text:
History of Brazil/Pre-Cabraline period

The pre-Cabraline history of Brazil is the stage in Brazil's history before the arrival of Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500, at a time when the region that is now Brazilian territory was occupied by thousands of indigenous peoples.

First humans in Brazil
The human presence in the territory now occupied by Brazil dates back to over 12 thousand years, according to archaeological evidence.

At least two different migratory routes contributed to displacement in pre-Columbian America (before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492).

The first humans appeared in Africa 3.2 million years ago. Thus, it is correct to say that human beings came from that continent through migratory waves.

The most accepted current is migration through the crossing of the Bering Strait at different times. In this way, human beings arrived in Alaska and, from there, left for the rest of the continent.

Another route of displacement would be that of the Pacific. As the height of the sea was lower and there were more islands along the ocean, human beings were able to come sailing to Patagonia and the region that today corresponds to Brazil.

Characteristics of the first humans in Brazil
The inhabitants of Brazilian prehistory are divided into three groups: hunter-gatherers, farming peoples and coastal peoples.

Hunter-gathers
They lived in almost the entire national territory between 50 thousand and 2.5 thousand years. They occupied the South to the Northeast, inhabited caves and the forest, used bows and arrows, boleade and boomerangs made of stone.

They fed on game meat of small animals, fish, molluscs and fruits. In the Northeast it is possible to find examples of the rock art of these people who portrayed everyday life, war, dance and hunting.

In the South, the "men of Umbu" (in Portuguese, Homens de Umbu) who lived in the pampas of Rio Grande do Sul stand out. These were responsible for the use of the bow and arrow that was inherited by the indigenous Brazilians.

Coastal peoples or sambaquis
The coastal peoples occupied the Brazilian coast from Espírito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul 6 thousand years ago. They basically ate seafood, but they were also collectors.

The "middens men" (in Portuguese, Homens Sambaquis) were sedentary, as they had no need to travel to look for food.

The discarded shells with which they obtained the mollusks were piled up and thus were used to build houses. These are the main traces to study these people.

Graves were also located in which the bodies were buried with various objects and painted red. This means that the "middens men" performed funerary rites and believed in another life.

Farming peoples
They lived from 3,500 to 1,500 years ago. They lived in huts or underground houses and were knowledgeable in the technique of ceramics.

In Rio Grande do Sul they were called Itararés and in the Southeast and Northeast of Tupis.

The Tupi knew agriculture and were therefore sedentary. Pottery was used to store food and as funeral urns when someone died.

Brazilian archaeological sites
Archaeological sites are places where the presence of human beings was detected in prehistory.

In Boqueirão da Pedra Furada, in Pernambuco, a group of archaeologists reported the presence of knives, axes and bonfires approximately 48 thousand years old.

In the region of Lagoa Santa, in Minas Gerais, the fossil Luzia, from 12,500 to 13,000 years old, was found. There, there was also found the Man from Lagoa Santa, who would have lived 12,000 years ago.

Other important archaeological sites in Brazil are Santana do Riacho, in Minas Gerais, Caatinga de Moura, in Bahia, and the Serra da Capivara National Park, in Piauí.

title: History of Brazil/Pre-Cabraline period


text:
English-Hanzi/Whole oats are an excellent source of thiamine, iron, and dietary fiber

Whole oats are an excellent source of thiamine, iron, and dietary fiber. They are also the only antioxidant compounds believed to have properties that help protect the circulatory system from arteriosclerosis. Oat products also contain beta-glucan.

全燕麦是硫胺素，铁和膳食纤维的极好来源. 它们也是被认为具有有助于保护循环系统免受动脉硬化的特性的唯一抗氧化剂化合物. 燕麦产品还包含β-葡聚糖.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Transportation Deployment Casebook/2020/Rhode Island Streetcars

Introduction
This case study reviews the policy and technological developments behind the deployment of streetcar technology in Rhode Island, USA. Whilst the quantitative analysis primarily focuses on the period 1885 - 1920, the qualitative review considers events preceding and succeeding this period to identify the causes and catalysts for the growth, maturation and decline of this mode of transport.

Historical Context
Prior to the introduction of the horse-drawn streetcar in circa 1840 the predominant mode of urban transport was by foot. Omnibuses and hansom cabs were available, but fares were too expensive for the average city dweller. Whilst horse-drawn streetcars sped up journey times fares were still out of reach of the working class.

A key step in the technological development of the streetcar was the initiation of cable car services 1870’s whereby the passenger car was pulled along the track by a cable located under the roadway. This for of technology had significant advantages over horse-drawn carriages in cities with steep topography. Cable car systems suffered from mechanical reliability issues which were compounded during inclement weather.

Streetcar technology resulted in 1884 from union of innovations in electrical traction technologies, with the horse-drawn streetcar passenger wagon, as a mode of mass transport. In many forms the basic technological platform remains similar to this day. The emergence of the electric streetcar coincided in a time of rising wages which when coupled with significantly lower fares made this new form of transport accessible to the masses, helping to establish it and promote the rapid expansion of urban systems. Early systems

In high level terms it can be considered that the horse drawn carriage established the drawn passenger car as a unit of mass public transport. The passenger car motive effort was mechanised through the introduction of cable technology, and then improved through harnessing electrical power. Along this technological journey the quality of passenger transport increased through improved reliability, comfort and speed. This established the electric streetcar as the primary technological platform, and further technology advances were evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Technological Evolution
Early trials of electric streetcars used existing horse-drawn track and modified passenger cars as the test bed for this new technology. As such the track gauge, a key technical parameter of the new technology was 'locked-in', or pre-determined, by the previous mode of transport. Indeed following early adoption of the electric streetcar in 1887 the Woonsocket Street Railway Company reverted to horse-drawn power before later reintroducing electric traction, displaying the interoperability of these two technologies. Cable cars were also developed to run on the same gauge track as horse-drawn and electric streetcars.

In Rhode Island many early electrical streetcar systems were borne out of the electrification of existing horse-drawn system. Alongside common technological features the operators therefore transferred across many policy and policy characteristics including organisational structure, pricing mechanisms, ticketing and timetabling.

The Union Railroad Co. in Providence, R.I., experimented with two forms of electrification: battery and electric wires. Whilst batteries removed the need to install unsightly cables they required frequent charging and could not provide sufficient power to overcome moderate inclines. Overhead wire electrification therefore became the preferred approach for all systems in Rhode Island, although some battery powere systems were operation in other part of the USA.

The early electric streetcar technology deployed in Woonsocket dragged a small truck that run above the power cable, and provided power through a slack cable back to the streetcar. These truck units could derail from the power cable and were difficult to reinstate. They were replaced by trolley-pole collectors whereby a sprung pole engaged a rolling wheel to the underside of the power cable, later iterations replaced the wheel with a grooved shoe. Photo examples of both modes of power transference are shown in the images below.

The American Context
Wide ranging technological advances at the turn of the 20th century established the growth of cities. Innovations including structural steel and the elevator eliminated the historic eight storey building height ceiling. The adoption of cheaper electric lighting removed constraints on the working day and working hours increased.

The introduction of electric streetcar technology in the 1880s both coincided with, and facilitated a period of significant urban growth in the US, and by the 1920 census the majority of the population resided in urban areas for the first time. This rapid growth was experienced by Rhode Island, being a key manufacturing state and financial centre. The speed, capacity and fare cost of streetcar technology facilitated a horizontal spreading of cities and was the catalyst for residential decentralisation. Streetcar technology enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with this newfound economic propensity. The increase in employment opportunities led to an increase in personal wealth, facilitating an increased uptake of transport services. There was a positive feedback loop between transport demand and the horizontal expansion of residential areas. This was exploited by promoters and developers of streetcar systems which sought to capitalise on land value capture from expansion of systems into undeveloped areas.

Local politicians were instrumental in promoting the early local streetcar development, and provided private enterprises with low cost loans, cash subsidies, parcels of public land and long term franchises at healthy operator profit margins. The politicians enjoyed significant public support in bringing this new transport technology to their cities and streetcar systems were a source of civil pride and city leaders boasted of the extents of their respective networks.

However in many cities, including in Rhode Island, a number of competing streetcar operators installed multiple lines that often converged in city centres, causing disruption during construction and congestion when operational. There was little incentive for the competing operators to coordinate their systems and the result was a incoherent system operated to maximise private sector profits.

Over time previously supportive politicians campaigned to reduce fares and nationalise the streetcar operators. Whilst popular with the general public this criticism often led to backlash from an influential upper class. This reversal in public and political approval led created a more adversarial relationship between the private streetcar operators and public officials who were more liable to reject fare increase and franchise requests. As a result private firms identified more profitable unregulated enterprises to invest in.

