I love the geology and vast skies of the western states. The views there just blow me away. This is one of a series of paintings done after an extended road trip out west.
It was painted with foliage and mountains abstracted as shapes and colors. Lots of glazes were used to let the colors glow.
But as in most of my western paintings, there is that faraway land in the distance that makes me want to go hiking, exploring, or flying.


text:
Vladimir Nikolayevich Serov (; born 9 September 1979) is a former Russian professional football player.

Club career
He played in the Russian Football National League for FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk in 2004.

References

External links

1979 births
Living people
Russian footballers
Association football forwards
FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk players
FC Rotor Volgograd players
FC Fakel Voronezh players
FC Sokol Saratov players
FC Dynamo Stavropol players
FC Lada-Tolyatti players

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Asheville school board hears feedback on restructuring
Julie Ball
jball@citizen-times.com
ASHEVILLE - Teams from each Asheville City school provided feedback to school board members Thursday as the board continues to work on a restructuring plan for the district.
Board members are slated to vote Monday on some key issues, but Peggy Dalman, board chair, said the board won't be making a decision on a restructuring option.
Among the issues the board will try to resolve is whether Hall Fletcher Elementary should keep its sixth grade and add a seventh grade next year and whether the city preschool should keep its kindergarten class and add a first grade.
The board will also decide whether to add preschool classes at other elementary schools and whether the Montford campus, which currently houses students from Dickson Elementary, should be used in the future for elementary students or for middle and high school students.
"We need those decisions made because they impact families and staffing decisions and budgets for next year," Dalman said following the Thursday work session.
Dalman said making those decisions shouldn't lock the district into a specific restructuring option.
The board is trying to decide how best to accommodate future growth and at the same time meet academic needs of students.
One option that would turn Hall Fletcher into a school for fourth through eighth grade and make the preschool a primary school has sparked opposition from Hall Fletcher staff and parents. That same option would use the Montford campus for an alternative school and would expand pre-k classes to Dickson and Jones.
"I do understand why they are considering that," said Angel Howell, co-president of the Hall Fletcher PTO. "At the same time, they have a lot of feedback and a lot of notes to go through that would support different things that we could do potentially."
Some of the feedback from the teams Thursday raised concerns about fracturing the Hall Fletcher community by dividing the school.
Other ideas included the addition of an intermediate school or using the Montford campus as a small middle school with experiential learning.
The team from Asheville High and SILSA brought back the idea of moving SILSA to its own campus.
"There has been building tension between Asheville High and SILSA as our campus is more crowded," teacher Will Smith said. "We are increasingly stepping on each other's toes."
Dalman said the board does want to make a decision on a restructuring plan by the end of the current school year.
"Because we want all of next year as a planning year. As many, many people said, you've got to think these things out if you're going to make these big changes," Dalman said.
Asheville parents demonstrate over school restructuring
Hall Fletcher teachers, parents oppose school split

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home News Campus Exceptional students receive recognition from faculty, student leaders
Exceptional students receive recognition from faculty, student leaders
By Alyssa Kirkland
Molly McGoughey, Scott Voos, and Lindsay Kubina speak at a panel for Exceptional Students in Higher Education in the College of Business Building at Kansas State, in Manhattan, Kan, on Nov. 2, 2017. (Photo by Olivia Bergmeier | Collegian Media Group)
Student leaders, faculty and staff came together Thursday to discuss exceptional students — students who are admitted to universities by exception — in higher education.
"The 'exceptional student' term is more commonly used in the K-12 system, but typically refers to students who self-identify with having some type of a disability," Molly McGaughey, director of undergraduate admissions, said.
Finding acceptance: Multicultural students share stories
Not all exceptional students are recognized with having a disability. The term also applies to students who have high school GPAs or standardized test scores that do not quite meet the requirement for admission to Kansas State. These students may be accepted to the university after a holistic review.
"Holistic reviews are a small percentage of students on campus," said Lindsay Kubina, access advisor and outreach coordinator at the Student Access Center.
Holistic reviews require students to submit personal statements and recommendation letters for review by a panel. This way, students can be admitted by exception.
Exceptional students make up a small percentage of students on campus. Some of them have disabilities like ADHD or are on the autism spectrum.
"They're here; I'm going to acknowledge the fact we have a very lively campus," said Scott Voos, managing director and academic coach for the Academic Transition Program. "It is our commitment and responsibility to work with all students and give them the best experience we can."
McGaughey said students, exceptional and otherwise, with mental health issues and autism spectrum disorders are becoming more common.
"The trend now is seeing students with mental health issues and on the autism spectrum," McGaughey said. "I think we will start seeing more and more students with mental health issues in the years to come."
Voos said exceptional students bring value to campus.
"In my short time [of] interaction with students, my awareness has risen," Voos said. "Bringing these phenomenons to life and bursting those stereotypes surrounded by mental health, I've had a wonderful experience working with students and seeing their unique experiences."
Students also attended the event.
"I have an increased idea of what the K-State Family is all about," Abby Ridder, freshman in secondary education, said. "I'm shocked by how much effort is put into not just academic success, but student success."
exceptional students
student access center
Alyssa Kirkland
Student Access Center works around an old campus with personalized solutions
Student Access Center emphasizes residence hall accessibility for all students
Student Access Center fills in accessibility gaps on campus
Student Access Center helps students with disabilities succeed in college
Som Kandlur - Sep 10, 2014


text:
Review of Aroha Quartet's 2004 Old St Paul's concert
...The audience could not have been more satisfied with this debut concert of the Aroha Quartet....
(Margot Hannigan, Nelson Mail)
Review of the Aroha Quartet's first concert in Wellington, Old St Paul's, Sunday 5 December 2014.
Reviewed by Lindis Taylor, Dominion Post, 7 December 2014
The Aroha Quartet comprises four Chinese musicians - three, violinists Haihong Liu and Beiyi Xue and cellist Jiaxin Cheng NZSO members, and the violist Zhongxian Jin teaching at Victoria University. I arrived halfway through the minuet of Haydn's Emperor Quartet; the impact was immediate. This is an ensemble of very great refinement, fully sensitive to the character of the music, its intellect and wit, accurate at speed and delicately nuanced in slow passages.
Beethoven's Op 18 No 3 enjoyed similar refinement with an accord between players that suggested years of playing together. More impressive was their phantasm world account of Schubert's disquieting, single movement piece in C minor, D 703.
The answer to the question of whether they would also have command of Dvorak's American Quartet of 70 years later was an emphatic "yes". It was not indeed an opulent, romantic display, but the same scrupulous care with dynamics and stylistically right ornaments, tonal beauty and phrasing that carried the music forward, anticipating what was to come. In the peasant-like third movement, the first violin was not afraid to attenuate her tone, all their polish and refinement did not detract from a swift and colourful last movement.
This is one of the finest ensembles to emerge from the NZSO ranks. I hope they can find the time to give many more concerts.


text:
Vietnam orders 21,000 in capital to take COVID-19 test
More than 21,000 people in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi have been ordered to take a coronavirus test, authorities said Thursday as they scrambled to contain the nation's first outbreak after three virus-free months.
At the weekend, a man in the coastal city of Danang tested positive for COVID-19 — the first community transmission the country had detected since April.
Since then, more than 40 new infections have been found, spreading out from popular tourist destination Danang to neighbouring provinces and other, farther-flung cities.
The health ministry has urged everyone who visited the seaside city in July to come forward. In Hanoi, 600 kilometres (370 miles) north of Danang, authorities have detected two new cases so far.
Hanoi districts have received 21,000 testing kits for residents recently returned from Danang, the capital's deputy health director Khong Minh Tuan told Hanoi Moi newspaper — an official mouthpiece of local authorities.
"People should be actively contacting local health authorities for the tests," he said, adding that officials will try to complete testing by Saturday.
Hanoi's bars have been closed since Wednesday, while fairs and festivals were suspended.
At a clinic in the capital on Thursday, medical workers in protective suits took blood samples and mouth swabs at a makeshift rapid-testing centre.
COVID-19 remains public health emergency, says WHO
WHO worries over fresh 170,000 COVID-19 deaths
170,000 COVID-19 deaths recorded in eight weeks –WHO
Le Van Hieu, who visited Danang three weeks ago for a short holiday, said he has had no cough or fever since he's been back, but still turned up at the test site.
"Organising rapid testing is good for the community in order to prevent the virus from spreading," he told AFP.
Most of the new infections are linked to three Danang hospitals, now placed under lockdown.
All flights in and out of Danang and public transport within the city have been suspended, and the majority of its 1.1 million inhabitants have been advised to remain at home.
The swift halt to movement comes after Danang has enjoyed weeks of local tourists returning, especially after Vietnam lifted nationwide restrictions in April.
The communist state has won praise for its handling of the virus — reporting just 464 infections in total, including those from the new wave, and no deaths despite sharing a long, ungovernable border with China.
Barca extend La Liga lead with win at Betis


