

rule "requiredCpuPowerTotal"
  when
    // there is a computer
    $s : Computer($cpu : cpuPower)
    // with too little cpu for its processes
    $total : Number(intValue > $cpu) from accumulate(
      Process(computer == $s, $requiredCpu : requiredCpuPower),
      sum($requiredCpu)
    )
  then
    // lower hard score by the excessive CPU usage
    scoreHolder.addHardConstraintMatch(kcontext,
        $cpu - $total.intValue());
end

Score calculation must be flexible

Optimal solution for almost your business problem is useless

                    Model supports:

Reusing existing classes

Rich, OO class hierarchies (including polymorphism)

                    Constraints supports:

Any constraint (no linear or quadratic restrictions!)

Reusing existing code

                    Scoring supports:

Positive/negative mix

Score weights

Unlimited score levels

Cloud Balancing example

Solving it

Solver configuration by XML

<solver>
  <solutionClass>...CloudBalance</solutionClass>
  <entityClass>...Process</entityClass>

  <scoreDirectorFactory>
    <scoreDefinitionType>HARD_AND_SOFT</scoreDefinitionType>
    <scoreDrl>...ScoreRules.drl</scoreDrl>
  </scoreDirectorFactory>

  <!-- optimization algorithms -->
</solver>

Solving

SolverFactory<CloudBalance> factory
        = SolverFactory.createFromXmlResource("...SolverConfig.xml");
Solver<CloudBalance> solver = factory.buildSolver();

cloudBalance = solver.solve(cloudBalance);

Lab: Switch score calculation type

Edit Cloud Balancing's solver configuration xml

Switch to Easy Java Score calculation

Switch to Incremental Java Score calculation

Let them run each parallel windows.

What happens if the dataset size increases?

CB code overview

In IDE

Lab: Computer 0 bans memory-hungry processes

Computer 0 violates 1 hard constraint per process that requires more than 3GB RAM memory

Implement first in Easy Java Score Calculation

Optional: Then in Drools DRL

Optional: Then in Incremental Java Score Calculation

N Queens

N Queens demo

demo

N Queens

Imperfect example

Not NP-complete (shortcuts exist)

Score function is too simple (too black and white)

What solution is better?

Need for objective scoring

Better score ⇔ better solution

Highest score ⇔ optimal solution

N Queens

Hard constraints:

-1 for every pair of conflicting queens

Soft constraints:

None

Score = -2

Conflicts: A-B, B-D

Score = 0

No conflicts

How do we find the best solution?

Need for optimization algorithms

Best solution in available time

Lab: Reward knight attacks

Use N Queens example

Remove termination on bestScoreLimit.

For every pair of queens that can knight attack each other: +1 score

Implement with Drools score calculation

Optional: implement Easy Java Score calculation too

Optional: implement Incremental Java Score calculation too

Exhaustive Search

How many combinations for 100 queens?

1 queen per column

100 queens ⇒ 100 variables

100 rows ⇒ 100 values per variable

Source: NASA (wikipedia)

                        > humans?

                        7 000 000 000

How many combinations for 100 queens?

1 queen per column

100 queens ⇒ 100 variables

100 rows ⇒ 100 values per variable

Source: NASA and ESA (wikipedia)

                        > minimum atoms

                        in the observable universe?

                        1080

How many combinations for 100 queens?

1 queen per column

100 queens ⇒ 100 variables

100 rows ⇒ 100 values per variable

                    100100 = 10200

                    1 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000

                      0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000

                      0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000

                      0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000

How many combinations for n queens?

1 queen per column

n queens ⇒ n variables

n rows ⇒ n values per variable

                    nn

                    |valueSet||variableSet|

How long?

Presume 109 scores/ms ⇒ 1020 scores/year

                    Queens
                    Combinations
                    Calculation time

                    100
                    100100 = 10200
                    10180 years

                    1000
                    10001000 = 103000
                    102980 years

                    10000
                    1000010000 = 1040000
                    1039980 years

Moore's law == a drop in the ocean

Brute Force scalability

                    8 queens = 15.7 seconds

                    9 queens = 2.5 minutes (times 10)

                    10 queens = 0.83 hours (times 20)

Lab: Try Brute Force

<solver>
  ...
  <exhaustiveSearch>
    <exhaustiveSearchType>BRUTE_FORCE</exhaustiveSearchType>
  </exhaustiveSearch>
</solver>

Brute force scalability

Plan 1200 processes with brute force?

Branch And Bound

Branch And Bound configuration

nodeExplorationType

entitySorterManner

valueSorterManner

Lab: Try Branch And Bound

<solver>
  ...
  <exhaustiveSearch>
    <exhaustiveSearchType>BRANCH_AND_BOUND</exhaustiveSearchType>
  </exhaustiveSearch>
</solver>

Optional: Try a different nodeExplorationType

Exhaustive Search doesn't scale

Branches explode exponentially

Not enough CPU

Not enough memory

Agenda: Training session 2

Domain modelling

Employee rostering

Curriculum course timetabling

Exam timetabling

Score calculation advanced

Tennis club scheduling

Overconstrained planning

Hospital bed planning

Methodology

Drools integration

Dinner party

Domain modelling

Terminology

Problem fact

Planning entity class: Process

Planning entity: Process-7

Planning variable: Process.getComputer()

Planning value: Computer-3

Planning value range: from Computer-0 to Computer-8

What changing during planning?

Which class is a planning entity?

Which property is a planning variable?

Tips

Normalize

OneToMany relationship that changes during planning:
Many side is probably planning entity class

Planning entity needs at least 1 business problem fact property

Fixed number of planning entities during planning

Training lab2* exercises

The stage acting camp problem

The cinema room cleanup problem

The Court hearing problem

The Magistrate timetable problem

The credit card budget problem

The tax audit task assignment problem

Audit priority

Audit size

Auditor skill (= qualified)

Auditor affinity (= work faster)

Auditor full-time / part-time

ValueRangeProvider

From Solution

From Entity

ValueRangeProvider

Returns Collection

Returns ValueRange

Planning clone

Working solution vs Best solution

Working solution is internal!

Best solution is given to you through SolverEventListener

Curriculum course timetabling

Teacher, Course, Room

class Teacher {
  ...
}

class Course {
  Teacher teacher;
  ...
}

class Period {
  ...
}

class Room {
  ...
}

Lecture

@PlanningEntity
class Lecture {
  Course course;
  int lectureIndexInCourse;

  @PlanningVariable(...) Period period;
  @PlanningVariable(...) Room room;
  ...
}

Lab: Unavailable period penalty

On curriculum course scheduling example

Add data: which course is unavailable during which period

Add constraint

With Java

class UnavailablePeriodPenalty {
  Course course;
  Period period;
  ...
}

public HardSoftScore calculateScore(Schedule schedule);
  int hardScore = 0;
  for (UnavailablePeriodPenalty penalty : schedule.getPenaltyList()) {
    for (Lecture lecture : schedule.getLectureList()) {
      if (penalty.getCourse() == lecture.getCourse()
          && penalty.getPeriod() == lecture.getPeriod()) {
        hardScore--;
      }
    }
  }
  ...
  return HardSoftScore.valueOf(hardScore, softScore);
}

With Drools rule engine

class UnavailablePeriodPenalty {
  Course course;
  Period period;
  ...
}

rule "unavailablePeriodPenalty"
  when
    // When a course is unavailable for a certain period ...
    UnavailablePeriodPenalty($c : course, $p : period)
    // ... and a lecture of that course is scheduled in that period ...
    Lecture(course == $c, period == $p)
  then
    // ... then we lose 1 hard score point
    scoreHolder.addHardConstraintMatch(kcontext, -1);
end

Employee rostering

Lab901: Facility Location Problem

# stores at different location

Each store has a demand

# potential warehouses

Each warehouse has a capacity and setup cost

Each store gets supplied by 1 warehouse

Distance between store and warehouse is also a cost

Decide which warehouses to buy

Score calculation advanced

Mirror principle

-1 for every pair of queens that can attack each other

+1 for every pair of queens that cannot attack each other

⇒ Same optimal solution

Different initializingScoreTrend

⇒ possibly different performance

Default to negative constraints (if it feels natural)

Bendable score

Any number of score levels

Decide at bootstrap time

Reuse existing business code

public class Nurse {

  private Country country;

  public boolean isHoliday(Date date) {
    if (country == Country.BE) {
      // true if date is 1-JAN, easter monday, 21-JUL, ...
    } else if (country == Country.FR) {
      // true if date is 1-JAN, easter monday, 14-JUL, ...
    } else if (...) {
      ...
    }
    ...
  }

}

Training lab1*

Do we need to implement all constraints?

Fairness/load balancing

Lab: load balancing

Apply load balancing on FLP

Remove setupCost and normal distanceCost

Warehouse capacity hard constraint still applies!