Issues with implementation
The following section describes the specific issues and policies that were encountered, overcome and developed to implement electric streetcar service in the key Rhode Island cities. It can seen that there are many shared experiences in terms of policy challenges and organised opposition to the introduction of services across the state.

Woonsocket
Prior to electric streetcar implementation in Rhode Island there were a number of suburban horsecar operators typically restricted to relatively small extents within each urban area; the largest operator was the Union Railroad Co. of Providence, that state capital. Slow speeds limited public appeal and the realistic extent of the networks. The first attempt at an electric service was by the Woonsocket Street Railway Co. in Woonsocket, a small regional R.I. town, which experimented with the new form of technology shortly after commencing operations over a 5 mi line in 1887, one year after the first electric streetcar revenue service commenced in Alabama. Given the short line distance the electric service garnered novelty appeal rather than providing an improved transport service over horsecars. The trial attracted opposition from local business owners, the fire brigade and citizens. Criticism included objection to street rails, claims the electric vehicles scared horses and the electrical risks of live wires. These fears were likely compounded by technical issues and safety incidents experienced during the trial of the immature technology. After approximately 3 months the Woonsocket trial was abandoned and the railroad returned to horsecar operations, before reintroducing electric services in 1893.

Newport
As a major 18th century seaport Newport hosted an affluent upper class, principally as a summer destination for resident of New York. Despite attempts to introduce horsecar services in 1864 and 1884, the upper classes and private carriage operators opposed the development, objecting to the street rails damaging private carriages, journey disruption, and improved public access to private beaches. Despite the minority exerting sufficient opposition to influence city transport policy during this period; by 1885 sufficient local support existing to pressure the Newport city council to hold a vote on the introduction of a streetcar system which was passed. The wealthy continued to oppose the newly formed Newport Street Railway Co., establishing a lobby group that included William Astor who was undertaking similar action to prevent subway construction in New York - demonstrating the similarities facing transport developments targeted at the public across wealthy US cities. Despite extensive opposition the inaugural service began in August 1889.

Providence
In 1882 the Union Railroad Co. was the sole provider of streetcar services in Providence, however it did not service College Hill, a wealthy enclave, due to the adverse incline of the streets. The Providence Cable Tramway organisation was established in 1882 and petitioned the city to introduce a cable car system in this suburb based on the success of similar technological deployment in San Francisco. There was extensive opposition from the wealthy residents of the suburb to the introduction of mass transport, and the Union Railroad protecting its monopoly position. Despite this opposition the concept enjoyed significant public support and was approved by the city. At this time Union Railroad was experiencing growing criticism around enriching its shareholders whilst paying negligible taxes and failing to provide promised expansions to it's network. Capitalising on this discord the tramway proponent announced an extension of the cable tram network, over Union Railroad track, which was granted for free by the city despite provisions for reimbursing the track owner within streetcar franchise agreements. The cable system opened in 1989 and was bought out by the Union Railroad Co. in 1890 to re-establish their monopoly. The Union Railroad Co. commenced electrification of their network in 1890 and the cable system was converted in 1895.

Final public acceptance
The Union Railroad Co. was the largest streetcar operator in Rhode Island in the early 1890's undertook experiments of electric operation to garner support for network wide upgrades. They had provided reduced fares on two lines, ostensibly to buy local goodwill support for the experiment. This is evidence for the monopoly position that the company enjoyed since in a truly competitive environment there would be limited scope for price reduction in this manner. The experiment was a success, with public feedback noting the enhanced quality of the electric street car in terms of speed and rise comfort of the ride over horsecars. However it was likely the increase in land values, and real estate development opportunities, that solidified support from a previously opposing wealthy elite.

Market expansion & consolidation
As shown in the quantitative analysis below streetcar systems enjoyed significant growth in Rhode Island and by 1902 there were over 15 streetcar companies operating within the state, although often under a complex lease or ownership arrangements. By 1902 the majority of the streetcar systems in the state were consolidated into The Rhode Island Co. which leased the United Traction holdings and their leases through a network of companies. The complexity can best be described as follows: "J.P. Morgan owned stock in NY, New Haven and Railroad Company which owned all the stock of the Providence Securities Company. The Providence Securities company held securities and owned stock in the Rhode Island Company which in turn owned the Columbian Street Railway Company, Providence and Burrillville Street Railway Company and Woonsocket Street Railway Company.  The Rhode Island Company also leased and operated from the United Traction and Electric Company who owned shares and bonds of the Rhode Island Suburban Railway Company, Pawtucket Street Railway Company and the Union Railroad Company.  The Union Railroad Company owned stock and leased the Providence Cable Tramway Company.

To meet federal antitrust laws, in 1914 the New Haven Railroad was forced to divest its interests in all New England streetcar systems, including the Rhode Island Co. Following this the Rhode Island Co. faced financial difficulties in maintaining lease payments and investments required to adapt to the introduction of early automotive transport. The company's leases were terminated and the majority of its streetcar systems were consolidated into a new entity established in 1919, the United Electrical Railways Co. (UER). To mitigate against further risks or disruption to the Rhode Island public transport system from the intensive mergers and acquisitions of the previous two decades, and lack of investment UER was placed under the regulatory control of the Public Utilities Commission. This was a significant political act to provide public control over the private sector which had historically enjoyed high levels of autonomy and political influence.

Quantitative Analysis
An analysis of the lifecyle of the streetcar system in Rhode Island was undertaken to identify the following system parameters:

 * Growth rate;
 * Mid-point/inflection year;
 * Developmental phases (birthing, growth and maturity);
 * Predicted system size (was likely to be the maximum size of the installed system in the study period).

Methodology
A common lifecycle feature of transportation modes throughout history has been the S-curve (or Sigmoid) profile that can be used to describe the rate of adoption of different transport technologies. The Logistic function provides a common S-curve profile that can fitted to the system growth data. For this assessment the installed extent of track is used as the measure of system growth. The lifecyle model can be characterised using the logistic equation:

$$S_t= S_{max}/1+e^{(-b(t-t_i))}$$

Where:

St = system extent at time t in terms of installed track

Smax = maximum system extent (the peak length of installed track in Rhode Island)

t = time/year

ti = time/year of inflection (the year of peak growth of system deployment)

b = logistic growth rate (i.e the steepness of the S-curve)

This can be re-written in the form:

$$ln \frac{S_t}{S_{max}-S_t}=bt+c$$

Where:

c,b = model coefficients

The left hand side of the above equation can now be expressed in the form of the straight line equation ($y=mx+c$ ) ,where m is the gradient and c is the intercept with the y-axis. in terms of Y using a single linear regression of the known values to allow values to be estimated for coefficients c and b.

$$y=bt+c$$  &   $$y=-ln \frac{S_t}{S_{max}-S_t}$$

The value for Smax should be the maximum extent of installed track in Rhode Island. Whilst this peak may have occurred during the study period, 1885–1920, this was verified using sensitivity analysis for the value of Smax by considering varying values of Smax and adopting the value with the highest R2 value to fit the closest S-curve to the measured data.

The original form of the logistic equation can then be used to plot the model S-curve for review against measured data.

Analysis Data
The McGraw Electric Railway Manual and state archives provide a comprehensive record of track installed by each streetcar operating company on an annual basis over the study period - reproduced in the table below. The installed track extent is expressed in terms of single track equivalent installed in Rhode Island state. The McGraw manual and state records provide consistent measures of installed track at each year. A copy of the full dataset and analysis spreadsheet can be found here.

As expected the track extent increases year on year throughout the study period, with the exception of decreases in 1919 and 1920. During the latter part of the study period a number of the streetcar lines were under the operational control of the Rhode Island Co., which was in financial difficulties and ceded control of a number of lines in 1919 and 1920. It is likely that the lines were still operational under an alternate company but this could not be tracked through the records and therefore a drop in total track extent is recorded.

Results
The results of the S-curve fitting analysis are shown in the table below. The following graph shows the actual extent of streetcar track installed based on historic records and the model derived installed extent based on the logistic equation S-curve profile.

The graph below shows the year on year change in actual installed track extent based on historic records.

Discussion
The various stages of the Rhode Island streetcar development lifecycle have been interpreted on the S-curve profile above. The transition from birthing period appears to be approximately 1890 and the system reached a mature stage of development from approximately 1909.

