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Senior Economist of the National Center for Policy Analysis
Author of Crossroads: The Great American Experiment
An unapologetic advocate of free enterprise and privatization, Barry Asmus is recognized as a revolutionary thinker who delivers his ideas in an energy-filled entertaining presentation. He doesn't just talk policy – he makes it happen. A Senior Economist for the National Center for Policy Analysis, Asmus has directly influenced how world leaders approach social security, health care, monetary and fiscal policy and other equally complex issues. With presentations customized to reflect your particular economic policy needs, Asmus helps audiences understand major policy issues – without all the jargon.
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Rave Reviews About Barry Asmus
I've never heard a speaker who could combine today's news, with yesterday's lessons, and tomorrow's promise as well as you. The laughter, the standing ovation and thought provoking commentary were bonuses. Your invigorating examination of a changing world is founded in the certainty that limitless opportunities are emerging from a borderless and knowledge
- Steve Powers, Sr. Executive, American Express
A Sample of the Groups That Have Hosted Barry Asmus
National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys
North Carolina Association of County Commissioners
Ashland Chemical Corporation
Publix Super Markets, Inc.
Leadership Network Corporation
WESCORP
Keynote at Hilton Head Institute [47:53] - Get Sharable Link
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Keynote at Hilton Head Institute [47:53]
Keynote - ND Soybean Expo [1:27:07]
Explore Barry Asmus's Talks
America's Economic Future: The Six Unstoppable Trends
Dr. Asmus identifies the "Six Unstoppable Trends" that are impacting America's business and its economy. The current recession will temporarily slow these trends but not stop them. The Latin word for credit is credere which means "to believe." The deleveraging and economic contraction begun in 2008 ...
Dr. Asmus identifies the "Six Unstoppable Trends" that are impacting America's business and its economy. The current recession will temporarily slow these trends but not stop them. The Latin word for credit is credere which means "to believe." The deleveraging and economic contraction begun in 2008 could last until 2010. But note this: we have had 13 economic recessions in the last 80 years followed by 13 expansions. Currently, 75 million Baby Boomers are in the high investment and most productive stages of their lives. Confidence will be restored. The end of prosperity? Or, the best yet to come? Dr. Asmus' presents his "Six Unstoppable Trends" and asks you to decide.
Globalization: International Prosperity and its Impact on America
The opportunities embedded in entrepreneurial capitalism, a growing population, and a rapidly globalized world are stunning. As the Internet continues to transform the world, making the planet the relevant market and connecting everyone as both producers and consumers, the role of emerging countries ...
The opportunities embedded in entrepreneurial capitalism, a growing population, and a rapidly globalized world are stunning. As the Internet continues to transform the world, making the planet the relevant market and connecting everyone as both producers and consumers, the role of emerging countries will be something to celebrate. And, because drivers like freedom, prosperity and technology produce such transforming outcomes, the question is how to harness the power of those incentives. The world will once again move forward after a very painful backward step.
Freedom: Still America's Best Investment
The most vital force of our country has been freedom. Freedom unleashes more energy and genius than any alternative. America, the biggest island of freedom in the world, has always been the place people run to when, in hope or hopelessness, they are running from somewhere else. When freedom proceeds ...
The most vital force of our country has been freedom. Freedom unleashes more energy and genius than any alternative. America, the biggest island of freedom in the world, has always been the place people run to when, in hope or hopelessness, they are running from somewhere else. When freedom proceeds, prosperity follows. When freedom leads, the mutually beneficial exchange of capitalism moves nation's forward. Dr. Asmus makes a compelling case for why America produces nearly a third of the world's wealth, most of the world's Nobel Laureates and a majority of the world's inventions with less than 5 percent of the world's population. Democratic capitalism and freedom are still the best hope for mankind.
Healing Health Care in America
How much would you buy if you went shopping with someone else's credit card? Yet, this is how today's health care system works. We are spending everyone's money except our own. Is it sustainable? No. Can we do something about it? Yes. Health Savings Accounts create the necessary incentives for a c ...
How much would you buy if you went shopping with someone else's credit card? Yet, this is how today's health care system works. We are spending everyone's money except our own. Is it sustainable? No. Can we do something about it? Yes. Health Savings Accounts create the necessary incentives for a competitive health care system. A high deductible catastrophic insurance plan would cover the high costs, while an individual health saving account would cover all the smaller charges. Reforming Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements would also allow hospitals to overcome the governmental mandate of free health care, currently at $30 billion annually. Tort reform and limitations on medical liability are necessary to slow down the practice of defensive medicine. Widespread use of electronic medical record keeping is imperative for cost and quality control. Dr. Asmus' presentation offers real world solutions to run-away health care costs.
Powering America's Energy Future
As a Senior Economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis, Dr. Asmus has argued for removing laws that restrict the development of domestic energy supplies. By 2020, Asmus estimates that America will consume 125 quads of energy, a 25 percent shortfall from the current supply. France doubled ...
As a Senior Economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis, Dr. Asmus has argued for removing laws that restrict the development of domestic energy supplies. By 2020, Asmus estimates that America will consume 125 quads of energy, a 25 percent shortfall from the current supply. France doubled its energy independence by building 57 nuclear power reactors in the last 30 years. The U.S. should do the same. By drilling in Alaska, in America's Outer Continental Shelf, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in states that have huge deposits of shale and coal our dependence on foreign oil would fall dramatically, as would energy prices. Both wind and solar energy will be helpful in the long term, but they are only intermittent sources of future power. Do we want more oil, gas, and electricity or more regulation, taxes, and dependence? The choice is ours.
Learn more about Barry Asmus
Dr. Barry Asmus is a Senior Economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis. Dr. Asmus has been named by USA Today as one of the five most requested speakers in the United States. Over the last twenty-five years, Dr. Asmus has spoken to thousands of companies and associations throughout the United States. He has testified before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding our income tax system and was a featured speaker in a privatizing Social Security conference for Western European leaders. On recent trips to Romania, Albania, China and Peru, Dr. Asmus has encouraged government leaders to pass free-market, low tax, protected property rights and free trade policies.
Dr. Asmus is the author of nine books. His book, Crossroads: The Great American Experiment was nominated for a H.L. Mencken Award. As a Professor of Economics, he was twice voted University Professor of the Year and was honored with the Freedom Foundation Award at Valley Forge for Private Enterprise Education. He co-anchored a syndicated radio called Perspectives on the Economy. Dr. Asmus is an effective advocate of free market economics. He is a recognized thinker who delivers his ideas in an enthusiastic and energy filled presentation.
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Share Biography of Barry Asmus

Dr. Barry Asmus is a Senior Economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis. Dr. Asmus has been named by USA Today as one of the five most requested speakers in the United States. Over the last twenty-five years, Dr. Asmus has spoken to thousands of companies and associations throughout the United States. He has testified before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding our income tax system and was a featured speaker in a privatizing Social Security conference for Western European leaders. On recent trips to Romania, Albania, China and Peru, Dr. Asmus has encouraged government leaders to pass free-market, low tax, protected property rights and free trade policies.

Dr. Asmus is the author of nine books. His book, Crossroads: The Great American Experiment was nominated for a H.L. Mencken Award. As a Professor of Economics, he was twice voted University Professor of the Year and was honored with the Freedom Foundation Award at Valley Forge for Private Enterprise Education. He co-anchored a syndicated radio called Perspectives on the Economy. Dr. Asmus is an effective advocate of free market economics. He is a recognized thinker who delivers his ideas in an enthusiastic and energy filled presentation.


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In short, we just wanted to make the research process for bank customers throughout the world a little bit easier. With so many fraudulent and spammy websites cluttering up the internet, we wanted to create a safe and trusted resource for everything related to personal finance, bank information and making the transition from local to online banking.
In addition to providing our users with the most updated and accurate banking information possible, we also make sure to post user guides, news, tutorials, and informative articles on our blog as well. It's not enough to simply create a resource site with just generic banking information and location details, it's important to educate your audience and customers in the process.
As we continue to learn more about our site traffic and customers using the site, we will come out with new articles and reference guides to address their needs. We look forward to providing you with the best information possible and would love to hear your feedback as well.


When a mortgage or deed of trust is assigned, the assignment is generally recorded in the land records. Select the form for your situation to assign a mortgage or deed of trust. View free previews. Download in Word format.


The first Teba Jacket was first created on Savile Row for the King Alfonso XIII of Spain. As he was a hunter, this light and comfortable garment was ideal for the practice of hunting. An elegant crossroad between jacket and overcoat, this jacket is available with four buttons and a joined notch lapel, and also features hand-sewn breast patch pockets and side pockets.