Optional: load balance relative to warehouse capacity

Optional: use the distanceCost as the load in loading balancing

Tennis club scheduling

Demo

Parametrization

Exam timetabling

Demo

Overconstrained planning

Overconstrained planning

@PlanningVariable(nullable=true)

Extra score level

Feasible > Assigned > Cheap

Hospital bed planning

Demo

Lab: overconstrained FLP

Multiple all demands by 10

Solve it but don't break hard constraints

Methodology

Config objects

Programmatic configuration

No XSD yet

Termination

Normal termination types

Asynchronous termination from another thread

Lab: programmatic configuration

Change code in CloudBalancingApp.createSolver()

Ask termination time with

                    String s = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
null, "How many seconds?", "");

Drools integration

ScoreDirectorFactoryConfig

setKieBase(...)

Dinner party

Demo

Agenda: Training session 3

Logging and scopes

Benchmarker

Construction Heuristics

Community

Logging

Reproducibility is gold

Debugging

Support

Demo's

Your sanity

Reproducibility pitfalls

Random calls that don't use the seeded Random

HashMap in Solution => Use LinkedHashMap

HashSet in Solution => Use LinkedHashSet

Time gradient algorithms (Simulated Annealing)

Work stealing (EnvironmentMode)

Logging levels

What is the solver doing?

Lab: Logging

Change logback.xml

Try info, debug and trace

Optional: open system monitor. What do you see?

Optional: open VisualVM. What do you see?

OptaPlanner hogs a CPU core

No IO. OptaPlanner is not a webserver!
⇒ Multi-threading gain is lower.

Multi-threaded solving coming soon (to hog all your CPU cores)
⇔ it does not break incremental score calculation

Memory is stable (except for Exhaustive Search)

ACC

Average calculation count per second

How many inner iterations per second?

< 1000 ⇒ Too slow!

> 10000 ⇒ OK

Lab: ACC

Comment out score rules in a *.drl file

How does the ACC change?

Which score rule is slowest? Is there a bottleneck?

What is the best optimization algorithm?

Optimization algorithms

                    Exhaustive Search

Brute Force

Branch And Bound

                    Construction Heuristics

First Fit (Decreasing)

Weakest/Strongest Fit (Decreasing)

Cheapest Insertion

                    Metaheuristics (Local Search, ...)

Hill Climbing

Tabu Search

Strategic Oscillation Tabu Search

Simulated Annealing

Late Acceptance

Step Counting Hill Climbing

Too much choice

Which one do I need to use?

Good answer: First Fit Decreasing with Late Acceptance

Better answer: try them all and use the best one

Benchmarker

Benchmarker report

Demo and statistics overview

Summary statistics

Always generated

Only covers the end state

Problem statistics

Per problem dataset

Not generated by default

Impact execution (observer effect)

Covers state during solving too

Available as CSV file

Single statistics

Per problem dataset and solver configuration

Not generated by default

Impact execution (observer effect)

Covers state during solving too

Available as CSV file

Benchmarker pitfalls

JVM warm up

Parallel benchmarking

Lab Benchmarker

On Cloud Balancing

Compare Brute Force with Branch And Bound

Or different score directors

Use 30 second termination

Blueprints

Demo

Matrix benchmarking

Demo

Benchmark aggregator

Lab BenchmarkAggregator

Run the same benchmark twice

With different log levels or JDK

Aggregate report

Construction Heuristics

First Fit config

<solver>
  ...

  <constructionHeuristic>
    <constructionHeuristicType>FIRST_FIT</constructionHeuristicType>
  </constructionHeuristic>
</solver>

First Fit scalability

First Fit results

All hard constraints satisfied: maintenance cost shown

First Fit Decreasing config

<solver>
  ...

  <constructionHeuristic>
    <constructionHeuristicType>FIRST_FIT_DECREASING</constructionHeuristicType>
  </constructionHeuristic>
</solver>

DifficultyComparator

public class ProcessDifficultyComparator
    implements Comparator<Process> {
  public int compare(Process a, Process b) {
    // Compare on requiredCpuPower * requiredMemory
    //     * requiredNetworkBandwidth
  }
}

@PlanningEntity(difficultyComparatorClass
    = ProcessDifficultyComparator.class)
public class Process  {
  ...
}

First Fit Decreasing scalability

First Fit Decreasing results

Weakest Fit (Decreasing)

Strongest Fit (Decreasing)

Cheapest insertion

Regret insertion

Not yet supported

Community

Build from source

https://github.com/droolsjbpm/optaplanner

$ git clone git@github.com:droolsjbpm/optaplanner.git
...
$ cd optaplanner
$ mvn clean install -DskipTests
...
$ cd optaplanner-examples
$ mvn exec:java
...

Community publicity

Speaking at an event?

Wrote a public article or case study?

Made a video?

Add it on optaplanner.org

How? By sending a Pull Request to add it in the yml file (or just mail me).

Steal these slides

Most slides are images of 800*600

SVG sources are in

                    https://github.com/droolsjbpm/optaplanner/tree/master/optaplanner-docs/src/main/docbook/en-US/images

Use Inkscape

Use Tango color palette

User layers to export a subset

Demo's: see video's

Anyone want to convert to odp/ppt and share?

OptaPlanner HUB

Agenda: Training session 4

Local Search

Score traps

Move selectors

Custom moves

Incremental score calculation

Machine Reassignment

Assertion modes

Local Search

Construction Heuristics + Local Search

<solver>
    ...

    <constructionHeuristic>
        <constructionHeuristicType>FIRST_FIT_DECREASING</constructionHeuristicType>
    </constructionHeuristic>
    <localSearch>
        ...
    <localSearch>
</solver>

Move types

Change move

Swap move

...

All change moves

                            n
                            # moves
                            # solutions

                            4
                            16
                            256

                            8
                            64
                            16777216

                            64
                            4096
                            10116

                            n
                            n2
                            nn

Multiple moves

Multiple moves can reach any solution

Making moves

Making steps

Hill Climbing config

<localSearch>
  <forager>
    <!-- Untweaked standard value -->
    <acceptedCountLimit>1000</acceptedCountLimit>
  </forager>
</localSearch>

Lab Hill Climbing

Tabu Search config

<localSearch>
  <acceptor>
    <!-- Typical standard value -->
    <entityTabuSize>7</entityTabuSize>
  </acceptor>
  <forager>
    <!-- Typical value -->
    <acceptedCountLimit>1000</acceptedCountLimit>
  </forager>
</localSearch>

Lab Tabu Search

Simulated Annealing config

<localSearch>
  <acceptor>
    <!-- Tweaked value -->
    <simulatedAnnealingStartingTemperature>
        0hard/400soft
    </simulatedAnnealingStartingTemperature>
  </acceptor>
  <forager>
    <!-- Typical value -->
    <acceptedCountLimit>4</acceptedCountLimit>
  </forager>
</localSearch>

Lab Simulated Annealing

Late Acceptance config

<localSearch>
  <acceptor>
    <!-- Typical standard value -->
    <lateAcceptanceSize>400</lateAcceptanceSize>
  </acceptor>
  <forager>
    <!-- Typical value -->
    <acceptedCountLimit>4</acceptedCountLimit>
  </forager>
</localSearch>

Lab Late Acceptance

Local Search results

Cost ($) reduction

Optimization algorithms

                    Exhaustive Search

Brute Force

Branch And Bound

                    Construction Heuristics

First Fit (Decreasing)

Weakest/Strongest Fit (Decreasing)

Cheapest Insertion

                    Metaheuristics (Local Search, ...)

Hill Climbing

Tabu Search

Strategic Oscillation Tabu Search

Simulated Annealing

Late Acceptance

Step Counting Hill Climbing

Score traps

Move selectors

Cartesian Product

Mimic Selection

Limited Selection

Generic moves

TailChainSwapMove

SubChainChangeMove

SubChainSwapMove

Custom moves

Incremental score calculation

EnvironmentMode

Are there bugs in my code?

Production

Reproducible (default)

Fast assert

Full assert

Machine Reassignment

Agenda: Training session 5

Chained variables

TSP, VRP

Nearby selection

Shadow variables

Project Job Scheduling

Chained variables

TSP

Nearby Selection

Scaling out with TSP and VRP

Shadow variables

VRP

OpenStreetMap and Google Maps

Project Job Scheduling

Agenda: Training session 6

Repeated planning

Integration

Clustering

Multitenancy

Competition

Repeated planning

Backup planning

Continuous planning

Real-time planning

Backup planning

Not really repeated planning, but score calculation

Reserve assignments

Balancing remaining space

Train/flight layovers

Continuous planning

Plan until the end of time?

Continuous planning demo

Nurse rostering demo

Immovable entities

Move Filter that is always applied

Non-disruptive repeated planning

AKA semi-movable entities

Real-time planning

When you need an answer in milliseconds

ProblemFactChange

Callback that is executed on the solver thread

Lab: real-time planning

Delete a warehouse

How long to become initialized and feasible again?