It can be seen that the The optimal value of Smax is 20 mi larger than the maximum installed system extent by 1920.This may reflect some latent system expansion that had not been realised by 1920. Even when the model was analysed excluding the years 1919 and 1920, which displayed an unexpected reduction in installed track extent, the Smax value exceeded the total installed track extent and supports a latent expansion theory. The R2 value of the modelled S-curve indicates a confidence >95% which indicates a the model is a close representation of the measured data. However it can be seen from the graph that whilst the model S-curve is reasonably representative of the the birthing and maturity stages of the lifecycle, it tends to under-represent the rate of track installation during the growth period, and in particular the period 1897-1902. Whilst this was a period of rapid construction in a highly competitive environment the methodology of reporting the historic installed track in this period appears to be skewed by the listing of the Rhode Island Co. streetcar system only once it became operational, rather than spread the track installation over a pre-operational period as for the majority of developments. As such the actual curve may over-represent the peak rate of track installation.

Alternate scenarios
In addition to reviewing the lifecycle of the statewide streetcar system an analysis was also undertake on individual streetcar systems, and the systems within each urban area.

Due to the extensive consolidation of streetcar operators in R.I. over the study  period only the Union Railroad Co. and Rhode Island Co. have sufficient data  to undertake a meaningful lifecycle assessment at an individual system level. This appears to be due to the face that these companies operated the majority of services on all the  systems over their respective periods of operation as discussed above. Any system expansion during this time was undertaken through these two companies whilst the remainder of the lines under their control remained close to their as-built configuration at the point of sale. Of these two systems a well fitted S-curve could be fitted to the Union Railroad Co. data whilst the curve fitted to the Rhode Island Co. was only weakly fitted. The weak fit is likely because this system only contains data from the late growth and mature stages of the lifecycle.


text:
User:Cnhajzwgz/minerva.css

h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 { font-family: Source Serif Pro, serif !important; }

title: User:Cnhajzwgz/minerva.css


text:
Talk:Professionalism/Susan Fowler, Uber, and Workplace Sexual Harassment

Potential Sections:
 * 1) Aftermath
 * 2) Report / investigation
 * 3) Changes at Uber
 * 4) Similar cases / Looking at Silicon Valley as a whole
 * 5) See Niniane Wang, Susan Ho, Leiti Hsu, Sarah Kunst and Cheryl Yeoh (https://www.vox.com/2017/12/6/16680602/susan-fowler-uber-engineer-recode-100-diversity-sexual-harassment)
 * 6) Look at Media coverage of this case and how it fits into media coverage of sexual harassment in Silicon Valley overall
 * 7) Past cases at Uber

Kml9pw (discuss • contribs) 16:26, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

Sources on looking at the (possible) effects on Uber of Fowler's whistle-blowing:
 * https://www.uber.com/newsroom/ubers-new-cultural-norms/

 * https://www.uber.com/newsroom/end-gender-based-violence-together/

 * https://www.uber.com/newsroom/driving-more-change/

News article mentioning people being fired and new CEO
 * https://money.cnn.com/2018/01/23/technology/uber-ceo-leaks-media-whistleblowers/index.html

News article discussion (former) Uber CEO's response:
 * https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/20/uber-urgent-investigation-sexual-harassment-claims-susan-fowler

2019 report of gender breakdown in Uber:
 * https://d1nyezh1ys8wfo.cloudfront.net/static/PDFs/Uber+D%26I+Report+2019.pdf

Allegedly refused to post statistics in the past
 * https://www.boston.com/news/jobs/2016/05/31/uber-wont-reveal-diversity-data-workers

Women at Uber (from Uber's website) Not clear if this a organized group within Uber, may require additional research
 * https://www.uber.com/us/en/about/diversity/women-at-uber/

.# DeleteUber campaign right before (history of discrimination)
 * https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/30/deleteuber-how-social-media-turned-on-uber

Talks about Uber's lack of brand integrity
 * https://www.forbes.com/sites/deniselyohn/2017/03/25/why-did-sexual-harassment-fell-uber/#60c6e01b2050

Looking at this incident as part of a overall trend in Silicon Valley
 * https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/12/silicon-valley-women-harassment-gender-discrimination
 * https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-tech-companies-can-do-better (compare to google walkout demands?)

Individual cab driver
 * https://www.gq.com/story/uber-cab-confessions?currentPage=1

Kml9pw (discuss • contribs) 15:58, 28 March 2020 (UTC)


text:
Cookbook:Fancy Crêpes

| Cuisine of France | Dessert

This is a fancy variation on crêpes that incorporates cream and vanilla. It is based on a recipe by Thomas Keller as written in his book, Bouchon.

Ingredients

 * 220 g (1 cup / 8 oz) all-purpose flour
 * 1 pinch of salt
 * 2 tbsp sugar
 * 4 eggs
 * 172 ml (¾ cup / 6 fl oz) milk
 * 172 ml (¾ cup / 6 fl oz) heavy cream
 * 1 tsp vanilla (you can use essence or bean or paste, or substitute other flavors like orange zest)
 * 3 tbsp melted butter

Equipment

 * 2 mixing bowls
 * Whisk
 * ⅓ cup measuring cup
 * Nonstick or crêpe pan

Procedure

 * 1) In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar.
 * 2) Whisk eggs in the other bowl. Mix in milk, cream, and vanilla. Whisk well.
 * 3) Pour half of the wet mixture into the dry ingredients bowl, and whisk very well. This is where some gluten develops, so experiment with more or less whisking to your taste.
 * 4) Pour the rest of the wet mixture in, and whisk to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. This is when the flavor and the rest of the gluten develops.
 * 5) Let batter come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
 * 6) Heat the pan over medium heat. Melt the butter and mix into batter.
 * 7) When the pan is hot but not smoking, pour ⅓ cup batter in the middle, then tilt and rotate the pan to spread evenly. If you mess up, no worries, just cook it through and eat it.
 * 8) When the crepe starts separating from the pan, you can flip it. If you like it crispier, let it cook more but don't burn it. You can flip with any utensil a few inches wide and thin enough to slide under the crepe. The hotter the pan, the faster it will cook. It's possible to cook a crepe in 20 seconds or so with high heat, but there's nothing wrong with cooking it slow on low heat.
 * 9) Serve crepes warm.
 * 10) To store, wrap airtight so they don't lose moisture, and refrigerate. Reheat on the stovetop.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Dairy free crêpes: use Oatly or similar neutral-tasting non-dairy milk, and try some of the full fat variety to get the consistency similar what you can do with the heavy cream. Substitute 1.5 tbsp of a neutral oil like grapeseed for the butter.
 * See the base crêpe recipe for more serving suggestions.

title: Cookbook:Fancy Crêpes


text:
History of Brazil/Indigenous peoples in Brazil

Historians claim that before Europeans arrived in America there were approximately 100 million Indians on the continent. In Brazilian territory alone, this number reached approximately 5 million natives.

These Brazilian Indians were divided into tribes, according to the linguistic trunk to which they belonged: Tupi-Guarani (coastal region), macro-jê or tapuias (Brazilian Highlands), Aruak and Caribbean or Karib (Amazon).

Currently, it is estimated that only 800 thousand Indians occupy Brazilian territory, mainly in indigenous reserves demarcated and protected by the government. There are about 305 indigenous ethnicities and 274 languages. However, many of them no longer live as they did before the arrival of the Portuguese. Contact with the white man caused many tribes to lose their cultural identity.

The indigenous society at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese
The first contact between Indians and Portuguese in 1500 was very strange for both parties. The two cultures were very different and belonged to completely different worlds. We know a lot about the Indians who lived at that time, thanks to the Letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha (notary of the expedition of Pedro Álvares Cabral) and also to the documents left by the Jesuit priests.

The indigenous people who inhabited Brazil in 1500 lived from hunting, fishing and agriculture of corn, peanuts, beans, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and mainly cassava. This agriculture was practiced in a very rudimentary way, as they used the technique of coivara (clearing of forest and burned to clean the soil for planting).

The Indians domesticated small animals, such as wild pig and capybara. They did not know the horse, the ox and the chicken. In the Letter of Caminha it is reported that the Indians were astonished when they first came into contact with a chicken.

The indigenous tribes had a relationship based on social, political and religious rules. The contact between the tribes took place during times of wars, weddings, burial ceremonies and also when establishing alliances against a common enemy.