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Boat crew assists divers with their haul of eelgrass shoots. Credit: Stephanie Kiriakopolos
Replanting the Bay's Underwater Meadows
by Katie Harrington
Wildlife in the San Francisco Bay can be rather elusive. If it's not flapping quickly by, it's diving for a meal, cruising the ocean floor, or intermittently surfacing to breathe. In other words, it can be hard to take a closer look. That is, until you wade into an eelgrass meadow and literally feel the wildlife brush against your legs.
Beginning this summer, there will be more of those meadows to visit. In June, Kathy Boyer, an associate professor of biology at San Francisco State University's Romberg Tiburon Center, began a nine-year effort to restore 70 acres of Zostera marina, the native eelgrass in the San Francisco Bay. The work is funded by settlement money from the Cosco Busan oil spill that emptied 58,000 gallons into the San Francisco Bay in 2007.
Eelgrass being transplanted via the bamboo staking technique. Credit: Stephanie Kiriakopolos
Using two methods, transplanting and seed dispersal, Boyer and her team of researchers, students, and volunteers will restore the equivalent of four football fields per year in designated sites throughout the Bay. The planted areas should naturally expand, helping the researchers achieve their restoration goals.
It's the first major eelgrass restoration project the Bay has seen in years, primarily because of the cost and logistical planning necessary for planting underwater meadows. It takes long hours and very physically fit people, said Boyer, not to mention trained scuba divers, research vessels, and gear.
Currently, the team is focusing on two sites within the San Rafael and Corte Madera bays, where at sunrise during low tide they can be found securing transplants with bamboo stakes into the sediment or deploying brightly colored buoys with seed bags attached. The seed buoys passively sow seeds that have been harvested from various meadows throughout the Bay, mimicking the natural seed dispersal that occurs from detached, floating plants.
"SF State has a lot of history in developing [eelgrass restoration] techniques within the Bay, and we knew that they had a proven method to do it," said Natalie Cosentino-Manning, the restoration program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Restoration Center.
Also partnered on the project is Keith Merkel of Merkel and Associates, a San Diego-based consultant who has a history of mapping suitable habitat for eelgrass restoration in the San Francisco Bay.
"This is the biggest effort like this that's ever been done in the SF Bay," said Boyer. "We're trying to do it in a really experimental way so we can learn a lot hopefully about where we should be collecting the plants, what sites will work for us, and what planting methodologies will work best."
Herring benefit too
The project will restore not only eelgrass beds but also herring spawning grounds, both of which were targeted in a list of 12 restoration projects outlined by the Cosco Busan Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan. Sampling and photographs after the spill showed high accumulations of oil in areas where Pacific herring lay eggs, in particular in the eelgrass meadows of Tiburon's Keil Cove.
Herring come into the Bay from roughly December to February to spawn; they do so not continuously, but in pulses. If this summer's transplanted eelgrass shoots survive and spread, herring will have multiple acres of new habitat to lay eggs. The seedlings, if successful in taking root, won't be available as habitat until next spring.
Restoration doesn't come easy
San Francisco Bay property lines don't always end at the waterfront. Much of the submerged land of San Francisco Bay is owned by private landowners. The researchers first had to hunt down these landowners to request access to selected restoration sites.
Kathy Boyer collecting eelgrass at Point San Pablo. Credit: Stephanie Kiriakopolos
Fortunately for the project, the landowner that Boyer and her team approached — the Marin Rod and Gun Club (MRGC) — shares similar interests and goals in habitat restoration. The restoration will benefit people who care about fish from a conservation standpoint, and also those who just want to fish.
"Club members have come to take great pride in our coordination with the scientific community in both our eelgrass and native oyster projects,"said MRGC's executive advisor Todd Meyer."What Kathy's doing with eelgrass is just massive. I think it has the greatest potential of changing for the better the ecosystem of San Francisco Bay."
For the duration of the summer, seed buoys will drift within their designated plots, sowing what researchers hope will be an eventual rebound of eelgrass populations in the San Francisco Bay. In September, the seed buoys will be removed and continual monitoring will begin throughout the restoration sites.
The longevity of the $2.5 million program lends itself to adaptive management.
"Each year we want to learn something that helps us to decide what to do the next year," said Boyer. "Are we going in the right direction or do we need a course correction?"
Team members prepping eelgrass shoots for transplant. Credit: Stephanie Kiriakopolos
Eelgrass attached to bamboo stakes and ready for transplant. Credit: Stephanie Kiriakopolos
Katie Harrington
Charismatic Sea Ducks Seem to be Disappearing, But It's Hard to Say Why
Naturalist's Notebook: When The Bay Erupts With Herring
Subtleties of the Subtidal

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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HOW TO BOOK & COLLECT
Tickets can be booked online 24/7 at cityrecitalhall.com
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Attention white people: Kendrick Lamar doesn't mind if you rap along to his music, but please, keep it respectful.
Delaney got through the first verse okay before seemingly forgetting to censor the lyrics, repeatedly using the N-word while rapping with Lamar. The artist stopped the performance midway through to call out the young woman's offensive slur, though at first, she seemed confused as to why Lamar was stopping the performance.
In a video taken by a fellow concertgoer, the woman can be heard asking Lamar, "Am I not cool enough for you? What's up, bro?" after he cuts the music off. The rapper tries to explain that she needs to "bleep one word" from the song while performing it before the young woman offers an apology, claiming she didn't know she had uttered the word.
In the video, the crowd can be clearly heard taking offense to Delaney rapping the N-word, which prompts Lamar to quickly shut things down. The rapper even asks his fans if the young woman should be allowed to stay on-stage, which is met with loud booing and plenty of "Nos," but ultimately, Lamar is nice enough to give the girl another chance.
The video caused a bit of controversy on Twitter with people quickly defending and blaming the young girl for her misstep. On the one hand, because a song like "m.A.A.d city" involves heavy use of the racial slur, it seems odd that Lamar chose a white woman to hop on stage and help him sing it, especially if he wanted the person to self-censor themselves.
On the other, Delaney should've known better than to utter the N-word on stage no matter how excited she was to perform with Lamar. While it's the artist's choice whether or not to use that kind of language in his work, it doesn't make it okay for white fans to appropriate a word that has such a divisive, ugly history rooted in slavery and oppression. Luckily everything worked out in the end and Lamar seemed to have a good time performing with the young girl for the crowd, but maybe this will serve as a lesson for next time.


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\section{Introduction}\label{sec: intro}

The small (1 mm) nematode \emph{Caenorhabditis elegans} (\emph{C. elegans}) has become a widely used model organism (cf. http://www.wormbook.org \cite{corsi2015}), and has been among the most studied biological models of neuronal development and locomotion \citep{katz2016, corsi2015}.
The \emph{C. elegans} connectome has been completely mapped \citep{jabr} and, as described below, its locomotion has been widely studied (c.f. \citet{corsi2015, gjorgjieva2014, }).  There are a variety of neuronal models which can generate such undulation,
``When crawling on a solid surface, the nematode \emph{C. elegans} moves forward by propagating sinusoidal dorso-ventral retrograde contraction waves.  A uniform propagating wave leads to motion that undulates about a straight line.'' \citep{kim2011}.
A different type of locomotion, often called swimming, occurs when nematodes are submerged in a liquid medium. The nematodes "switch" between these two gaits, by changing the dynamics of the central pattern generator (CPG).

The purpose of this paper is to describe a minimal, biomimetic, reaction-diffusion model for the \emph{C. elegans} central pattern generator (CPG) \citep{xu2018, wen2012}.  We use simulation methods to show that a small network of \citet{fitzhugh1955}-\citet{nagumo1962} neurons, see also \cite{izhikevich2006fitzhugh} (one of the simplest neuronal models), based on a skeleton model of the \emph{C. elegans} CPG, can reproduce key features of \emph{C. elegans} undulation \citep{xu2018} \citep{magnes2012} \citep{magnes2020chaotic}, and thus locomotion.

Finally, we describe an analog electronic implementation of our model through solving a modified version of the FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron \cite{fitzhugh1955}, based upon an analog circuit originally proposed by \citet{keener1983}.  This circuit solves the Keener differential equations, and we adjusted it to allow diffusive coupling between neurons.  We constructed a small network with these ``neuro-mimetic'' circuits, and showed that their behaviour replicates FitzHugh-Nagumo simulated behaviour.

There are many other CPG models; for example,  \citet{olivares2020} proposes a distributed network of self-oscillating systems of neurons, instead of a structured chain like our proposed CPG.  Here we describe a minimal working model, rather than striving for fuller realism, in order to explore the fundamental components of a small CPG.  We aimed for a simple, "minimal" model to enable exploration of defects or other changes in the CPG in an efficient, reproducible and explainable way. Our model can thus be considered as intermediate between the early "neuro-mechanical" model of \citet{yuk2011shape} and more realistic models such as \cite{olivares2020}, a role similar to that of \citet{adamatzky2008} biochemical computation.

\section{The model central pattern generator}

Recall that central pattern generator is a small neural circuit which generates and regulates the movement of complex organisms.  This structure is present in different forms in many animals, and regulates many types of periodic motion. Changes in gait are driven by changes in the dynamics of the CPG, c.f. \citep{collins1994}. The CPG circuit topology is constant; the mode of locomotion depends on the sequence in which the neurons fire.

Our simple model \emph{C. elegans} central pattern generator has two principal components. The first is the \textbf{head oscillator}. As described by \citet{gjorgjieva2014}, the head oscillator consists of two "head neurons" with mutually inhibitory coupling. Oscillations are generated when this coupling destabilizes an excitable steady state. Here two Fitzhugh-Nagumo neurons, with oscillatory dynamics, stabilized $180^\circ$ out of phase by mutually inhibitory coupling. This provides a pair of out-of-phase stimuli which propagate through a \textbf{descending pathway} of pairs of coupled, excitable, dorsal and ventral neurons.  These follow the body of the worm, and are linked to motor neurons and muscles. The head oscillator drives the descending pathway, and the pathway is kept in sync by mutual inhibitory coupling between neurons.

We use 12 pairs of such neurons, as in \emph{C. elegans} coupled by model gap junctions. This coupling yields phase lags as we descend the pathway from head to tail, enabling the head oscillator to drive traveling waves of excitation along the body of the nematode. See  \Fref{fig: xu_cpg} for descending pathway of \citet{xu2018} and our simplified model; the latter depicted as a graph, wherein neurons are nodes, and the arrows between them represent connections.