Optional: click to add a store

Daemon mode

Start with an empty problem

All problem facts come in through a ProblemFactChange

Configure no termination

solve() does not return ...

... until terminateEarly() is called

Integration

Reference architecture

optaplanner-webexamples-*.war

OptaConf

Lab optaplanner-webexamples-*.war

Run that war on EAP or WildFly

Camel OptaPlanner

http://camel.apache.org/optaplanner.html

Unit tested

Works on Karaf too

JBoss modules

Do It Yourself (see docs)

OSGi

Engine jars support it

Android

Works (use documented workaround)

Demo

Humans planners and politics

The easiest ways to fail (or win) a project...

Who will win a quiz?

Very smart, experienced quizmaster without internet access

Smart teenager with internet access

OptaPlanner enhances the human planner

Business is king

The human planner defines the score function

The human planner is your best friend! You need him/her.

The human planner validates the score function

business will change ⇒ the score function will change too

The human planner redefines the score function in the future.

Who's in control?

The user is in control

Course scheduling demo

Who's in control?

The human planner outranks OptaPlanner

Use immovable entities again

Multi-threaded

Clusters

Partitioning

Partitioning

Sign of weakness

Might be the only solution

Multitenancy

Competition

See OptaPlanner HUB

Competing solvers

In-house solvers

IBM CPLEX

Gurobi

LocalSolver

Quintiq

AIMMS

Choco (open source)

OscaR (open source)

JSprit (open source)

Agenda: Training session 7

Full exercise

Debugging

Support FAQ

Debugging

Support FAQ

Agenda: Training session 8

Optaplanner Workbench

OptaPlanner Execution Server

Workbench and Execution Server

Summary

OptaPlanner solves planning and scheduling problems

Adding constraints: easy and scalable

Switching/combining optimization algorithms: easy

Q & A

OptaPlanner homepage

http://www.optaplanner.org

Reference manual

http://www.optaplanner.org/learn/documentation.html

Download/fork this presentation

http://www.optaplanner.org/learn/slides.html

What did you think of this presentation?

Twitter: @GeoffreyDeSmet

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I don't know what I ever did without Google. You can keep your other search engines – I'm sure Bing and Yahoo! do a great job, but I am a Googling kind of guy.
I'm convinced there isn't a single bit of information one can't locate via Google – the lyrics to "Livin' La Vida Loca," recipes for red beans and rice, what day Christmas is on in 2018 (Tuesday, by the way), the proper use of i.e. vs. e.g. – that sort of thing.
…no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
So when He reveals God's will to me, He's just sharing information that's already known.
It is not to be supposed that he [the Holy Spirit] searches, or inquires as men do who are ignorant; but that he has an intimate and profound knowledge, such as is usually the result of a close and accurate search.
Just what I need, just when I need it, with no manipulation whatsoever. Although there was a price that was paid for me to have access to that information, that price was paid 2000 years ago.
Yet another entertaining and knowledgeable read. Keep making a difference. Love you brother and may God continue His will in you.


text:
Ransomware resource claims to have prevented $900m in payments
by Elaine Burke
Image: © Yingyaipumi/Stock.adobe.com
In five years of operation, Europol's No More Ransom portal has built up a repository of more than 100 ransomware decryption tools.
When No More Ransom first launched in 2016, the online portal offered four decryption tools for different types of ransomware.
Today, NoMoreRansom.org offers free downloads of 121 tools to decrypt 151 ransomware families. These tools have seen more than 6m downloads and Europol, one of the project's founders, claims they have helped prevent more than $900m reaching cybercriminals.
No More Ransom is an initiative started by Europol, the Dutch police service, Intel Security and Kaspersky Lab. The public-private partnership now involves law enforcement agencies around the world, including An Garda Síochána, as well as a vast number of IT security companies.
Key partners such as Trend Micro, Avast, Cisco, ESET, F-Secure and Bleeping Computer have helped build up the site's repository of decryption keys. Ransomware families such as Avaddon, Lorenz, Ziggy, Fonix, Crypt32, Darkside and many more are covered, and the site is updated regularly with new additions as they are discovered.
For users unsure of what ransomware they're dealing with, a Crypto Sheriff will assist them. This tool reviews information from encrypted files and ransomware notes submitted by users, looking for a decryption match among the available tools. Users can also easily find where to report cybercrime for their jurisdiction.
Available in 37 languages, the site also offers visitors advice on how to protect against ransomware.
Europol warns that anyone, from individuals to companies of all sizes, could be targeted by a ransomware attack. It recommends that "the best way to stay healthy is to not get sick" and much of the site's prevention advice hinges on personal responsibility. Individual users must beware of attachments in emails or website downloads, and always think before they click.
Ransomware is now one of the most common forms of cyberattack, and the cost of these attacks is leading to a surge in cyber insurance prices.
High-profile attacks recently alerted the world at large to an ongoing ransomware scourge. The Irish health service is still suffering the disruptive effects of a cyberattack in May this year. This was preceded by a cyberattack on a US gas pipeline and followed by a ransomware attack on the world's largest meat producer.
In the wake of these attacks, the European Commission suggested a Joint Cyber Unit to unite member states in threat monitoring and detection, and US president Joe Biden proposed billions in funding for cybersecurity. In Ireland, a significant Government investment will see the country's National Cyber Security Centre more than double its headcount in the next five years.
Key to preventing the spread of ransomware is ensuring that it doesn't continue to present a profitable business model for cybercriminals.
Lindy Cameron, CEO of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, recently praised the decision by Ireland's national health service not to pay the ransom demanded of it. "Cybercriminals are out to make money – the more times a method is successful, the more times it will be used," she warned.
On its website, the UK centre provides a 10-step process and a regularly updated toolkit to tackle cyberattacks.
Related: malware, police, Kaspersky Lab, infosec
Elaine Burke is the editor of Silicon Republic
Dublin's Coombe hospital shuts down IT systems after cyberattack
Microsoft: Unlikely we've seen full scope of 'destructive' Ukrainian cyberattack
Hacker accessed 'frail' HSE system two months before ransomware attack
Apple sues Israeli tech group behind Pegasus spyware
One in 10 Irish workers would not report malware to boss, survey finds
HSE cyberattack: Hackers' servers, websites seized by Gardaí

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Cheese is one of the most favorite and popular foods which is a part of daily diet of overwhelming majority of modern families throughout the world. For the last decade, cheese consumption in the US increased by almost 22%. This dairy product is a very common ingredient of may dishes, the one which makes those dishes delicious. However, many people are trying to avoid eating lots of cheese as it is reported to have high content of saturated fat and cause cholesterol problems or other unwanted health conditions. At the same time, it is impossible to claim that moderate cheese consumption does not lead to any good for our health.
When talking about health benefits of cheese, it is necessary to mention the role this product plays for effective dental care and bone health. Rich in such elements as nutrients as calcium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamins B, cheese assists in bone formation and tooth enamel protection. Regular consumption of cheese in moderate doses can help to prevent such serious health problem as osteoporosis which affect a lot of modern women above 50. Other health benefits of cheese include reducing risk factors for hypertension and heart disease, strengthening liver, stimulating blood formation amd nutrient absorption, and others.
Recently, scientists found out that regular consumption of cheese and dairy products in moderate amounts can assist very effectively in weight management. A group of researchers leaded by Wendy Chan, a specialist at Curtin University of Technology, Australia, found out that combining regular cheese consumption with low fat diet can increase the effectiveness of any weight loss program. After the experiments that lasted for several months, those participants who were consuming cheese on a regular basis experienced improvements in blood pressure and the function of their cardio-vascular system.
These findings confirmed the results of researches of Michael Zemel, a nutritionist and medicine specialist in the University of Tennessee. His experiments took place in 2004, and Zemel also reported about positive effects of cheese consumption on weight reducing efforts. Zemel recommends consuming about 30 g of cheese on a daily basis, combining it with a balanced low fat diet. In addition to speeding weight loss, the nutritionist also point on other benefits of regular cheese consumption, which include normalizing blood pressure and reducing the amount of tummy fat. Finally, it can help improve metabolism and lower the risks of sleep disorders.
This entry was posted 9 years, 5 months ago.


When we think of marine wildlife viewing activities, such as whale watching, we automatically imagine operations conducted by boat. In fact, this is the most common way to observe wildlife in the marine environment. It provides convenient access to a variety of animal species whose habitats are further away from the shore and includes wildlife-watching tour boats, motor boats, sail boats, ferries, catamarans and yachts, as well as small recreational boats like kayaks.
Swim-with programmes that offer close encounters with marine wildlife are usually conducted by boat from which the tour participants enter the water. In some programmes they can swim freely, while in others they are attached to mermaid-lines that give support to inexpert swimmers.