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remembering dr. king
Woman whose parents owned motel where MLK was killed recalls that day
byCatherine Garcia
Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and a woman whose parents owned the Memphis motel where he was shot and killed remembers the day vividly.
Carolyn Bailey Champion told WMC Action News 5 that her parents, Walter and Lorrie Bailey, often welcomed such luminaries as King and Jackie Robinson to the Lorraine Motel. "We wanted things better," she said. "We were so happy that we were able to be a part of the upkeep of the people as they came into Memphis."
Champion, 83, said her mother called her and told her the news of King's death. "She said, 'Oh Carolyn, Dr. King just got shot,'" Champion remembered. The bad news didn't end there — later that day, Lorrie Bailey had a stroke, and died just a few days later. Champion's parents will be featured in a new exhibit at the National Civil Rights Museum that will open on Wednesday, and their daughter is glad they are being acknowledged. "In 50 years, recognition had not been given to the family of the hotel," she said.
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Rajendran, S. et al. Monitoring oil spill in Norilsk, Russia using satellite data. Sci Rep, 2021
This paper studies the oil spill, which occurred in the Norilsk and Taimyr region of Russia due to the collapse of the fuel tank at the power station on May 29, 2020. We monitored the snow, ice, water, vegetation and wetland of the region using data from the Multi-Spectral Instruments (MSI) of Sentinel-2 satellite. We analyzed the spectral band absorptions of Sentinel-2 data acquired before, during and after the incident, developed true and false-color composites (FCC), decorrelated spectral bands and used the indices, i.e.
Подробнее о Rajendran, S. et al. Monitoring oil spill in Norilsk, Russia using satellite data. Sci Rep, 2021
Anisimov O., Zimov S. Thawing permafrost and methane emission in Siberia: Synthesis of observations, reanalysis, and predictive modeling. Ambio, 2020
Опубликовано ср, 11/04/2020 - 12:30 пользователем admin
Permafrost has been warming in the last decade at rates up to 0.39 C 10 year-1, raising public concerns about the local and global impacts, such as methane emission. We used satellite data on atmospheric methane concentrations to retrieve information about methane emission in permafrost and non-permafrost environments in Siberia with different biogeochemical conditions in river valleys, thermokarst lakes, wetlands, and lowlands. We evaluated the statistical links with air temperature, precipitation, depth of seasonal thawing, and freezing and developed a statistical model.
Подробнее о Anisimov O., Zimov S. Thawing permafrost and methane emission in Siberia: Synthesis of observations, reanalysis, and predictive modeling. Ambio, 2020
Robert W. Orttung et al. Measuring the sustainability of Russia's Arctic cities. Ambio, 2020
How sustainable are Russia's Arctic cities? Russia's far north metropolises are distinctive from other Arctic cities in terms of their large size, efforts to conquer nature, and big business' impact on the urban landscape. The Russian Arctic cities' Soviet-era design gave them compact and dense population structures. Such features led to many benefits for achieving sustainability, including more efficient energy use, a larger number of hospital beds, more numerous cultural amenities, and greater access to public transportation.
Подробнее о Robert W. Orttung et al. Measuring the sustainability of Russia's Arctic cities. Ambio, 2020
BadinaThe Diversity of Russia's Arctic Cities. RAD, 2020
This article describes the diversity of Russia's Arctic cities. As a group, Russia's northern urban agglomerations are larger than those found in the West. But there is enormous diversity among them that makes the region one of the most dynamic in the Russian Federation.
Подробнее о BadinaThe Diversity of Russia's Arctic Cities. RAD, 2020
Бадина С. В., Панкратов А. А., Янков К. В. Проблемы транспортной доступности изолированных населенных пунктов Европейского сектора Арктической зоны России. ИНТЕРКАРТО/ИНТЕРГИС, 2020, Т. 26, с. 305–318.
В статье выявлен и проанализирован перечень населённых пунктов регионов европейской части Арктической зоны России, не обеспеченных круглогодичной наземной транспортной доступностью с остальной территорией, т.е. не включённых в региональные и федеральные наземные транспортные сети.
Подробнее о Бадина С. В., Панкратов А. А., Янков К. В. Проблемы транспортной доступности изолированных населенных пунктов Европейского сектора Арктической зоны России. ИНТЕРКАРТО/ИНТЕРГИС, 2020, Т. 26, с. 305–318.


text:
Q: 2 NICs - selected traffic I recently purchased another NIC for my computer so I could separate LAN-traffic from internet-traffic.
Long story short: How do I set it up to selectively use a certain NIC?
I'm using Windows 7 64bit, but am also interested in finding it out for Linux.
So far I found something concerning regedit with RandomAdapter = 1.
However that doesn't seem to be working as Skype is confused which card to use and general traffic still goes through the same NIC.
I also use a Switch behind my PC and between my router, but I am willing to invest in a... I forgot the 4-letter-combination capable switch that lets me utilize that function.
Could you please share your wisdom with me?
Any help is appreciated!

edit 01: Accepted solution by Amit:
So do I have to delete ALL routes and then make 2 new ones, one for each NIC ?
route -f
route ADD 192.168.X.IP1 MASK 255.255.255.0 192.168.X.X METRIC 10
route ADD 192.168.X.IP2 MASK 255.255.255.0 192.168.X.X METRIC 10

Is this correct?

A: For windows, this can be set up with the command line utility "route".
Open a command prompt, type route /? and go from there...

A: Many applications allow you to bind to a specific IP address, see the settings pages.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
TRANSACTIONS: San Antonio Adds Maloney to Back Line
Battery announce Lewis' return to attack; Former captain Duke rejoins Kansas City
Connor Maloney will be one of the new faces on San Antonio FC's back line in 2020 after spending the past three years with Columbus Crew SC.
SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio FC announced on Monday it had signed defender Connor Maloney for the 2020 USL Championship season, pending league and federation approval.
"We are excited to add Connor Maloney to the SAFC Family," said SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina. "Connor exemplifies the intensity, tireless work ethic, and high character traits of our team culture and will serve as an essential contributor both on and off the field."
Maloney joins SAFC from Columbus Crew SC (MLS) where he has played since the start of the 2017 season. Originally drafted in the third round (49th overall) by the Crew in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, Maloney has made 15 first-team appearances in all competitions with Columbus. In addition, Maloney has also spent time on loan with the USL Championship's Pittsburgh Riverhounds in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Following his 2018 season in Columbus, Maloney was named the winner of the club's Kirk Urso Heart Award, which is awarded to the Crew player that best exemplifies the qualities in a teammate and becomes 'the heart' in the club's locker room. The award is named after the late Urso who played as a midfielder for the Crew in 2012.
"I am very excited to get started with San Antonio FC," said Maloney. "I would like to thank the management and coaching staff for providing me an opportunity to contribute to much success in San Antonio."
LEWIS RETURNS TO BATTERY: The Charleston Battery's leading scorer in the 2019 season will be back with the club this year as the Battery announced the return of Bermuda international Zeiko Lewis on Monday afternoon.
A former MLS SuperDraft pick of the New York Red Bulls, Lewis wasted no time in making an impact for the Battery, scoring his first goal for the club 17 minutes into his debut against Hartford Athletic. The former Boston College forward would go on to lead the attacking line picking up his second of the season three weeks later against Charlotte Independence.
Lewis finished the season with eight goals while also sharing a team-high five assists. The shifty playmaker showcased his quality with jaw-dropping goals against Atlanta United 2 and Hartford Athletic, while also claiming Championship Goal of the Week honors for his curling effort against the Independence.
Lewis also led the team in shots (49) and chances created (46) on his way to taking home Offensive Player of the Year for the Charleston Battery. He capped off an impressive year by being named USL Championship Player of the Week in the final week of the regular season.
KANSAS CITY BRINGS BACK DUKE: Sporting Kansas City II announced on Monday the return of former captain and Kansas City native Christian Duke. A Sporting KC Academy product, Duke was the first signing in SKC II's history in 2016 and captained the side to back-to-back Western Conference titles in 2016 and 2017 before spending the last two seasons with fellow Championship club Orange County SC.
In his first stint with Sporting II, Duke made 70 appearances as club captain across regular-season and postseason play, tallying four goals and eight assists as the side advanced to the USL Championship Final in both years, only to fall short to New York Red Bulls II and Louisville City FC.
Duke joined Orange County ahead of the 2018 USL Championship season and made 47 appearances for the California-based team, recording one goal and two assists. Duke played in 31 games in 2018 as he helped Orange County finish atop the Western Conference standings before falling to Phoenix Rising FC in the Western Conference Final.
After missing the first 19 games of the 2019 campaign through injury, where Orange County went 5-7-7, Duke returned to play in the final 15 games and lead the side to a 10-3-2 mark to close out the year and qualify for the postseason.
TRANSACTIONS: Locomotive FC Brings Aboard Fokobo
Toros make first new additions of 2020; Energy FC picks up former OCSC defender
SIGNINGS: Ndour Highlights Returnees for Loudoun United
Scored five goals after late-season arrival in 2019; Ku-Dipietro joins club on professional deal
PRESEASON SLATE: Rising FC to Host Three MLS Clubs
Crew SC, Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake to visit as part of 2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup
USL Championship Announces 2020 Home Openers
10th Season to kick off March 6 with 16 games slated for opening weekend
MURRAY: 10 Home Openers to Circle for 2020
We know 35 matchups to start the season, which will be must-see TV?
NEW START: Jaidi Brings Fresh Perspective to Hartford
Athletic's new Head Coach aiming to raise level in club's second season
Tag(s): News Transactions San Antonio FC Charleston Battery Christian Duke Zeiko Lewis Connor Maloney Sporting KC II


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Contact: Registration closes on April 24, 2019 at 12:00PM. We will not be taking walk-ins for this class.
Registration closes on April 24, 2019 at 12:00PM. We will not be taking walk-ins for this class.
Cancellation Policy: 48-hour notice is required for refund, no refunds after April 22, 2019.