The Indians made objects using raw materials from nature. It is worth remembering that the Indian respects the environment a lot, removing only what is necessary for his survival. From this wood, they built canoes, bows and arrows and their dwellings (hollow). Straw was used to make baskets, mats, nets and other objects. Ceramics were also widely used to make pots, pans and household items in general. Animal feathers and skins were used to make clothes or ornaments for the tribes' ceremonies. Annatto was widely used to make body paintings.


text:
Trainz/TTLF

=Trainz Terms (and) Links (tests and) Formation=

About
This odd title is a 'Jargon' cross-reference for Trainz writers and contributors (perhaps especially myself and my failing memory!). It catalogs the lengthy list of common Trainz terminology to form links which are implemented (or preferred) forms and alternatives, including which pages are currently unlinked (Not yet created) where-in the expected primary page to cover the topic will be the referenced term in the left two columns.

For our newer community members, the links on this page can be used to browse to discussions and concepts it takes all of us quite a while to get a handle on.

Since the Trainz Notations and Trainz Glossary pages are such handy quick references, perhaps especially for the new Trainzer trying to come to grips with the extensive verbiage created by combination Railroad, Railfan, model railroading, and their overlap within and to the extant Trainz Community and its twenty-years of existence as a Online Community, a society of people with common interests and a common sub-language. This page is about keeping such verbiage straight and guidance on which forms are best used as the best good link in a given context.

As a general rule, new links should be created with 'typical community capitalization and plurality'. So when all else fails, use examples from the Trainz forums for guidance of the kind of link to make the primary for the tools. When there is a choice, go with singular page titles, preferably with lower case names such as are used in Trainz config file tag names. Shortcuts are cheap, easy and alternatives can be readily formed, including variants on plural or singular. Usage counts, and should be leaned upon; so TR04, TS09 and TS12, for example, are far more likely to be seen in posts than the formal longer titles.

title: Trainz/TTLF


text:
User:Kem25/sandbox

Facts

 * Subspecies of the Pronghorn
 * Endangered
 * Lifespan of 10-12 years
 * Can reach speeds up to 60mph
 * Great eyesight

Habitat
The Sonoran Pronghorn is endemic to the Sonoran Desert favoring its broad valleys. Before it became endangered the Sonoran Pronghorn was primarily found in Southwest Arizona and Northern parts of Sonora, Mexico like Hermosillo. It wasn't until 2012 that the Sonoran Pronghorn was reintroduced into the flatlands of Southwest Arizona and Mexico.

Diet
The diet of the the Sonoran Pronghorn consists of herbs, cacti, and desert grasses. Their rudiment stomachs allow them to digest rough textured foods, like the ones listed before. Along with the ability to digest these foods, their stomachs allow for better water retention.

Threats
Elements that contribute to the Sonoran Pronghorns being an endangered subspecies are predators, climate and human disturbance. Some predators of Pronghorns include cougars, wolves, coyotes, and bobcats. Climate and climate change can take part in threatening the Sonoran Pronghorn population with long lasting droughts. Human disturbances such as roads, fences, water developments, mining disturbances and other human interactions also play a part in the disappearance of the Sonoran Pronghorn.

Facts

 * Bloom time: May-October
 * Duration: Perennial
 * High drought tolerance

Habitat
The Velvetpod Mimosa resides in arroyos, washes, and brushy hillsides. It is native to Arizona, Texas, and Mexico but can also be found in New Mexico. Growing conditions that are favorable to the Velvetpod Mimosa are dry and rocky soils, lots of sunlight, and some but not much water, given that the plant has a high drought tolerance.

Importance
Many small mammals in the Velvetpod Mimosa's habitat rely on the shrub for food, and cover. Seeds from the plant provide food for Scaled Quail or other birds that live underground. Livestock can feed on the leaves of the plant. It is also an excellent source for nectar. The dense thickets of the Velvetpod Mimosa provide cover value for ground birds, quails, and small rodents.

title: User:Kem25/sandbox


text:
Gujarati/Sentence structure

In Gujarati, simple sentences can be constructed in the following ways.

Using a subject and a verb
The general order is subject, then verb.

Using a subject, object and verb
The general order is subject, then object, then verb.

title: Gujarati/Sentence structure


text:
User talk:Jarin real

sltherns half blood prince 70 point 3 cup sltherin 300 point with hufflepuff sltherin wonthe house tropthy six time in the row slytherin first place

Blood gang
Well guys I got 3,412,650 kill In new Jersey of east orange Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 21:18, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

I kept telling my cousin stay away from east orange nj it bad Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 21:19, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

Crips and dice fork nation gang
I move to crip and dice gang Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 21:21, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

Not the blood gang no more Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 21:32, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

Special Olympics basketball
We won the state championship 2 times on the blue team go blue Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 21:26, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

We lost only 1 game Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 21:31, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

Score with crips
624,264,388 kills right now with crips Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 22:04, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Movie roll
I'm in straight outta compton and that power ranger movie Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 01:12, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Live
I used to live in east orange nj but I move down here and Richmond Virginia Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 01:14, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Age
Born September 29 1993 Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 01:18, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Conditions
I got a heart murmur is rare it got small hole in it but it close now I could breath after that I kill my best friends that give me weed now I'm alive Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 01:31, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Haircut
I got east orange cut Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 14:43, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Boxing
Mind soul and spirit and love god Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 16:11, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

illuminati
Open my third eye my brain

Government
Take 15% out of my money I let them have that I'm rich now Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 13:45, 20 April 2020 (UTC)

Net worth
I made 101,008 Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 17:11, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

Voice
I got draco malfoy voice so proud myself Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 17:23, 22 April 2020 (UTC)

Drug
I used crank and ice now I'm taking ice Jarin real (discuss • contribs) 13:19, 23 April 2020 (UTC)

title: User talk:Jarin real


text:
Talk:Dictionary of Laboratory Terms

Dictionary of Laboratory Terms is a guide to the terminology of laboratory for all users of laboratory instruments in industry and science. It explains terms of laboratory technology and related areas.

Specialized dictionaries
I suspect that —with some care to frame things suitably— we can make this work here, because WB:DICT only excludes general-purpose dictionaries. Our sister Witionary is, indeed, a general-purpose dictionary. This is why I chose not to oppose the concept when it was initially raised at the projects reading room. Seems to me it's a matter of finding the right words at the start of the book that present what it's doing in a way that fits it neatly into the Wikibooks family. Suggestions? --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 20:52, 29 March 2020 (UTC)
 * That's OK for me too. Actually it could have been a new subcategory of wikt:Category:en:Sciences, but I've renounced to delete these lists since the lost of the battle against w:Category:Wikipedia glossaries. JackPotte (discuss • contribs) 09:17, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

Single-page
I'm considering how we might most usefully break this up into multiple pages. We don't want to lose the browsing-through aspect of the single page, which is an excellent thing about dead-tree books that has been largely lost in the electronic medium. The glossary of the Conlang book (link) is all on one page, but those are deliberately-short entries. The main section of the Jargon File has an alphabetical index (link) and then each entry is on a separate page; some of those entries are quite long. In between those, we could have a page for each letter (a page for each section, as the main page is currently arranged). I wonder if I'm overlooking some other worthwhile approach. --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 15:45, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

Multiple pages
Dear All, thank you for your help and feedback. After a moment of cogitation I came to the following idea/proposal:

 * DLT main page, essentially an intro and a Table of Contents, linking the other pages
 * other pages: serie of laboratory techniques + general index A-Z + bibliography

I took as model my favorite wikibook LaTeX Sgiani (discuss • contribs) 19:41, 5 April 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Dictionary of Laboratory Terms


text:
User:Yondarq

Yonda Qwathekana

title: User:Yondarq


text: Category:Book:Dictionary of Laboratory Terms


text:
User talk:2601:5C2:4480:2080:808F:E802:D872:E25D

Warning
—Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 01:12, 30 March 2020 (UTC)


text:
User talk:2409:4043:2E98:BD9:0:0:B8A:C804

Warning
—Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 01:14, 30 March 2020 (UTC)


text:
Category:Algerian recipes

Recipes from Algeria.

title: Category:Algerian recipes


text:
Cookbook:Cuisine of Algeria

| African Cuisines

Algerian cuisine is a Mediterranean and North African cuisine with Berber roots, known for its diverse variety of dishes thanks to the various interactions Algeria went through throughout the centuries. In addition to that, Algeria's large and diverse territory is able to provide both land and sea products.

Influences
The cuisine of Algeria has a mix of Berber, Arab, Turkish, Andalusian, French, and Spanish influences. The Berber population in the region's early history introduced wheat and fruit cultivation. They developed couscous, which has become the national dish and staple item, and they also influenced Algerian stews and tagines. Muslim Arab invaders around 600 AD introduced a variety of flavorings from the East, such as saffron, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and orange flower water. Turkish and Ottoman influences on Algerian cuisine include a variety of pastries, fruits, nuts, and flavorings. The French occupation of Algeria in the 19th century introduced new culinary features, especially in terms of bread and a variety of pastries. They also introduced a variety of foods originally from the Americas.