\setcounter{figure}{0}
\begin{figure}[ht!]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=12.5cm]{figures/xu_cpg/Xu_Figure_1A.jpg}

\vspace{10mm}
    \centering
    \includegraphics [width=0.95\textwidth]{figures/cpg/cpg}

    \caption{Top: The central pattern generator proposed by \citet{xu2018}. Reprinted from \cite{xu2018}, Figure 1A. Copyright 2018, National Academy of Sciences. Note the structure of the neurons, especially the head oscillator driving the descending pathway. "AVB-B gap junctions facilitate undulatory wave propagation during forward locomotion." Bottom: Our simplified model, based upon the descending pathway of Xu. The model includes inhibitory connections between corresponding dorsal and ventral neurons (denoted by subscripts $d$ and $v$, respectively) and a descending pathway of gap junctions. We used chains of 6 to 12 such pairs of neurons have been  to model the descending pathways. Arrows indicate gap junctions; lines ending in solid circles indicate inhibitory synapses. Although not present in Xu's model, inhibitory connections below the head oscillator appear in \citet{chen2006wiring}, \citet{boyle2012gait} and \citet{zhen2015c}.}
    \label{fig: xu_cpg}
\end{figure}

\section{The FitzHugh-Nagumo Neuronal Model}\label{sec: fhn}

As described above, we sought to use the simplest relevant neuronal model.  The classical Hodgkin-Huxley\cite{hodgkin1952} model of squid neurons has led to a variety of simpler conduction models, including the Morris-Lecar\cite{morris1981} and \citet{fitzhugh1955}-\citet{nagumo1962} (FHN) models. The FHN model consists of two dynamical variables; a fast activator variable $v$ corresponding to the (rescaled) membrane potential, and a slow inhibitor variable $w$ corresponding to a generalized gating variable.

\begin{equation}
    \label{eq: fhn}
    \begin{aligned}
        \frac{dv}{dt} &= f(v) - w  + I_\mathrm{ext}\\
        \frac{dw}{dt} &= \varepsilon(v - \gamma w + \alpha)\\
        f(v) &=  v - \frac{v^3}{3}
    \end{aligned}
\end{equation}

The parameter $I_\mathrm{ext}$ is an external driving current, and is used here to model the effect of gap junctions and synapses upon membrane potential.  The parameter $\alpha$ determines the vertical position of the $w$-nullcline and thus controls excitability. Action potentials can also be generated by a current injection corresponding to $I_\mathrm{ext}$. Finally, the parameter $\varepsilon$ determines ratio between the time scales of the fast activator variable $v$ and the slow inhibitor variable $w$; $\gamma$ determines the effect of the growth of the slow gate variable $w$. We used the following standard parameter values: $\varepsilon = 0.08, \gamma = 0.8$ \cite{izhikevich2006fitzhugh}. FitzHUgh-Nagumo neurons can display either (self-)oscillatory or excitable dynamics; given a sufficiently large stimulus (here a pulse of injected current $I$), an excitable neuron generates an action potential. An oscillatory neuron generates a regular sequence of action potentials.  In comparison to the standard value $\alpha = 0.7$ \cite{izhikevich2006fitzhugh}, we adjusted the parameter $\alpha$ to control neuronal dynamics, with values larger than the oscillatory-excitable boundary $\alpha_0 \approx 0.467$ generating excitable dynamics from a stable steady state, and smaller values generating oscillatory dynamics as the steady state is destabilized.

Moreover, $f(v)$ can be any function which retains the appropriate dynamics, in that it has the same general shape as the cubic $f(v) = \frac{v^3}{3} - v$.  For example, $f(v)$ could be replaced by the cubic-like I-V curve of the tunnel diode in the \citet{nagumo1962} circuit, or even the piecewise linear approximation generated in the \citet{keener1983} circuit used in our implementation.

\citet{xu2018} described a simplified two-variable model for \emph{C. elegans} neurons, consisting of a fast, cubic-like activator variable (see the $v$-nullcline in \Fref{fig: nullclines}) and a slow, non-linear inhibitor variable (see the $n$-nullcline). The \citet{xu2018} neuronal model can thus be interpreted as a Fitzhugh-Nagumo type model neuron.

\begin{figure}[ht!]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=12.5cm]{figures/nullclines/nullclines.jpg}

    \caption{Dynamics of (A) \textit{C. elegans} neurons adapted from Xu \textit{et al.}, Fig. 5B, Copyright National Academy of Sciences \cite{xu2018} (left) and (B) Fitzhugh-Nagumo neurons \cite{fitzhugh1955, nagumo1962} (right). We have identified Xu's $n$-variable (the potassium current in the Hodgkin-Huxley model \cite{hodgkin1952} ( with the $w$-variable (slow inhibitor) in the Fitzhugh-Nagumo model. In both models, the nullclines for sodium dynamics ($v$) has a cubic-like shape. We show the $v$-nullcline in two positions: one generating oscillatory dynamics (green); the other excitable (non-oscillatory) dynamics (green). The type of dynamics, oscillatory or excitable, is controlled by coupling of AVB-B gap junctions in Xu's model. The type of dynamics can be controlled by the injected current $I$, an analog of the above AVB-B coupling or the parameter $\alpha$ in the Fitzhugh-Nagumo model. We added a dashed blue line to (A) Xu's experimentally derived simulation (A) to indicate that the $n$-nullcline is essentially linear in the relevant range of dynamics. It therefore seems reasonable to use the linear $w$-nullcline in the simpler Fitzhugh-Nagumo model. Finally, the thin dashed black line in the graph of Fitzhugh-Nagumo nullclines (A) represents the dynamics of Keener's \cite{keener1983} implementation of the Nagumo circuit (below). The Keener circuit yields a piecewise linear approximation to  Fitzhugh-Nagumo $v$ dynamics.}

    \label{fig: nullclines}
\end{figure}

Following \citet{collins1994,yanagita2005}, we now use
generalized diffusion coupling between FHN neurons to model gap junctions and synapses. The effect of gap junctions and synapses upon the membrane potential is modeled by replacing the external current $I_\mathrm{ext}$ of the system, by a generalized diffusion term, $D \max(\Delta v,0)$. A positive diffusion coefficient $D$ is used to simulate a gap junction, or an excitatory synapse and a negative coefficient to simulate an inhibitory synapse (\cite{collins1994}).

This yields  a system of diffusion-coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo equations, c.f. \citet{essaki2015chimeric}:

\begin{equation}
    \label{eq: fhnd}
    \begin{aligned}
        \frac{dv}{dt}   &= f(v) - w  + \color{black}{D(\Delta v)}\\
        \frac{dw}{dt}   &= \varepsilon (v - \gamma w + \alpha)\\
        f(v) &= v - \frac{v^3}{3}
    \end{aligned}
\end{equation}

where $\Delta v$ is the rectified difference in voltage between the driving and driven neurons, essentially $\Delta v = max(v_{driven} - v_{driving},0)$. For example, consider the potential of an oscillatory FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron to drive an excitable FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron. The consequent dynamics depends upon the magnitude of positive diffusion coupling $D > 0$: $D$ must be sufficiently large to generate an action potential in the driven excitable neuron, which then responds with a time delay correspodning inversely to the magnitude of $D$.

\section{Simulation}

We start with the network shown in \Fref{fig: xu_cpg}, bottom. We perform  simulations in Python, using the standard SciPy ODE solvers, which wrap LSODA, the Livermore Solver for Ordinary Differential Equations. The following block of code illustrates these calculations. Much like \citet{izquierdo2018} did, we take a segment-based approach to the worm model.  Pairs of muscles on either side determine the overall angular displacement per segment.  The magnitude of the "contraction" resulting from the smoothing is interpreted as an angular displacement for that segment.  We use cubic spline interpolation to smooth the worm body.

\small
\begin{minted}{python}

#Imports
import numpy as np
from scipy.integrate import odeint
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import math

#constants
# d for dorsal
# v for ventral
# x for FHN membrane potential, namely v in equations (1)-(2)
# x for FHN gate variable, namely w in equations (1)-(2)

# initial data, some symmetry breaking
# dynamics largely independent of intial data
dx0= 1.0
dy0=-0.51
vx0= 1
vy0= -0.49
# more, omitted here

#vector of x and y values
v=[vx0,vy0,dx0,dy0,vx1,vy1,dx1,dy1,vx2, ...]