text:
teaching foreign languages at an early age
A. Katz amnfn at well.com
Previous message: teaching foreign languages at an early age
Next message: teaching foreign languages at an early age
It's nice to see people recognizing that there is such a thing as talent,
after years of the pretense that all native speakers of a language have
equal proficiency, and that everything depends on exposure.
However, I think we also have to recognize that the degree of difficulty
post puberty in the acquisition of fluency in a new language depends not
only on the level of exposure and the specific internal motivation of the
learner, but also on the extent to which the new language differs from the
languages that learner acquired fluency in, pre-puberty.
It can't be very hard to learn Spanish, if you already speak Portuguese,
or to pick up Italian if you already speak Spanish, but when the languages
are not closely related, and also not typologically similar, it's more of
a challenge. I found that picking up Russian post puberty was easy, because
somehow there's a structural similarity to Hebrew, but also because I had
a good teacher. German was harder to become fluent in, even though it's
related to English, and I spoke English fluently. Picking up a tone
language in middle age for the very first time is really hard. Sometimes
what we think is talent has a little more to do with similarity to a
familiar language. We piggy back what we can onto existing structures in
the brain, building new ones only when absolutely necessary.
--Aya
On Wed, 12 Jan 2011, Tom Givon wrote:
> Actually, I have always thought that 'talent', or whatever you want to call
> an inherent/innate variable, was a huge predictive factor in post-puberty
> SLA. But notice that it is much less relevant in natural child-language
> acquisition, where everybody becomes fluent fairly quickly, albeit with
> well-known induividual variation. My own informal cumulative observation over
> the years has been that ca. 5% of the population can learn a 2nd (or 3rd, or
> 4th) language fluently popst-puberty. As for the rest, it's a struggle, sheer
> drudgery.  TG
> =========
> On 1/12/2011 5:46 AM, Danielle E. Cyr wrote:
>> In Canada, an officially bilingual country, many if not most of the French
>> as a
>> Second Language (FSL) students enrol in these programs for political
>> reasons.
>> Indeed most of our students are first or second generation immigrants. They
>> REALLY aim at becoming the "perfect" citizens, thus at becoming bilingual.
>> However, all are not equally talented for learning a SL. Some end up at the
>> end
>> of their undergraduate studies with a middle and high school background of
>> French core courses and four years in departments of French Studies with
>> very
>> little command of spoken French and even less of written French. Others
>> come
>> out brilliantly fluent in both. They all had the same motivation at the
>> onset.
>> Once, in a undergraduate course - Linguistics applied to the teaching of
>> FSL (a
>> course for future FSL teachers)- a student had the idea of having all her
>> classmates to go through a basic multiple intelligences test. Between 1/3
>> 1/2 of the class had not languaging as their major form of intelligence.
>> I was too busy teaching overload during that year and FSL not being my main
>> research area, I did not think of searching for correlations between the
>> test
>> results and the student performance in FSL.
>> Yet the idea of my message here is that talent is a big factor that is hard
>> to
>> measure although it has to be taken into account.
>> Talmy I agree with you that invoking talent might look like drifting away
>> from
>> science. However, there must be methodologies for taking it into account:
>> the
>> heredity factor, family members as role models, broad educational history,
>> etc.
>> These methodologies should also be used for detecting good (FSL) teachers.
>> I say
>> so because in the same class I refer to above, more than half of the
>> students
>> had grand-parents, parents, older siblings, uncles /aunts etc who were also
>> teachers.
>> Excellence in languaging and teaching it might be something partly "gifted"
>> birth and reinforce by role models, educational orientations, etc. Science
>> should find a way to account for that.
>> Best,
>> Danielle
>> Quoting Tom Givon<tgivon at uoregon.edu>:
>>> I suppose I should have indicated by some graphemic means that I was
>>> using the terms 'imperial' and 'liberation' tongue in cheek. I think
>>> they pretty much characterize the ideological position of many of my
>>> Catalan friends. But as is the case in at least one other region in
>>> Spain, the ideological/national aspirations of one group cut into the
>>> legitimate rights of another. Internal migration ('imperialism' to some)
>>> in Spain has made all AutonomIas linguistically mixed. It is fun to
>>> speak Anzaluz with the taxistas in Barcelona, and once you get them
>>> going, they will tell you their tale of woes about Catalan linguistic
>>> nationalism. It is not that in Anzaluzia people don't poke fun at the
>>> way NorteNos speak, but at least they don't curtail their civil rights.
>>> These are all subtle details of multilingualism (tho Andaluz is not
>>> recognized as a language). My point remains tho, that once you get in
>>> the midst of ideological nationalist zealotry, science becomes murky.
>>> Best,  TG
>>> =========
>>> On 1/11/2011 9:58 PM, Moore, John wrote:
>>>> Against my better judgement I feel I should add a rejoinder to this;
>>> anything said in this domain is bound to bother many, if not all.  The
>>> linguistic situation in Catalunya is, indeed complex.  However, to refer
>>> Catalan as 'liberation' and Spanish (or Castellano) as 'imperial'
>>> over-simplifies.  Catalan is, of course, the indigenous language of the
>>> region which was strenuously repressed during the Franco period.  Spanish,
>>> is
>>> also clearly the national language that was imposed, also during that
>>> period.
>>>   However, since around the 1950s, there was a significant internal
>>> migration
>>> of of Spanish-speaking Andalucians to Catalunya, who  formed a
>>> guest-worker-like Spanish-speaking underclass.  This leads to the
>>> question:
>>> how much of many Catalans' aversion to Spanish is because of historical
>>> repression, and how much is due to old-fashion prejudice against an
>>> under-class?
>>>> John
>>>> ________________________________________
>>>> From: funknet-bounces at mailman.rice.edu [funknet-bounces at mailman.rice.edu]
>>> On Behalf Of Tom Givon [tgivon at uoregon.edu]
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 5:42 PM
>>>> To: funknet at mailman.rice.edu
>>>> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] teaching foreign languages at an early age
>>>> Well, maybe it is also worth mentioning that when you get into
>>>> Catalunia, you get into thick layers of language politics and liberation
>>>> ideology. So sometimes it is not all that easy to tell when the science
>>>> ends and something else begins. Of course, Catalunia is not the only
>>>> place where this can be observed. But once you get into the convoluted
>>>> relations between a dominant/imperial language and an
>>>> indigenous/liberation language, it becomes harder to do simple science.
>>>> People have all kinds of axes to grind. Our earlier discussion last year
>>>> about the Israeli-Arabic situation certainly overlapped with these
>>>> issues. I am not so worried about the oft-subconscious effect of
>>>> socio-linguistic factors on SLA. This should be studied as part of
>>>> science. It is the deliberate ideologs that scare me.  Best,  TG
>> "The only hope we have as human beings is to learn each other's languages.
>> Only
>> then can we truly hope to understand one another."
>> Professor Danielle E. Cyr
>> Department of French Studies
>> York University
>> Toronto, ON, Canada, M3J 1P3
>> Tel. 1.416.736.2100 #310180
>> FAX. 1.416.736.5924
>> dcyr at yorku.ca