Healthcare professionals are employed to provide Occupational Health services to a range of client organisations.
Delivering comprehensive and effective Occupational Health services ensuring that high professional and quality standards are maintained on a consistent basis and in line with best practice.
Work with the Consultant OHPs (COP) and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to ensure high professional standards are delivered in accordance with business needs.
We care about our people and we care about what we do. Committed to delighting our clients, we look for people who bring enthusiasm and a dynamic approach to their work.
By joining us you will be part of our team, working for a business with a passion for innovation, intelligent analysis and clinical excellence. We encourage, enable and support our employees to deliver excellence as part of an agile, high-performing team. Join us and become part of our story.
As you'd expect from a leading provider of occupational health and wellbeing services, our market leading remuneration, training and development programmes ensure we keep and develop only the best professionals.


We compare our prices against competitors daily, so we won't be beaten on price!
Quality, affordable padded carry bags ideal for a range of lighting fixtures from most brands. Padded bags protect the equipment inside while helping reducing the damage to vehicles and venues caused by hard flight cases.
© 2019 Phase One. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Q: Physics definition of work and lifting My calculus text (Swokowski, Olnikc, Pence, 6th edition) gives the
formula for work as $W = Fd$ and then goes on to explain that if the
force varies over the distance the formula becomes an integral.
As part of an example, it then shows that the work to lift a 500 lb
beam 30 feet would be 500 * 30 = 15,000 ft-lb.  But don't we have to
exert an upward force greater than the weight of the beam somewhere in
our model in order to get the beam to move up?  Then the work would be
greater than 15,000 ft-lbs according to the definition of work.
It seems that in setting up integrals or just using the formula
W = Fd examples always use the weight of the increment or object to be
lifted without taking into account the fact that more than that force
must be exerted at some point in order for the thing to move upwards.
By the formula W = Fd, if we greatly accelerate an object upwards, the
work done lifting the object will be greater than if a lesser
acceleration is applied across the same distance, but examples in my
book don't seem to take this into account.  (I am assuming that
F = ma, and of course the mass stays constant.)

A: You are correct.  To simplify matters, this amount is often ignored.  There are several reasons why such a simplification is valid here.

*

*In the first place, we have no minimum speed for the lift.  By reducing the velocity, we can make the acceleration (and work needed to do so) as arbitrarily close to zero as we desire.

*Any extra work done to accelerate can be returned during a deceleration.  All that is required is that your path for the beam has it start and stop with the same speed.  If the speed is the same, then kinetic energy at that point must be the same.  That means any work done on the object must have gone into some other form and we assume it to be gravitational potential energy here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A Part 8 process for the development of a 13-house scheme in Feakle has been unanimously approved by the members of Clare County Council.
The new scheme is being developed as part of the Rebuilding Ireland Programme and is the first social housing development in Feakle since 1973. The development, which comprises a mix of three and two-bed houses to cater for the needs of the area, has gone through extensive public and department consultation and includes a new pedestrian way linking the main street to the school and playground.
The design team is now preparing tender documents with a view to starting construction on the site later this year.


text:
Amnesty says progress of SIT in anti-Sikh riots cases slow
Politics . Difficult
Observing that the delivery of justice to victims of the 1984 anti - Sikh riots had been delayed for the past 32 years, an Amnesty International official on Monday said the SIT formed by the Centre last year has made "slow progress".
"The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has the authority to file charges against the accused where there is sufficient evidence available.
It was originally given six months to complete this exercise, but received extensions in August 2015 and August 2016.
It is now slated to complete its investigation in February 2017, two years after it was set up, " Sanam Sutirath Wazir, campaigner at Amnesty International India, said.
"The SIT must not waste the opportunity to deliver justice to the massacre.
The SIT raised hopes among victims and survivors that they would finally get justice.
But the SIT's apparent lack of transparency so far has been disturbing, " Wazir told media here.
The riots led to killing of nearly 3, 000 Sikh men, women and children, mainly in Delhi, over four days following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
"The Delhi Police closed investigations into hundreds of cases, citing lack of evidence.
The SIT constituted in January 2015 to re - investigate the riots cases has made slow progress.
In November, it had identified 58 cases for reinvestigation, " he said.
Titled '32 years and waiting: An era of injustice for the 1984 Sikh massacre', the campaign digest of Amnesty highlights the "cover - up that followed the massacre and the status of various official investigations over the last 32 years".
The digest also carries personal accounts of survivors.
In June 2016, Amnesty International India and a range of prominent activists, journalists, lawyers and political leaders made a series of recommendations related to effective investigation, comprehensive reparations and legal reforms, to be submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said.
reinvestigation recommendations investigations investigation comprehensive assassination transparency reparations opportunity journalists


Software king of the world Microsoft has won a contract with Tesla OpenAI, the non-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research firm backed by Tesla Motors.
Under the deal, Tesla will test most of its large-scale experiments on Vole's flagship cloud service, Azure. OpenAI will use Azure for its experiments in deep learning and AI, and Microsoft will collaborate with the company on advancing research and creating new tools and technologies.
Other backers involved in the project include media friendly tech investor Peter Thiel and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
OpenAI is an early adopter of Microsoft's Azure N-Series Virtual Machines service, which will be generally available from December. These cloud-computing services, which are powered by Nvidia GPUs, are designed for the most intensive computing workloads, including deep learning and simulations.
The non-profit was created last December to create AI that augments human capabilities. The investors have committed $1 billion to the start-up, but OpenAI said it expects to spend only a "tiny fraction" of that in the next few years.


Welcome into your daily meditations the company of your favorite authors including Henri Nouwen, Joyce Rupp, Richard Rohr, Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Bede Griffiths, Mother Teresa, Oscar Romero, Evelyn Underhill, Jim Forest, Megan McKenna, Thich Nhat Hanh, John Shea and many others whose spiritual writings have graced the pages of Orbis Books during the past 40 years. Each entry offers a brief reflection on life and faith that will stay with you throughout the day.
Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Orbis and the 100th anniversary of its parent, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, this treasure-trove of inspiration reflects the values of Maryknoll. It will be greatly valued by all readers who cherish spirituality and literature.
Michael Leach is publisher emeritus and editor-at-large for Orbis Books.
Doris Goodnough is rights and permissions coordinator at Orbis Books.
A Worldwide Heart: John J. Considine, M.M.


Lavender (EDTA), pink (K2EDTA), or yellow (ACD Solution A or B). OR bone marrow in lavender (EDTA). OR buccal brushes from recipient.
Transport 3 mL whole blood (Min: 1 mL) OR 1 mL bone marrow OR 2 buccal brushes in a sterile, dry tube.
Post-transplantation results will be compared to pre-transplant recipient and donor genotypes, therefore, donor and recipient specimens must be obtained and genotyped before the transplant event occurs.
Indication: Monitoring for bone marrow transplant patients; correlation with clinical status and consideration of the interval between bone marrow transplantation and testing is necessary for proper interpretation of results.


Not even gonna lie. I read this on Memorial Day and my throat caught three times at least. This is a profile of that Dr. in Connecticut who's home got robbed and they raped and killed his wife and two daughters and then burned down the house. Awful choice for a beach read. Also the best story I've read in 2011, hands down.
Probably going to have to agree with you on every count.


Grapes are first de-stemmed then fermented in temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks for eight days, with constant skin contact. During fermentation wine is both pumped over and also the cap is pressed into the fermenting wine. Afterwards the must is pressed in vertical presses with double screws. This is a smooth and slow treatment that offers maximum extraction of colour and tannins that reside in the skins. The ageing process is 30 months in 225 litre American oak barrels and 24 months in bottle before release.
Manual harvest: from 16th September to 9th October.
Dark intense red brick colour. Full, mature aroma of mellow red and dark fruits with hint of spicy oak. Full bodied and generous mellow fruit softening as it matures. Lovely finish and aftertaste of spicy fruit as it starts to soften and mature.


Medicines Sometimes Snatches Away Health, Sometimes Gives It.
Work Out Because You Love Your Body Not Because You Hate It.
Web Nautical has a creative and knowledgeable team which provides the mobile application for mobile devices such as personal digital assistants, enterprise digital assistants or mobile phones.
Web Nautical create digital solutions for international corporations, businesses and other organisations with an aim to open up new possibilities for expansion of their profile and continuous improvement. We are a team of experienced developers, creators, designers, and project managers you can relay on.
We provide website development services that help you grow your business with particular industry. We help to expand their business services with small business to enterprise business. Our web development team develop unique website for your business. We solve your business problem by tackling it head on, and creating value for your brand visibility.
Our CMS & Ecommerce development team lets you manage your website the way you want to manage your content. Content of your website is something which helps you improve your search engine rankings and through thus trouble free content management provided by our CMS & Ecommerce development team lets you manage your content without an technical help.
Like to know anything else? Just Ask !
Copyright © 2018 Web Nautical. All rights reserved.