Sauces
A variety of sauces are used in Algerian cuisine. These include:

 * Marqa beida (derdja): white sauce made with butter or oil, seasoned with onion, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, and/or turmeric
 * M'hammer (roasting sauce): butter-based sauce with onion, cinnamon, and saffron
 * Dersa (red sauce): red pepper sauce, containing black pepper and cinnamon
 * Marqa b'tomatich: tomato-based sauce containing onions, garlic, black pepper, cumin, and other flavorings
 * Chermoula: acidic sauce often used for marinating meats
 * Marqa helou: sweet butter-based sauce including cinnamon, saffron, and honey

Couscous
Couscous is a staple food and national dish in Algeria, originating with the original Berber population. It is technically a type of pasta, made of a semolina dough crumbled into small grains and cooked until fluffy. It's traditionally steamed in a taseksut (also called kaskas or couscoussier) and can be served savory or sweet.

Bread
Algerian breads are eaten at most meals, where they are often used to scoop and soak up foods. They can include the following types:
 * Khubz ad-dâr ("bread of the house"): round, yeasted wheat flatbread, baked in an oven
 * Matlû or khubz at-tajîn: yeasted flatbread made of semolina, barley, sorghum, and/or corn; cooked on a heated surface like a hot plate
 * Raqâq, rfîs, khubz-ftir, or tarîd: very thin, unleavened flatbreads, cooked on sheet of hot metal; often stuffed, can be sweet or savory
 * French bread (pain): white, leavened, crusty french bread

Sweets
Algerian sweets include a variety of pastries that have been influenced by Arab, Ottoman, and Turkish cuisines:

 * Ketaef or kadayif: pastry similar to konafa and other such pastries across the Middle East; consists of almond paste filling surrounded by a shredded semolina dough
 * Madeleine aux amandes: molded cakes with an almond filling similar to frangipane
 * Tamina: semolina cake with honey, cinnamon, and orange flower water
 * Baqlawa: Algerian version of baklava; layered pastry filled with pistachios, almonds, and walnuts, and a perfumed syrup
 * Samsa: fried triangular pastry filled with nuts and honey

Beverages
Coffee in Algeria is typically served strong. Tea is very popular and is often served with mint. Fruit juices are also widely consumed, as well as fruit/nut-flavored drinks called sharbats. Both goat and cow milk are available, and they are used to make the drink sahlab

Vegetables
Eggplant, tomato, zucchini

Fruit and nuts
Dates, almonds, olives

Meat
Mutton/lamb, beef

Grains
Rice, wheat

Seasonings
Cinnamon, cumin, mint, marjoram, caraway, coriander, black pepper, chili pepper, ras el hanout, harrissa, baharat

Customs
Due to the high prevalence of Islam, Algerian cooking is almost always halal. Food is often eaten with three fingers of the right hand. Hospitality is widespread, and sharing of food and drink is common.

Dishes

 * Algerian Couscous
 * Rechta
 * Chakhchoukha
 * Shakshouka
 * Lham Lhalou
 * Tajine Zitoune
 * Chorba
 * Harira
 * Mechoui

Side dishes

 * Maakouda
 * Bourek

Street food

 * Mahdjouba
 * Garantita

Breads

 * Kesra/Agrouhm (كسرة)
 * Msemmen (مسمن)
 * Matlouh (المطلوع)
 * Khobz el Dar (خبز الدار)
 * Mbesses
 * Taguella
 * Chrik
 * Tamtunt
 * Lamouna
 * Mtabga

Desserts

 * Tamina (الطمينة)
 * Sfenj (السفنج)
 * Baghrir (البغرير)
 * Heart of Almonds (قلب اللوز)
 * Mouskoutchou
 * Tachrek
 * Makrout

Beverages

 * Orange Blossom Cherbet (شربات ماء زهر)
 * Algerian Lemonade (شربات القارص)
 * Algerian Mint Tea (أتاي جزائري)
 * Mazagran (مزغران)
 * Anise Syrup (حبة حلاوة)
 * Sahara Date Milk (حليب التمر)
 * Cherbet Meliana (شربات مليانة)
 * Lekhchef (الخشاف)
 * Verbena Remedy Tea (شاي ماء لويزة)
 * Kahwa Zazwa
 * Ouazouaza (الوازوازة)
 * El Bared (البارد)
 * Maâjoun el Heroor (معجون الحرور)
 * Mocha with Goat Milk
 * Takerouayet

title: Cookbook:Cuisine of Algeria


text:
Transportation Deployment Casebook/2020

States

 * /California Streetcar/
 * /Connecticut Streetcar/
 * /Delaware Streetcar/
 * Florida Streetcar
 * /Georgia Streetcar/
 * /Louisiana Streetcar/
 * /Maryland Streetcar/
 * /Minnesota Streetcar/
 * /North Carolina Streetcar/
 * /Oklahoma Streetcar/
 * /Rhode Island Streetcars/
 * /Washington Streetcar/

title: Transportation Deployment Casebook/2020


text:
Wikibooks:Requests for import/Archives/2020/January

Request for import VI
Could you please import Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence to The Story of Rhodesia/Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Thanks in advance, Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs) 14:55, 30 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Wikimedia error, again. JackPotte (discuss • contribs) 19:15, 30 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks anyway, Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs) 20:40, 30 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Could you please try again? Thanks in advance and Happy New Year! Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs) 17:32, 31 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Happy New Year! Same problem. JackPotte (discuss • contribs) 13:04, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks anyway, and Happy New Year again😅. Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs) 13:07, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Could you please try again? Sorry for the trouble and thanks in advance, Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs) 13:36, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
 * It's about 1400 UTC. Can't honestly say I'm surprised to see it not work atm.  I suspect the best time of day to try might be around 0800 UTC, more or less (which would be 3:00 am where I am, and midnight on the US west coast; at which time, if I'm up at all, I usually don't think of it).  Though I could be wrong about that; maybe some other point on the 24-hour cycle is actually better. --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 14:05, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
 * (Happy New Year, btw. :-) --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 14:06, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much and Happy New Year! Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs) 14:20, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Hello? Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs)
 * I did try several more times at different times of day. Naturally I forgot to do so at the times of day I'd been most interested to try. --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 16:38, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Okay, that's very odd. It just "worked" in the sense that the operation didn't abort.  It only picked up 21 revisions, though.  Not sure what to do with that. --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 16:44, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Urk. It's "worse" than that.  It looks like it actually did bring in lots more than 21 revisions, but it *reported* that it had only imported 21. --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 16:47, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
 * The revision history looks like a hideous mess, with large numbers of duplicates of particular revisions. However, it seems as if each individual revision is represented many times, which means each is represented at least once, therefore it should satisfy the need to acknowledge all contributors for copyright purposes.  And the window of the operation "working" appears to have closed. --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 16:58, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much! Dino Bronto Rex (discuss • contribs) 17:07, 6 January 2020 (UTC)


text:
Transportation Deployment Casebook/2020/Connecticut Streetcar

Introduction
Streetcars, trams or trolleys are names of the mode of transport that involves the movement of carriages powered by diesel, electricity or mechanical pulley on designated paths on public urban streets. The networks on public streets on which they operate are called tramways. In some cases, streetcars had their own right of way on certain segments of streets. The usage of streetcars began in the early nineteenth century and transitioned through various iterations(including fuel methods, road networks and ownership) into today’s modern electricity powered “light rail” systems.

History of streetcar systems in the US
The history of the American streetcar system can be traced back to early 1800s when omnibuses were used to pull carriages. This was the earliest iteration of a streetcar system where the carriages travelled along special designated routes on the road. The idea was to reduce friction by moving on steel rails with specially designed steel wheels to reduce friction thus increasing the number of passengers. A fee was charged by the owners of the initial systems for each passenger based on the distance travelled. Naturally, the idea of profiting from mass transportation resulted in an increase in investment from private banks and high net worth individuals in this industry across states. In 1832, the first streetcar company owned by Joh Mason began service in New York. Then, in 1873, the cable car was introduced in San Francisco by Andrew Hallidie (Kahn, 1940). This system involved long cables connected to the carriages mechanically pulled by a power-station at the end of the road. In September 1882, Thomas Edison’s electric distribution company went into operation (Con Edison: A Brief History of Con Edison - electricity, 2020). This led to the electrification of streetcar systems with the first system being installed in Richmond, Virginia in 1888. This was followed by the City of Brooklyn in 1890.