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4. Add your privacy settings; Public, 15Five permissions, or Private. For more information on these settings, see this article.
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Richard J. Goossen is a new author for me. As director of Transforming Business at the University of Cambridge, Goosen has authored five books on business and entrepreneurship. I haven't read any of them yet. But I have been positively impacted by his co-author, R. Paul Stevens. I've read a few of Stevens's books and have heard him lecture under the green roof at Regent College where he is an emeritus faculty-member (in the halls of Regent, I've referred to "R. Paul Stevens" as "Our Paul Stevens"). Regent College is a place indelibly marked by Stevens's energy and vision and his emphasis on 'marketplace ministry.' In Entrepreneurial Leadership: Finding Your Calling, Making A Difference Goosen and Stevens collaborate to explore the identity and distinctives of Christian entrepreneurial leadership ( incidentally they are team teaching a course at Regent this summer on this very subject).
Goosen interviewed approximately 250 Christian entreprepreneurs on the intersection of their faith and life's work. His findings form the research basis of this book. He and Stevens are apt at making biblical and theological connections as they explore the theme of entrepreneurship. They begin their book by defining the essence of entrepreneurship and leadership (chapter one and two). Chapter three contrasts (secular) humanist models of entrepreneurship with the Christian model. While the secular model offers a personal narrative, a mechanistic view of the universe and a focus on personal fulfillment the Christian approach to entrepreneurship has a 'God-narrative,' a transcendent, supernatural view of the universe and a focus on serving God through God-given spiritual gifts.
Chapters four through seven explicate their particular Christian approach to entrepreneurship. In Chapter four, Goossen and Stevens discuss the nature of 'soul and spirituality.' They present the soul as a whole ( both physical and spiritual). This means that the spiritual life cannot be compartmentalized from our work life. In chapter five they discuss the meaning of work and the satisfaction work brings (and does not bring!). Chapter six explores the Christian approach to risks and rewards while chapter seven explores the nature of calling in relationship to entrepreneurship.
The final three chapters focus on how compelling Christian, entrepreneurial leadership is lived out. Goossen and Stevens explore principles and practices that will nourish and sustain Christian entrepreneurs and the ways churches can support the entrepreneurs in their midst.
One of the gifts of this book is that Goossen and Stevens baptize business as a Christian vocation and provide encouraging words for entrepreneurs of faith. They offer wisdom for entrepreneurs about how to live faithfully to their calling and how to live faithfully through their calling. This makes this a great book for business people and leaders. I would say it is one of the most thoughtful books of its kind.
The part of this book I found most helpful was Goossen and Stevens discussion of how the Christian understanding of entrepreneurship stands in opposition to a humanist understanding of it. Too many Christian leaders approach business literature uncritically and apply 'principles' to the church without properly considering the telos of a market-driven approach (where the bottom line is the bottom line). By critiquing the humanist approach to entrepreneurship, Goossen and Stevens are able to replace it with something more theologically sound. Sure, Christian entrepreneurs also want to be successful, but their vision for business is more robust than amassing personal wealth and security. Christian entrepreneurial leaders are Christians who seek to be faithful to their calling in business (or the church and non-profit sector). Business and entrepreneurship is not working for filthy lucre but an opportunity to participate in what the triune God is doing in the market and to live and act faithfully for him there.
For the most part I found their insights theologically and biblically rich. Occasionally their interpretation of the Bible is more evocative than exact (i.e. I thought their interpretation of how Jesus' temptation in the wilderness relates to Christian entrepreneurship was overreaching a tad). This is a small criticism. Most of the time I found their reading of passages legitimate; there is only couple of places where my inner-exegete was bothered.
I recommend this book highly for business minded Christians who are looking for a theological understanding of business and what it means to be faithful to God in the marketplace. I give this book ★★★★.
Thank you to InterVarsity Press and Adrianna Wright for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this review.
An increasingly rare moment of self-disclosure.
I am aware that lately I've used my blog primarily to share book reviews. I like these and a few of you like reading them but I feel guilty that I have had few posts reflecting on church and society (these are my favorite posts to write). I have also not shared my stress, struggles and neurosis. Honestly, isn't that what a personal blog is for? If it is, I have failed you.
Anyway I have a job interview today. It is a 'final-round interview' and I hope it goes well. It is not at a church but it would be closer to my field of interest than my current job selling gas-cans and toilet seats. I will share a little more after my interview. I am excited about the prospect and am now anxiously combing through my closet and deciding what to where (is this a power tie moment?). Honestly the face-to-face part of the interview doesn't stress me much and I'm glad to make it to a second interview. The whole job-interview process though is beastly.
So in the spirit of this blog, feel free to send to me your thoughts (although I'm not sure what I'd do with them). Or say some prayers for me. But it would be epic if you would sing songs of my victory over the forces of job interview.
Posted on April 17, 2013 Categories Blog, workTags Job interview5 Comments on An increasingly rare moment of self-disclosure.


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Q: What's the proper usage of approxEqual()? At first I thought I could rely on the maximum relative difference only, but I was wrong.  For example, if a = 0.0, and b = 0.5, their relative difference is 1.0.  In this case approxEquals(lhs, rhs, maxRelDiff, maxAbsDiff) relies on the maximum absolute difference to determine if two floating point numbers are equal.
The two question are:

*

*how do I come up with a new maximum relative and absolute difference pair if the default (1e-2, 1e-5) isn't precise enough?  How were 1e-2 and 1e-5 chosen as the default values?  For example, if I choose 1e-4 as my maximum relative difference, what is the maximum absolute difference?

*How do I adjust the maximum relative and absolute difference values to work properly with floats and doubles?

A: checking the source code gives me this (I cut out the implementations for the ranges)
bool approxEqual(T, U, V)(T lhs, U rhs, V maxRelDiff, V maxAbsDiff = 1e-5)
{

    if (rhs == 0)
    {
        return fabs(lhs) <= maxAbsDiff;
    }
    static if (is(typeof(lhs.infinity)) && is(typeof(rhs.infinity)))
    {
        if (lhs == lhs.infinity && rhs == rhs.infinity ||
            lhs == -lhs.infinity && rhs == -rhs.infinity) return true;
    }
    return fabs((lhs - rhs) / rhs) <= maxRelDiff
        || maxAbsDiff != 0 && fabs(lhs - rhs) <= maxAbsDiff;
}

this last line is what we'll need to study:
return fabs((lhs - rhs) / rhs) <= maxRelDiff
        || maxAbsDiff != 0 && fabs(lhs - rhs) <= maxAbsDiff;

in other words the function returns true if the numbers are either relatively different by no more than a factor of maxRelDiff OR absolutely different by no more than maxAbsDiff
so using a maxRelDiff of 0.01 (or 1E-2) compares with an accuracy of 2 (decimal) digits
and using maxAbsDiff different from 0 allows numbers close to 0 to be considered equal even though there relative difference is greater than maxRelDiff
edit: basically first decide how accurate the comparison needs to be and choose your maxRelDiff based on that, then decide at what point should a number be equal to 0
with the examples in the comments:
approxEqual(1+1e-10, 1.0, 1e-10, 1e-30)
approxEqual(1+1e-10, 1.0, 1e-9, 1e-30)

this compares values close to 1 so maxRelDiff trumps here and choosing any maxAbsDiff (lower than maxRelDiff) wont change anything
approxEqual(0, 1e-10, 1e-10, 1e-30)
approxEqual(0, 1e-9, 1e-9, 1e-30)

this compares values close to 0 to 0 so the RelDiff (fabs((lhs - rhs) / rhs)) will be 1 and maxAbsDiff trumps

A: Although I can't answer your original question, I personally just use fabs for floating-point comparisons:
return fabs(f1 - f2) < 0.10;


Here's my response to Obama's 'compromise' of one-year extensions for plans that are being discontinued because they don't meet the new regulations: GO JUMP OFF A CLIFF, MR. PRESIDENT.
Your so-called "Affordable" Care Act is forcing millions of Americans out of plans they *like* and *can* afford and into plans they *don't want* and *can't afford*. And now out of the goodness of your heart, you will allow them to keep the ones they like for an extra year. WHO THE F* ARE YOU TO TELL US IF THE COVERAGE WE'VE CHOSEN TO BUY IS SUFFICIENT? This has nothing to do with charity for the uninsured, you're trying to force us at the barrel of a gun to fork over more money to corporate cartels that have you on a short leash. Americans are not buying it, and if your party's politicians in Congress don't rebel against you, we will ballot-lynch them in 2014 in ways that make 2010 seem pale in comparison. One look at your sinking approval ratings will demonstrate that your army of braindead groupies parroting "Hope and change, man!" has dwindled to a point where it won't save you.


text:
Safe abortions a global option
The paper that appeared in the Lancet, co-authored by the WHRU and Hanoi researchers, has been named as runner-up for the Society of Medical Writers 2006 Academic Writing Award. This award is made for a paper "that has been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, that was clearly and elegantly written without unnecessary jargon and that had a worthwhile and credible message". The WHRU contributors were, in picture, Chelsea Morroni, Prof Margaret Hoffman and Jane Harries.
According to the WHO, unsafe abortions remain a blight on global health. Now a study commissioned by the organisation shows that nurses in South Africa and Vietnam can provide safe abortions and a viable alternative for other countries pressed for health-service resources.
A 2004 study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on unsafe abortions gives pause for thought - it estimated that such abortions cause some 68 000 deaths and close on five million permanent or temporary disabilities every year, most of these in already beleaguered developing countries.
In response, the WHO hopes to provide women in both developing and developed countries with greater access to suitably trained healthcare providers and above-board healthcare facilities. Problem is that in most countries where abortions have been legalised, only doctors - in short supply at the best of times - are allowed to do them.
But South Africa and Vietnam are the two exceptions. In these countries, the law also allows mid-level providers - qualified nurses and, in Vietnam, doctor's assistants - to perform abortions in the early first trimester of pregnancy, ie up to 12 weeks since the first day of the last menstrual period.
Now a randomised trial - the first in developing countries - commissioned by the WHO has shown that the mid-level providers in South Africa and Vietnam can perform these abortions as safely as doctors.
In the study, researchers from the Women's Health Research Unit (whru) at UCT and the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Hanoi tracked the abortions performed by doctors and mid-level providers - comparisons were then drawn - on nearly 3 000 women, all over 18, in clinics run by Marie Stopes International, a not-for-profit organisation that provides reproductive health services in 37 countries. All abortions were done using a technique known as manual vacuum aspiration.
Although the clinics are not part of the public health sector, many of the mid-level providers and doctors also work in public health.
"Overall, complication rates were low, ranging from 0 to 1.4 per 100," the researchers reported in a paper published in the British medical journal Lancet in December last year. "The majority of complications were due to retained products and infection that did not necessitate hospital admission."
Just about a clean bill of health, and proof that mid-level providers are as capable as doctors when performing abortions, while more cost-effective and available in greater numbers in remote areas. That's evidence that the WHO can use to influence policies in other countries.
"There's no reason why suitably trained nurses can't do first-trimester abortions," says Professor Margaret Hoffman of the WHRU. "And this information can now be used internationally."
Welcome 09:00, 23 February 2017
Welcome 08:00, 18 January 2016
Comic-book history of a forgotten struggle 08:00, 26 October 2015
What's in a name? 08:00, 28 September 2015
Women's voices: lessons and wish lists 06:00, 25 August 2015
Welcome 23 Feb 2017
Welcome 18 Jan 2016
Comic-book history of a forgotten struggle 26 Oct 2015
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Former MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill joins Lane Kiffin's coaching staff at FAU
Brent Stockstill will join Lane Kiffin's staff at Florida Atlantic as an offensive player personnel assistant.
Former MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill joins Lane Kiffin's coaching staff at FAU Brent Stockstill will join Lane Kiffin's staff at Florida Atlantic as an offensive player personnel assistant. Check out this story on dnj.com: https://www.dnj.com/story/sports/college/mtsu/2019/07/25/fau-mtsu-football-lane-kiffin-brent-stockstill/1825516001/
Joseph Spears, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal Published 11:42 a.m. CT July 25, 2019 | Updated 11:45 a.m. CT July 25, 2019
Former MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill is heading down the coaching path instead of pursuing a playing career.
Stockstill will join Lane Kiffin's staff at Florida Atlantic as an offensive player personnel assistant.
Stockstill's attempt to land in the pros was short-lived. He pulled a hamstring during MTSU's Pro Day in March while running the 40-yard dash.
"I'm passionate about being a football player and being a coach, whatever my calling is," Stockstill said at the time. "I'm going to chase this as long as I can and hopefully there's a spot for me one day to start coaching."
He'll get that chance with the Owls, who were 5-7 overall and 3-5 in Conference USA last season. In two career starts against FAU, Stockstill was 2-0.
FAU will host MTSU, coached by Stockstill's father, at 4 p.m. Oct. 12.
Stockstill finished his college career as the Blue Raiders' all-time leader in passing yards (12,495), touchdown passes (106), 300-yard passing games (19), 400-yard passing games (3), passing yards per game (277.7), completions (1055) and attempts (1,610). His 12,495 passing yards also puts him 28th all-time in the NCAA.
Want to stay informed on the latest on Middle Tennessee State sports? A Daily News Journal subscription gets you unlimited access to the best inside information and updates on local preps sports, and the ability to tap into sports news from throughout the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites.
Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com or 731-343-4923. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joe_spears7.
Area high school hoops Week 9 top performers
Vote for the Murfreesboro area girls athlete of the week for Jan. 6-12
Oakland swimmers win county championships
Vote for the Murfreesboro area boys athlete of the week for Jan. 6-12
Four former MTSU players advance one step closer to Super Bowl
Blackman girls basketball gets big boost in the post