# time range for simulations (arbitrary units)
t = np.linspace(0, 2000, 20001)

def FHND(v, t):
    # calculates the derivatives in FHN with diffusion
    vx0, vy0, dx0, dy0, vx1, vy1, dx1, dy1, vx2, vy2, ... = v
    # v denotes vector passed to the function FHND
    # FitzHugh-Nagumo parameters, see eqs. (2) and (3).
    # allow for different epsilons
    e0 = 0.08          # epsilon for head neurons
    e1 = 0.08          # epsilon for body neurons
    g = 0.8
    b0 = 0.46
    b1 = 0.47
    # diffusion constants
    Dhead = -0.2
    # Drest= -0.02
    Drest= 0
    Dgap=0.05
    J = 0

    dvdt=[
         # neurons 0 (ventral and dorsal)
        vx0-(vx0**3/3)- vy0+ Dhead*max(dx0-vx0,0)                  + J,
        e0*(vx0-g*vy0+b0),
        dx0-(dx0**3/3)- dy0+ Dhead*max(vx0-dx0,0)                  + J,
        e0*(dx0-g*dy0+b0),
        # coupled by 1-way diffusion
        # negative diffusion constant Dhead
        # simulated inhibitory synapse

        # neurons 1 (ventral and dorsal)
        vx1-(vx1**3/3)- vy1+ Drest*max(dx1-vx1,0) + Dgap*max(vx0-vx1,0) + J,
        e1*(vx1-g*vy1+b1),
        # driven by neurons 0 through one-way
        dx1-(dx1**3/3)- dy1+ Drest*max(vx1-dx1,0) + Dgap*max(dx0-dx1,0) + J,
        e1*(dx1-g*dy1+b1),
        # Dgap simulates gap junction in descending chain
        # Drest simulates inhibitary synapse
        # coupling ventral and dorsal neurons 1, ...
          # more, omitted
    return dvdt
\end{minted}

\normalsize

Muscle response is simulated by applying Gaussian filters to the positive component of membrane potentials:

\small
\begin{minted}{python}
import scipy.ndimage.filters as filt
effective_signal=np.zeros((20001,24))
for neuron_number in range(0,number_of_neurons):
    effective_signal[:,neuron_number]=
    (sol[:,4*neuron_number]+abs(sol[:,4*neuron_number]))/2
    effective_signal[:,neuron_number]+=
         (sol[:,4*neuron_number+2]+abs(sol[:,4*neuron_number+2]))/2
    effective_signal[:,neuron_number]+=
         filt.gaussian_filter1d(effective_signal[:,neuron_number],40)
    # Gaussian filter simulates a combination of
    # muscle response to neural stimulus,
    # effects of elastic properties of worm and
    # also interaction with fluid
\end{minted}
\normalsize

The worm is then described initially as a sequence of nodes, joined by line segments, with the angle at each node determined by muscular tension. This is followed by a cubic spline interpolation. Finally, we generated a simple video  by fixing the head of a worm to the origin; see \Fref{fig: worm_neuron_dash}.

\emph{Simulation versus experimental results.} Our model generates traveling waves of approximately sinusoidal form, with approximately constant amplitude from head to tail. In comparison, real \emph{C. elegans} undulations are characterized by approximately sinusoidal oscillations, but with amplitude decreasing slightly from head to tail, c.f. \cite{xu2018}. In addition, a search for "markers of chaos" as in \citet{magnes2020chaotic} finds that undulations of the simulated worm are too regular (neutrally stable), in contrast to unduations of real nematodes (with $\mathrm{Max}\left\{Re(\lambda)\right\} \approx 1 \mathrm{s}^{-1}$), likely because we have yet to implement proprioceptive neuronal inputs, c.f. \citet{calhoun2014maximally} and references therein. The neutral stability of our model may allow it to respond readily but relatively consistently to inputs. Moreover, a small, negative $Max \{Re(\lambda)\}$ would typically maintain relatively consistent undulation, but be readily overcome by somewhat larger inputs or noise, the latter generating random changes in undulation pattern.

Further comparisons and a more detailed non-linear analysis of real \emph{C. elegans} undulation will appear in a forthcoming paper [Zhang \emph{et al.}, in preparation].

\begin{figure}[ht!]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.95\textwidth]{figures/worm_neuron_dash/worm_neuron_dash.pdf}
    \caption{A "dashboard view" of our simulated \emph{C. elegans}.  (a) Graphical representation of a traveling wave of simulated membrane potentials of ventral neurons, numbered from head to tail. Time and membrane potential units are arbitrary.  (b) Successive "images" of the simulated \emph{C. elegans}. Muscle response to neural potentials was simulated using a Gaussian filter to simulate muscle dampening, one dorsal (resp., ventral) muscle per dorsal (resp., ventral) neuron. A cubic spline is used to simulate a "smoothed" worm body between joints as nodes. (c) For comparison, here are shadow images of a real \emph{C. elegans} in a cuvette.}
    \label{fig: worm_neuron_dash}
\end{figure}

\section{Analog implementation}

We show that a diffusion-coupled \citet{keener1983} electronic analog neurons can imitate key features of the dynamics of our network of Fitzhugh-Nagumo neurons. Recall that \citet{nagumo1962} proposed a circuit to simulate a FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron, shown in \Fref{fig: analog_neurons}.  It used a tunnel diode to achieve a cubic-like activation function, and an inductor to differentiate the potassium current (slow gate variable)  \Fref{fig: analog_neurons}

\begin{figure}[ht!]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.95\textwidth]{figures/analog_neurons/analog_neurons_resized.jpg}
    \caption{Top: The original circuit proposed by \citet{nagumo1962}.  Note the use of inductors for differentiation, and a tunnel diode to supply a cubic-like V-I curve for sodium dynamics in the Fitzhugh-Nagumo model. Bottom: Our circuit, a minor modification of \citet{keener1983}, using a single pair of power supplies and fine bias control, is shown in the same layout, to make the similarities and differences more explicit. The cubic-like V-I curve for sodium dynamics is generated by op-amp $U_1$ and associated resistors. In fact this circuit provides a polygonal approximation to  Fitzhugh-Nagumo sodium dynamics. The inductor in the Nagumo circuit is simuated by op-amp $U_2$ and associated passive components. Roughly, differentiation is simulated by "anti-integration."}
    \label{fig: analog_neurons}
\end{figure}

However, given that tunnel diodes are expensive and rarely available, \citet{keener1983} proposed a modified Nagumo circuit which used the saturation properties of operational amplifiers ("op-amps") to achieve cubic-like non-linearity in the FHN model. This yields a piecewise linear approximation to the Fitzhugh-Nagumo $v$ (sodium, fast activator) nullclines, as shown in \Fref{fig: nullclines}. The nullclines are sufficiently similar that the dynamics are effectively the same \cite{keener1983}. Keener also used an op-amp and a capacitor to simulate the inductor in the original Nagumo circuit. Roughly, differentiation is simulated by "anti-integration.Later \citet{sanchez1989circuit} proposed a CMOS implementation of the Nagumo circuit.

Finally, diffusion coupling is simulated by a follower, and then a coupling resistor followed by a diode (positive diffusion, excitatory synapse or gap junction) or a follower, inverting amplifier of unit gain, coupling resistor and a diode in series (negative diffusion, inhibitory synapse), c.f. \cite{collins1994,yanagita2005} for the role of diffusion, c.f. \citet{essaki2015chimeric} for the use of resistors to emulate diffusion. The diffusion constant is inversely proportional to the coupling resistance. Coupling resistors are tuned to obtain desired synchronization or time delays; for example, coupling resistors in the descending chain of neurons are $\sim$ 1-3 M$\Omega$, with larger resistors yielding longer delays until eventually the injected current is too small to generate an action potential. Typical experimental results for a pair of neurons in the descending chain coupled by a gap junction are shown in \Fref{fig: Keener_simulation}.

\begin{figure}[ht!]
    \centering
    \pgfplotsset{}
    \includegraphics[width=0.95\textwidth]{figures/keener/Keener_simulation}
    \caption{Dynamics of analog implementation of coupling from one neuron in our head oscillator to the next corresponding neuron in our descending chain of neurons; see \Fref{fig: xu_cpg} . (A) Theoretical results, as in \Fref{fig: worm_neuron_dash}. (B) Experimental results from diffusion coupled Keener neurons. Note similarity with (A). Our experimental period, $\sim 5 ms$ agrees with that of \citet{keener1983}. The head oscillator and additional downstream couplings are also similarly reproduced by diffusion-coupled Keener neurons.  }
    \label{fig: Keener_simulation}
\end{figure}

\newpage
\section{Conclusion}

We have shown that the undulatory motion of \emph{C. elegans} can be generated using a simple network of Fitzhugh-Nagumo neurons, the network capturing  using a structured central pattern generator, and simple, biomimetic neurons. In particular, our simple, "minimal" model generates traveling waves of sinusoidal undulations, as in \cite{xu2018}. An initial exploration shows that small changes in parameters do not alter qualitative dynamics; further study is needed to explore the range of possible dynamics.

Our model thus lies in between the "Shape memory alloy-based small crawling robot" mechanical model of \citet{yuk2011shape} and more realistic (and complex) descriptions of \citet{izquierdo2018} and \citet{olivares2020}, in the spirit of \citet{adamatzky2008} description of the neural system as a computational system. Because of the simplicity and flexibility our our model, we expect that it may prove useful is studying the effects of stimuli, aging and mutations upon the dynamics of \emph{C. elegans} undulation and locomotion.

\emph{Acknowledgement.} We acknowledge assistance from our students Cheris Congo, Miranda Hulsey-Vincent, Rifah Tasnim and Naol Negassa.