The JJ Cycle Pass is designed specifically for use on cruiser/touring motorcycles. Made from lightweight, durable ABS resin, our JJ Cycle Pass mounts securely to the handlebars allowing riders the convenience of using the designated "toll pass only" lanes.
If you have any questions about this product by JJ Cycle Pass, contact us by completing and submitting the form below. If you are looking for a specif part number, please include it with your message.


"Lief, your new Simon Letter is well worth the money spent. It is educational, comprehensive, and straight-to-the-point. I specifically appreciate your honesty. We would like to apply what you've learned from your experiences and share through your awesome e-letters and those of Kathleen's. Perhaps some haven't actually taken the step because of not wanting to leave family and friends behind or because they are still finding the courage. Finally, we are confident to take our first step…like Kathleen's mother.
"Kathleen, we were unable to attend your Scottsdale conference because we are on our final road trip to see our family spread out across the United States, prior to our relocation to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I retired on June 20, and your book and newsletter were the inspiration we used to make the decision that we were going to try an adventure outside the States. Due to the cost of health care coverage, this seems to be the only realistic hope that we have so that I could retire at age 60.
"We are on our way for the first stop in our adventure, due to arrive there on the 4th of May. We are set for Spanish classes when we get there and have committed in our minds to 12 months of San Miguel, and then we will move on for other opportunities in locations like Ecuador, Panama, and maybe Belize.


text:
Георгий Арсентьевич Рожнов (5 мая 1912 года, Волгоградская область — 1985) — бригадир тракторной бригады Стахановской МТС Октябрьского района, Таджикская ССР.

Биография
Родился 5 мая 1912 года на хуторе Степанов Усть-Медведицкого округа области Войска Донского, была на территории современного Михайловского района Волгоградской области, в семье казаков. Окончил сельскую школу-семилетку. С 10 лет начал работать в сельском хозяйстве. В неполные восемнадцать лет уехал в город Владимир, поступил учиться на рабфак. Но через год вынужден был вернуться домой. Работал комбайнером, механизатором в родном селе.

Участник Великой Отечественной войны. Службу проходил в авиационных частях, был начальником передвижной ремонтной мастерской в 8-й Воздушной армии. Участвовал в обороне Сталинграда.

После войны с семьей переехал в Среднюю Азию. Работал бригадиром тракторной бригады в Стахановской МТС Октябрьского района Курган-Тюбинской области Таджикской ССР. В 1948 году на полях обслуживаемых им колхозов был получен высокий урожай египетского хлопка — до 45,7 центнеров с гектара на площади 107,5 гектаров.

Указом Президиума Верховного Совета СССР от 3 мая 1949 года за получение высокого урожая хлопка Рожнову Георгию Арсентьевичу присвоено звание Героя Социалистического Труда с вручением ордена Ленина и золотой медали «Серп и молот».

В 1951 году вернулся в родные края. Приехал на строительство Сталинградской ГЭС. Стал работать водителем на самосвале ЯАЗ-2010 в «Сталинградгидрострое», в 1953 году на самосвале вывез первые кубометры грунта из котлована будущей ГЭС. Работал на строительстве не только гидроэлектростанции но и будущего города Волжский. Работал в «Волгоградгидрострое» до выхода на пенсию, был бригадиром водителей.

Жил в посёлке Средняя Ахтуба, с 1963 года — в городе Волжский. Скончался в 1985 году.

Награждён орденом Ленина, медалями.

В декабре 2013 года в городе Волжский, на доме где жил Герой труда, открыта мемориальная доска.

Примечания

Литература
  Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О присвоение звания Героя Социалистического Труда передовикам сельского хозяйства Таджикской ССР» от 3 мая 1949 года, Правда, № 127 (11234), 7 мая 1949 года
 Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О присвоение звания Героя Социалистического Труда передовикам сельского хозяйства Таджикской ССР» от 3 мая 1949 года, Известия Советов депутатов трудящихся СССР, № 105 (9945), 6 мая 1949 года.

Ссылки

 Установлена мемориальная доска для Георгия Рожнова

Воевавшие в ВВС СССР во время Великой Отечественной войны

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The iNEXT project (10 million budget), coordinated by Prof. Rolf Boelens from the NMR group, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, got funded under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme.
iNEXT (infrastructure for NMR, EM and X-rays for Translational research) will provide high-end structural biology instrumentation and expertise, facilitating expert and non-expert European users to translate their fundamental research into biomedical and biotechnological applications. iNEXT consists of a consortium of 23 partners and brings together leading European structural biology facilities under one interdisciplinary organizational umbrella. It includes synchrotron sites for X-rays, NMR centers with ultra-high field instruments, and, for the first time, advanced electron microscopy and light imaging facilities. Together with key partners in biological and biomedical institutions, partners focusing on training and dissemination activities, and ESFRI projects (Instruct, Euro-BioImaging, EU-OPENSCREEN and future neutron-provider ESS), iNEXT forms an inclusive European network of world class.
H2020 Infrastructure Project I Next Funded was published on January 16, 2015 .


Welcome to St. Vincent de Paul' Parish's 9th-10th Grade Confirmation program, an integration of education and participation in important spiritual pillars to more fully form candidates in the Catholic faith! The program is taught by Fr Richard and Sister Niky.
Please click onto the following links to learn about and complete important steps in being prepared to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.


text:
Home / News & Events
Bristol Eastern will take part in Connecticut FAFSA challenge
By Dean Wright on November 9, 2021
BRISTOL – With a recent announcement made by Gov. Ned Lamont that around 40 schools from 19 districts across the state will be taking part in the 2021 and 2022 Connecticut FAFSA challenge, Bristol Eastern High School will be among them.
"As we know from research, over 70% of jobs require post-high school degrees or certifications to obtain employment," said Bristol Public Schools Superintendent Catherine Carbone. "We are committed to providing our students with the necessary access to postgraduate opportunities and positioning them to achieve the best outcomes possible for their future careers and lives. This year, Bristol Eastern High School will participate in the Connecticut FAFSA Challenge."
According to state officials, the challenge is an effort meant to increase Free Application for Federal Student Aid completions and to increase access to postsecondary education opportunities. The FAFSA is a commonly completed government document would-be and current students use to be evaluated by the federal government for aid with financial needs in educational opportunities after grade school, most commonly college.
As part of the challenge, schools will receive "microgrants" in order to create strategies to better inform students and families about the FAFSA and help them in completing the application. State officials said that completing the application is often important for students to reach higher educational goals, especially for marginalized groups.
Officials said the application takes less than an hour to do but around 45% of the Class of 2021 seniors have not completed it.
This year, 14 more schools will be participating in the challenge than last year with the aim of boosting completion rates by five percent. Those who did participate in the challenge last year saw their rates increase by four percent while those who did not saw theirs drop by more than four percent in relation to 2020.
The RISE Network and Connecticut Department of Education are partnering with uAspire to offer free virtual training sessions for partners and area educators surrounding information about the FAFSA application. Those will be made available to all high schools with registration and date information slated to be made available in the coming weeks.
E. C. Goodwin Technical High School will also be participating in the challenge.
Read the original article.