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target in canada failure
This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. NetApp emphasized a tripling of its public cloud services revenue annualized run rate in the quarter. professionals Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter . Additionally, the idea of trying to open an entire nation of stores, rather than opening them incrementally, was bound to fail. David Gewirtz Slack Internationalizing an IT system is a lot of work. Therefore, store shelves were left bare. Microsoft Experts say Target Canada's misfortunes – capped with the abrupt decision Thursday to pack up and leave — stem from missteps from within its own operations. explain why the hypothesis one gene-one enzyme is not correct. The company struggled from the outset to find a proper mix of inventory, often having too much of some products and not enough of others. | February 11, 2016 -- 15:08 GMT (07:08 PST) Okta shares surge as fiscal Q3 results top expectations, forecast higher as well. of When I worked at Digital in the early '90s, part of my mandate consisted of encouraging U.S. software vendors to expand into Canada. Eventually, Target's board had enough and Steinhafel, a 35+ year veteran of Target, was out. For example, the "in-DC" date that described the date an object would arrive in the distribution center was interpreted by some as when the object actually arrived, but by others as when it shipped to the distribution center. Salesforce launches Service Cloud Workforce Engagement, aims to improve forecasting. Target isn't the only US retail giant to struggle across the border. Walmart is a $465 billion company. Thank you for your patience. You get the idea. Canadian customers who visited these first Targets found ghost towns in the form of large, cavernous stores with barely anything on the shelves. many Yes, I'm talking about the 17th century, over 340 years ago. You can already begin to see the IT problem, can't you? All 133 stores were closed, and 17,000 employees lost their jobs. In most cases, this would have completely destroyed a company's chances of surviving and Target has been lucky to continue to see success among its US stores. big Target Canada, which by this time had lost $7 billion, applied for bankruptcy protection. You might have heard the name of the company's CEO, Gregg Steinhafel, in another context. © Copyright 2020 The Globe and Mail Inc. All rights reserved. Brian Cornell, who had previously been the boss at Sam's Club, was installed as the new Target CEO. Over the centuries, Hudson's Bay grew and morphed. New figures show Microsoft's TypeScript has rapidly become an essential programming language for web developers. By registering, you agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices outlined in the Privacy Policy. It was a sad day in Canadian retail history when, just over a year ago, Target Canada filed for bankruptcy protection after months of struggling to gain a foothold in the marketplace. Within two years of starting operations Target Canada was forced to close their doors. In short, Target blew it. And while there are many dimensions and dynamics contributing to the demise of the brand, the Supply Chain was a crucial element in their failure. Back in May of 2014, when it was reported by Gawker that Target had lost nearly $1 billion, they received a dispatch from a management-level employee sharing frustrations as to what may have contributed to the failure. But because of the programming challenges I alluded to earlier, the company chose not to try modifying that system to support entrance into a new, international market. And, for an inventory management system that has to fill shelves, knowing the size of product packaging would be important. An inventory system that was set up to handle US dollars would need to be updated to handle Canadian dollars. In an essay format, research the chain of events in the lead-up to Target launching in Canada and then pulling out of the market. Target isn't the only US retail giant to struggle across the border. So what lessons can be learned? In Canada, that shelf is 60.96 centimeters. Meanwhile, Target Canada is grappling with learning new systems and processes, using its technologies more efficiently, educating a new workforce and trying to improve replenishment processes, Mr. Fisher said — "things we had taken for granted after 50 years in the U.S." In an essay format, research the chain of events in the lead-up to Target launching in Canada and then pulling out of the market. As a result, it had to enter all of its data manually into the system and it rushed to do this for its 75,000 products to be ready for launch. Walmart, by contrast, operates something over 11,000 stores in 28 countries. But the people that should be paying the most attention are those responsible for IT implementations at other retailers. more The executives after this massive loss decided to appoint a new president for Target Canada, who could turn around the Canadian stores to meet the objectives. Welcome to The Globe and Mail's comment community. It said, in part: ... it became clear that we were doomed for failure at the start. Put simply, Target should have never added an entirely new and unrelated IT system for Canada. Terms of Use, Target Corporation decided to expand into Canada, the exposure of personal data on more than 70 million customers. Kotlin language maker JetBrains: Windows 10 and M1 macOS get Android Jetpack Compose. Canadian retailers have been slow to adopt e-commerce, but Target's lack of online shopping in Canada came at a time when rivals like Wal-Mart and Amazon have expanded their online offerings here. The idea that a department store should sell frozen pizzas alongside its … And, because the company wasn't extending its existing data entry system, the data being used either had to be exported or entered from scratch. Instead of slowly expanding into Canada—its first international expansion—by opening a few stores initially, the retailer opened 124 new stores here within months. nursing essay paper. Plus, other things were going on at Target as well. Anymore. Welcome to The Globe and Mail's comment community. Salesforce Combined with the bleeding operations in Target Canada, Steinhafel's position was untenable, and he stepped down in May. The 114-year-old company that evolved out of the old Dayton-Hudson company now has more than 1,800 retail locations. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to, To view this site properly, enable cookies in your browser. The point of all of this is that Target Canada could not get its act together. For an IT system tracking the amount of data that an enterprise the size of Target needs, you're talking about a lot of development and customization. You will also receive a complimentary subscription to the ZDNet's Tech Update Today and ZDNet Announcement newsletters. about Target's Failure in Canada a Cautionary Tale for Retailers Target has decided to shut down its retail operations in Canada after costing the company $5.4 billion. At first, there was too little coming into the distribution centers. It wasn't pretty. The collapse of Target in Canada can be partly blamed on the giant retailer neglecting to re-create the U.S. Target, says a business expert. tech Sensing failure on the Canadian business, the retail chain hired a new CEO and a new president for the operations in Canada but all that turned to be futile. Teams The expansion had been a failure. Each product required a lot of information. 2. Zellers did quite well as a discount store chain up through the 1990s, but competition from Walmart began to cost Zellers market share. The wrong descriptions were entered. Target is seeking the court's approval to voluntarily make cash contributions of $70 million (U.S.) into an employee trust to provide Canada-based employees with a minimum 16 weeks of compensation, including wages and benefits for those not required to work during the wind-down. In a way, the company's failure can partly be blamed on the fact that it … Here are the pros and cons, and how to make it happen. If done correctly, IT should not be an afterthought. Target's launch into Canada 'a multifaceted failure' Timeline of Canada Targets rise and fall; Top 5 reasons why Target Canada was an epic failure; Billion-dollar mistake: How inferior IT killed Target Canada; Target Canada was running out of cash; Bankruptcy filing court documents "Expect more. to You may unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time. That conversion rate is constantly fluctuating. digital acquisition That means: Comments that violate our community guidelines will be removed. Graded LP7.2 Assignment: The Failure of Target in Canada. The closure of Target retail outlets in Canada in 2015 brought to an end to the retailer's first attempt to expand internationally. The failure of Target in Canada has been called the greatest supply chain disaster in Canadian history. It was like a real-life Fallout 3 Super-Duper Mart. creative writing story beach. In short, Target blew it. As you know, stores are designed to sell frequently bought items, for example, Pampers. Target's launch into Canada 'a multifaceted failure' Timeline of Canada Targets rise and fall; Top 5 reasons why Target Canada was an epic failure; Billion-dollar mistake: How inferior IT killed Target Canada; Target Canada was running out of cash; Bankruptcy filing court documents "Expect more. All the products don't just come from the US. Has anything really changed since the breach that rocked retail? Although Target admittedly has primary blame for its failure in Canada, it actually had … Please review our terms of service to complete your newsletter subscription. Target just wasn't different. These warehouses must be flowing, dynamic organisms, breathing in products from all over the country and the world and breathing out semi-trucks destined for the individual stores. So they had way too much stock in storage and not enough on the shelves. Business executives are increasingly moving to an IT environment that is no longer focused on big, long projects but shorter, more sustainable efforts to drive change and innovation. Competitors such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quickly moved to cut prices, expand their offerings and open new stores in the lead-up to Target's entry into Canada. But it's not.
Jason Hudson Voice Actor, Scrum Ceremonies Timebox, Sankt Georgen Frankfurt, Tanner's Clinical Judgement Model, Bugout Vs Para 3 Lightweight, Determinants Of Demand Ppt, Electrical License Renewal Form, The Ordinary Niacinamide Sociolla,