\newpage
\section{References}

\printbibliography[heading=none]
\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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text:
/ Leigh Alexander / 8:41 am Wed Mar 11, 2015
Video games' "breast physics" issue
Video game breasts are one of the video game industry's albatrosses.
If you weren't aware of the commercial sector's long and storied history creating ways to make cartoonish and often unbelievable forms gyrate alarmingly (or milkshake oddly but gently in place), Patricia Hernandez has written a fascinating piece on the software, tools and cultural landscape around "breast physics" in game development.
Of particular note: The guy that recommends devs watch porn so they can learn about where a woman's nipple goes.
Full disclosure: While it's not the kind of thing I feel like I should bring up at Women in Games Luncheons, I do preserve a secret affinity for the alien and often-lewd character designs of Soul Calibur. For me personally, exaggerated body forms in fantasy media is never going to be the "hill that I'm gonna die on," so to speak. I've still got friends who, when they hear I'm a "video game feminist," think my primary quest in life is to cover up all the boobs and make sure all the dragon fantasy armor is realistic for battle. While I respect where folks are coming from -- discomfort is fair -- I sometimes worry that those well-intentioned lines of conversation bring the focus back onto women's bodies as somehow The Problem, especially in the context of games or comics that are intentionally silly or joyfully stupid to begin with. It's not like folks are commonly taking mature and respectfully-nuanced female characters (or male ones, for that matter) and simply making them look weird physically.
But importantly, the video game boobs issue peels back a deeper layer in the relationship between women's bodies and traditionally male-dominated commercial spaces. Making breasts jiggle becomes a tech issue, a way to show off the capabilities of a new engine or to demonstrate proof of the onward march of fidelity and sophistication -- women's breasts as the avatar for men's progress, even. And that's without even asking the question of how the women in the office may feel when their coworkers are gathered around a screen plucking virtual nipples to watch for the right skin ripples. Or studying porn, "for realism."
As Hernandez added on her Twitter later on, "women become a tech problem", where the focus becomes on improving the movements of their artificial flesh, rather than, y'know, improving them as characters.
games2015 / offworld
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"Coca-Cola: Blade Roller," directed by David Fincher in 1993. (via ObscureMedia)
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This week in games: inactivity, brutalism, The Witness and more
Zoya Street, curator of Critical Distance, offers slow reflections on the fast-paced world of digital play…


text:
// Copyright 2013 The Chromium Authors. All rights reserved.
// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be
// found in the LICENSE file.

#include "components/precache/core/precache_database.h"

#include <map>

#include "base/files/file_path.h"
#include "base/files/scoped_temp_dir.h"
#include "base/message_loop/message_loop.h"
#include "base/metrics/histogram.h"
#include "base/metrics/histogram_samples.h"
#include "base/metrics/statistics_recorder.h"
#include "base/time/time.h"
#include "testing/gtest/include/gtest/gtest.h"
#include "url/gurl.h"

namespace {

const GURL kURL("http://url.com");
const base::Time kFetchTime = base::Time() + base::TimeDelta::FromHours(1000);
const base::Time kOldFetchTime = kFetchTime - base::TimeDelta::FromDays(1);
const int64 kSize = 5000;

const char* kHistogramNames[] = {"Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated",
                                 "Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache",
                                 "Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular",
                                 "Precache.Saved",
                                 "Precache.Saved.Cellular"};

scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> GetHistogramSamples(
    const char* histogram_name) {
  base::HistogramBase* histogram =
      base::StatisticsRecorder::FindHistogram(histogram_name);

  EXPECT_NE(static_cast<base::HistogramBase*>(NULL), histogram);

  return histogram->SnapshotSamples().Pass();
}

std::map<GURL, base::Time> BuildURLTableMap(const GURL& url,
                                            const base::Time& precache_time) {
  std::map<GURL, base::Time> url_table_map;
  url_table_map[url] = precache_time;
  return url_table_map;
}

}  // namespace

namespace precache {

class PrecacheDatabaseTest : public testing::Test {
 public:
  PrecacheDatabaseTest() {}
  ~PrecacheDatabaseTest() override {}

 protected:
  void SetUp() override {
    base::StatisticsRecorder::Initialize();
    precache_database_ = new PrecacheDatabase();

    ASSERT_TRUE(scoped_temp_dir_.CreateUniqueTempDir());
    base::FilePath db_path = scoped_temp_dir_.path().Append(
        base::FilePath(FILE_PATH_LITERAL("precache_database")));
    precache_database_->Init(db_path);

    // Log a sample for each histogram, to ensure that they are all created.
    // This has to be done here, and not in the for loop below, because of the
    // way that UMA_HISTOGRAM_COUNTS uses static variables.
    UMA_HISTOGRAM_COUNTS("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated", 0);
    UMA_HISTOGRAM_COUNTS("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache", 0);
    UMA_HISTOGRAM_COUNTS("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular", 0);
    UMA_HISTOGRAM_COUNTS("Precache.Saved", 0);
    UMA_HISTOGRAM_COUNTS("Precache.Saved.Cellular", 0);

    for (size_t i = 0; i < arraysize(kHistogramNames); i++) {
      initial_histogram_samples_[i] =
          GetHistogramSamples(kHistogramNames[i]).Pass();
      initial_histogram_samples_map_[kHistogramNames[i]] =
          initial_histogram_samples_[i].get();
    }
  }

  std::map<GURL, base::Time> GetActualURLTableMap() {
    // Flush any buffered writes so that the URL table will be up to date.
    precache_database_->Flush();

    std::map<GURL, base::Time> url_table_map;
    precache_url_table()->GetAllDataForTesting(&url_table_map);
    return url_table_map;
  }

  PrecacheURLTable* precache_url_table() {
    return &precache_database_->precache_url_table_;
  }

  scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> GetHistogramSamplesDelta(
      const char* histogram_name) {
    scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> delta_samples(
        GetHistogramSamples(histogram_name));
    delta_samples->Subtract(*initial_histogram_samples_map_[histogram_name]);

    return delta_samples.Pass();
  }

  void ExpectNewSample(const char* histogram_name,
                       base::HistogramBase::Sample sample) {
    scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> delta_samples(
        GetHistogramSamplesDelta(histogram_name));
    EXPECT_EQ(1, delta_samples->TotalCount());
    EXPECT_EQ(1, delta_samples->GetCount(sample));
  }

  void ExpectNoNewSamples(const char* histogram_name) {
    scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> delta_samples(
        GetHistogramSamplesDelta(histogram_name));
    EXPECT_EQ(0, delta_samples->TotalCount());
  }

  // Convenience methods for recording different types of URL fetches. These
  // exist to improve the readability of the tests.
  void RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(const GURL& url, const base::Time& fetch_time,
                                 int64 size);
  void RecordPrecacheFromCache(const GURL& url, const base::Time& fetch_time,
                               int64 size);
  void RecordFetchFromNetwork(const GURL& url, const base::Time& fetch_time,
                              int64 size);
  void RecordFetchFromNetworkCellular(const GURL& url,
                                      const base::Time& fetch_time, int64 size);
  void RecordFetchFromCache(const GURL& url, const base::Time& fetch_time,
                            int64 size);
  void RecordFetchFromCacheCellular(const GURL& url,
                                    const base::Time& fetch_time, int64 size);

  // Having this MessageLoop member variable causes base::MessageLoop::current()
  // to be set properly.
  base::MessageLoopForUI loop_;

  scoped_refptr<PrecacheDatabase> precache_database_;
  base::ScopedTempDir scoped_temp_dir_;
  scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> initial_histogram_samples_
      [arraysize(kHistogramNames)];
  std::map<std::string, base::HistogramSamples*> initial_histogram_samples_map_;
};

void PrecacheDatabaseTest::RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(
    const GURL& url, const base::Time& fetch_time, int64 size) {
  precache_database_->RecordURLPrecached(url, fetch_time, size,
                                         false /* was_cached */);
}

void PrecacheDatabaseTest::RecordPrecacheFromCache(const GURL& url,
                                                   const base::Time& fetch_time,
                                                   int64 size) {
  precache_database_->RecordURLPrecached(url, fetch_time, size,
                                         true /* was_cached */);
}

void PrecacheDatabaseTest::RecordFetchFromNetwork(const GURL& url,
                                                  const base::Time& fetch_time,
                                                  int64 size) {
  precache_database_->RecordURLFetched(url, fetch_time, size,
                                       false /* was_cached */,
                                       false /* is_connection_cellular */);
}

void PrecacheDatabaseTest::RecordFetchFromNetworkCellular(
    const GURL& url, const base::Time& fetch_time, int64 size) {
  precache_database_->RecordURLFetched(url, fetch_time, size,
                                       false /* was_cached */,
                                       true /* is_connection_cellular */);
}

void PrecacheDatabaseTest::RecordFetchFromCache(const GURL& url,
                                                const base::Time& fetch_time,
                                                int64 size) {
  precache_database_->RecordURLFetched(url, fetch_time, size,
                                       true /* was_cached */,
                                       false /* is_connection_cellular */);
}

void PrecacheDatabaseTest::RecordFetchFromCacheCellular(
    const GURL& url, const base::Time& fetch_time, int64 size) {
  precache_database_->RecordURLFetched(url, fetch_time, size,
                                       true /* was_cached */,
                                       true /* is_connection_cellular */);
}

namespace {

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, PrecacheOverNetwork) {
  RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  EXPECT_EQ(BuildURLTableMap(kURL, kFetchTime), GetActualURLTableMap());

  ExpectNewSample("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated", kSize);
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, PrecacheFromCacheWithURLTableEntry) {
  precache_url_table()->AddURL(kURL, kOldFetchTime);
  RecordPrecacheFromCache(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  // The URL table entry should have been updated to have |kFetchTime| as the
  // timestamp.
  EXPECT_EQ(BuildURLTableMap(kURL, kFetchTime), GetActualURLTableMap());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, PrecacheFromCacheWithoutURLTableEntry) {
  RecordPrecacheFromCache(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  EXPECT_TRUE(GetActualURLTableMap().empty());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, FetchOverNetwork_NonCellular) {
  RecordFetchFromNetwork(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  EXPECT_TRUE(GetActualURLTableMap().empty());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNewSample("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache", kSize);
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, FetchOverNetwork_Cellular) {
  RecordFetchFromNetworkCellular(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  EXPECT_TRUE(GetActualURLTableMap().empty());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNewSample("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache", kSize);
  ExpectNewSample("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular", kSize);
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, FetchOverNetworkWithURLTableEntry) {
  precache_url_table()->AddURL(kURL, kOldFetchTime);
  RecordFetchFromNetwork(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  // The URL table entry should have been deleted.
  EXPECT_TRUE(GetActualURLTableMap().empty());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNewSample("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache", kSize);
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, FetchFromCacheWithURLTableEntry_NonCellular) {
  precache_url_table()->AddURL(kURL, kOldFetchTime);
  RecordFetchFromCache(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  // The URL table entry should have been deleted.
  EXPECT_TRUE(GetActualURLTableMap().empty());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNewSample("Precache.Saved", kSize);
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, FetchFromCacheWithURLTableEntry_Cellular) {
  precache_url_table()->AddURL(kURL, kOldFetchTime);
  RecordFetchFromCacheCellular(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  // The URL table entry should have been deleted.
  EXPECT_TRUE(GetActualURLTableMap().empty());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNewSample("Precache.Saved", kSize);
  ExpectNewSample("Precache.Saved.Cellular", kSize);
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, FetchFromCacheWithoutURLTableEntry) {
  RecordFetchFromCache(kURL, kFetchTime, kSize);