text:
Pittsburgh considers becoming a sanctuary city in resistance to Trump's deportation promises
by Nick Keppler November 29, 2016 December 10, 2020
Pittsburgh may be taking a step toward becoming a sanctuary city and, in doing so, the city would be stepping directly into the crosshairs of the next President of the United States.
One of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promises was to cut off federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities, where local authorities are prohibited from investigating individuals solely for possible immigration law violations.
The Pittsburgh City Council has never passed a law making it a sanctuary city, but since 2014, city police have been operating almost as if it had.
"The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police practice is to honor requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain those wanted in criminal investigations, but to refrain from working as immigration officers," said Timothy McNulty, spokesperson for Mayor Bill Peduto. "In other words, the PBP does not engage in investigatory detention of individuals based on their immigration status."
A source within the city government, who asked to remain anonymous, said City Council members are looking into formalizing such a policy.
If it becomes official, Pittsburgh would be joining the likes of Philadelphia, New York City, Detroit, Baltimore and Portland, among other cities and towns. As a sanctuary city, Pittsburgh could also be among those facing sanctions from Trump, and even the state of Pennsylvania.
House Bill No. 1885, sponsored by state Rep. Martina White, R‑Philadelphia, would put criminal and economic sanctions on the state's sanctuary cities. Last month, the bill sailed through the state House, 136 to 55. Following Republican gains last election, it could overcome a veto by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.
Even as the undocumented immigrant population in the United States fell, Pennsylvania's rose, from about 140,000 in 2009 to about 180,000 in 2014, according to the Pew Research Center. The Trump election has scared Pittsburgh's population of undocumented immigrants. Some have already experienced being detained after minor citations, like driving without a license. The practice has broken up families and threatens to separate children from their parents. The policies around sanctuary cities will define how undocumented immigrants interact with the local police.
Lucy Gillespie of Garfield coordinated with the Thomas Merton Center to start a petition on Change.org, supported by 1,812 people so far, to make Pittsburgh a sanctuary city. Immigration, Gillespie said, "isn't a local issue or at least it shouldn't be, and you have people's lives and families at stake."
Erin Starks Teeter of Point Breeze digitally signed the petition. She doesn't think Trump will actually put economic penalties on sanctuary cities, due to the number and size of them. "He'd have to go after his own city," says Starks Teeter, referring to Trump's lifelong home of New York City. "I'm calling his bluff." But she wants Pittsburgh to be in that fight if it happens.
A bump on Pittsburgh's road to becoming a sanctuary city is the county's control over the local jail system. Unlike Pittsburgh police, the Allegheny County Bureau of Corrections does check immigration status of anyone detained, just like they check for outstanding warrants, according to Amie Downs, director of communications for Allegheny County.
The 2012 Supreme Court case Arizona v. United States limited the ability of states and municipalities to crack down on immigration status violations independently, says Sara Rose, staff attorney of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. Local police can't detain people solely on suspicion of violating immigration laws, but they can still notify the federal agency, ICE, if they suspect a person is in violation.
Sanctuary city laws limit local police's cooperation with the feds. Supporters say these laws ease the relationship between police and immigrant communities, which might be targeted by criminals who would otherwise exploit their hesitance to go to police for fear of being detained on an immigration violation. "Some cities go further than others" says Rose, from not communicating with ICE at all to ignoring the agency's "detainer" requests.
These detainers are not signed by a judge, making them a legally dubious as a reason for jailing someone, says Rose. Allegheny County softened its approach to immigration after Angelica Davila, a U.S. citizen born in Mexico, sued after spending the night in jail solely because ICE issued a detainer to check her immigration status. After the ACLU helped Davila win a $25,000 judgement in 2012, county jailers stopped holding people on ICE detainers, but they do notify the agency of potential immigration law violations.
Some correlate sanctuary cities to increased crime, but there is little evidence to substantiate that notion. A Washington Post analysis found no significant crime increases in places that, since 2002, have passed "sanctuary" laws. Still, critics point to the potential security threat of such policies — an argument made across television screens in Pennsylvania during the ad blitz of last election.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, blasted Democratic challenger Katie McGinty in ads over her support for Philadelphia's sanctuary city rules. Earlier in the year, Mayor Jim Kenney barred almost all cooperation between city police and ICE.
When asked if the victorious Toomey will now seek to sanction cities in his state, the senator's communications director, E.R. Anderson, said, "Senator Toomey will continue to be a leader on this issue. I am not sure yet the tactics of that leadership."
Anderson defines the issue as an effort at "keeping violent criminals, who also are here illegally, off the streets."
Clarification: The previous version of the article mischaracterized Lucy Gillespie's involvement with the Thomas Merton Center.
Nick Keppler is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer who has written for Mental Floss, Vice, Nerve and the Village Voice. Reach him at nickkeppler@yahoo.com.
2 replies on "Pittsburgh considers becoming a sanctuary city in resistance to Trump's deportation promises"
I'll be the first to leave Pittsburgh if it becomes a sanctuary city. In fact, I'll leave anyway as its gone far enough already.
Tongbei says:
I sure hope Pittsburgh is smarter than to become a sanctuary city. "Sanctuary" is a code word for "cheap and exploitable labor facilitated by unthinking and naive people." The idea of allowing people to cross borders illegally is offensive to everyone except the aforementioned fools. Chinese, Latinos, Middle Easterners – those who jumped through all the legal hoops to acquire their citizenship in the US are offended by the idea of granting a blanket amnesty. And again, if someone is even remotely thoughtful, they will understand sanctuary for what it is, a ploy to exploit foreign laborers who have no idea what their rights are. I sure hope this horrible idea goes away.


text:
Remove Multi-State Regions
U.S. EPA awards nearly $3.1 million to Guam for Environmental Protection
EPA News Release: U.S. EPA awards nearly $3.1 million to Guam for Environmental Protection
EPA awards over $2.4 million to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for environmental protection
EPA News Release: EPA awards over $2.4 million to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for environmental protection
EPA Awards $12.6 Million for Infrastructure to Protect Surface Waters and Drinking Water in American Samoa
EPA News Release: EPA Awards $12.6 Million for Infrastructure to Protect Surface Waters and Drinking Water in American Samoa
U.S. EPA awards over $45 million for environmental improvements on tribal lands in America's Pacific Southwest as 28th Annual EPA Tribal Conference ends
EPA News Release: U.S. EPA awards over $45 million for environmental improvements on tribal lands in America's Pacific Southwest as 28th Annual EPA Tribal Conference ends
EPA Awards $17.5 Million for Infrastructure to Protect Surface Waters and Drinking Water in the Northern Mariana Islands
EPA News Release: EPA Awards $17.5 Million for Infrastructure to Protect Surface Waters and Drinking Water in the Northern Mariana Islands
EPA Awards Nearly $10 Million for Infrastructure to Protect Surface Waters and Drinking Water in Guam
EPA News Release: EPA Awards Nearly $10 Million for Infrastructure to Protect Surface Waters and Drinking Water in Guam
American Samoa Receives $300,000 from EPA for Revitalization of Contaminated Properties
EPA News Release: American Samoa Receives $300,000 from EPA for Revitalization of Contaminated Properties
EPA Seeking to Fund Innovative Solutions for Preventing Pollution
Agency Anticipates Awarding up to $160,000 in Grants Across Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Pacific Islands
EPA News Release: EPA Seeking to Fund Innovative Solutions for Preventing Pollution
EPA Seeks DERA Grant Proposals up to $4 Million to Reduce Emissions from Diesel Engines Across Pacific Southwest
Funding Prioritized for Areas Facing Air Quality Challenges
EPA News Release: EPA Seeks DERA Grant Proposals up to $4 Million to Reduce Emissions from Diesel Engines Across Pacific Southwest
U.S. EPA awards nearly $200,000 to reduce diesel emissions in Guam and American Samoa
EPA News Release: U.S. EPA awards nearly $200,000 to reduce diesel emissions in Guam and American Samoa


Brand-Wise Car Sales Report: Maruti Suzuki kept its first position intact with 1,43,890 units in November 2018, getting zero benefit from the festive season for an unknown reason. The factor is applicable on all brands as majority of them posted mild drop in numbers from the same month last year.
Maruti Arena dealerships moved 1,16,793 units while Nexa was good for 27,097 units. Hyundai posted 43,709 units for the same period, taking the second position and showing negative YoY growth. Tata Motors is the third largest brand with 16,982 units on their side for the month of November.
Even after having strong products like Tiago, Tigor and Nexon, Tata is missing a product that could serve as Maruti Baleno and Hyundai i20 rival for sales improvement. Mahindra ranks fourth with 15,155 units in the 30-day period, registering a growth of 1% from the figure claimed last year. Honda India stood fifth with 13,006 units. The magic created by Amaze went down with Hyundai Santro gaining its place on the official charts. Toyota is the sixth largest brand by moving 10,721 units in November 2018. The drop of 16%, that too in the festive season was lethal for the brand.
The drop in sales is more prominent on the next couple of brands. Ford India registered 6,375 units, despite of having capable products like Aspire and Freestyle on their side. Renault stood next with 6,134 units. The ninth position goes to Volkswagen with 2,501 units while Datsun came next with 2,246 units. Skoda is the next bestseller with 1,305 units while Jeep has the biggest drop among all with 1,164 units. Nissan is falling down to negligible sales with 202 units while Fiat came last with 65 units.


This top tier and prestigious architectural practice is currently looking for a Mid/Senior Architectural Technician to join their dynamic team in Kent! The successful candidate will work on a number of interesting projects in the studio from educational to residential and commercial, therefore needs to be someone who is organized and communicative and have a keen eye for detail!
producing technical information for use during the development of the project design.
If this sounds like you or you would like to discuss similar roles apply now!!


C) Make factor tree of 30 in two different ways.
See course material of 6 th standard where i have shown how to find factors of a given number.
Second method could be prime factorization method but in that method you only get prime numbers as factors.
Here common factors in two numbers are 4 2's i.e. 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16. This answer matches the answer obtained above.
Since the numerator is constant; the fraction is greater if the denominator is smaller.