History of streetcar systems in the State of Connecticut
The primary player of streetcar systems in Connecticut was the Connecticut Company. In 1895, it acquired the New York and New England Railroad Company effectively operating 90% of the street railway network in Connecticut((General Railroad Commissioners, 1869). A complete list of companies owning streetcar networks and assets are shown in Table-1. The list was compiled from the McGraw Electric Railway Directory(1894–1920).

Technological merits and demerits
Omnibuses were mainly made out of wood and pulled by horses. Depending on the number of passengers it could carry(generally 4-5), the number of horses were increased. This was the first mode of transportation at the end of the 18th century and continued in the first decade of the 19th century. The frames were made up of wood and included benches for passengers to sit facing each other. The tyres also made out of wood. The omnibuses operated on roads that were uneven further reducing efficiency. Horsecars were then introduced to reduce these inefficiencies. Although they were animal powered, the tram’s ran on improved iron or steel wheels and operated on steel tracks laid out on the existing routes. This reduced rolling resistance between the wheels and rails allowing for more load and greater distances to operate on. This increase in capacity translated into lower fares increasing the patronage country wide.

The obvious downside with animal-powered transport was that there was only so much work that horses could do. The horses needed feeding at regular intervals and the resulting manure put a strain on the street’s cleanliness. The manure also jeopardized the health of the growing population and the environment of the city. One report from New York mentioned that horses produced 22 pounds of manure per day amounting to over a 100,000 pounds in a year (Kohlstedt, 2017). The effects were exacerbated during winter when the snow and rain caused unbearable pollution. Although the transportation provided by horse carriages greatly benefitted the general public in their daily lives, the external cost increased the social cost on society significantly. In other words, the public paid for the transportation that the carriages provided but would not have paid enough for the carriage companies to provide adequate cleaning services for the city. This can be modelled using the marginal external cost theory shown in Figure-3. Initially, the user pays the equilibrium price at Ppri at a quantity of Qpri which is the equilibrium price from the supply and demand of horse carriages. But the external cost of pollution and pressure on agriculture to feed the horses produces a marginally social cost of MSC. The mode of transport would have been sustainable if the user paid a price of Psoc which would have considered the overall cost on society. Therefore, an external cost of MEC is being borne by society. To articulate this effect, an example can be used. Suppose John has to go for grocery shopping and has to travel on a horse drawn carriage for 20 mins. He will be paying $X dollars in fare to the conductor for this journey. But this amount will not be contributing fully towards the cleaning of the route. If Adam wants to walk on that route, he has to bear the stench and potentially walk on manure, something he had no part in.

The next technology used in public transport was the mechanically pulled cable car. This was the first innovation to replace horse drawn carriages and was introduced in San Francisco in 1873 by Andrew Hallidie. Hallidie initially worked at a mine where he used his father’s rope designs to replace existing fragile ropes used in the industry. He left the industry in 1857 and moved to San Francisco setting up a rope manufacturing company and established himself as a suspension bridge builder. Despite a lack of confidence and funding from his associates, he set up the first system in August 1873. Using large pulley systems connected by underground wires the cars gripped on and off depending on the speed required. At the end of the routes, a turntable was used to rotate the trolley. An example of the pulley and turntable is shown in Figures 4 and 5 respectively.

The initial limitation of this system was the funding and construction of the elaborate pulley system, the underground cables and the turntables. The pulley system ran on steam power(late electric power) continuously. Underground trenches had to be dug in to allow the cables to go through. The closed pulley system also meant that the street cars ran on fixed straight routes and at a constant(often very low) speeds. The expansion of routes meant that more underground digging and construction of powerhouses were needed at new locations which required significant investment and support from local government and the community.

The introduction of the streetcar system was therefore to move away from the high investment of installed underground cables and mechanical pulleys. The streetcars took power from overhead lines which in turn got power from generators at the end of the route. In a way, the system was the same as the cable car, but the source of power was replaced by electricity. The streetcars have an electric motor on board which draws power from the overhead wires connected by a pole on the roof. The first of this system was installed by Frank Sprague in Richmond, Virginia in 1888. Following the success of the line most existing cable car systems transitioned into electric streetcars. The ease of constructing routes and power resulted in an increase in routes across the country. The sprout of electric streetcar systems can be seen in the route map of the Connecticut Company from 1920.

The technological merits and demerits of the aforementioned modes are summarized in the table below.

The Connecticut Story

The history of streetcar systems in Connecticut can be best explained by looking at the track length of street cars in a certain period of time. The McGraw Railway Directory was a biannual publication that recorded the financial state, assets and details of street railway companies across the USA, Mexico and Canada. For this analysis, the track length owned by different companies in the state of Connecticut were recorded between 1894 to 1920(the records were missing for 1895,1896 and 1915,1916). The length of electric tracks owned by each company in that particular year were added to give the total length in the state. The cumulative length of street rails owned in Connecticut are shown in Table-2. Transportation lifecycle, like any other technology(and products) are widely claimed to follow a logistic sigmoid function. This function produces a characteristic S shaped curve. The S curve can be used to identify the different stages of the lifecycle, namely birth, growth, maturity and decline. The data obtained was used to estimate a three-parameter logistic function.

S(t)= K/(1+exp(-b(t-t_0)) where S(t)  = status measure (track length)           K     = saturation status level           b      = coefficient to be estimated (explained later)           t       = time (in Years)           t0      = inflection time (year in which half Smax is reached)

The model can be transformed to show the following linear relationship.

ln(S(t)/((K-S(t)) ))= -bt+bt_0

which is further simplified to show the analogous form y = mx + c In this case, bto is the y intercept and -b is the gradient of the curve. Using K = 2600(maximum recorded length) as the initial assumption, a number of regressions with increasing K values were conducted. The model inflexion point(point where the curve went from increasing to decreasing) happened when K = 2820. This was confirmed with a correlation coefficient ( R ) value of 0.993. The resulting y intercept and gradient were then used to calculate to. The t0 and K values were then used to calculate the predicted track lengths across the timeframe. The actual and predicted data from the model were then plotted and is shown in Figure-8.

It can be observed from the graph that after 1910, although the actual track length of streetcars in Connecticut increased, the increase was in a decreasing rate. Based on the above model and by analysing the data from McGraw Railway directory, the phases in the lifecycle of streetcar systems can be identified in Figure-9.

The birthing phase of streetcars involved the electrification of the existing mechanical and horse drawn carriages. In some cases, the rail tracks were modified to accommodate the different chassis of the electric carriages. Overhead lines were also established to power the carriages. This resulted in a clutter of cables in most cities, an external cost of the electric streetcar system. The success of the railroad for long distance transportation aided the case for electric car systems. The inter and intra modal transport systems allowed cities to grow further away from central locations. Furthermore, with the improvements in urban living necessities such as water and sewage, electricity and industrial steel the birthing phase coincided with a thriving population in the US. In Connecticut, the census data shows a five-fold increase in population between 1830-1930.

The legislative policy of electric streetcar systems was taken from the precursor horse-drawn and omnibus systems. Since the system required considerable capital investment, most local governments franchised the streets to individual operators. This was mainly done to use public funds in other endeavours. Naturally, this led to intense competition between different operators. This led to an oligopolistic market dominated by the Connecticut Company, Hartford Street Railway Co and Shore Line Electric Co. The anticompetitive market and poor service led to a negative perception about streetcar companies among the public and government officials. The government then stepped in to impose fare regulation. Although the operators wanted to increase fares in par with rising costs, this was halted by the regulation(National Research Council et al., 2001). On the other hand, automobile usage was beginning to gain traction in the US. Ford launched its first mass produced and affordable car, the Model-T in 1908. This coincided with the maturity phase of the streetcar lifecycle. The car sold a staggering 15 million units starting from 1908 and ending in 1927(1926 Ford Model T roadster, n.d.). This led to the strengthening of the American Automobile Association one of the strongest proponents of action on roads from the federal government(Weingroff, 2017). Furthermore, the onset of World War 1 in 1914 resulted in a push from the government for a developed highway system to make the transportation of military vehicles and supplies easier. This led to the first highway act passed by the US government, The Federal Aid Road Act in 1916.