  EXPECT_TRUE(GetActualURLTableMap().empty());

  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved");
  ExpectNoNewSamples("Precache.Saved.Cellular");
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, DeleteExpiredPrecacheHistory) {
  const base::Time kToday = base::Time() + base::TimeDelta::FromDays(1000);
  const base::Time k59DaysAgo = kToday - base::TimeDelta::FromDays(59);
  const base::Time k61DaysAgo = kToday - base::TimeDelta::FromDays(61);

  precache_url_table()->AddURL(GURL("http://expired-precache.com"), k61DaysAgo);
  precache_url_table()->AddURL(GURL("http://old-precache.com"), k59DaysAgo);

  precache_database_->DeleteExpiredPrecacheHistory(kToday);

  EXPECT_EQ(BuildURLTableMap(GURL("http://old-precache.com"), k59DaysAgo),
            GetActualURLTableMap());
}

TEST_F(PrecacheDatabaseTest, SampleInteraction) {
  const GURL kURL1("http://url1.com");
  const int64 kSize1 = 1000;
  const GURL kURL2("http://url2.com");
  const int64 kSize2 = 2000;
  const GURL kURL3("http://url3.com");
  const int64 kSize3 = 3000;
  const GURL kURL4("http://url4.com");
  const int64 kSize4 = 4000;
  const GURL kURL5("http://url5.com");
  const int64 kSize5 = 5000;

  RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(kURL1, kFetchTime, kSize1);
  RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(kURL2, kFetchTime, kSize2);
  RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(kURL3, kFetchTime, kSize3);
  RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(kURL4, kFetchTime, kSize4);

  RecordFetchFromCacheCellular(kURL1, kFetchTime, kSize1);
  RecordFetchFromCacheCellular(kURL1, kFetchTime, kSize1);
  RecordFetchFromNetworkCellular(kURL2, kFetchTime, kSize2);
  RecordFetchFromNetworkCellular(kURL5, kFetchTime, kSize5);
  RecordFetchFromCacheCellular(kURL5, kFetchTime, kSize5);

  RecordPrecacheFromCache(kURL1, kFetchTime, kSize1);
  RecordPrecacheFromNetwork(kURL2, kFetchTime, kSize2);
  RecordPrecacheFromCache(kURL3, kFetchTime, kSize3);
  RecordPrecacheFromCache(kURL4, kFetchTime, kSize4);

  RecordFetchFromCache(kURL1, kFetchTime, kSize1);
  RecordFetchFromNetwork(kURL2, kFetchTime, kSize2);
  RecordFetchFromCache(kURL3, kFetchTime, kSize3);
  RecordFetchFromCache(kURL5, kFetchTime, kSize5);

  scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> downloaded_precache_motivated_bytes(
      GetHistogramSamplesDelta("Precache.DownloadedPrecacheMotivated"));
  EXPECT_EQ(5, downloaded_precache_motivated_bytes->TotalCount());
  EXPECT_EQ(1, downloaded_precache_motivated_bytes->GetCount(kSize1));
  EXPECT_EQ(2, downloaded_precache_motivated_bytes->GetCount(kSize2));
  EXPECT_EQ(1, downloaded_precache_motivated_bytes->GetCount(kSize3));
  EXPECT_EQ(1, downloaded_precache_motivated_bytes->GetCount(kSize4));

  scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> downloaded_non_precache_bytes(
      GetHistogramSamplesDelta("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache"));
  EXPECT_EQ(3, downloaded_non_precache_bytes->TotalCount());
  EXPECT_EQ(2, downloaded_non_precache_bytes->GetCount(kSize2));
  EXPECT_EQ(1, downloaded_non_precache_bytes->GetCount(kSize5));

  scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> downloaded_non_precache_bytes_cellular(
      GetHistogramSamplesDelta("Precache.DownloadedNonPrecache.Cellular"));
  EXPECT_EQ(2, downloaded_non_precache_bytes_cellular->TotalCount());
  EXPECT_EQ(1, downloaded_non_precache_bytes_cellular->GetCount(kSize2));
  EXPECT_EQ(1, downloaded_non_precache_bytes_cellular->GetCount(kSize5));

  scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> saved_bytes(
      GetHistogramSamplesDelta("Precache.Saved"));
  EXPECT_EQ(2, saved_bytes->TotalCount());
  EXPECT_EQ(1, saved_bytes->GetCount(kSize1));
  EXPECT_EQ(1, saved_bytes->GetCount(kSize3));

  scoped_ptr<base::HistogramSamples> saved_bytes_cellular(
      GetHistogramSamplesDelta("Precache.Saved.Cellular"));
  EXPECT_EQ(1, saved_bytes_cellular->TotalCount());
  EXPECT_EQ(1, saved_bytes_cellular->GetCount(kSize1));
}

}  // namespace

}  // namespace precache

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Pahang FA insist they will not appeal their two-year ban from AFC competition following the club's refusal to participate in the 2018 AFC Cup.
Ex-Malaysia national coach Dollah Salleh wants his club team Pahang to qualify for the AFC Cup off their own backs and not as a handout.
Singapore midfielder and ex-Melbourne City utility Safuwan Baharudin admits that the A-League still attracts him, despite his move to Pahang for 2018.
The Football Association of Malaysia have confirmed that Pahang will not be participating in the 2018 AFC Cup after missing a deadline to compete.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have given Pahang FA until Thursday to accept their place in the 2018 AFC Cup -- or face severe sanctions.
New recruit Safuwan Baharudin, the Singapore midfielder, will be an asset to Pahang in the 2018 MSL, due to his versatility, says captain Matt Davies.
Pahang's Australia-born captain Matt Davies says he will be better off in the long run, despite losing two big finals for club and country in 2017.
Pahang coach Dollah Salleh will be able to return in December after having his 18-month ban for insulting match officials reduced to only five months.


After three years of war, Yemen is facing its most serious humanitarian crisis since the end of the Second World War. 'Yemen, Chaos in silence' is an unprecedented journey which tells the story of a conflict taking place virtually without exterior witnesses. From Aden in the south to Sanaa in the north, via Taez, the frontline, this film explores a devastated country eroded by political and religious divisions and ravaged by cholera.


text:
using System.Diagnostics;
using Microsoft.Build.Evaluation;

namespace TheCsprojLibrary.ItemTypes
{
    [DebuggerDisplay("{UnevaluatedInclude}")]
    [DebuggerTypeProxy(typeof(ReferenceDisplayProxy))]
    public class Reference : ItemTypeBase
    {
        private readonly MetadataAccessor<string> mHintPath;
        private readonly MetadataAccessor<bool?> mSpecificVersion;
        private readonly MetadataAccessor<bool?> mPrivate;
        private readonly MetadataAccessor<string> mName;
        private readonly MetadataAccessor<string> mRequiredTargetFramework;

        public Reference(ProjectItem item)
            : base(item)
        {
            mHintPath = new MetadataAccessor<string>(item, "HintPath");
            mSpecificVersion = new MetadataAccessor<bool?>(item, "SpecificVersion");
            mPrivate = new MetadataAccessor<bool?>(item, "Private");
            mName = new MetadataAccessor<string>(item, "Name");
            mRequiredTargetFramework = new MetadataAccessor<string>(item, "RequiredTargetFramework");
        }

        public string HintPath
        {
            get { return mHintPath.Value; }
            set { mHintPath.Value = value; }
        }

        public bool? SpecificVersion
        {
            get { return mSpecificVersion.Value; }
            set { mSpecificVersion.Value = value; }
        }

        public bool? Private
        {
            get { return mPrivate.Value; }
            set { mPrivate.Value = value; }
        }

        public string Name
        {
            get { return mName.Value; }
            set { mName.Value = value; }
        }

        public string RequiredTargetFramework
        {
            get { return mRequiredTargetFramework.Value; }
            set { mRequiredTargetFramework.Value = value; }
        }
    }
}