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Investigation Launched In Deadly Fire In Russia's Bashkortostan
Investigations have been launched into a deadly fire at a rehabilitation center in Russia's region of Bashkortostan.
The fire on March 15 killed 12 people in a small building in Bashkortostan's central city of Sterlitamak that housed a rehabilitation center for addicts.
Bashkortostan's Emergency Ministry said that preliminary investigations revealed that the victims most likely died of smoke inhalation.
Bashkortostan's head, Rustem Khamitov, who visited the site, said an investigation was launched into why the only exit in the building was secured by a heavy iron door and all the windows in the premises were enforced with iron grids.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax


Sailing, Liveaboard Life, Guides, Checklists, Vlog & More!
What's the number one thing a boater should do in the hopes of preventing boat engine failure? To ensure routine engine checks are completed. On Britican, we do a series of routine engine checks before EVERY voyage. On the video below, Simon will show you how he completes each check.
Members Only Extended Video. Here's what Simon does to check our engine before every start. These key steps are in place to reduce the likelihood of engine failure. Additionally, for our members only, Simon goes through his thoughts about taking a week-long Diesel Marine Engine course – should you do the same or is there a better way to spend your time and money? Finally, Simon offers the four main reasons that we've experienced engine failure on Britican over the last four years so that you learn from our mistakes and are better prepared!
To access this post, you must purchase The Britican Club.
Marina Checklist – what to do during a temporary stay?
Join us in the Caribbean for a week-long liveaboard sailing experience. Any dates in green are still available: Click here for full details!
We help people to take the exciting leap from living on land to becoming full time live-aboard sailors. If you would like to get in touch or having any questions here are our details.
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improving the transmitting quality and maximising the operating range ensure reliability and provide flexibility. These features of the IN-164 system have been realised by an innovative circuit design and a switchable transmitting power. A high-quality wireless audio transmission of up to 300 m in a free field outdoors is thus possible without any problems.
Rapid transmission: due to REMOSET, the frequency of a corresponding hand-held transmitter or pocket transmitter can easily be set up via the receiver. It is possible to remotely set the desired transmission channel at the transmitter via radio signal, no visual contact required. This can be done even during a live performance! An innovative carrier analysis method provides user support by only allowing transmission channels on which no other transmitter is active.


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Make an endowment a family tradition for future generations to ensure that Jewish history and values are not forgotten.
Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. -Talmud
Studies have found that philanthropic giving has health benefits including life satisfaction, better intra-family relations, and positive effects on physical health. If you equate net worth with dollar signs only, you may be missing out on other kinds of measuring devices, such as human, intellectual, and spiritual capital. They are important tools to understanding your family's or your individual net worth.
The Endowment began to adopt these concepts and believe in the notion of "friend-raising", not fundraising. Begin and endowment as a mission to help you realize how your values can be the bottom line of your legacy.
Why The Pomegranate?
The pomegranate, our Endowment's logo, has long symbolized life in many cultures. It has special meaning in Jewish culture because its seeds were thought to represent the 613 commandments of Judaism. The pomegranate stands for a productive future and a significant past.
Why Create a Legacy?
Make it a family tradition for future generations to ensure that Jewish history and values are not forgotten. Our children will know what it means to be Jewish and take pride in our traditions. You can pass on the legacy of those who came before us and help build a brighter future.
Kinds of Gifts
Gifts of Bequest
Cash gifts can be used to set up a Donor Advised or Designated Fund, or any planned giving program. IRS rules for cash, checks or any monetary gift require that the donor provide a bank record or a written communication from the Foundation.
Listing the Endowment in your will is considered a charitable bequest. You can include the Foundation for a percentage of the estate, a specific amount, or by specific assets of stock or real estate.
Find out more about how planned giving and legacy opportunities can work for you, your family, and your community by contacting Jade Stoltz, Executive Director, at 203-267-3177 x304. All information received is held in strictest confidence.
View our Privacy Statement and Donor Privacy Policy


Nov. 11 - U.S. President Barack Obama marks Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.
U.S. President Barack Obama marks Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C. He lays a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. With the war in Iraq now over and the war in Afghanistan winding down Obama spoke of honoring those who have served. (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING: "In this country we take care of our own, especially our veterans who have served us so bravely and sacrificed so selflessly in our name. And we carry on knowing that are best days always lie ahead. On this day we thank all of our veterans from all of our wars, not just for your service to this country but for reminding us why America is and always will be the greatest nation at work." More than 6,600 American troops died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.


text:
Visconde da Gândara é um título nobiliárquico criado por D. Luís I de Portugal, por Decreto de 8 de Julho de 1886, em favor de António Correia de Magalhães Ribeiro.

Titulares
 António Correia de Magalhães Ribeiro, 1.º Visconde da Gândara.

+Gandara
+Gandara


Despite recent efforts in the state of Maryland to reduce school disciplinary measures that exclude children from the classroom, a new report by UMD College of Education researchers finds that students with disabilities and black students were disproportionately suspended from school at all levels.
Across all Maryland public schools, 196 of them—or 14 percent—suspended 25 percent or more of students in one or more subgroups, including racial minorities, English learners and students with disabilities. These high-suspending schools were located throughout the state in both rural and urban areas and in small and large districts, the report said.
"The variation in suspension rates suggests that the school and district a child goes to makes a difference, as some schools are doing things differently in how they handle discipline," said Gail L. Sunderman, director of the Maryland Equity Project at the UMD College of Education and a co-author of the report with Robert Croninger, associate professor of education and co-director at MEP.
The researchers analyzed data on suspensions and school-level variables from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection and the Maryland State Department of Education.
Among the main findings, close to 60 percent of out-of-school suspensions are of black students, even though they make up only 35 percent of public school enrollment in Maryland. Students with disabilities represent 13 percent of enrollment in Maryland public schools but 25 percent of out-of-school suspensions.
In addition, schools with higher enrollments of black students, students with disabilities, and low-income students and lower enrollments of white, Asian and Hispanic students suspended more students in multiple subgroups.
The study showed that high-suspending schools were less successful academically, had lower graduation rates, lower attendance, higher mobility and fewer experienced teachers. In other words, these were struggling schools.
Maryland adopted new disciplinary guidelines in 2014 that included efforts to make exclusionary discipline a tool of last resort, yet the variability across schools and districts suggest that school- and district-level policies and practices regarding discipline contribute to differences in suspension rates, the report says.
"In some school districts, more than 40 percent of secondary schools were high suspending, which indicates a need for more support in terms of training, leadership or culture change to address exclusionary discipline," Sunderman said.
She recommended that educators and policymakers investigate the reasons for the disparities in exclusionary discipline, which has long-term consequences for student success.


Here is a gallery of adorable desert images for you, this gallery contains high-quality and high-resolution images, just click on the images you choose, download it and set it as background of your ipad screen.
Total 228 views. Posted by Meta Elner from 11-11-2017, 18:35.


text:
Q: Highchart's error : Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token for So What I am trying to do is that I am trying to create Plotline on a particular X value based on the data I have in an array.
There are 2 data arrays that I have :
 featurex = [95,193,295,393,480,587,700,799,912,1015,1123,1230,1336,1443,1554] ;
 featurey = [0,0,0,0,0,3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0];

Now What I am trying to do is that I am trying to Plot a plotline on X-axis where my Y-axis is 3 As you can see above.
I am able to do it statically, but I want it to be dynamic.
This is the Highchart's code that I am using.
Highcharts.chart('ppg', {
    chart: {
        type: 'line'
    },
    title: {
        text: 'ECG Data'
    },
    subtitle: {
        text: ''
    },
    xAxis:

       for( i=0; i<featurex.length; i++)
     {
        if (featurey[i] == 3) {
            plotLines: [

                   {
                        value: featurex[i],
                        color: '#005a9b94',
                        dashStyle: 'shortdash',
                        width: 100,
                    },

        }

      },
      crosshair: false

    },
    yAxis: {
        title: {
            text: 'Peaks'

        }
    },
   tooltip: {
        enable: false
    },
    plotOptions: {
        column: {
            pointPadding: 0.2,
            borderWidth: 0
        }
    },
    series: [{
        name: '',
        lineWidth: 2,
        data: yData,
         animation: {
                duration: 5000
            }
         },
   {    type: 'scatter',
        name: 'Installation',
        data: zip(xPeak, yPeak),
        animation: {
                duration: 5200
            }
      },

     ]
});

});

});
</script>

Here the Plotline code under the Xaxis is the main area of concern.
It's throwing me an error :

Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token for

Please guide me on what I am doing wrong.
Any Help is really appreciated. Thanks.