The initial demand for transportation from the horse drawn carriages resulted in the electric system to be innovated. As can be seen from the aforementioned timeline, the successive systems followed quite quickly. The success of trams, particularly the electrified ones resulted in rapid growth of this system across Connecticut. The financial benefits and the lack of demerits compared to previous systems encouraged more investors to rush into the market. In a simple economic model, this would mean that the supply of streetcar systems would have increased. An increase in supply would reduce prices due to competition and result in a lower revenue for suppliers. This is shown in Figure-7. As the supply curve increases and shifts to S-2 due to increase in streetcar companies, the equilibrium price drops. The decrease in pricing combined with other factors(discussed later) would discourage the growth of the market. In other points, at some point of time the market saturated and the rate of growth of slowed down. The streetcar companies did try and stay competitive amongst the growing competition and government regulation. Most of these companies had to produce their own utilities services to power their vehicles. They were also part of corporations that owned multiple utility factories. This provided them with an avenue for alternative sources of revenue. In order to maximize their resources, the larger companies owned amusement parks (eg. Connecticut Co owned the Lake View Park in Middletown) and ran discounted services on weekends.

The most widely accepted reason for the downfall in streetcar systems is the influence of the big corporations namely General Motors, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California, Phillips Petroleum and Mack Trucks. This was known as the General Motors Streetcar Conspiracy. Although the intricacy of the case is too elaborate for this paper, in essence the big corporations mentioned above took over the streetcar transit systems in a number of cities and either shut them down or converted them into bus routes. Naturally, this benefitted their automobile and fuel sales. In 1948, GM and the other companies were convicted and fined a mere $5000 for their attempt to monopolize the industry(Marshall, 2016). In some ways, this was the final nail in the coffin for streetcar transit systems in America. The last streetcar system in Connecticut was stripped out in New Haven in 1948.

Streetcar systems have seen a recent revival at the beginning of the 21st century. This is largely due to the same reason from the 1900s. Cities are growing and there is a need to transport people to and from the suburbs, reducing congestion in city roads. Furthermore, the increased conscience about greenhouse gases and climate change in the public mind has discouraged the usage of cars in commuters. Another hybrid iteration of streetcar system is the light rail. Operating on its own right of way, light rail provides a more efficient and fast service. The success of streetcars in cities like Portland and extensive usage of light rail in Europe indicate the opportunity to reinvent the mode of transport. With urban designing focusing on more accessibility such as the 30 minute-city concept there is an increase demand for crowd sharing public transit systems. These demands can be fulfilled by redeveloping the streetcar system in a way that will reduce the initial capital cost and construction significantly. For instance, recent technological advancements have led to the creation of trackless trams or ART which run on rubber wheels, has train like carriages and can reach speeds upto 70 km/h. The first ART was launched in Hunan, China in 2017 and was deemed as success. As they are battery powered, they produce less noise and pollution compared to buses. The potential for trackless trams has attracted interest from a number of Australian cities with feasibility studies being undertaken currently (Ketchell, 2018). Therefore, the reinvention of streetcar systems with a 21st century touch is something that is being considered globally by urban planners. The preference for renewable sources of energy for vehicles and availability of technology such as augmented reality and machine learning will allow the streetcar to become a modern transit system for growing urban population.


text:
User:Masturchyf

IDK how this works.

Here’s a link... never mind

title: User:Masturchyf


text:
Chess/0x88

The 0x88 chess board representation is a square-centric method of representing the chess board used by some chess programs. The number 0x88 (13610, 2108, 100010002) is a hexadecimal integer in C syntax. The rank and file positions are each represented by a nibble (hexadecimal digit), and the bit gaps simplify a number of computations to bitwise operations.

Layout
In the 0x88 board-representation the layout is spread out to cover an 8-by-16 board, equal to the size of two adjacent chessboards. Each square of the 8-by-16 matrix is assigned a number as can be seen in the board layout table. In this scheme each nibble represents a rank or a file, so that the 8-bit integer 0x42 represents the square at (4,2) — c4.

Adding 16 to a number for a square results in the number for the square one row above, and subtracting 16 results in the number for the square one row below. To move from one column to another the number is increased or decreased by one. In hexadecimal notation, legal chess positions (A1-H8) are always below 0x88. This layout simplifies many computations that chess programs need to perform by allowing bitwise operations instead of comparisons.

Algebraic notation and conversion

Each square of the chessboard is identified by a unique coordinate pair — a letter between (a and h) for the file, and a number between 1 and 8 for the rank. This method of referring to squares is a part of algebraic notation. To convert a coordinate pair to a 0x88 value, files are treated as integers, with a corresponding to 0 and h corresponding to 7.

$$square_{0x88} = rank * 16 + ( file - 1 )$$

Thus, a1 corresponds to $$00000000_2$$, with all 8 of the bits set to $$0$$, b2 corresponds to $$00010001_2$$, and h8 corresponds to $$01110111_2$$.

To convert an 0x88 value to a rank-file coordinate pair:

$$file = square_{0x88}\ \&\ 7$$

$$rank = ( square_{0x88}\ \&\ 112 ) + 1$$

Off-the-board detection
Off-the-board detection is a feature of chess programs which determines whether a piece is on or off the legal chess board. In 0x88, the highest bit of each nibble represents whether a piece is on the board or not. Specifically, out of the 8 bits to represent a square, the fourth and the eighth must both be 0 for a piece to be located within the board. This allows off-the-board detection by bitwise operations. If  (or, in binary,  ) is non-zero, then the square is not on the board. This bitwise operation requires fewer computer resources than integer comparisons. This makes calculations such as illegal move detection faster.

Square Relations
The difference of valid 0x88 coordinates A and B is unique with respect to distance and direction, which is not true for classical packed three bit rank and file coordinates. That makes lookups for Manhattan distance, possible piece attacks, and legal piece moves more resource friendly. While classical square coordinates in the 0..63 range require 4K (64*64) sized tables, the 0x88 difference takes 1/16 or 256 sized tables - or even 16 less.

An offset of 119 (0x77 as max valid square index) is added, to make +-119 a 0..238 range (size of 240 for alignment reasons). 0x88Diff = 0x77 + A - B

Adoption
Though the 0x88 representation was initially popular, it has been mostly replaced by the system of bitboards.

title: Chess/0x88


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Entrepreneurial Learning

  '''Entrepreneurial learning refers to a way of developing competencies that matches the talents and passions of an "entrepreneurial student". The ultimate goal is that the student adds social value by starting a business himself.'''

''This book is intended to give all children and young people the opportunity to get acquainted with and further develop through entrepreneurial learning. Entrepreneurial learning supports enterprising children to stay close to themselves and from there develop into happy successful entrepreneurial people. Because children learn to stay close to themselves from an early age, learn to be faithful to themselves and the other, they will experience fewer dropouts during their careers, and a greater chance of happiness during their lives, now and in the longer term. It was deliberately chosen not to write a book about starting a separate entrepreneurial school, but to give advice on how to set up entrepreneurial education within existing schools to serve entrepreneurial children.''

title: Entrepreneurial Learning


text: Category:Book:Entrepreneurial Learning

title: Category:Book:Entrepreneurial Learning


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User:Valencia-city

Valencia City

title: User:Valencia-city


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User:Skepticmedicza

South African trained advanced life support paramedic now working in the United Kingdom as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Emergency Medicine

title: User:Skepticmedicza


text:
Wikijunior talk:Countries A-Z/Lithuania

Wrong image
The image in this page is of Cape Kolka that is in Latvia, not Lithuania. –Turaids (discuss • contribs) 18:13, 31 March 2020 (UTC)

title: Wikijunior talk:Countries A-Z/Lithuania


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Professionalism/Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy

Definition
Sexual Orientation Conversion therapy is a pseudoscience that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. It is important to note that "pseudoscience" means a practice that is not compatible with the scientific method. .

Overview
Sexual orientation therapy dates back to the early 1900s, when homosexuality was deemed to be a mental illness in the 1920s. As a result psychoanalysts began extensive research into various methods of conversion therapy.The American Psychiatric Association (APA) believes that conversion therapy is both unethical and ineffective, and that homosexuality is not a mental disorder. The APA is only one example of organizations worldwide disregarding the validity of conversion therapy. American associations from different disciplines such as child adolescent psychiatry, pediatrics, marriage and family therapy, physicians, and psychoanalytic associations share similar sentiments and beliefs towards conversion therapy. sexual orientation therapy dates back to the early 1900s, when homosexuality was deemed to be a mental illness in the 1920s. As a result psychoanalysts began extensive research into various methods of conversion therapy. This led into a time period where LGBTQ individuals faced discrimination, emotional and physical abuse. Despite how far the United States has come in terms of the acceptance of LGBTQ individuals, there are still many licensed therapists and "professionals" that continue to administer conversion therapy today. This issue is an ongoing debate in terms of government regulation and the ethical implications of this practice.