text:
Following Ad Failures, Google Turns Focus to Display
BusinessWeek, Friday, June 12, 2009 3:15 PM
"Google can't seem to make a go of it anywhere else in the ad world," says BusinessWeek's Rob Hof. The search giant tried and failed to sell print and radio ads, shuttering both projects earlier this year, and its TV ad effort has been slow. Meanwhile, the economy has hit its main business, paid search, which slowed to 6% revenue growth in the first quarter of this year.
Despite these recent disappointments, Hof says that Google is now redoubling its efforts to grab a bigger piece of the display ad market, which accounts for more than a third of the $40 billion online ad market. However, it faces a tough challenge, as Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN have huge leads in display, largely because they can put ads on their own content.
That said, performance ads, the fastest-growing kind of display ads, work more like search, which could be to Google's benefit. Says Hof: "Google spies an opportunity to apply its mathematical wizardry to make those ads even more effective. The idea is to make display ads useful knowledge instead of visual clutter."
Later this summer, Google will roll out an overhauled version of the ad exchange it picked up as part of its $3.2 billion acquisition of DoubleClick last year. Hof notes that until now, Google's and DoubleClick's ad-placement systems used different software, so ad agencies had to piece together different programs to place, monitor, and measure ads. Advertisers will be able to utilize the two systems seamlessly in the new exchange, making ad buys simpler. Google hopes the improvement will push publishers to put more high-value inventory up for auction
Read the whole story at BusinessWeek »
banners, display, google
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Bad 'forensics' has sent many innocent people to prison while allowing the guilty to go free due to undue influence by law enforcement and prosecutors, according to a new book by Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson entitled "Cops in Lab Coats, Curbing Wrongful Convictions through Independent Forensic Laboratories"
To protect the interests of justice against potential conflicts of interest, forensic labs across the country should be removed from the auspices of law enforcement agencies and be made independent, University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson argues in her released new book.
As a former prosecutor who now serves on the board of directors that oversees Houston's new, independent crime lab, Thompson knows more than a bit about how crime laboratories best function.
Before joining UHLC in 1990, Thompson, director of the school's Criminal Justice Institute, served for two years in the New York District Attorney's Office as both a trial and appellate attorney. In 2011, Mayor Annise Parker named her to the nine-member board of directors which managed the transformation of the HPD's Crime Laboratory into the newly-created Houston Forensic Science Center.
The change followed years of turmoil and negative publicity over Houston's police crime lab. Stories of botched tests, massive backlogs, malfeasance, and cheating on proficiency exams had plagued the police department for nearly a decade.
"Interestingly, the police department chief executives - the crime lab director and the executive first assistant police chief - decided to adopt a solution proposed by the National Academy of Sciences in 2009," Thompson said. "They decided to remove the laboratory from within the police department."
It turns out that Houston's problems weren't unique. Across the country, there had been numerous public outcries over crime labs, which are meant to provide objective scientific analysis, being run by law enforcement agencies. Critics said there was too much pressure, either direct or indirect, on such labs to skew the science toward making a prosecution.
In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences released a report, based on a multi-year study of crime labs and medical examiners offices across the country. Among its recommendation was more independence between crime labs and police departments.
"The Houston Police Department decided they had been trying very hard for long enough to have a great lab, and it just wasn't working. And so they went to the mayor with a proposal to remove the lab from their auspices. The mayor developed a proposal to do that, and the city council approved it," Thompson said.
The city created the Houston Forensic Science Center as a separate local government corporation. "It's a special vehicle created by the Texas Legislature for this kind of enterprise, where you want an operation to have some kind of autonomy but it's still essentially a public corporation," she said.
After setting up shop, the board and its executive team (hired through national searches) set about the cumbersome process of transferring the "assets" of the former crime lab to the new one. In April 2014, the Houston Crime Lab officially ceased to exist and the Houston Forensic Science Center was born.
"Crime labs (in the past) haven't focused as much on scientific research but more on law enforcement and getting convictions and being helpful to the police and prosecutors," Thompson said. That can be through both conscious and unconscious biases and on outside pressures that are brought to bear on the scientists doing the analysis, she said.
"So the new administration of the new Houston lab is determined to reorient the culture so that analysts are focusing on science, and they know their job is getting the science right, regardless of what the outcome is," she said.
When she was appointed to the board, Thompson said, she wanted to make sure she was as prepared as she could be for her new role. That led her to shift the focus of her research, which had been on wrongful convictions based largely on eyewitness testimony, to understanding the issues involved with forensic sciences.
"What my book does is to try to help lawyers, judges, policymakers, and the general public better understand why it is possible that a crime lab could completely get the science wrong. What are the issues, how widespread are the issues, and what are some of the solutions," she said.
The book's first chapter lays out the saga of one of the most egregious cases involving the former Houston Crime Lab -- that of George Rodriguez, who was sentenced to 60 years for a 1987 sexual assault based largely on blood test evidence and hair analysis, both of which were botched.
Only after the Innocence Project of New York became involved and a single hair was found in the case file - after it was believed that all of the biological evidence in the case had been destroyed - did Rodriguez get his day in court. New DNA testing ultimately proved his innocence. Rodriguez was released from prison in 2004 and later sued the city of Houston. A federal jury ultimately awarded him $5 million in civil damages.
In later chapters, Thompson lays out the issues from a national perspective, referring frequently to the findings of the 2009 National Academy of Sciences report, but in a way that speaks to a wider audience.
"I show that it's really a national crisis," she said. "I talk about the science. What do we know about the various forensic disciplines, are they reliable? The NAS does a discipline-by-discipline analysis. It's a very scientific report, so what I try to do is make it easily accessible to lawyers and others, (including) policymakers," she said.
Thompson said she hopes her book will help lawyers, both prosecutors and defense attorneys, better understand the issues.
"As a former prosecutor, I firmly believe that prosecutors don't want to wrongly convict someone. I don't think they're going to want to put on invalid testimony," she said. "But they have to understand the limits of the science to be sure that the testimony they're putting on is correct, is valid, and is not overstated. And the defense lawyers also need to be able to guard their clients from overstatement."
Thompson said that Houston, with its new independent crime lab, and Texas, one of only two states (the other being New York) to create a forensic science commission, are actually "ahead of the game" in making the use of forensic science in criminal proceedings more valid.
In fact, she said, Texas is the first state so far to allow inmates to go back to court to have their cases reheard if it's shown that the scientific evidence used at trial was invalid.
"It's really helping people who do these kinds of innocence investigations to go back and review cases and get innocent people out," she said.


Attempts to divide works of art into equal shares, emulating companies that trade on a stock exchange, have proved problematic, at best. This hasn't stopped Tom-David Bastok, a French collector who gave up his financial studies to develop My Art Invest, a trading platform for art that launches in London today.
"We are different from other [art share schemes] because our aim is simply to be more democratic. We are making the art market more affordable and accessible," Bastok says. Potential investors need only part with a minimum £5 to own a share of around 100 works available by artists including Basquiat and Banksy. The value of works available ranges from £500 to £100,000, but the "sweet spot" says Bastok is around the £25,000 level. On average, 100 shares are available in each work (though pricier works have more shares available in order to keep their cost down).
The Epodium Gallery is a brand new digital art space founded by art scholar and writer Dr. Andreas Backoefer, who splits his time between New York and Munich. The idea was to create an online portal, where video artists from New York and Munich can use the platform for artistic exchange.
The seminal exhibition for the gallery is VIDEO:TIME:SPACE, curated by Dr. Andreas Backoefer. Peruvian born, NY-based interdisciplinary artist Grimanesa Amorós (creator of fantastic light installations) presents her video work alongside Bavaria's own Roger Kausch.
As well as being a platform for artists, the gallery is also designed with collectors in mind – most of the work presented is for sale, and the visitor experience plays a large role in the digital gallery. In the coming months, offline artist exchanges are planned between New York and Munich artists, and guest curators will be invited to be a part of the Epodium Gallery.