A: The problem is here,
xAxis:
    for( i=0; i<featurex.length; i++)

Above is not valid javascript syntax.
If you need plotlines to be dynamic, pass a function that returns an array
xAxis: {
  plotLines: generateDynamicPlotLines(),
}

And your function would be something like,
function generateDynamicPlotLines() {
    const plotLines = [];
    for(var i=0; i<featurex.length; i++) {
       if (featurey[i] == 3) {
           plotLines.push({
           value: featurex[i],
           color: '#005a9b94',
           dashStyle: 'shortdash',
           width: 100,
       });
     }
   }
   return plotLines;
}

A: Seems your plotLines assignment is missing a ] in your code, it should have been like this,
plotLines: [{
          value: featurex[i],
          color: '#005a9b94',
          dashStyle: 'shortdash',
          width: 100,
      }],
}

Hope this helps!


text:
Open Phones: Lincoln
1998-01-02T12:50:19-05:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/a90/19980102125131001_hd.jpgDuring this Open Phones segment
Harold Holzer, Co-FOUNDER, THE LINCOLN FORUM
Frank J. Williams, Chairman, THE LINCOLN FORUM
talked about historical research on Abraham Lincoln and took audience questions.
During this Open Phones segment Harold Holzer, Co-FOUNDER, THE LINCOLN FORUM and Frank J. Williams, Chairman, THE LINCOLN FORUM talked… read more
During this Open Phones segment
talked about historical research on Abraham Lincoln and took audience questions. close
Filter by Speaker All Speakers Harold Holzer Frank J. Williams
Harold Holzer Vice President Metropolitan Museum of Art->Communications
Frank J. Williams Co-Founder and Chair Lincoln Forum (Abraham Lincoln Studies Group)
C-SPANC-SPAN
Jan 02, 1998 | 12:50pm EST | C-SPAN 1
MP4 video - Standard
See all on Lincoln, Abraham
Harold Holzer, Co-Founder of the Lincoln Forum, and Frank Williams, Chairman of the Lincoln Forum, talked about the mission…
Letters to President Lincoln
Harold Holzer, co-founder of the Lincoln Forum, talked about his new book, The Lincoln Mailbag, America Writes to the…
Abraham Lincoln Portrait Exhibit
Mr. Holzer talked about the paintings and sculptures of Abraham Lincoln at an exhibit in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Lincoln's Deathbed in Art and Memory
Harold Holzer and Frank Williams gave a slide presentation as they talked about their book, Lincoln's Deathbed in Art and Memory: The "Rubber…


text:
Robert Wilson Of The Gap Band, Dead At 53
The Tulsa World is reporting that Robert Wilson of The Gap Band has died. He was 53.
Wilson, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his brothers, Charlie and Ronnie, started The Gap Band in the early '70s before moving to Los Angeles and finding fame as one of the premiere funk bands of the era.
Known as the godfather of bass guitar, Wilson died from a massive heart attack in his home, his publicist and manager, Don Jackson said.
His family became concerned about him when they didn't receive their regular phone calls from him throughout the day. His adult son found Wilson's body on Sunday afternoon in Palmdale, Calif.
Funeral details will be shared as they become available, his publicist said.
Ironically, Wilson gave what is most likely his last public interview to The Tulsa World last week to promote a show he was scheduled to do on Saturday, Aug. 28. The news outlet said he expressed joy about returning to his boyhood home of Tulsa and an upcoming festival headlining show and following tour.
The Aug. 28 show will go on as planned, but will now be a memorial to Wilson.
(Via rnbaddicts.com)


text:
Categories: Healthcare, MENA, MENA - Featured News, Systems Integration
Tags: Milestone Systems
Exclusive: Taking healthcare a step further with integration
Amine Sadi, Regional Sales Manager MENAT at Milestone Systems examines how enhanced integration is aiding the healthcare sector.
Technological advancements such as video analytics are driving a plethora of new use cases in the healthcare sector ensuring better security, service levels and business performance. The UAE's ministry of health is already working with one of the country's top telecom operators to set up the region's first virtual hospital.
The need for such virtual hospitals is more relevant than ever before and open platform Video Management Software (VMS) is revolutionising how the healthcare industry uses video technology solutions. By integrating new capabilities such as face and motion detection, access control, GPS, smoke and fire detection, thermal imaging and advanced analytics into traditional video solutions, it has now thrown up several interesting use cases in healthcare. An open platform VMS can support a variety of hardware such as cameras, encoders and decoders from multiple vendors, to offer the ability for customised integration with almost any other system or devices using an open platform software development kit.
Enabling tighter security
Hospitals and healthcare facilities are often high-footfall areas with a steady stream of incoming patients, visitors and staff and it is difficult to keep track of the number of people in the premises at any given point in time. Video analytics with its advanced headcount features helps hospital authorities keep track of the number and locations of individuals to aid emergency evacuation or people management.
According to a study by Indian Medical Association (IMA), 75% of doctors in India have faced violence at some point of time in their life. This violence is either in the form of verbal abuse or even worse, physical aggression.
While the Middle East may not face the problem with the same intensity, globally this is where an open VMS can provide another level of monitoring to help determine when medical staff need security assistance and can provide a strong deterrence to violence. When social distancing is made mandatory, the same open VMS can pair with video analytics to develop a centralised virtual care system for patients.
Perimeter security is just one of the many ways in which VMS is boosting the healthcare industry. Other use cases abound, including tracking of abandoned objects, loud sound detection, smoke and fire detection, sabotage detection, face detection, suspect search and personnel monitoring.
Video can also be paired with artificial intelligence (AI) to detect objects in video, identify and classify them and index them as metadata. The metadata can then be used as actionable intelligence to achieve enhanced service levels.
For instance, hospitals could use the metadata collected over a long period to create activity heatmaps for understanding visitor and patient traffic within the facility. This will help them understand navigational trends and ensure pathways to emergency treatment always remain clear of obstacles, something crucial to India's currently overwhelmed hospitals.
Where hospitals in most cities are inundated by the constant movement of ambulances carrying COVID-19 patients, congestion in pathways to emergency treatment facilities could prove fatal and such technology additions that can aid in removing impediments to speedy access could potentially save lives.
Enhancements to healthcare in the current pandemic
Thermal imaging cameras are also proving to be great assets in the current pandemic. Thermal imaging helps visualise temperature differences from a safe distance, identifying those who may have been infected. An integrated system raises an alarm when a higher-than-normal temperature is detected and the individual can be further screened for spot testing to ensure more accurate readings.
Measuring temperature manually with hand-held devices is a time-consuming and labour-intensive process. Thermal imaging cameras are not only a non-invasive and safer alternative to hand-held temperature scanners, but also require less manpower and time to execute.
VMS can also help enhance service levels in patient care. For example, Nemours Children's Hospital in the US uses video to monitor patient rooms to ensure that there are available nurses and clinical staff in the room. Other integrations also enable the system to announce themselves via audio when they are monitoring a room, giving them the ability to assist remotely and call other rapid response teams if needed.
"We've received such great feedback from parents and our staff about how helpful the video is. Parents feel more confident in leaving their child in our care because they know that we're monitoring everything very closely," said Ansley Hodges, the Lead Behavior Analyst at Nemours Hospital.
This also applies to elderly patients in home care situations, who are especially vulnerable to falling and in the absence of nursing staff in their proximity, due to manpower shortages, such incidents could also prove fatal. With the right analytics, it can also tell if a patient is lying on the floor due to a fall. When detected, the system can raise an alarm in real-time, ensuring that help is available immediately.
Medicine handling in hospitals is another sensitive task. As only authorised personnel can access pharmacy vaults, this can become a weak link in security without proper tracking. VMS can incorporate technologies such as facial recognition, along with access management to enable stronger security protocols without encumbering authorised staff.
The future is an open platform VMS
IP video cameras connect to the internet but have limited capabilities themselves to provide additional features. They are often riddled with proprietary systems, making them unable to communicate with hardware manufactured by other vendors. Today's video management system enables interoperability of systems and integration of diverse applications and is now an essential requirement in ensuring operational efficiency globally and a must-have for building on current business architecture.
What we see now is just the tip of the iceberg. As we learn how to leverage the power of the open platform and as the integration with myriad new technologies become more widespread, the full potential of these applications will be fully unleashed.
To find out more information, visit: https://www.milestonesys.com/
This article was originally published in the August edition of International Security Journal. To get your FREE digital copy, visit: https://digital.internationalsecurityjournal.com
Al Ain Finance selects HID Global to offer a secure, seamless mobile and online banking experience to customers
McKinstry partners with StaySafe to protect lone workers


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Satellite Internet has long been the best rural Internet option. Yet it is not without issues. Lag times limit how you can use the Internet. Those who enjoy fast-twitch gaming and other applications requiring constant speed are unable to do it. Data caps on satellite service are the other frustration for rural residents. For heavier users, it is easy to exceed to limits. Zing! eliminates those issues, with speed capable of anything the Internet offers and unlimited access to those who choose it.
Fast Internet in Black Forest, CO makes all the difference when it comes to how you use and enjoy the Internet. Zing! Broadband has successfully removed all barriers to rural high speed Internet and proudly offers two different plans to choose from to fit your needs and budget. The Z-25 plan gives you an ample 25 GB of data per month, which is perfect for the everyday user who surfs the web, does some online banking or shopping, sends email, enjoys social media and even sometimes streams movies or music. For the heavy user who asks a lot of their Internet or just doesn't want to worry about limits, the unlimited plan is ideal.
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