text:
War report: declarations and goals
Initiating War Reports website has been an endeavor of a group of independent Iranians, to pursue our least moral and humanistic responsibilities concerning one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crisis of 21st century that has been occurring in Syria.
We, a group of independent Iranians, initiated War Reports website in an effort to fulfill the least of our moral and human duties with respect to one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crises of 21st century that has been taking place in Syria.
From our point of view, many regional countries and global powers have been involved in Syria's crisis and its prolongation. Among the others, Islamic Republic of Iran as the main supporter of Assad's regime has played a key role in this crisis. Thus, we believe every Iranian bears some responsibility for the destructive role of Iranian government. We believe even if the majority of Iranians and the civil society stay silent about the destructive role of Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria's crisis, this does not exempt us from our moral obligations. Thus, we do our best to report the misery of Syrians during the war, while our focal point is on the role of Islamic Republic of Iran in this war and the adverse consequences of their involvements.
Since Syria's crisis is the worst humanitarian crisis in contemporary history, we as Iranians who oppose illegitimate military intervention, put our limited assets and energy into reflecting and reporting the utter suffering and pains of Syrians as well as dimensions of Iran's intervention. Focusing on Iran's role does not, however, imply that we do not recognize the role of the other countries in this crisis.
In recent years, as the Middle East has become the scene of proxy wars, and state and non-state terrorism have massacred hundreds of civilians in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other countries, we, while being seriously concerned about basic human rights of people affected by wars, believe that no crime can legitimize other crimes in return. And, any violation of human rights by an individual, a group or a government should not be considered an excuse for a similar crime by a counterpart.
Methodology: news validation and reliability evaluation
Our primary concern in news coverage is about the credibility of the news and their sources. So, we defined a multi-stage mechanism for searching and evaluating the credibility and reliability of the news we report. In our effort to reflect the facts, we have tried not to get trapped by the propaganda of any group having a stake in this conflict. Instead, we rely on first hand sources such as on the ground charities, relief agencies, hospitals, activists and so forth. Therefore, our news and reports have been produced based on reliable sources. Nonetheless, producing comprehensive news and reports is a time consuming process and thus, it hinders us to cover all and every aspects of the war and meet all demands of our audiences.
War news coverage
Due to our limited resources and capacity, unfortunately, we are unable to provide a full coverage of all details of the war in Syria. While we are very skeptical about the mainstream media coverage of the war, we put all our efforts to cover, report, and produce materials on incidents that are not reflected in official or non-official Persian language media.
It is almost impossible to understand the civil war in Syria without paying attention to Iraq and Iran's role in Iraq. Consequently, we cover news about Iraq as well. Nonetheless, considering that a so-called elected government exists in Iraq, in addition to the fact that the focus of international media and global powers has been on elimination of ISIS in Iraq, , we have recently prioritized coverage of news on Syria over Iraq.
Moreover, in view of the considerable role played by the militias from Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon and especially Afghan refugee in Iran, who are under Iran's command in the proxy war in Syria, we put an emphasis on having a thorough coverage of the activities of these militia groups. The coverage of news on the foreign fighters under Iran's command is not limited to their activities in the battlefields but also includes other aspects such as how they are recruited, their rights and the consequences of their presence in the war.
Budgets and financial matters
War Reports operates as a stand-alone platform merely on a volunteer basis and without any form of financial support from any party
From the first day, we have put all our efforts to actively provide a comprehensive coverage of the war by putting together original reports, translation of other reliable documents, producing maps, charts and providing novel images and videos to offer a better image and understanding of this catastrophic war to our audiences.
The main asset of this media entity is our readers and audience who have stayed with us through to the years.
Domain of our activities concerning coverage of the civil war
We have a neutral stance toward all stakeholders in the war and do not endorse or support any group or party. Our main goal is to cover those humanitarian aspects of the war which have been overlooked by the dominant and mainstream media:
– To cover the systematic harms to civilians by publishing reports which are not reflected in the Persian-language media.
– To cover the activities of relief groups which scarify themselves to help the civilians.
– To cover the war victims: a generation who have been forced to the war for the sake of freedom and democracy in future
– To cover the efforts of political activists from all over the world who try to put pressure on global communities and governments to take actions for ending this war and the genocide.
– On the one hand, to reflect those voices that are against the illegitimate interference of Iran in the war and, on the other hand, to attract public's attention to the consequences of Iran's actions of in Syria.
In summary, our main goal is to support any effort that aims to decrease the pains and harms to the Syrian people and leads to perpetrators of this humanitarian tragedy to be brought to justice.
We trust finally justice will prevail!


text:
Who in the world will fund Elon Musk's bid to take Tesla private?
Image: Reuters / Joe Skipper
Michael J. Coren
PublishedAugust 9, 2018
When Elon Musk tweeted on Aug. 7 that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private, it set off a global guessing game. Who has the cash to buy out Tesla shareholders? The price tag to to take the company private, even if Musk keeps his 20% stake as promised, could top $66 billion, going by Musk's suggestion of a tender at $420 per share. (Tesla's shares closed yesterday at around $370 per share.)
The suspects are few. Typically, the money would come from cash-rich companies or private equity funds with access to lots of debt, with the purchase arranged by multinational banks. Of course, nothing about this proposed transaction is typical. Tesla is a massive, money-losing electric car company. The company has not recorded an annual profit since its 2010 IPO. Most lenders back a major buyout only if there's a reasonable reassurance of repayment. In most cases, that comes from the target company's cash flow. Last year, Tesla burned through nearly $4 billion.
Tesla has promised profits later this year—it has broken such a vow before—and questions linger about its ability to execute its ambitious production plans without burning through billions of dollars. The electric car company, which has a market cap of around $63 billion, has raised some $38 billion in debt and equity to fund its spending since 2008. The company's bonds now trade at 92 cents on the dollar. Analysts doubt the company can take on more debt.
So who does that leave as a prospective buyer? A handful of global companies have more than $50 billion in cash and other ready resources on their balance sheets, which could be put to use buying up Tesla's shares. Only 11 fit the bill, according to data from research platform Sentieo.
A few of these could make intriguing offers. The most obvious is Apple, with a $243 billion war chest, which has tried and failed to enter the automotive industry before. Next up are Microsoft and Toyota, two less likely though still viable candidates. The problem with these, though, is that Tesla would remain part of a publicly listed group after a deal, which goes against Musk's rationale for floating the buyout, as spelled out in an email to employees titled, "Taking Tesla Private." The companies could, perhaps, contribute to a fund for buying out the car company instead, adding extra complications to an already convoluted proposal.
Apple tried and failed to build its own automobile division. Also: So. Much. Money.
A 75-year-old Japanese investment bank. Not likely to reinvent itself as the proprietor of an electric car company.
Now that Microsoft has its mojo back, why not, Satya?
An expensive hood ornament for the Wall Street stalwart, but the investment bank loves to make money, not burn it.
Sweet, sweet revenge.
It can scrap the fleet it was building for Waymo, and get the S3XY Tesla model lineup.
$69 billion
Red flag for US regulators. Wrong industry.
Not Musk's style. CEO Larry Ellison is mostly into sailboats, anyway.
And Warren Buffett drives off into the sunset… Then again, Buffett likes steady managers in predictable industries, so maybe not the best fit.
Routers and modems? No way.
Citic Securities
China's biggest investment bank. See China Mobile.
If these companies don't step up, there are a few financial firms and sovereign wealth funds able to write checks of sufficient size. SoftBank and its Vision Fund, two of the largest sources of private cash out there at the moment, have been named (and dismissed) as possibilities, while sovereign funds such as Saudi Arabia's certainly have the cash. But big foreign buyers, especially ones controlled by governments, could face opposition from US regulators wary of losing domestic control over America's largest electric vehicle and clean energy company. There's also the possibility of a consortium of players coming together, although 15 financial firms and tech companies told Bloomberg they had no knowledge of any financing arrangement in place for a Tesla deal.
But Barrett Cohn, co-founder of Scenic Advisement, which brokers private deals for Silicon Valley startups, says not to count anyone out just yet. "There's a lot of gamesmanship," he notes. Cohn predicts the Tesla deal will likely feature two syndicates pitching in about $25 billion each, with strong international participation.
If the deal does go through, it's likely to be the largest and most complex buyout in history, says James Gelfer of PitchBook. For Tesla, Musk is proposing creating a special purpose fund that lets existing investors have the option of keeping their shares in the private company, or sell at $420 per share. That unprecedented arrangement would create a quasi-public entity with thousands of investors owning stakes in the private company that gives them a chance to buy or sell shares only every six months, according to Musk's tweets. This could run afoul of US securities laws for many, many reasons.
Will the deal go through? Musk is confident. "Investor support is confirmed," he tweeted. "Only reason why this is not certain is that it's contingent on a shareholder vote." But that's note quite right. Tesla's board of directors must sign off on the plan. The SEC is looking into the unusual and unexpected affair. And, most of all, a buyer must step forward.