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Home California Los Angeles County La Mirada Roland Yin-Chia Ho
Roland Yin-Chia Ho
Mr. Ho received a B.S. degree in business management from California State University, Los Angeles, with a minor in economics and obtained a J.D. degree from University of West Los Angeles, achieving Dean's List for academic excellence in the second year of law school. The principal attorney, licensed in 2002, is admitted to practice in the State of California, United States District Court, Central District of California and United States District Court, Southern District of California.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Ho had job experience in retail, sales, manufacturing and government. During law school, Mr. Ho clerked for the District Attorney's Office at the Family Support Division. Because of the extensive and various working background, Mr. Ho is able to comprehend and apply the learned skills to the overall practice of law, thus in turn benefiting all clients who seek the assistance of this office.
On spare time, Mr. Ho enjoys biking, hiking, taking mini, weekend vacations, exploring new places and events, white sandy beaches, with crystal blue water, strolling at beaches on warm and sunny days, fine-dining, family gatherings, browsing book stores, visiting libraries, museums, amusement parks, sporting events (especially baseball games), taking ship cruises, movies, horseback riding…
California State University - Los Angeles
University of West Los Angeles
Honors: Dean's List Second Year
16700 Valley View Avenue
Email Roland Yin-Chia Ho
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UJC MADRID
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5 Ways Swimming Advantages ALL Athletes
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The largest cause that basketball players fail to be as athletic as football gamers time...
The largest cause that basketball players fail to be as athletic as football gamers time and time once more is because they don't want to get in the weightroom and get stronger. Terry Cummings played with the Bucks from 1984-1989. As a power forward, he averaged 20 ppg and 8 rpg for four of the five years he was with the Bucks. Over his career, Cummings was a two time NBA All-Star, averaging sixteen.4 ppg and seven.3 rpg. Being taken within the senior squad of Sporting meant the younger participant's first contact with professional football. Although he did not play frequently, the few moments that he did get on the pitch had been greeted with cheers from the Sporting fans, who loved Cristiano Ronaldo's soccer tips. In 2 seasons with Sporting's senior squad, Ronaldo received to play 28 matches, scoring 3 occasions before he was picked up by Manchester United's scouts, at age 18. However, that does not occur terribly typically; just as in real racing, there is a typically fierce battle for the win. Ty Lawson is a dynamic Level Guard out of North Carolina in his sixth season within the NBA. He has increased his production every year and averaged over 17.6 ppg and 8 apg in the 2013-2014 season. With the emergence of the Nuggets, Lawson is a enjoyable participant to follow on IG. Ty Lawson has shared over 500 pictures and has one hundred fifty,000 followers on IG. There won't be any followers in attendance, health and security protocols that have been painstakingly written in response to the coronavirus pandemic will likely be paramount, and teams can't even bathe within the enviornment after games. But after 20 weeks of waiting, questioning and worrying, the 2019-20 NBA season is able to hit the restart button with a champion scheduled to be topped in October. Racing Point obtained 2019-spec Components 1 brake ducts from Mercedes in January as spare components for its RP20 car in pre-season testing. With England being rightfully considered the inventors of contemporary soccer, one would count on them to be amongst probably the most profitable national squads in the World. Nonetheless, despite having some world class soccer gamers throughout time and regardless of all the time being favorites for the competitions they start in, the English national squad solely achieved few important milestones throughout the complete soccer historical past in England. Finally, trying on the definition of what a sport is, games included into skilled competitive gaming are undoubtedly real sports. Blackhawks of the Nationwide Hockey League. A number of the common players on this workforce are Tony Esposito, Stan Mikita, Denis Savard, Bobby Hull and Ed Belfour. A number of the best younger forwards lead the present young workforce. Cannot consider how long Arsenal have gone with out a trophy, even we (Birmingham City) managed to beat them within the League Cup Final in 2011, and we got relegated the identical year hehehe.
By the late 1980's hypothesis grew regarding the previous First Division golf equipment breaking away to type their very own 'super-league'. The issue was, at the least for the most important clubs was that they had been all members of the Football league- a multi division league system of 92 groups; with groups both shifting up or transferring down the divisions at season's end, based mostly on efficiency across the 12 months. The Football League's guidelines were considerably egalitarian, with clubs sharing income (including TV income) equally throughout the divisions. However the time had come for change; the primary couple of years of the Nineties had seen a huge resurgence in football's recognition, helped largely by England's heroic performance in Italy throughout the previous World Cup. Moreover, the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster in 1989, and the report that was filed in its aftermath lastly forced the soccer authorities to acknowledge that the sport needed modernising. Ball might have an annoying father in LaVar, however his game on the courtroom doesn't let you down. He is a terrific play maker, a pure clamps on defense but his offense needs work, particularly his shot type. Esport researcher Dylan Poulus is hoping to point out that sports activities psychologists can profit Esports athletes. Japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA colour barrier within the 1947-48 season when he performed for the New York Knicks He remained the one non-white player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter , signing with the Washington Capitols in 1950. 10 11 Hunter was minimize from the staff during coaching camp, 10 12 but a number of African-American gamers did play in the league later that yr, including Chuck Cooper with the Celtics, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton with the Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols During this era, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by heart George Mikan , received five NBA Championships and established themselves as the league's first dynasty 13 To encourage capturing and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. 14 If a staff doesn't try to attain a subject aim (or the ball fails to make contact with the rim) inside 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped and the ball given to its opponent. The 2020 NBA Finals odds have not shifted all that a lot for the reason that league postponed operations in mid-March. The Lakers are still the favorites with +240 odds to win all of it this yr, while the cross-town rival Clippers will not be far behind at +300. The Bucks are pacing the sphere within the East and are presently +325 to win their first championship since 1974. There is a giant gap between this trio of contenders and the rest of the pack, evidenced by the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics—the groups with the fourth- and fifth-best NBA Finals odds, respectively—sitting at +1200 and +1400. 9 of the teams invited to the Orlando bubble aren't thought to be reasonable challengers for the Larry 'Brien Trophy, getting odds of one hundred-1 or longer, but it's value contemplating that this will likely be certainly one of, if not essentially the most large-open and unpredictable postseasons ever.
The NBA restart continues Monday with games on ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. For the drivers, of course, there is at all times the chance of significant injury ought to a excessive-velocity crash occur; at nearly each race, there are a minimum of one or two incidents, whereas some tracks are notorious for being tough to navigate and not using a crash. Some of that risk, in the case of flying debris, might also have the potential for hurt to spectators. The Release of Ronaldinho is interesting because of the easy indisputable fact that his transfer means the tip of an era at fc Barca and most importantly it makes the return to football of one of the greatest skills and character within the recreation after a long time out due to injury, thirdly it leaves my dearest club ( yes I'm a gunner fan ) Arsenal and we the followers questioning whats happening with our pricey membership , fourthly it ends Ac Milan's interest in Arsenal's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor and also leaves Manchester Metropolis Fc ruing their miss after an extended and interesting struggle for the signature of ever smiling Ronaldinho. Eight winners are among the subject of drivers assigned to 33 automobiles entered for the 104th Indianapolis 500 offered by Gainbridge on Sunday, Aug. 23 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Three-time winner Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009) and single winners Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017), Will Energy (2018) and Simon Pagenaud (2019) are the past winners aiming for another victory this 12 months in The Biggest Spectacle in Racing. The previous Rookie of the Year has been mediocre at greatest. This is perhaps resulting from him and his accidents, but if he performed a full season, he might be better then tier 4. In the Champions League Widzew he fought with the Danish Brondby IF Copenhagen (2: 1, 2: 3), Borusia Dortmund (1: 2, 2: 2) and Atletico Madrid, Steaua Bucharest. Despite losing or drew games gamers confirmed "Widzew's character" and the sport to the end, for which it earned a fame all through Europe. In simply his seventh profession recreation, as Lonzo Ball put up a corner three-point try, the No. 1 overall decide positioned himself in the midst of the lane. Ball's shot clanked off the back of the rim, and the reigning MVP appeared to secure the rebound, however Williamson ripped the ball from his fingers and drew a foul. 1. It is not a sport. Certain, the drivers sweat rather a lot and get tired throughout a race, however no one pays to watch me mow the lawn. NASCAR legends Tony Stewart, John Andretti, and Robby Gordon have all pushed the Indy 500 race and the Coke 600 NASCAR race in the identical day. Even the nice Jim Brown by no means played two NFL video games in a single day. A motion amongst workforce owners is pushing to shift the start of the Indy 500 to 11AM so more drivers can try this tedious double-dip.
1. Wilson Evolution Indoor Game Basketball Official (29.5″). The Wilson Evolution Indoor Game Basketball is probably the most highly ranked basketball on Amazon. It's also the most effective worth you will get for this kind of quality. It has a great feel and grip, and can also be the most effective indoor ball. The summer market was scheduled to return to its traditional end date following a vote from the top-flight clubs earlier this 12 months. Military Reserve Sport is now part of ASCB. Groups and individuals can now compete in Regular Army Competitions. See extra data into esports v sports activities from Betway here. Esports Johor co-founder Megat Azimin Megat Amanuddin, 46, mentioned for the reason that start of the MCO, many gamers had been in search of a platform to participate in competitions and earn some revenue. What makes this growth superb is that most main types of auto racing is in a serious decline, the numbers are down for NASCAR, Components 1 and NHRA each in event attendance and tv viewers. So why is drifting rising while other motorsports are in a gentle decline? Many people believe it is as a result of drifting is extra of an art kind and less of just another type of racing. Watching the extremely skilled drivers sliding sideways facet bye facet through the corner with smoke bellowing from the tires is something that have to be seen to appreciate. The drivers usually are not solely in a position to pull off some amazing maneuvers however they're able to do it while driving alongside their competitor at extremely high charges of speed. Just if you suppose they have the automobile uncontrolled and there's no approach they're going to be able to get better they snap it again under control and setup for their subsequent beautiful feat of control. Yao Ming is an Chinese skilled basketball participant who performs for the Houston Rockets of the NBA (Nationwide Basketball Affiliation). Like Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of Congo), Tracy Mc Grady (United States) and Luis Scola (Argentina), he is one of the greatest gamers in the world. Silva's contract with Manchester City will expire as soon as their Champions League marketing campaign involves an finish and the midfielder is ready to move on after having fun with ten years with the club. STAMFORD, Conn. – August 10, 2020 – The following three weekends across NBC Sports activities might be Motorsports Insanity" for racing followers all through the United States with iconic events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona Worldwide Speedway, headlined by the 104th Operating of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, August 23, with coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.
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The shimmering white, marble Monument of Victor Emmanuel II situated between Capitol Hill
and Piazza Venezia, boasts columns, grand stairways, and a commanding bronze statue of the king on horseback. The monument is an imposing structure, which one can glimpse from many of Rome's neighborhoods; its sheer whiteness stands out in contrast to the surrounding terra-cotta colored buildings, as do the bronze statues atop the monument of horses pulling chariots steered by winged charioteers.
Built in 85AD, Piazza Navona was once a stadium where Greek games were held. Today the Piazza is famous for its size and the beauty of its fountains – Fontana del Nettuno and Fontana del Moro – created by Giacomo della Porta, and the powerful sculptures of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi – designed by Bernini which forms the centerpiece of the piazza. Piazza Navona comes alive at night with street performers, artists, musicians and restaurants spilling over with diners.
Piazza dei Fiori – is a delightful and more intimate piazza just a ten minute walk from Piazza Navona. By day it hosts a lively, colorful market where locals do their shopping and tourists browse the stalls. At night it has a laid back atmosphere. Children play in the square, while diners fill the eateries surrounding the square to enjoy good food, wine, and animated conversation.
Evening in Piazza dei Fiori
Pasta stand in the market . Piazza dei Fiori
The Colosseum defines Rome in the way that the Eiffel Tower defines Paris or the canals define Venice. This iconic, engineering marvel that was commissioned by Emperor Vespasian in around 72 AD has been drawing hordes of visitors since it opened in 80 AD. Romans flocked to the amphitheater to watch gladiators in combat; men pitted against beasts (lions, bears, and alligators); chariot races and plays. After 400 years it fell into disrepair. Today it is estimated that over four million tourists visit the Colosseum every year.
Outer Walls of the Colosseum
Inside the Colosseum Amphitheater
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch covered in sculptures which date from different periods in Roman history. They were brought to the arch from other monuments by Emperor Constantine to decorate his triumphal arch just steps away from the Colosseum.
The Arch Of Constantine
The Arch of Titus – leads one from La Via Sacra (The Holy Way) into the Forum, which was the dynamic heart and soul of Rome for over a thousand years. Note the detailed bas reliefs on the inner walls of the arch: Most notably, those depicting Roman soldiers carrying the spoils from the temple in Jerusalem into Rome.
The Arch of Titus leads from the Colosseum to the Forum
The Roman Forum
The Vatican Swiss Guards are famous for their couture outfits reminiscent of the Renaissance. In shades of blue, bright yellow, and red, they look as though they stepped out of the pages of a high-end fashion magazine.
Swiss Guards at the Vatican
When visiting the Vatican Museum don't miss the spectacular, ultra-modern, dramatic, Spiral Staircase.
The Vatican Museum Spiral Staircase
The Vatican Gallery of Maps – is well worth a visit. Forty, 16th Century frescoes of maps representing the regions of Italy, adorn the walls of the immense hall. The long ceiling covered in artwork is attributed to the artist Girolamo Muziano, who intertwined paintings related to Christianity with the geography of Italy.
Fresco of Venice on the walls of the 16th century Map Room. The Vatican
Ceiling of the Map Room. The Vatican
A visit to St. Peter's Basilica is a must. Don't miss Michelangelo's La Pieta now housed behind bulletproof glass since it was damaged in 1972 by a deranged man wielding a hammer who claimed to be Jesus Christ.
The Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo is exquisite. Reserve in advance, visit early or late in the day and preferably in winter. In high season it's wall to wall tourists, and the atmosphere is suffocating. Note: No photography allowed.
St. Peter's Basilica- The Vatican
Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica
The Pantheon – completed during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in 120 AD, was subsequently converted into a church in 609 AD. It is the best preserved building from ancient Rome having never sustained damage. It has survived barbarian raids, wars, and weather. The giant dome is pierced by an oculus which suffuses the interior with soothing natural light. For centuries, people have been awed by its unique aura and uncluttered elegance.
The oculus in the ceiling of the Pantheon
Inside The Pantheon
La Fontana di Trevi – is Rome's largest fountain and perhaps the most beloved. The word trevi derives from 'tre vie' – meaning, the point where three streets meet. Since the Trevi Fountain was featured in the 1954 movie "Three Coins In The Fountain," (starring among others Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Clifton Webb, Louis Jordan and Maggie McNamara) it has been customary to toss a coin into the fountain over one's left shoulder, while simultaneously making a wish.
La Fontana di Trevi -The Trevi Fountain
The Spanish Steps – Rome's iconic, romantic, Baroque style landmark, consists of steps and terraces, both curved and straight which connect the Piazza Trinita dei Monti above, to the Piazza di Spagna below. It's a place to congregate; people watch and soak up the atmosphere and vistas. In Piazza di Spagna, the Baroque Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of The Longboat) attributed to Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, commemorates the great flood of the river Tiber on Christmas day in 1598 when Rome was flooded, and the only means of transport was by boat.
The Spanish Steps
Deviate off the main thoroughfares onto narrow side streets and savor the flavor of Rome where you'll come across fabulous boutiques, bakeries, miniscule piazzas, and trattorias.
Atmospheric narrow streets
Roscioli-amazing Pizza and Bakery
Settle into an outdoor restaurant to enjoy the Roman cuisine, linger over a lengthy lunch, and imbibe the vibe.
Explore the city's plethora of piazzas, and be entertained by creative street performers, artists, and musicians.