Organized Groups Promoting Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy
One of the biggest advocacy organizations that supports conversion therapy is the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). It was founded in 1992 under the name NARTH, but was renamed in 2014 to the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI). This organization believes that it is important that individuals have the option to enroll themselves in conversion therapy. They claim to offer licensed, trained, and ethical therapists to people in need. They claim that the majority of research published on conversion therapy is biased and incorrect. ATCSI claims that people "can and do experience some degree of modification in their sexual behavior, identity, and attractions" and that conversion therapy does not harm individuals in any way.

Another advocacy organization is Evergreen International, a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a Mormon church-based group that promotes conversion therapy, citing religious views as their motivation. Evergreen International claims to "help people who want to diminish their attractions and overcome homosexual behavior". A big focus of Evergreen International is to offer individuals resources and references to support groups and therapists in their area of residence.

Campaign to End Conversion Therapy
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) advocacy group is also a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. This Washington D.C. based group has over 3 million members, and it is one of the biggest gay rights advocacy groups in the nation. Conversion therapy, especially when minors are subjected to it, is a big issue HRC is fighting to end. HRC believes that conversion therapy is ineffective and cites many instances of published research that supports this belief. They believe conversion therapy is dangerous and that it can lead to problems such as depression, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and family rejection. HRC actively pursues government legislation in Congress and on the state and local levels through the HRC Political Action Committee.

Aversive Conditioning
In the 1960s and early 1970s, therapists employed aversive conditioning techniques. Patients were administered a nausea-inducing drug (apomorphine) or an electric shock while viewing same-sex erotic images, or they were instructed to snap an elastic band around the wrist when they were aroused to same-sex erotic images or thoughts.

Psychoanalytic Therapy
The psychoanalytic theory begins with the founder of psychoanalysis himself, Sigmund Freud. His theory was that humans are initially bisexual, and heterosexuality and homosexuality would develop from this bisexuality. Homosexuality, which he more frequently called inversion, was formed because of unconscious childhood conflicts. Cases considered to cause homosexuality included a lack of a strong father figure and a close-binding mother. However, Freud soon found out that he could convert one to heterosexuality. In his 1920 paper concerning his failed attempt The Psychogenesis of a Case of Homosexuality in a Woman, he states that the best anyone could do for a homosexual is restore their bisexuality. In a now-famous letter to a woman asking Freud to convert her son, Freud writes: "'Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation, it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function produced by a certain arrest of sexual development... By asking me if I can help, you mean, I suppose, if I can abolish homosexuality and make normal heterosexuality take its place. The answer is, in a general way, we cannot promise to achieve this. In a certain number of cases we succeed in developing the blighted germs of heterosexual tendencies, which are present in every homosexual; in the majority of cases it is no more possible.'"

Despite Freud concluding that therapists cannot abolish someone's homosexuality, people continue to investigate the theory and practice psychoanalysis.

Ex-Gays
Ex-Gays are religion-based interventions.

Therapy Effectiveness
There are not many studies that hold to a high scientific standard, but those that do claim that homosexual tendencies are suppressed. However, some of these cases rid the patients of all sexual arousal completely, and some had their homosexuality "resurface" in the long term. Many participants reported having depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, self-blame, negative self-image, loss, guilt, and a strain on their relationship with others.

Legal Status
In the U.S., sexual orientation conversion therapy on minors is banned in 20 states, 2 territories, and local counties/municipalities. The earliest bans were in California and New Jersey in 2013.

First Amendment Infringement
In Doe v. Christie, United States District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson rejected the claim of New Jersey parents that it violated their rights by keeping them from treating their child for same-sex attraction. Unnamed parents filed a lawsuit against the government of New Jersey challenging the constitutionality of the sexual orientation conversion therapy ban. They claimed it was a violation of their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and religious expression to deny them of practicing sexual orientation conversion therapy on their child. The ruling was given that First Amendment rights were not infringed upon and that the Plaintiffs’ claim was without merit.

On August 29, 2013 in the case of Pickup v. Brown and Welch v. Brown, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit again upheld California’s sexual orientation conversion ban. The panel held that the state has authority to prohibit licensed mental health providers from administering therapies that the legislature has deemed harmful, and the fact that speech may be used to carry out those therapies does not turn the prohibitions of conduct into prohibitions of speech. They went further to say that the First Amendment doesn’t prevent a state from regulating treatment even when that treatment is performed through speech alone.

In January 2019, an Orthodox Jewish psychotherapist filed a federal lawsuit against the city of New York for violating his freedom of speech and infringing on his and his patients religious faith. He said that the government has no right to dictate the personal goals an adult pursues with their therapist. Many of his patients want help in overcoming same sex attraction due to religious beliefs.

This lawsuit was in response to a 2018 law making it illegal for any person to provide services for a fee that seek to change a person’s sexual orientation. In the case, the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian organization aimed at repealing anti-conversion therapy laws, said that regulating the private sessions between an adult and their counselor is a direct violation of freedom of speech. They also said that the government trying to control conversations between therapists and patients is interference on confidential counselor patient relationships.

In response to this, New York city proposed repealing the ban to prevent a potential Supreme Court battle that would set precedent and complicate efforts to outlaw the practice. Since the Supreme Court is majority conservative, a case about conversion therapy could have nationwide effects for the LGBTQ community.

Consumer Fraud
On February 10, 2015, a New Jersey Superior Court Judge ruled that offering conversion services on the basis of a description of homosexuality as abnormal or a mental illness is a violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. In Ferguson v. JONAH, prosecutors argued that Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act while the defense argued that the First Amendment and religious freedom allowed them to sell conversion therapy services to people who wanted them.

A jury determined that conversion therapy constituted consumer fraud since multiple experts and research has shown that conversion therapy isn’t effective. The lawsuit accused (JONAH) of consumer fraud for selling services that they claimed could change a person from gay to straight. This violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and JONAH was found guilty. This case was the first to use consumer protection laws to legally challenge the practice of conversion therapy.

Another important effect of this case was a pretrial ruling which declared for the first time in American history that homosexuality was not a mental disease or disorder. The judge cited that homosexuality was removed from the DSM and that classifying it as a mental disorder, as JONAH experts did, is therefore inadmissible: “because the generally accepted scientific theory is that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and not abnormal, these opinions are inadmissible." The judge compared the theory that homosexuality is a disorder to the notion that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it, both are outdated and refuted.

Supreme Court of the United States
Despite growing attention and pressure, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected challenges against conversion therapy bans.

Conversion Therapy Movement Changes
Former leaders of the conversion therapy movement are now speaking out against the practice and some are even coming out as gay. David Matheson who was the leader of the organization Journey into Manhood blamed the shame-based, homophobic-based system of the Mormon Church in which he was raised for his methods and views regarding sexual orientation.

The founder of faith-based conversion therapy center Hope for Wholeness Network came out as gay and recognized the harm he had caused; “it’s all in my past but many, way too many continue believing that there is something wrong with themselves and wrong with people that choose to live their lives honestly and open as gay, lesbian, trans, etc. … the very harmful cycle of self shame and condemnation has to stop."

Many of these leaders had personal shame associated with being a closeted homosexual and this caused them to project that onto others. It remains an ethical question whether or not it is deemed acceptable for these individuals to use others’ suffering for their eventual realization of their true identity. Many of these people are now content with their sexual identity, by way of years worth of shaming and trying to convert those who were struggling with the same inner dilemma.

Ethical Questions for Consideration
If you were to ask professionals in the 60s if it was right to conduct conversion therapy, even though it would cause serious pain and distress to the patients, you would likely get a similar response to MacCulloch and Feldman's: "'Which seems more unethical: to treat someone in distress, or to suggest to him that he waits until his practice is as socially acceptable as heterosexuality? The vast majority of our patients have been sad an unhappy individuals seeking help for a problem they see as central in their lives, and pleased with the results when these have been successful.'" However, times have changed significantly since then. Homosexuality is a more acceptable practice than it was in the 60s, but some 'therapists' still conduct conversion therapy even when there is no concrete evidence on its effectiveness, and in most cases it does more harm than good.

Consider the following ethical questions:
 * Therapists bringing significant harm to their patients, such as depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, self-blame, negative self-image, loss, guilt, and a strain on their relationships with others
 * Therapists breaking standards of patient autonomy as therapists forgo their neutral stance by influencing their patients to change their sexuality
 * Modern 'therapists' lying to consumers and giving them a false hope
 * Holding high scientific standards to avoid the promotion and use of pseudoscience