text:
Monday After Torrey Pines Open
Jon Rahm broke through for his first major championship fulfilling the promise of a major- winning career when he joined the Tour five years ago out of Arizona State University. The personable Spaniard is a good friend of fellow ASU alumnus Phil Mickelson who was among the first to congratulate him.
Rahm also achieved another rarity for a US Open winner; he was the pretournament betting favorite at 9 ½ to 1. Second place finisher Louis Oosthuizen was at 50 to 1, the same as my pick Mickelson who had a disappointing weekend to finish 11 over par in in a tie for 62nd place.
Speaking of Lefty, much of the pre-championship media attention was his adding a TaylorMade 300 Mini Driver to his bag of all Callaway clubs. Mickelson said he thought of it as a 2-wood and would be helpful keeping tee shots in the firm and fast fairways. Evidently it was not enough since he finished T-51 in driving accuracy.
Many older guys were pulling for the leader after the first two rounds Englishman Richard Bland who faltered over the weekend, as did many bigger names. The 48-year-old scored 70-67 Thursday-Friday and is obviously not a gym-rat. Bland is however a stalwart on the European Tour where he won for the first time after 20 years and 478 starts at this year's Betfred British Masters.
Has everyone had enough of the so-called "feud" between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau? One friend had an apt word to describe it, silliness though maybe not as silly as the idiot who dashed onto the 13th fairway Sunday and hit two shots before being run down by security.
Tiger Woods declined the chance to be one of NBC's talking heads at the scene of his 91-hole victory in the 2008 US Open. Too bad for fans but understandable as he is recovering from his auto accident and has always been guarded in his media exposure except of course after those resulting from behavioral lapses.
NBC did a credible job on the telecast but please, please, please put a Sticky Note in front of the commentators from Dan Hicks and Paul Azinger downwards as a reminder to not tell us what a player is thinking…they don't know and can't know so just keep quiet. It is an arrogant insult to the audience saying anything about the thoughts racing through a competitor's mind.
And in case you missed all the screen time given Mike Davis this was his swan song as CEO Mike Davis of the USGA. Davis is retiring from the job and being replaced by LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan.
Finally, it was refreshing to not have the USGA's course setup be a topic all week. Torrey Pines Golf Club's South Course is tough everyday as anyone who plays it can testify.
TOPICS: Golf, Opinion, Personalities, PGA Tour, USGA	Tags: Jon Rahm, Tiger Woods, US Open
ABOUT: Ed Travis
Ed Travis is a national award winning golf journalist and has had a life long love affair with the game. He has competed in tournament golf both as an amateur and as a senior professional and though his competitive days are behind him he still plays regularly and carries a handicap of 4. He and his wife live in suburban Orlando.
Sean Toulon of Toulon Design
in fiamme – "on fire" – high style and quality
Fuzzy Thinking
The Justin Rose Penalty…ENOUGH ALREADY


text:
B.A. Social Policy and Criminology Full-time
Social Policy and Criminology offer distinct insights into a range of social problems and social harms, as well as the operation of the welfare state(s) and criminal justice system(s) respectively to address these issues. The programme is designed to develop the following knowledge and skills:
1. An understanding of key concepts and theoretical approaches in both fields which offer an understanding of the aetiologies and responses to a range of social problems and social harms. In relation to criminology, this entails theories that seek to explain the causes of crime and responses to crime and deviance. In terms of Social Policy, the key concepts and theories of well being, including human needs; inequality, poverty and exclusion; and citizenship.
2. An understanding of the origins and development of both welfare and criminal justice institutions and the social and demographic contexts in which they operated, as well as the evolving and shifting inter-relationships between these systems as mechanisms to respond to social problems and social harms. Moreover, to develop an appreciation of the ways in which these institutions have developed in similar or different forms in other countries.
3.	An understanding of how different social groups and individuals' experience social problems and social harms, as well as the policies and regulatory responses that are purported to alleviate or ameliorate these issues.
4. An understanding of the construction and representation of social problems and social harms, and of responses to these in policymaking, mass/social media and public opinion.
5. An understanding of how the extent and experience of social problems and social harms vary comparatively, particularly as a consequence of different welfare and criminal justice regimes. Moreover, knowledge of supranational policy responses to global social problems and social harms will be developed.
6. An understanding of the basic principles of social research as applicable particularly to the study of social problems and social harms, as well as the strengths, weaknesses and uses of specific sources of data and research methods.
With an emphasis on examining contemporary policy debates in relation to a broad range of social issues and social harms, as well as exploring the range of ways in which responses to those issues are and could be formed, the Joint Honours Social Policy and Criminology degree makes strong connections with the concerns of a very wide range of employers and key professions.
1. Key concepts and theories of well being: including human needs; inequality; poverty; social exclusion and citizenship
2. Key concepts and theories that explain the causes and societal responses to crime
3. The applications of key concepts and theories to the study of a range of social problems and social harms
4. The development of both welfare and criminal justice institutions in the UK and a comparative context, as well as the inter-relationships between these systems, as mechanisms to respond to social problems and social harms
5. Comparative and supranational policy responses to global social problems and social harms
7. The construction and representation of social problems and social harms, and of responses to these in policy making, mass/social media and public opinion
8. How the extent and experience of social problems and social harms vary comparatively, particularly as a consequence of different welfare and criminal justice regimes
9. Basic principles of social research as applicable to the study of social problems and social harms, as well as strengths, weaknesses and uses of specific sources of data and research methods
1, 2 and 3 will be met principally through the Year 1 modules that largely will consist of Lectures and Seminars. In later years, students will deepen this knowledge through study of specific harms and problems – with greater emphasis on student led projects and independent study.
4 will be met in modules specifically for Social Policy in year one and year two for Criminology through Lecture and Seminar format. Inter-relationships explored more closely principally in year three module 'Harmful Societies' which will also include more student led discussions and enquiry.
5 will run through the content of all degree modules, with specific attention paid in year two and three modules (Comparative Social Policy; Punishment in a Global Context; and Harmful Societies) delivered through lecture/seminars and more student led discussions and presentations.
6 will through the content of most degree modules at each level. It will be met principally will delivered through Lectures and Seminars in Year 1 modules. In later years, students will deepen this knowledge through study of specific harms and problems – with greater emphasis on student led projects and independent study.
7 will be explicitly addressed in year one Social Issues and Social Policy delivered through lectures and seminars. In year two Policy Analysis will facilitate enquiry based learning through a series of class based exercises/workshops.
8 will run through the content of all degree modules, with specific attention paid in year two and three modules (Violence in a Global Context, Comparative Social Policy; Punishment in a Global Context; and Harmful Societies) delivered through lecture/seminars and more student led discussions and presentations.
9 will be delivered through Researching Policy and Society; Social Research Methods; Policy Analysis that will deploy a mixture of lectures, class based exercises and problem solving culminating in the independent research project conducted in the dissertation.
1, 2, and 3 will be in year one assessed through principally unseen exam and essay.
1, 2, and 3 will be assessed in years 2 and 3 through independent study such as the dissertation and research reports.
4 will be in year one assessed through principally unseen exam and essay.
4 will be assessed in years two and three in addition to unseen exam and essay, as well as a greater degree of independent study, such as the dissertation and research reports.
5 will be assessed in years two and three through unseen exam and essay, as well as a greater degree of independent study, such as the dissertation and research reports.
6 will be assessed in years 2 and 3 through independent study such as the dissertation and research reports.
7 will be assessed in year one through unseen exam and essay; in year two a greater degree of independent study/problem solving based assessment.
8 will be assessed in years two and three through unseen exam and essay, as well as a greater degree of independent study, such as the dissertation/extended essay and research reports.
9 will assessed through unseen exam, essay and research report in years one and two and the dissertation/extended essay in year three.
1. The ability to work individually and in groups
2. The ability to work flexibly and creatively, demonstrating independence and reflexivity
3. The ability to source, summarise, and critically engage with the existing theoretical and empirical material on a subject and deploy this, where appropriate, in constructing arguments
4. The ability to formulate research questions, select appropriate research tools, recognise ethical issues and collect and interpret data
6. Presentation skills and audience awareness
8. Writing skills, essays, reports, briefing papers
9. Oral communication skills
10. Oral communication skills
11. Working with data
12. Reflecting on their own learning
1, 2. Students are required to perform independent study through class preparation and assessment in all years. Group work is present in every year of the degree working with others in group projects and presentations participating in giving formative assessment.
3. Students through essay writing sessions in year one are taught to synthesise different sources and build a logical argument and this is a central feature of Researching Policy and Society, in year three students are encouraged through one to one dissertation supervision to produce critical literature reviews as part of the dissertation.
4 will be delivered through the Research Methods units that run through years one and two, culminating in the year three dissertation
5 will be delivered at all stages of the degree as students will be advised and supported to balance tasks and time frames in project work, as well as meeting long deadlines for independent study.
6 will be expected to make formal presentations in class/seminars at all stages of their degree
7 see 1, 2
8 is delivered incrementally through the degree. There is a particular focus in year one, in providing seminars and class tasks that seek to develop students essay writing and report writing skills. These are further honed later in the degree, through in particular the support provided in dissertation module.
9 Students participate in structured seminars and student-led discussions in seminars and classes throughout their degree. Additionally, they have the opportunity to undertake formative and summative oral presentations, especially in year three.
.10 see 3
11 see 4
12 Students are specifically encouraged in Researching Policy and Society to reflect on the process of learning and knowledge acquisition through a series of exercise. Other units such as 'Doing Justice' require the production of reflective accounts.
1, 2 the ability to work independently is assessed through unseen examinations, essays, reports, individual presentations, and the ability to work in a group through group presentations and reports.
3 assessed through unseen exam, essay and dissertation/extended essay.
5 assessed through essay, reports and dissertation/extended essay.
6 assessed through class presentations
8 is assessed through unseen exam, essay, dissertation and report.
9 is assessed through class presentations.
12 is assessed through essay and reflective accounts.


It wasn't until she reached her 60s when Shirley Bisselle quite literally waltzed into the world of dance.
Bisselle first looked into square dancing before signing up for ballroom lessons in Virginia. She later added country western dancing to her repertoire and successfully competed in dance contests in California, Texas and Pennsylvania.
Bisselle and her husband, Tony, are spreading their love of dance with other seniors by offering weekly ballroom lessons at Buckingham's Choice retirement community in Frederick, their residence for the last several years.
They teach foxtrot, waltz, swing and cha-cha to six seniors in the community – helping their students master the finer points of grace on the dance floor.
Bisselle noted that some residents are dealing with broken hips and other ailments. She makes accommodations for those who have physical limitations.
Bisselle wishes more people would take the class. Widows and widowers are reluctant to try it, she said.
Bisselle, 76, is convinced dance can help lift a person's spirit.
For those who fear they might not be coordinated enough to dance, Biselle has some advice.