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Sep 10, 2018 08:07 PM
How Alibaba Grew to Have More Revenue Than Some Countries
By Ke Dawei
An employee works at a Tmall logistic center in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in October 2015. Photo: VCG
When Jack Ma steps aside as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s CEO in a year's time he will leave the helm of what is likely China's most admired private company, with operations spanning the e-commerce, finance, logistics, cloud computing and entertainment markets.
The company generated revenues of $39.9 billion in the 12 months up to March 31 according to its last annual report, roughly the equivalent of Ghana's entire gross domestic product last year. This marks substantial progress for a company launched just 19 years ago from Jack Ma's small apartment in Hangzhou, where he and 17 others pooled $60,000 together to build a platform connecting small Chinese firms with businesses abroad.
Alibaba's potential to harness the rise of the internet to link relatively low-cost producers at home with companies in foreign markets was soon recognized by Goldman Sachs, which helped it to raise $5 million of funding in 1999, the year of its founding. This was followed in 2000 by an additional $20 million raised from a group of investors led by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp., whose boss Masayoshi Son would develop a reputation for his ability to pick future champions of the tech world.
Largely at Ma's insistence, Alibaba was emboldened to move beyond its core business in 2003 and launch online bidding platform Taobao, a direct competitor to then-market leader eBay, entering into a fierce war for market share in which Taobao's (initial) lack of service fees undermined eBay's entrenched position. Alibaba's ultimate victory came from its development of Alipay, an online payment platform that took upon itself the burden of risk that payment would be honored between buyers and sellers of products, at a time when there was a deficit of trust in internet transactions. This swung consumers decisively in Taobao's favor.
A Taobao shop owner prepares products for delivery in the eastern city of Hangzhou on Oct 23. Photo: VCG
Alibaba received a major boost when U.S. giant Yahoo invested $1 billion in 2005 and gave it access to its search technology in exchange for a 40% stake. After a productive four years, relations soured when Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang resigned and mistrust between the partners began to grow. Between 2009 and 2011 Ma transferred ownership of Alipay from Alibaba into a private company under his control, a move Yahoo claimed it had not sanctioned and had only learned about when it was a fait accompli.
While controversy over Alipay persisted, in 2014 Ma rose to international prominence when Alibaba Group broke the record for the world's biggest initial public offering, raising $25 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has also embarked on several other forays abroad, such as with retail e-commerce platform Lazada in Southeast Asia, and AliExpress, which, although based in China, aims to sell to international buyers in the U.S, Russia and other markets.
Domestic e-commerce nevertheless continues to provide the lion's share of Alibaba's revenue, accounting for 71% according to its 2018 annual results, with international sales making up 6% of its total revenue. The company is also developing its cloud computing and digital media segments. Although these counted for just 5% and 8% Alibaba's total revenues respectively in the year ending March 2018, both are major growth areas, with cloud computing revenue rising 93% year-on-year according to the company's second quarter results. The house that Jack Ma built appears well-placed to continue expanding when its founder retires next year, when he will be replaced by Alibaba's current CEO.
To read more coverage on Jack Ma's retirement, click here
Contact reporter Ke Dawei (daweike@caixin.com)
Update: Era Ends as Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Prepares to Step Down
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